by Antonio on August 22, 2008
So I am getting ready to start a new school year and I think I finally landed on a new Wordpress theme. Chris Pirillo whom many of you may remember from his days on TechTV has released a pretty fantastic theme called “WicketPixie” that does a great job integrated social media. I will spend the next few days tweeking it and customizing it a bit, but it works great right out of the “box” and has some great features. This is the last week of summer officially as faculty begin to make their way back onto campus and I must admit that I am looking forward to it. More to come!
Photo Credit: DBarefoot
by Antonio on June 11, 2008
We just closed out the year yesterday and the last week or so has been hectic so I am hoping to get back to posting regularly in the next few days. On a side note, I just took the plunge and retired my Treo 700p for a new Blackberry Curve. Will write a full review and rationale by the weekend.
by Antonio on June 5, 2008
Here is a recap of some great posts on education, technology, creativity and other interesting ideas floating out in the blogosphere.
Philosophy of Education
Technology in the classroom can also increase the productivity of the teacher and make instruction flow much smoother! For productivity, the teacher can use technology to communicate with students, parents, other teachers, …
Jessica Chartrand - http://chartrj.edublogs.org
Sustainable Living Podcasts
One student used Voicethread to conduct an interview with a teacher in another district. The interesting thing is that the student and the teacher never met or spoke to each other live. Difficulties with schedules made it impossible to …
Betty’s Instructional Technology Blog - http://napolib.edublogs.org
Teachers trained in creativity
About 100 teachers from around the state gathered at the Cajundome Convention Center on Wednesday to play with origami, build clay sculptures and learn about podcasts.
theadvertiser.com - Local News - http://theadvertiser.com/
“School is profoundly broken”: Roger Schank’s visit to BYU
He showed us a video clip of his 7 month old grandson learning to crawl. He said that it encapsulated everything we needed to know about learning. In the video, young Max was placed on a carpet (the traction on the carpet created an …
(No Longer) Alone in a Library - http://kamccollum.wordpress.com
Leadership in Schools
By placing school climate as top of my leadership priority, I believe that my leadership style of dynamic supportive will contribute to a great school community. A dynamic supportive is a person that can take charge but does not always …
Curriculum and Teaching - http://earl2607.blogspot.com/
How to Teach Sustainability
At Lawrenceville I was hired to produce a strategic plan for how the school could address the large conceptual issue of sustainability, and specifically what sustainability means for schools. I think that “Education for Sustainability” …
Slow Food Blog - http://www.slowfoodblog.org
by Antonio on June 2, 2008
If you are anything like me, the end of the school year is marked by key moments and regular rituals intended to assist in the ushering in of summer. So my box of summer books arrived from Amazon today. Most of these books I have not read yet. I hope to write thoughts and reflections throughout the summer as I work my way through the list. Has anyone read any of the titles? Other suggestions worth adding to the list?
The Google Story: Inside the Hottest Business, Media, and Technology Success of Our Time By: David Vise & Mark Malseed
- A colleague of mine David Bill suggested this title to me last week during lunch. Looks like a great beach read.
The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures By: Dan Roam
- An Amazon generated suggestion that looked good. I will let you know what I think.
The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need By: Daniel H. Pink & Rob Ten Pas (Illustrator)
- Daniel Pink was one of the keynote speakers at NAIS in NYC this year. I read “A Whole New Mind” last summer and loved it, in fact my entire middle school faculty will be getting a copy of AWNM on Wednesday. During his keynote, he mentioned that he was in the process of finishing “The Adventures of Johnny Bunko” and that it was geared to students. Can’t wait for this one to come in.
Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything By: Don Tapscott & Anthony D. Williams
- Another Amazon generated suggestion.
The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect, Completely Updated and Revised By: Bill Kovach & Tom Rosenstiel
- This is one of the texts I will be using next year in my Journalism class, kudos to my English Department colleague Christina!
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success By: Carol Dweck
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter) By: Garr Reynolds
- I am big fan of Garr Reynolds work. I have had a copy of this and poked through it periodically before I give a major presentation. A must have for anyone who communicates in front of groups and is looking for a way to declutter and simply the power of your message. Garr has written some in depth posts on both “The Back of the Napkin” and “Brain Rules” you should check them out.
A Short History of Nearly Everything By: Bill Bryson
- Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors. I have heard good things about this book and I think it will be one of the first books I read.
Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School (Book & DVD) By: John Medina
- Again, my colleague Dave Bill suggested this one to me. Kudos Dave.
Photo Credit: chotda
by Antonio on May 28, 2008
Below is a recap of some of the more interesting stories about education, technology, leadership and creativity floating out in the blogosphere. Enjoy!
Yesterday, the Wired Campus, a regular education-technology feature at The Chronicle of Higher Ed, featured a short article by Josh Fischman called, “The Civil-Rights Era, Now on the Web.” The piece highlights the Civil Rights Digital …
Untitled - http://www.jessiedanielsphd.com/blog
The third and final form of education is leadership in education, or leadership education. Throughout history, it is these students who go on to become great leaders in government. It is also these same students who become great …
Mary’s School Blog - http://stayinschool.1collegesource.com
Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask a creative person how they did something, they may feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after awhile. …
Creative Something - http://www.creativesomething.net/
If you are leading or managing a work team tasked with “being creative” the following are a few practices you can use to establish a creative working culture and get the ball rolling: 1. Try out and then modify; explore; test in reality …
The Fertile Unknown - http://creativeemergence.typepad.com/the_fertile_unknown/
Why in the world would someone like you be in a class on leadership taught by someone less than half your age and basically as green as tree moss about how to lead in tough times?” He didn’t hesitate. He took my arm and looked into my …
GOLDEN ZEN - http://goldenzen.wordpress.com
Photo Credit: Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton
by Antonio on May 22, 2008
I use StumbleUpon to channel surf the web and I came across a great website that I think has enormous potential for educators. It is also mildly addictive. It’s called Go2Web2.0 and it has collected a directory of over 2400 web 2.0 applications since 2006. Below is a description from the website About page.
About Go2Web20.net
Pure Facts:
- A directory of web 2.0 applications and services
- Born around mid 2006
- 2415 logos as of Thursday, May 22, 2008
- As a visitor, you are probably active in the web 2.0 community and you are one of those labeled as ‘early adopters’. Are you?
- Thousands of visitors every day
- There’s a higher chance that you’ve been here before than that this is your 1st visit here
- Converges both Flash and AJAX technologies
The site does a nice job of organizing the sites via a tag menu and in many ways, I think it has a good user interface; each site/application listed is posted using the site’s logo. A few sites I happened to discover.
- Coffenatic - A place for coffee drinkers to unite, share and exchange their love of coffee.
- Dailylife - A new way to explore the world.
- Planetaki which allows you read all the websites you like in a single page. Think of it as a custom digital and virtual newspaper with the sections you want, front and center.
Orli Yakuel is one of the directory managers and I encourage you to consider checking out her blog. She does a fantastic job of giving a detailed overview of these resources. Wondering if anyone has other unique finds out there?
by Antonio on May 18, 2008
I am hoping to provide a weekly digest of interesting stories in the news that deal with education, teaching, leadership and technology. Enjoy!
Noneducation Majors Find Teaching Appealing
RedOrbit, TX - May 16, 2008
Recruits often have no prior education experience or course work. They get five weeks of intensive training the summer before they start teaching, …
Anne Benedict: Defining Quality Leadership
According to Vince Lombardi, leaders aren’t born, they are made. Smart corporations recognize at least some element of truth in this, and set out to cultivate this specific talent in their teams with the help of experts like Anne …
Do the math: We’re lacking
Atlanta Journal Constitution, USA - May 16, 2008
But a strong national curriculum would be only half the battle; the other challenge is creating a teaching force capable of teaching to those higher …
Universities push global education
Columbus Dispatch, OH - May 17, 2008
Ohio’s higher-education chancellor, Eric D. Fingerhut, wants the statewide number of study-abroad students to grow 10 percent a year. …
Blueprints for a green school
San Diego Union Tribune, United States - May 17, 2008
High Tech High, which operates eight charter schools in the region, is known for personalized learning, using hands-on projects to engage students. …
WorldWide Telescope goes online
International Science Grid This Week, Switzerland - May 14, 2008
Microsoft Research says it is releasing WorldWide Telescope as a free resource to the astronomy and education communities with the hope that it will inspire …
by Antonio on May 15, 2008
Leadership in American schools is becoming an increasingly difficult concept to define. Many educational scholars and policy makers agree that the current role of a school leader, both in the building and district or school wide, insufficiently meets the needs of American education for the 21st century. In an article by Lynn Olson, New Thinking on What Makes a Leader, she clearly argues that schools across the nation are facing a shortage of qualified and talented administrators. The article also points out that it could quite possibly be the current structure of our schools that may be contributing to the problem as well. There is consensus among educators, governmental and philanthropic groups that not addressing this problem will not only not make problem go away, but instead lead to an even smaller, insufficiently trained applicant pool to choose from.
Olson states, there are very different schools of thought when addressing this issue. It raises some interesting questions regarding the definition of educational administration, the inability for many to perform the demanding tasks needed to fulfill the requirements of the job and seeks to find a dialogue which might lead to possible solutions. This argument provides educators an opportunity to critically analyze school administration and leadership from a variety of perspectives. One argument is that key administrators are coming under increasing fire to provide adequate results in student performance and achievement. This pressure is driven in large part, as it is in the state of Massachusetts and across many states nationwide, by academic standards and accountability. Many would argue that this form of top-down reform would require administrators and school leaders to become “instructional leaders” rather than simply building managers. Building management must therefore take a back seat, if schools are to become successful in training and educating today’s modern student. However, it is unclear how to precisely define the term “instructional leader”. There are those currently involved in education reform who believe that many of the problems faced by American schools will require solutions by the next generation of administrators.
Does the future of American education require that these leaders be educators in order to successfully do the job? Are we placing unreasonable expectations of administrators? Does the solution require that schools place a larger emphasis on business management? One thing is certain, public and private schools across the United States are seeking and actively recruiting candidates which can fulfill all these responsibilities. The modern day administrator needs to have the business and management knowledge of a corporate CEO, the savvy of a seasoned fund raiser and the experience of being a veteran educator. It is difficult to imagine effective leadership in our schools coming from someone who has never stepped foot in a classroom. Olson also places part of the blame on the preparation and leadership - training programs currently training administrators for the job. There are a portion of leading educators and policy makers that believe senior level administrators being “pumped out” of these training programs are lacking on-the-job experience as well as a deep knowledge and understanding of instruction. These leaders are not only going to be expected to do the job of “instructional leader”, but are going to face the reality of management. In my humble opinion, one this is for certain, the future success of American education will demand effective, innovative and visionary leadership in order to fully embrace and address the challenges of education in the 21st century
by Antonio on May 13, 2008
The concept is actually quite simple. Exercise your role as a global citizen by engaging in a collective conversation with some of the biggest thinkers in the world. Big Think is an online community designed to extend the conversation about important topics, global issues and creative ideas by connecting people who want to share their thoughts or ideas with one another. As the website introduction video states, “your idea lives and is shared with a global meeting of the minds.”
As educators, the ability to engage in an extended conversation on topics ranging from the arts, technology, politics, science, medicine, history and current events takes those lunch table conversations to a whole new level.
by Antonio on May 12, 2008
From Zen Lessons - The Art of Leadership:
Lingyuan’s study of the Way and application of its principles was pure and sincere, rich in virtue. He had the air of the ancients. He was peaceful and serious, and spoke little. He was very much honored and respected by scholars and grandees. He once said,
“What people talk lightly and are careless of, the sage is careful with. In particular, to be the leader of a community and assist the process of enlightenment is impossible unless one’s action and understanding are in mutual harmony.”
“The essential thing is repeated self-examination and self-criticism, not letting thoughts of fame and profit sprout in the mind.”
“If there is anything not believed in among the directives of the teachings, anything the students do not obey, then one should withdraw to consider and cultivate virtue, waiting until a way comes.”
“I have never seen anyone who was personally upright whose community was not orderly. Truly in this lies the meaning of the saying ‘Looking upon the countenance of a virtuous person clears the people’s minds.’ “
In reading this passage this morning, I am struck by the simplicity of the message. As leaders, our actions and words must, to the best of our ability, be one. The difficulty in leading in such a manner requires that we take ample time to be self-reflective and if necessary critical when either our actions or words are not in harmony with one another.
