A Principal's Reflections

DECEMBER 21, 2011

'Cross-posted at the NJ Principals and Supervisors Association. When principals hear the words Twitter and Facebook they cringe. Immediately, visions of excessive socialization, time wasted, and meaningless conversations in the form of updates come to mind. This is true, in many cases, when these tools are used for personal use. I am here to share ways in which principals can harness the power of these free resources to improve communications, public relations, professional growth, instruction,

Social Media 289

Social Media Facebook Twitter Personal Learning Network 289

The Web20Classroom

DECEMBER 22, 2011

'How Social Media can Enhance Schools as Professional Learning Communities tags: socialmedia PLC favorite Educators – Google Plus Is For You tags: google+ favorite The A-Z Dictionary of Educational Twitter Hashtags tags: twitter hashtags favorite Turning Your Group Into A Team tags: plc favorite Do You Know About The Many Free Resources For Education Available from Apple?

Resources 152

Resources Social Media iPad Twitter 152

Educational Technology Guy

DECEMBER 21, 2011

Google Good to Know is another great resource from Google. Good to Know has information and tips for internet safety, how your data is collected and used online, how Google uses data, and how to manage your data and what you share with web sites and Google. This is a great resource for everyone and educators can use this to help students be more safe online and more knowledgeable about online data.

Data 100

Data Google Internet Safety Twitter 100

The 21st Century Principal

DECEMBER 22, 2011

'There is one 21st century leadership skill very few have considered: managing and monitoring a school or school district’s online reputation. Most of the time, administrators are in “reactive” mode when it comes to sudden, unwanted attention to their schools brought about due to some online Web posting to a blog or social media. This often means the damage is already done way before they were even aware that there was a problem.

Social Media 88

Social Media Facebook Google Twitter 88

Advertisement

How can we actively engage learners 24/7, on their level and according to their interests, while respecting their learning styles? It’s not impossible. In this guide: Explore how to transform traditional, one-way videos into two-way interactive learning experiences Understand different types of artificial intelligence (AI), including - Generative vs.

Personalized Learning

A Principal's Reflections

DECEMBER 17, 2011

'I often talk about change whether it be through this blog or during presentations to various education groups. It is hard work to change cultures, systems, and perceptions that have been firmly entrenched for a long time. The transformation taking place at New Milford High School to create a 21st Century culture of teaching an learning would fit this bill.

System 191

System Groups Learning Education 191

The Web20Classroom

DECEMBER 21, 2011

'So if you haven''t noticed, this blog has a new address on the web. [link] I have had the domain for a while now and am beginning to develop my complete digital portfolio in a few spaces. Adding my blog was a first step. So that means if you subscribed via RSS you are going to need to update your subscription to the new address. And you can do that easily by just plugging the new address in your favorite RSS program and it will pick up the new feed or you can use the toolbar at the bottom of th

Social Media 143

Social Media Twitter Meeting Learning 143

The 21st Century Principal

DECEMBER 19, 2011

'For the administrator who would like a general, not-too-technical overview of digital technology and social media, the book What School Leaders Need to Know About Digital Technologies and Social Media , edited by Scott McLeod and Chris Lehmann is the answer. It provides answers to the administrator who feels just a bit lost when someone starts talking about blogs, wikis, or Twitter, or who isn’t quite sure about all this talk about 1:1 initiatives, open source software, or using mobile phones i

Social Media 72

Social Media Wiki Technology Guidelines 72

SpeechTechie

DECEMBER 23, 2011

'I recently had several evaluations in which the students had variable ability to engage in traditional standardized assessments. Specifically, the often quite useful CELF-4 Formulated Sentences subtest, in which the student is asked to produce a sentence to correspond with a presented picture using a target word, put these particular kids at a dead-end of silence and "I don''t know"s.

Assessment 63

Assessment iPad Course Mobility 63

wwwatanabe

DECEMBER 22, 2011

'The #elemchat on Dec. 17th, focusing on strategies and approaches for helping students become better writers , got me thinking about what writing looks like in 21st century learning. What does 21st century learning look like? Some rights reserved by sntgmdm Students engaged in authentic task Students are collaboratively problem solving Collaboration -- students helping peers Students are creating original work to represent their ideas Teacher is walking around the room facilitating Noticeable r

Differentiated Instruction 62

Differentiated Instruction Learning Strategy Examples 62

Learning with 'e's

DECEMBER 20, 2011

Like any other part of the training and skills sector, the construction industry depends upon the reliable and effective training of well qualified and competent individuals. Training is rigorous and comprehensive, because if a builder gets it wrong, the consequences can be catastrophic. At Unitec , in Auckland, New Zealand, they train construction workers in all the trades, but there seems to be a particular demand for skilled carpenters in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

Training 66

Training Industry Technology Support Technology 66

Speaker: Andrew Cohen, Founder & CEO of Brainscape

The instructor’s PPT slides are brilliant. You’ve splurged on the expensive interactive courseware. Student engagement is stellar. So… why are half of your students still forgetting everything they learned in just a matter of weeks? It's likely a matter of cognitive science! With so much material to "teach" these days, we often forget to incorporate key proven principles into our curricula — namely active recall, metacognition, spaced repetition, and interleaving practice.

Training

The 21st Century Principal

DECEMBER 18, 2011

'Would your school district like to save money and cut down on technology-related and technology support costs? Think about what a school district IT department could get accomplished if they never had to worry about administering or troubleshooting your district email server again. Or, what if there were no need to purchase all those office suite PC licenses again?

Tools 72

Tools Handbook Google Data 72

SpeechTechie

DECEMBER 19, 2011

'I had sort of heard out of the corner of my ear that there was a courageous but anonymous teacher engaged in one of those "do something everyday and blog about it" initiatives, but one that could really make a difference. The author of Fed Up with Lunch ( now also a book ) committed to eat a usually quite gross school lunch every day and post about it, complete with photos, in order to make a statement about nutrition.

Advocacy 55

Advocacy Twitter Resources 55

The Learning Revolution Has Begun

DECEMBER 19, 2011

'I''m so appreciative of Howard Rheingold and enjoyed this conversation with him about technology and the new dialogs on education. Howard''s original post is at [link]. Steve Hargadon: Reimagining Education as Networked, Participatory, Social and Global from DML Research Hub on Vimeo.

Conference 42

Conference Learning Technology Education 42

Learning with 'e's

DECEMBER 18, 2011

I read Wikipedia founder Larry Sanger's blog with interest this week. In response to my post Content as Curriculum? he had written a protracted and elaborate response. Although I was gratified that someone with such a standing in the academic community had taken the time to read my post and respond so comprehensively, I admit I was also a little disconcerted to find that not only had he misapprehended my original message, but had also apparently resorted to name-calling.

Examples 53

Examples Outcomes Training Study 53

This white paper examines and proposes revisions to the "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education" introduced by Arthur Chickering and Zelda Gamson in 1987 for today's technology-driven world.

Technology

The 21st Century Principal

DECEMBER 17, 2011

'The one lesson politicians should have learned from No Child Left Behind, is that when all of your energies and resources are turned to just improving test scores, failure is the result. As education historian Diane Ravitch states eloquently in her book, The Death and the Life of the Great American School System , ”Our schools will not improve if we rely exclusively on tests as the means of deciding the fate of students, teachers, principals, and schools.

Common Core 68

Common Core Policies Education Industry 68

SpeechTechie

DECEMBER 20, 2011

'All month I have been singing the praises of blogs as a route to professional development and therapy planning, and I am ending with a bit of a twist- Zite Personalized Magazine (Free, iPad only for now) an app that allows you to subscribe not to blogs but to topics. Select topics of interest and Zite will pull in posts from various news sources (including blogs) that correspond with your selections.

iPad 49

iPad Elementary Facebook Twitter 49

The 21st Century Principal

DECEMBER 23, 2011

'The new Kindle iPad app just became even better. After the latest Kindle iPad app update, Kindle owners and Kindle app users will be pleased with these two additional features. Read your magazines on your iPad in your Kindle. Before this update, I was unable to access my magazines on the iPad Kindle app. Now, users can access their Newsstand items too.

iPad 66

iPad Education Accessibility Report 66

The 21st Century Principal

DECEMBER 22, 2011

'TweetDeck crashes seem to be fixed with Twitter’s update to version 1.1. Earlier this week I posted that TweetDeck fans might want to wait before downloading and installing the new TweetDeck native Windows app. It constantly crashed when I used it on my Windows 7 64-Bit laptop, and it crashed on the Windows XP computer I used at work as well. As of today, I have installed the updated version that came out today and have not had any crashes.

Twitter 58

Twitter Laptops Education 58

Advertisement

Managing a K-12 campus with constant pressure to meet performance metrics is challenging. And tardiness can significantly limit a school from reaching these goals. Learn more about why chronic lateness matters, and key strategies to address the following impacts: Data errors caused by manual processes Low attendance and graduation rates that affect a school’s reputation Classroom disruption, which leads to poor academic performance High staff attrition and “The Teacher Exodus” Unmet LCAP goals t

Classroom

The 21st Century Principal

DECEMBER 17, 2011

'Earlier in the week I posted “My 11 Favorite Chrome Browser Apps and Extensions” and several posts this week about my favorite Chrome apps and extensions. After that posting, someone suggested another app to that list: the QR-Code Generator app. (See the Chrome Web Store Link.) Chrome Web App: QR-Code Generator Screenshot There is a great deal of excitement recently about the possibilities of using QR-Codes as an instructional tool in the classroom, especially with the proliferation of mobile d

Smartphone 58

Smartphone iPad Software Mobility 58

Learning with 'e's

DECEMBER 22, 2011

Many bloggers would give their right arm to be able to write posts that are widely read. In a painfully truthful Winston Churchill parody, Katie Hafner recently declared that 'never has so much been written by so many, to be read by so few.' For many, blogging is a little like whistling into the wind. It's quite a lonely existence when you write, and write and post your ideas. but no-one ever reads it.

Social Media 55

Social Media Video Software Google 55

The 21st Century Principal

DECEMBER 20, 2011

'If you are thinking about upgrading your Adobe Air Tweetdeck app to the new Desktop Tweetdeck from Twitter, WAIT! This is one time I think it will pay to hold on to your old Tweetdeck until Twitter has had time to work out all the bugs in their new version of Tweetdeck that ditches Air and operates natively in Windows. I downloaded, installed and tested the new Tweetdeck on my Windows 7 machine, and like a lot of Tweetdeck fans, I immediately noticed a number of my favorite features gone from t

Twitter 49

Twitter Adobe Laptops 49