Get Organized!

Thanks, Hampton Cove Middle School!

2012-02-17T12:00:00.000-06:00

As promised, this post is a follow-up to today's workshop. The items I want to cover here are very much the same as those in a post following a workshop for the Alabama National Board Certified Teachers Network on January 28. So, instead of re-writing it all here, let me direct you to that post.

Click here for the follow-up information.

Microsoft's Vision for the Future

2012-02-17T01:59:00.000-06:00

This 2011 video from Microsoft gives us a peek into what they think will be in our not-too-distant future.

Remember Your Accomplishments...With Your Blog

2012-02-15T01:00:00.000-06:00

Where memory fails, the written word reminds. We write thoughts on our blogs to communicate what is important today. Later, those posts serve as a reliable record of that which is now history.

I was thrilled to receive an e-mail from a teacher with whom I had worked in my former school system. I retired, and her family relocated to another area. In the e-mail, she told me just being named "Teacher of the Year" in her new school system and asked me for a letter of support as her application moved to the next level.

I wanted to be specific enough about her accomplishments, yet careful to be accurate. A hazy memory about events from several years ago made it impossible to accomplish both objectives.

Then, a thought occurred. During my time in that school system, our school started blogging. When I left from the principalship for a position at the central office, we used blogs as our major method of communication with staff and the community. Every school had also started blogging.

I searched through old blog posts from her school and found details about a wonderful science night she had planned. The post gave me the details to give the letter the power this master teacher deserved. I also found a post on the blog the district maintained during my time at the central office. This post chronicled her being named "Teacher of the Year" for our system, confirming the year I had thought she received that award.

We blog for many reasons. Not one of the least of these is to capture the best of the present, so that when memories fade, the reminders are there.

The master thinker knows that ideas are elusive and often quickly forgotten, so he traps them with notebook and pencil. He heeds the Chinese proverb: “The strongest mind is weaker than the palest ink.”

—Wilferd A. Peterson in Adventures in the Art of Living

You See What You Think About...Checklists Revisited

2012-02-13T01:16:00.000-06:00

Tell me what you think about. Tell me what you focus upon. I will tell you what you are likely to see in your environment. That thought can, and has been, the topic of books.

In August 2010, I posted this on the topic of checklists, and the idea seemed to resonate with readers. Since that time, it seems like the topic of checklists and their usefulness keeps coming back in material I read. One example is an article in Reader's Digest. In an article entitled "White Coat Confessions," Dr. Peter Pronovost writes:

"Many medical errors occur because hospitals lack standardized checklists for common procedures designed to minimize the chance of bad judgment. Airline pilots and NASCAR teams have them--why don't doctors? I think it's partly because it's so important to us to believe in the myth that doctors are perfect."

Those words sound like something right out of The Checklist Manifest o. But just as this doctor has looked at the need for checklists through the lens of his own profession, most any of us in any of our professions could point to errors which happen for lack of a checklist. In the words of Mark Twain, "No one is smart enough to remember all that he knows." Not a bad observation about his own life and time. Not a bad observation about the "Information Age" either.

Does anyone have a favorite checklist you would like to share?

"What's Outlook?"

2012-02-10T01:30:00.000-06:00

Some 10 years ago, I made the move from organizing with paper to organizing digitally. I bought a Palm and noticed pretty quickly that the installation CD-ROM that came in the package gave you two options for synchronizing your data. You could use the Palm Desktop, which was a very good and very simple application which mirrored the operation of the Palm handheld. The other option was to synchronize with Outlook. Because Outlook contained an e-mail component and the Palm Desktop did not, I chose Outlook.

Ten years later, I am still using Outlook. For an explanation of why, please read my post on "Why Outlook?"

A Visit to the Apple Store

During a recent visit to an outdoor mall, while Davonia was looking at clothes, I spent the time visiting stores of a little more interest to me. I stopped at the Apple Store to play around with the iPhone4 and iPad2 to compare them to my BlackBerry and PlayBook.

A very helpful salesperson was telling me about the virtues of the iPhone, and I was impressed with his knowledge of the product. Then I asked the question,"If I were to buy an iPhone, how would I sync my Outlook data with it?"

The response floored me..."I really don't know that much about Outlook." We walked over to a computer and he performed a Google search with the keywords "Outlook," "sync," and "iPhone." He pointed to the first hit and said, "I guess that's how you do it." That was the end of that conversation.

Wal-Mart

While at a Wal-Mart during a recent out-of-town trip, I visited their mobile phone display. They had exactly one BlackBerry. "I see one BlackBerry here," I said. "Do you also have other models?"

His response was, "Why would you want a BlackBerry?" My response was similar to what I wrote in this post. When I talked about the ability to sync with Outlook, there was that same, "Well I don't know much about Outlook" response.

He talked about how he could keep his calendar on his Android with Google Calendar, as if I had never heard of it. When asked how he kept his tasks, the reply was that he just tried to remember them. Good luck, buddy!

What's the Point?

There are some great devices on the market. Not long ago, we were amazed we could carry a phone in our pockets. I remember when the only person with a phone on his person was Batman! When the capability of sending and receiving e-mail was added, we thought we were in Paradise.

Now, every device not only makes a phone call, but also takes pictures, records videos, includes a voice recorder, calculator, alarm clock, and does everything but wash your clothes. We turn up our nose if it has less than a quarter-million "apps" available, although we are unwilling to pay more than 99 cents for any of them and expect most for free.

While we expect so much, we are wiling to settle for so little in terms of the basic software that helps us run our lives. While we may or not need to be able to play "Angry Birds" at the drop of a hat, we probably do need to see our calendars, view what we need to be doing, or look up phone numbers. I have examined many programs, and have not found one that does what Outlook does.

When I have a program that does what Outlook does and a handheld that syncs so easily and as well as the BlackBerry does, I am a pretty happy camper.

But What About Everyone Else?

When I talk to people about paper planners, I talk in terms of the best paper system I can give them. When I talk to people who organize with Outlook and a BlackBerry, I give them the best possible system for that arrangement of tools. For the huge number of people using an iPhone, Android, or other operating system, I want to give them a solution that will work with the equipment they have.

During February, we will be talking about the best solutions regardless of the equipment you have.

My 3 Take-Aways from "The Mitchell20"

2012-02-08T01:30:00.000-06:00

We love stories with happy endings. The protagonist is confronted with what seems like an insurmountable problem. In the end:

Good triumphs over evil.
The guy gets the girl.
Hard work is rewarded.
Everyone lives happily ever after.
All of the above.

But then you have the story that end differently.
The kind which more closely resembles life.
Stories which are incomplete.
Stories where the good guy doesn't win, or at least not yet.

Now the audience has to work, has to think, has to start filling in the blanks that were left when the curtain closed.

I had the opportunity to view The Mitchell20, the real-life story about 20 teachers from a single high-poverty school who, as a group, undertook National Board Certification. The movie chronicled their hard work. I just knew they would all achieve their certification...but they didn't. In face, most didn't. And a second attempt didn't yield the results we would have liked either.

I knew the school would be upheld as a shining example of what could be...but it wasn't. The star teacher was transferred. The faculty who begged for reconsideration of that move was threatened with insubordination. The principal who was so supportive of the faculty was pressured to resign.

I am not sure what lessons we are supposed to learn from the film, and every person may take from it his or her own. For me, the take-aways are three in number:

Focus on what you can control—the quality of your own performance
How often do the conversations we hear center around how someone else should be doing something differently. We second-guess everything from the policies of the President to the play-calling of the Little League coach. Life would be so much better if those other people would just shape up. The Mitchell20 decided to focus on the one thing over which they had control—the quality of their own teaching.

What if each of us approached our days with the zeal to hone our own craft, to be better when we went to bed than we were when we awoke? Can you imagine the collective impact of individual excellence?

The task is easier when we hold hands
The Mitchell20 undertook National Board Certification as a group. They laughed and cried together. They supported each other. Geese long ago realized that wind resistance is lessened when they fly together in that familiar formation. They rotate the lead position and they honk to cheer the leader on. When fatigue and frustration seek to derail our dreams, it is often the cheers from our comrades which get us through the rough places.

Life is easier when the big dog has your back
Rather than do everything in his power to help the Mitchell20, it seemed the superintendent was doing the opposite. Daniella was transferred, the faculty threatened with insubordination, and the principal forced out. It's easy to picture him as the bad guy, and he may well be. But what attempts were made to get him "on board"?

We can have great ideas, but if nobody understands the value of what we do, those ideas will never go viral. They will never be the benefit they could have been. Part of making change happen is greasing the wheels that turn the machine. The world has enough martyrs without you and I joining the ranks.

If you have the opportunity to see The Mitchell20, take it. It is inspiring. It is sad. Most of all, it's real life.

Want to Predict Your Graduation Rate? (For Alabama Schools)

2012-02-06T01:51:00.000-06:00

In Alabama, graduation rate is the "additional academic indicator" component of AYP. As mid-summer approaches, officials in all too many schools anxiously await the results to see if they have a "green cell" or "red cell" for graduation rate. This post is about taking the mystery out of those results. Furthermore, this post argues that we can, and we must, accurately predict the percentage of our students who will graduate on time while they are still with us and we ca do something about their progress.

When summer 2012 rolls around, the graduation rate being measured will be that of the Class of 2011. That graduation has already happened. Those figures are in the books. Waiting until summer 2012 to find out the graduation rate for the Class of 2011 would be akin to waiting until March to find out if your team won the Super Bowl! Hang on, we will revisit this football analogy later.

The problem is that the formula for figuring the graduation rate is Greek to many. Let's take the mystery out of it. On the Free Resources page of my website, you will find tools which will compute your graduation rate. Keep in mind the formula changed, so we have upper classes using the original formula and the lower classes using the newer one. Tools for both are on the Free Resources page. You will also find a "Help" document for the new formula. You find the tool for the original formula is password protected. Use Principal (case sensitive) for the password. The password is required each time you go to open this spreadsheet.

Did We Win?
Image the gun sounds ending the game. The teams start to leave the field. The head coach taps the referee on the shoulder and asks, "Did we win?" Sounds crazy, right? But that's exactly what happens because too many people simply do not know how to calculate the graduation rate.

What's Our Game Plan?
You goal is to graduate every student, and do so on time, right? That's all you need to know about a plan to achieve the graduation rate you need for AYP. Pretty simple.

On the football field, the aim is to score as many points as you can and keep the other team from scoring. That's all you need to know, right? Or is it?

If there are 45 seconds left in the game and you have the ball on your own 40 yard line, wouldn't you like to know if you are ahead by 7 or down by 3? Aren't you going to handle things entirely differently depending on the score? You need to know a lot more than your aim is to score lots of points and keep the other team from scoring!

If it's February and you are looking at missing graduation rate by 2 students, aren't you going to handle things much differently than if your prediction was that you were going to be 15 students to the good? And if it's February, you can still do something about those students. Waiting until the year is over, just like waiting until the game is over, is too late to impact the score.

With the tools on the Free Resources page, Alabama schools will know where they stand with the students they still have. When the requirements require not only for the cohort to make graduation rate, but also every subgroup within that cohort to make the goal, you will still be able to predict your outcome, and if you don't like what you see, know how many students, and which students, to make your goal.

Graduation rate does not have to be a mystery. Know the score now. Adjust your game plan. Make it look easy.

Help for Ending the E-Mail Frustration Problem

2012-02-03T01:30:00.000-06:00

Email...is it a frustrating experience for you and those in your organization? This past June, Chris Anderson and Jane Wulf composed this post outlining the problems and possible solutions to our email overload.

The overwhelming response to the post spawned this Email Charter. Take a look at it. What suggestions do you see that you could implement in your own practice? What suggestions could you implement with your entire organization?

Of Water Wings and Bicycles and the "Digital Haves"

2012-01-30T01:39:00.000-06:00

Chairing District Accreditation teams, delivering software training, and conducting workshops have brought me in contact with schools and school personnel in a number of states. As we talk about technology, the topic is invariably raised of how many households have Internet access. We have sound educational objectives that involve student use of the Internet at home. Yet, we hesitate to move forward because of those who “don’t have the Internet.”

The discrepancies between the libraries in large cities and those in small towns are enormous. So too are the discrepancies between resources in affluent versus poverty-ridden schools. The great equalizer is the Internet. The Internet is the same in the Library if Congress as it is in the library down the street.

We must re-frame the question from, “Do you have Internet access?” to “How do you have Internet access?” Do you have access at home? If not, what about at work? Can you get to a public library on a regular basis? Can you go to a neighbor’s house?

As long as we operate in a mode that assumes part of our population will not access the Internet, we can never fully use this tool in the homework or projects we assign. We further the disconnect that so many see between our educational system and how the real world operates.

People generally rise to the expectations set before them. If we proceed with the assumption that our students can gain Internet access, they will find a way. If we proceed with the assumption that our parents can gain Internet access, they will find a way. Our communication methods can become more streamlined. Our assignments and the resources required to complete then can mirror how resources are used in the real world to solve problems. In short, we can move to a new level.

At the same time, we tend to rely on the crutches that are available to us. As long as you give me water wings, I don't have to learn to swim. As long as you let me keep the training wheels, I don't have to really learn to ride the bike. As long as you continue to send me a paper copy of everything, I never have to figure out a way to become one of the "digital haves."

When we continue to make allowances for those who have yet to make joining the "digital haves" a priority, we become part of the problem. We send the message that access to the unlimited body of knowledge available with a few mouse clicks is just not that important. Perhaps it's time to take away the water wings. Perhaps it's time to take away the training wheels. Perhaps it's time to stop duplicating every digital communication with a paper copy.

Let’s change the conversation. As we turn another page on the calendar to 2012, let's refuse to allow a segment of population to ignore a tool that holds so much potential. No longer ask the question, “Do you have the Internet?” Assume the answer to be "Yes." The only question is the “How?”

What are your thoughts on how we can narrow the digital divide?

Alabama National Board Certified Teacher Network Conference Wrap-Up

2012-01-28T15:00:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who attended one of my sessions at the Alabama National Board Certified Teacher Network Conference. This post recaps the sessions and "where we go from here."

Handouts
If you did not download handouts prior to the convention, you may download them here.

Staying Connected
If you liked what you heard and would like more, here are several ways you can keep in touch:

Check out our website. In addition to general information on what we do, you will find a page of free resources.
Follow me on Twitter.
"Like" my Facebook page and check back for updates.
Subscribe to my free monthly newsletter.
Bring new blog posts straight to your e-mail.
Read Get Organized! and/or Organization Made Easy!
Bring me to your school or organization.

Digital Lesson Planner
For a limited time, you may download the Digital Lesson Planner and the companion video which explains its use. Go to the Free Resources page of my website and look for these two items in the left-hand column.

iGoogle
If you are interested in adding to your iGoogle page some of the same gadgets I have on mine, here is an easy way to get them. As you click each link, you will be taken to a page that describes the gadget and lets you click a button to automatically add it to your iGoogle page.

Google Bookmarks
Google Reader
Yahoo News
Twitter
Facebook
Bit.ly URL Shortener
Weather
reQall
Toodledo
People.com
MapQuest Driving Directions
Area/Zip Code Lookup
Music
YouTube
Document to PDF
Movies
GoogleDocs
GoogleCalendar
Google Map Search
Portfolio Monitor
Calculator
Stopwatch
Flight Status
WolframAlpha

Here is how to make iGoogle (your homepage).

Dropbox
Want to set up a Dropbox account? Here is an easy way for you to set up an account and get an extra 250MB of free storage for both you and me. Click here to sign up.

Click the cover to download your free Dropbox ebook.

Google Docs Forms
We mentioned briefly about students being able to take tests on the computer which are instantly graded and item analysis conducted. Here is a post that goes into more depth on that concept. The link will explain the concept. If this is something your school would serious like to pursue, let me know.)

In a time where tablets are becoming popular, conducting classroom walk-throughs is an extremely practical use of collecting and organizing data.

Here are the steps for creating a walk-through form using Google Docs and then getting that walk-through form onto your tablet.

Design your walk-through form on paper. You may wish to begin with a paper form you are already using. Only after you have thought through how you want the form to look should you go to the computer.
Log into your Google account and go to docs.google.com. You will see a list of all of the Google Docs you have already created.
Click “Create New” and choose “Spreadsheet.”
In Row 1 enter each of the questions that will go on the form. (Examples: Teacher name, Subject, Resources Being Used, Objective/Essential question posted?, Student activity, Number of students not actively engaged, Teacher activity, Level of questioning, Overall comments). Press the tab key to go from column to column. Note: You do NOT need to have a column for the date. The date and time of the walk-through will automatically be gathered for you.
From the “Tools” menu, choose “Form” and “Create a form.” You will now see a form with your column heading already listed. Below each item will be a short blank where you could enter a response.
While some fields lend themselves well to a short answer, for others, a drop-down list, series of check-boxes, paragraph text box, etc. will be a better fit. As you move the mouse down the page, each item will turn a beige color and display a series of icons to the right. Click the pencil icon to decide what type of response you want and create your list of checkboxes, items on drop-down list, etc.
Each question will display a “make this a required question” checkbox. It is a good idea to check this box. That will keep you from overlooking an item. Click “Done" when you have finished editing that item.
At the top of the form is a button called “Theme.” Click it, and you can choose from an array of attractive looks for your form.
At the very bottom of the form, you will see “You can view the published form here” followed by a rather long URL. This is a very important step! Highlight and copy that link.
By this time, Google Docs has probably prompted you to save the spreadsheet. If not, click “Save.”
Now we want to get this form on your BlackBerry PlayBook, iPad or other tablet device you will be using in the walk-throughs. You can also use the form with a Smartphone, although the size may be too small for you to use comfortably.
Open a new e-mail on your computer, paste the link from the bottom of the Google Docs form in the body, and address the e-mail to yourself. Send the e-mail.
Go to your PlayBook, iPad, or other tablet. Check your e-mail, looking for the one you sent to yourself.
Open the e-mail, and click the link. You should now be looking at your walk-through form.
Your tablet should offer you a way to save a URL as a “shortcut” on your home screen. For example, on the PlayBook, you will tap the hollow star and choose “Add to Home Screen.” You have now created an app for the walk-through form.

If you also wish to have the form on your Smartphone, you will repeat the process on that device. Check your e-mail on the Smartphone and open the one containing the link to the walk-through form. Click the link to display the form. Now turn that URL into a desktop shortcut. How this is done will vary from one Smartphone to the next. For example, on a BlackBerry running OS6, click the icon just to the right of the URL address bar. Choose “Add to Home Screen.” You have now just made the walk-through form into an app! You will find its icon on your home screen.

You are ready to start your walk-throughs! Each time you finish a form and touch “Submit,” the data instantly goes into the Google Docs spreadsheet. Each entry is date and time stamped for you!

No more filling out forms and then recopying that data somewhere else! Your data is neatly stored in rows and columns on your Google Docs spreadsheet. Less time spent on paperwork. More time spent on helping good teachers get even better. Life just got easier!

Again, thanks for participating in the webinar. If one of your New Year's resolutions was to "Get Organized!" I hope the hour we spent together will give you a great start.

Note Taking: "Day in the Life" Example

2012-01-27T01:00:00.000-06:00

In the previous two posts, I talked about note-taking and the role of pencil and paper versus a laptop or tablet. To better understand this post, take a moment to read "Puzzled About Where to Take Notes?" and "Puzzled About here to Take Notes? Part II".

This past Tuesday, I attended a three-hour planning meeting regarding a project in which I have a key role. This post will walk you through the notes I took and what happens to them later.

Our meeting consisted of five people. One person took notes on a legal pad, a second in a spiral notebook, two others on iPads, and me with my journal. One thing I noticed was the three taking notes with pen and paper were taking considerably more notes than those using iPads.

At the top of the page, I wrote the date and below it the name of the committee. The meeting opened with a short video conference between the five of us and two people located in another city. The platform being used was called "ooVoo," a program similar to Skype, but with what seemed like some advantages. Several of us were unfamiliar with the platform, and some of the discussion during that video conference centered around the platform itself rather than the agenda of the meeting. I was certainly one asking some of those question!

So where do I write the notes about "ooVoo," a topic unrelated to the basic agenda of the meeting? Do I turn to another page? Do I just try to remember this one-off topic for later? No. The notes about ooVoo go right on that same page on the next blank line. I intend to research the platform later, so I jot a note to do so and place just ahead of it an asterisk, my shorthand that what I have written is not just documentation, but a "to-do."

At one point, we talked about a conference held annually each September, and the desire of one of the committee members for me to able to attend. I jotted a note on the next blank line to research the dates for that conference and mark it tentatively on my calendar. As you might guess, I preceded this "to-do" with another asterisk.

At another point, we set several future dates. We each checked our respective calendars to be sure we were free. I jotted those dates in my journal, again preceded by an asterisk. Why did I not just enter those dates into my BlackBerry's calendar and be done with it?

Two reasons. First, I need to let my wife know about those dates so that she can put them on her calendar. If I simply entered them on my BlackBerry, there would be no "trigger" to later share these dates with her. Even though my calendar is also synced to Outlook and to a Google calendar to which my wife has access, there is an important point to be made. When dates simply appear on calendars with no notification to its owner, it's a recipe for disaster.

Secondly, good meetings take preparation. When I sit down to process the meeting notes and place the dates on my calendar, I also have the opportunity to think through what preparation needs to happen, and place those to-dos in my task list.

During a three-hour meeting, I must admit there were times when my mind wandered. I thought about things I need to handle that had nothing to do with the subject of that meeting. Where did I write those things down? Right on the next blank line with asterisks in front of any to-do. Nobody knew whether I was taking notes about the subject of the meeting or something entirely different.

When the meeting was over, I had a plenty of notes germane to the agenda. I had some "to-dos" related to that agenda. I also had to-dos related to "ooVoo" and other items totally apart from the purpose of the meeting. Yes, those notes were all mixed together. The important thing is that taking those notes was easy. There was no question about where to write. There was no "drag." There was nothing that discouraged liberal note-taking. The next thing got written on the next line. Later, I process the notes. I make decisions about what needs to be done, put the to-dos in my list and assign due dates.

Once I have processed my notes, I will probably never have to look them again. But if I do, they are easy to find. If I know the date, I know exactly where to look, whether it's a meeting, a phone call, or any other interaction where I would be taking notes.

This discussion may have been too detailed for some, but hopefully right on target for others who want the detailed "day in the life" scenario I have given you here.

After three posts related to taking notes, how has this series changed your thoughts? How has it reinforced your thoughts? What changes do you see down the road that may change the way we all approach this activity?

Puzzled About Where to Take Notes? Part II

2012-01-25T01:30:00.000-06:00

Reading the previous post is a prerequisite for understanding the argument I make here. If you have not already read that post, please take a moment to do so now.

Over the last several years, I have begun to notice more and more people taking notes on laptops convention sessions. In the last two years, iPads and other tablets are becoming more frequent. In addition, I notice a huge difference in what is being used depending on the type of convention. At a technology event, it seems the vast majority are using technology to take notes. At non-tech conferences, paper still rules. Do those who take notes digitally know something others don't. Do some of them use take notes digitally simply because they think that's what they are supposed to be doing?

My Own Experiment
Even though my paper journal is working, I am always open to a better way of doing something...provided it is truly better and not just different. I recently attended a full-day workshop and took the opportunity for an experiment...taking the notes that day on my tablet.

The seminar room was outfitted with round tables, so I had an excellent flat surface for the tablet. It did not take me long to figure out that I was less attuned to the speakers than I would have been with my paper journal.

At the end of the day, I had produced pages of digital notes instead of pages of hand-written journal notes. "Not much of a difference," I thought. I am still left with the task of dissecting those notes to determine what the to-dos are, just as if I was using paper. I now had to file those digital notes somewhere on my computer back home.

Since the days activities really touched on several different subjects, figuring out how to file them by subject would take more time that the set of notes was worth. Remember the Stanford 87% rule? These notes just didn't seem like they were going to be make the 13% cut. If I transfer the notes to some sort of chronological filing system, I have exactly the same thing as I would have had with my paper journal, and nothing more. With my paper journal, filing consists of closing the book. I just don't think I can match that sort of speed with the digital notes.

But What If I Want to Share?
What if I want to share those notes with the world? Wouldn't that be a reason to take the notes digitally and then post them later? Absolutely...but, I am a firm believer that what is posted for everyone to see should be of quality.

I learned in college that when you take notes, you often do not know for sure what is important and what is a bird-walk. Some parts of the lecture may even be confusing. So, during my college days, I took notes on scrap paper. I did not worry about a neat outline form. Thinking about the form takes away from thinking about what's going on in the class. I didn't worry about spelling. I worried about getting the content on paper.

Later in the day, I re-copied those notes into my notebook. It was during that time I made decisions about what was important and what could be omitted. I looked up words if I was unsure of the spelling. I consulted the textbook on points which were unclear. When I was finished, the notes were pristine. I had something of quality. I had something that would insure success on the test, the final exam, and during graduate courses...success on comps.

What does that have to do with sharing your meeting or convention notes? Everything. How good is the first draft of your notes going to be? Whether you take them initially on paper or in digital form, you experience the same challenges I did with all of those college courses. Revision, and lots of it, is essential if the result is going to be of quality.

There comes a point where so much revision is needed that starting with a blank screen is easier. If you are going to share notes with a large number of people, take the time to give them something of quality. Lay the notes, either handwriting or digital, alongside a fresh screen. Create a neat outline form. Improve the wording from the original. Omit the superfluous. Then, share your quality product with others.

My Take
Perhaps I will have different advice some time in the future. But for now, I am sticking with the paper journal. I trap the notes in the journal and then close the book. No filing. No re-copying. Later, I read the notes and decide what I actually need to do. The "to-dos" go in my digital task list. That's it. At the end of the month, I reference the notes in the digital "Table of Contents" outlined in both of my books. I have not found anything easier...and I am all about easy!

What is your method for taking notes? If you have a digital method, I would like to hear about it. If you have a good paper system, I would welcome hearing about that as well.

Puzzled About Where to Take Notes?

2012-01-23T01:30:00.000-06:00

As students, we sat down in class and opened our notebooks before the teacher spoke a word. Taking notes was simply a given part of the classroom experience.

As adults, we attend meetings and workshops. We play a part in committees. We have one-on-one discussions with colleagues or parents. Opening a notebook and preparing to take notes has been as standard in the adult world as it was when we were students.

Today, we have laptops, computers, and Smartphones. How do those tools change the way we take notes ? It's a concept I have pondered for literally more than 10 years.

The Move from Paper to Digital
A decade a go, I was a devoted Day-Timer user, and had been for probably 10 years.The right-hand page of my two-page-per-day page format provided me the perfect place for taking notes on that which came up during the day. When the "Palm Pilot" became a popular tool, I considered buying one, having long been intrigued with the idea of keeping a calendar and to-do list digitally. Repeating appointments and tasks would be entered once. To-dos which were not done would roll over to the next day without having to be re-written. The problem was obvious. Getting up fron the computer also meant getting up from the calendar and to-do list. The ability sync the Palm Pilot to the computer made digital organization practical. (The company later dropped the "Pilot," allowing the device to become known as the "Palm")

For me, there was but one hesitation, and it delayed my decision to "go digital" for two years. Handling the calendar and to-do list digitally would be easy. But how would I handle my "right-hand page," my system of documentation that served me well?

Having thought I had worked out a solution, I bought a Palm. That was exactly 10 years ago this month. I immediately started to sync my Palm with Outlook. To this day, I am an avid Outlook and sync with a BlackBerry. The calendar and to-do list have worked beautifully, as have the address book and notes. One aspect of my system, however, was very clunky, and that was my system of note taking. Nothing I tried worked as well as my Day-Timer's right hand page. Somewhere along the process, I realized going 100% digital was not the best way. One part of my life needed to be paper-based.

Enter the Journal
Follow me around for a day, and you would see me pull that Palm (back then or or BlackBerry today) from my pocket to check a date or refer to the to-do list which drives my days. But watch me in a meeting, a one-on-one conference, or a phone call, and you would see me open my paper journal. It's nothing more than blank lined pages. You can pick up one with a nice cover and quality paper at any local book store.

Where one day leaves off, the next picks up. When the meeting, or conference, or phone call is over, the note taking is over. Close the book, and I am done. Nothing gets re-copied anywhere. Nothing gets filed.

I do one very important thing with those notes. Later in the day, I look at them and make decisions on what I need to do about them, if anything, Whatever actually needs to happen about those notes goes into my Outlook task list. When a page has been filled with notes and I have made the appropriate decisions about the to-dos, I clip the corner of the page. That act tells which pages are now done.

Stanford University conducted a study which revealed 87% of filed papers are never referenced again. The same is probably true of my hand-written notes. In both Get Organized! and Organization Made Easy!, I outline my method for referencing any notes, no matter how long ago they were taken. If there is an 87% chance I will never need to refer to those again, the last thing I want to do is spend a great deal of time filing them. In my case, filing them consists of closing the book!

Where Do You Take Notes Today?
When I attend conventions, I make a mental note of how people are taking notes now. In the next post, I will share those observations and my thoughts on best practice.

What are your thoughts on note taking during workshops, meetings, etc. in your own life? What is your method? What problems are you seeing?

See you at the Alabama National Board Certified Teachers Network Conference

2012-01-22T13:38:00.000-06:00

Do You Know About This Student Planner (Christian Schools)?

2012-01-20T01:30:00.001-06:00

While I was at the Southern Division Teachers' Conference, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Rodney Rathmann, who introduced me to the Concordia Student Planner. I have long been an advocate of student planners as a way of giving students a tool for organizing their lives. If you are in a Christian school and interested in using student planners, this one is excellent.

The features I like about this planner include the following:

Monthly calendars are provided in the front of the book. Students can see the "big picture."
The weekly page layout is in rows and columns, much like a teacher plan book. Students can look across the page and see everything about one subject, or look down the page and see everything about a particular day.
Subjects are labeled, but there is an extra, unlabeled, row at the bottom. Students can use this row for after-school activities.
An extra column is provided for spelling words. My thought is if the teacher did not need this feature, students could use the column for weekend activities. After all, the planner is not a tool just for school. It is the one tool to help them navigate their lives, and that includes after school and days when school is not in session.
The first date in the planner is August 1, and the last date is June 30. I have not seen any planner provide more coverage of the complete year than this one. Students have pages which carry them through the Christmas break, spring break, and well into the summer. Only during the month of July are they left without space in the planner.
The planner provides resource material such as maps of the United States and world, multiplication tables, and information on U.S. Presidents. The back cover even serves as a ruler marked in inches and centimeters.
The planner also provides reference information particularly helpful for Christian schools. Students have an outline of the church year. They have a list of the Parables of Jesus as well as Biblical references to the miracles he performed. A list of books of the Bible, information on Disciples, and other Christian information is included.

You can view sample pages in the planner with this link. For more information and to order, visit this page on Concordia's website.

The new school year is far in the future in the minds of students. But for the administrators who must plan for it, the new school year is now. The actions they take over the next several months will shape the success of next year. Choosing and ordering planners is one of those actions.

Does your school use student planners? What thoughts do you have on their value?

Free Dropbox Ebook

2012-01-18T01:00:00.000-06:00

Having a tool is one thing. Having a plan for how it will fit into your system is another. This ebook was written for those who attended last week's webinar, yet it is free for anyone for a limited time.

Click on the cover to download the ebook. Once you have looked through it, please let me know your thoughts. If this was your introduction to Dropbox, I would be interested in knowing your experience with using the ebook to get started. If you are a Dropbox vet, what do I need to include on future revisions?

Why You Should Start Buying Your Christmas Presents Now

2012-01-16T01:30:00.000-06:00

You may be thinking I made a mistake by scheduling this post for now. Shouldn't it have appeared in November, or at the very latest, early December?

While wrapping presents last month, Davonia commented that she started buying those presents in January. On a legal pad, she had written what she had bought for each person, how much she had paid, and what the regular price would have been. On average, she had saved 75%.

The result was she had been shopping at stores that were not crowded, where sales personnel could give her more attention, and where the stress level was lower. She saved money through buying on sale, and as a result, was able to give everyone better presents!

How to Do It
Ideas for gifts will present themselves at the most unexpected times. So will great buys on gifts. Whether you organize with paper or organize digitally, the keys are knowing what you have bought, what ideas for gift remain, and a place to house both in your system.

For Paper Planners
If you use a paper planner, I advocate having a page in the back for each of your goals or projects. In this section of your planner, you will have a page labeled "Christmas Gifts." Down the page, list the names of family and friends for whom you plan to buy. Leave several blank lines between names. Your list may spill over to the back of the page or even onto a second of third page.

As gift ideas occur to you, immediately flip to that page and jot them down under the correct name. When you actually purchase a gift, make a notation beside the gift.

You also need a trigger that occasionally forces you to look at that page and evaluate where you stand. Create a task which repeats each month and says something like, "Examine Christmas Gift List." This simple trigger will insure that once a month, you at least glance at the list people for whom you have ideas, who has nothing on their list, who has gifts bought, and which gifts you want to be make a concerted effort to secure during the next month.

In January, your trigger to examine the list should be enough to cause you to start a fresh list. Recopy your names. Perhaps some of the "ideas" from last year were not actually purchased and can be copied onto the new list as possibilities for the next Christmas. If you like to keep a record of the gifts you buy from year to year, take out the old page and add it to your reference files.

For Those Who Plan Digitally
The need for a trigger is the same as for those who plan with paper. Create a new task called, "Christmas gifts have been purchased." In the note section of the task, list the names of family and friends to whom you will give gifts. Below each name, list the gift ideas, one per line. As you actually purchase those gifts, add a notation beside the gift.

You will need a trigger to cause you to periodically look at that list. Make the task a monthly repeating task, and you insure that once a month you are looking at it and evaluating it for what ideas need to be generated or what needs to be purchased.

When an idea comes to mind, you need to be able to find that task quickly and add your idea. Use your smartphone's search feature to find "Christmas gifts," and you are automatically looking at the task.

The Christmas rush is through...for now. But come next December, that rush will be back. The stores will be crowded. The days will be jam packed. You will wish you had started earlier! So, now is your chance, the chance to start earlier, the chance to make next Christmas less stressful and more merry.

Webinar Follow-Up: Your Questions Answered (Part II)

2012-01-16T01:00:00.000-06:00

In this post, we continue with questions posed during the "Free Tech Tools for a More Productive New Year" webinar. In the last post, we answered questions related to Dropbox. Here are questions related to iGoogle, Google Docs forms, and reQall.

1. Will Safari support an iGoogle home page?

Yes. You can use any browser to access your iGoogle page.

2. You talked about sending e-mails to people who had requested tickets to the graduation ceremony where Dr. Condoleezza Rice was the guest speaker. Did you have to hand enter all of those e-mails?

Composing the email was a matter of copy, paste, and clean-up. I highlighted the column with the e-mails from the first response all the way down to the last person that could have been seated in our auditorium. I then copied and pasted that information into a Word document. Starting with the last name, I hit the "Home" key, "Backspace," a semicolon, and a space. I kept doing that until I had all of the e-mails in one long string that went all the way across the page and wrapped from line to line. I then highlighted and copied the whole block and pasted it into the bcc line of the e-mail.

The next step was to go back to Google Docs and perform the same task with the rest of the e-mail addresses, those for the people who would watch closed-circuit TV from the high school gym.

3. Can I use Google forms to create a test?

Yes. On one level, it is very easy to create a test on Google Docs. Students would take the test by clicking the link you provide, and their answers would appear on your Google Docs spreadsheet. Instead of having a stack of papers to grade, student answers would all appear in one spreadsheet.

On a different level, it is possible to construct the Google Docs spreadsheet where it will also grade the students' work. The caveat is that the answers must have a one-to-one character match with the answer key. For example, you could do multiple choice tests. You could do spelling tests. Short answer questions would not work since each person's answer may vary slightly in wording from what you entered in the answer key.

For more information on this topic, take a look at this post.

4. I teach English and the readings are rather long for a form. Is there a limit to the length of the question?

I took a passage about half a page in length and pasted it into the spreadsheet. Realize this means pasting the entire block of text into one cell. Google Docs allowed me to do it and displayed all of the text when I created the form.

I found, however, that I could not break the text into paragraphs. If there was a paragraph break, Google Docs would paste the text from paragraph 2 into row 2, text from paragraph 3 into row 3, etc., which is no good. Since the longer passages you are talking about probably more than one paragraph in length, Google Docs would not work for a test with long reading passages.

If anyone else does some playing around with this concept and finds something significant, I would certainly like to know!

5. Does reQall only work with English language? Does it recognize accents?

I had never thought about this point before. I tried having Spanish spoken into reQall, but it became obvious reQall was trying to match what it heard with English words in its database. "¿Habla usted español?" came back as, "Home instead espanol." "Buenos días, señorita" came back, "Buenos dias senor burritto."

6. Do you manage to-dos on reQall or manually enter into your own list?

I personally use reQall for one thing: getting information that comes to me out of my brain and into my e-mail. Then, when I sit down to handle my e-mail, I will see the reQall message I created and act on it. I am a heavy Outlook user and routinely use "drag and drop" to turn e-mails into tasks.If the e-mail is not something I am going to act on right then, I "drag and drop" it to the Task list. I can do any rewording, choose a start and end date for the task, and save.

You could, however, use reQall as your to-do list. In this case, you would download the reQall app to your Smartphone and download the reQall gadget to your iGoogle page. Now, when you speak and include a a term such as "Saturday" or "August 21," reQall automatically assigns the appropriate due date.

In addition, you can manually enter tasks along with due dates on the reQall website or on the reQall Smartphone app. Personally, I like Outlook because it gives me calendar, to-do list, contacts, reference material, and e-mail all in one program. But if you do not have Outlook, using reQall as your to-do list is not a bad option.

7. If we missed the first part of this webinar, is it available online? Will this be archived so we can access it again? I would like to go back over some the of the instructions.

The webinar is now available on demand. Go to this link. If you already registered for the webinar, you will see one link to click. You will be asked for the e-mail address you gave when you registered. The webinar will stay up for around 60 days, so you can watch it as often as you like. We covered a great deal of ground, so watching a second or even third time will help with things you may have missed the first time.

I did notice when I watched the webinar myself that you do not seem to be able to pause the webinar or to skip forwards or backwards. (If I missed something, someone please correct me.) So, pick a time when you could watch straight through without interruption.

8. May I share the archive with colleagues and refer to planners for a conference I attend?

Absolutely! Have them go to the same link we talked about in the last question. Someone who did not register for the webinar original will see a link which will ask for some information, and then they will be able to proceed with the webinar.

If what you saw would fit with a conference you attend, please share this with with the conference planners. I think people are hungry for practical things they can implement immediately, and that's what I have tried to provide.

9. Where do you find these types of tools? From reading tech mags? I'm just always amazed about these things that exist, yet I've never heard of them!

What a super question and great way for me to plug using Web 2.0 as your personal learning network! I subscribe to over 100 blogs, and use Google Reader to bring all of the new content to one place (on my iGoogle home page) to make it easy.

At the same time, I am pretty ruthless about using as few tools as I get by with. When I read about the capabilities of new tools, I ask myself if I already have something that does pretty much the same thing. If the answer is "yes," and what I have is working, I stick with it. If it's something that fills a void, however, devote some time to mastering it and immediately start using it. Each of the tools you saw in this webinar fit in that second category. There was nothing like them in my arsenal, and each made a huge difference in my productivity.

What other questions do you have about the webinar? If you are just learning about it through reading these last couple of posts, this is your invitation to listen to it and then return here to ask your own questions.

Webinar Follow-Up: Answers to Your Questions (Part I)

2012-01-13T01:30:00.000-06:00

Again, thanks to everyone who attended "Free Tech Tools for a More Productive New Year." We packed a great deal of content into that one-hour webinar. There were some great questions in the chat area. Some we were able to answer during the webinar.

Today's post is part 1 of 2 to answer some addition questions.First of all, the drawing for the free book I am offering will be at 9:00 CST this Sunday night. Remember, there are 3 ways you can become eligible.

Now, on with the questions:

1. How secure are Dropbox and Google Docs?

Here is a good article on Google Docs. It is a bit on the technical side, but should relieve any concerns you may have. Dropbox provides this article about its security. This article provides a question/answer with Dropbox. All transport of file data and filemetadata occurs over SSL. All files are encrypted with AES-256 before being stored on the servers at Dropbox. These standards are the same that banks and the military use to protect their data.

As always, the greatest security threat comes at the user level. Sharing passwords, leaving passwords lying around, choosing passwords that are easy to guess, and using one password for everything continue to be the real threats to security.

2. Why do school systems often block Dropbox?

Here is a good discussion on that point. My take is that a system administrator does not have control over a person's Dropbox account, and therefore a person could download or upload illegal material from a school computer via their Dropbox account. The easiest way to prevent this problem is to ban Dropbox.

3. How do you get Dropbox on your phone or tablet?

The best place to go is wherever you download other apps for your particular device. In other words, if you use an iPhone, go to the iTunes store from your iPhone or your iPad and search for "Dropbox." Android users would go to the Android Market. BlackBerry users would go to Blackberry App World. If you use the BlackBerry Playbook as your tablet, you will search for "Bluebox," which is currently the closest thing to a Dropbox app currently available.

4. If you install the Dropbox on your personal computer, can you pull it up from your work computer without having to download it?

Yes. Simply go to Dropbox.com and log into your account. You can open any of your files.

In that particular format, however, the file is going to be "read only," just like when you open a file attached to an e-mail message. If you want to make changes, you would have to save that document to your computer. Be sure to save it with the same name it had originally. Now, you can upload the new version to Dropbox, and it overwrites the old version. You would follow this same procedure, for example, if you were on a trip and had to get to your information from the computer in the hotel business center.

As you see, it's easier if you have downloaded that "My Dropbox" folder to your computer. That way, your files automatically sync every time you save.

5. Can you put a Dropbox gadget on your iGoogle page?

The answer used to be "yes." In fact, in one of the slides you saw during the webinar, it actually showed a Dropbox gadget on my iGoogle page. Dropbox had made some changes that have now caused that gadget to no longer work.

6. Not sure I understand the essential folders in Dropbox and how you organize them.

I am going to put together a very short "e-book" that will explain in detail how I set all of this up. The thing I find is that many people have a Dropbox account, but because they don't really have a clear picture of how it can work, they don't really use it. Check back next week for that e-book.

7. Is there a way to back-up Dropbox just in case?

Dropbox actually serves as a backup to what you have on your computer, and vice-versa. Anything in your "My Dropbox" folder is saved to the cloud as well as to all of your other devices. If your computer were to crash, you could get to those files from your other devices. If you lost all of your devices due to a fire, tornado, or robbery, you could go to any computer, log into your Dropbox account, and view or download any of your documents.

Thanks for your questions! Tune in again Monday for answers to questions on iGoogle, Google Docs forms, and reQall.

Eye on Education Webinar Follow-Up

2012-01-10T16:30:00.000-06:00

If you participated in the Eye on Education webinar, "Free Tech Tools for a More Productive New Year," this post is a follow-up.

Staying Connected
If you liked what you heard and would like more, here are several ways you can keep in touch:

Check out our website. In addition to general information on what we do, you will find a page of free resources.
Follow me on Twitter.
"Like" my Facebook page and check back for updates.
Subscribe to my free monthly newsletter.
Bring new blog posts straight to your e-mail.
Read Get Organized! and/or Organization Made Easy!
Bring me to your school or organization.

iGoogle
If you are interested in adding to your iGoogle page some of the same gadgets I have on mine, here is an easy way to get them. As you click each link, you will be taken to a page that describes the gadget and lets you click a button to automatically add it to your iGoogle page.

Google Bookmarks
Google Reader
Yahoo News
Twitter
Facebook
Bit.ly URL Shortener
Weather
reQall
Toodledo
People.com
MapQuest Driving Directions
Area/Zip Code Lookup
Music
YouTube
Document to PDF
Movies
GoogleDocs
GoogleCalendar
Google Map Search
Portfolio Monitor
Calculator
Stopwatch
Flight Status
WolframAlpha

Here is how to make iGoogle (your homepage).

Dropbox
Want to set up a Dropbox account? Here is an easy way for you to set up an account and get an extra 250MB of free storage for both you and me. Click here to sign up.

Google Docs Forms
We mentioned briefly about students being able to take tests on the computer which are instantly graded and item analysis conducted. Here is a post that goes into more depth on that concept. (Sorry, we actually didn't get to this one.The link will explain the concept. If this is something your school would serious like to pursue, let me know.)

In a time where tablets are becoming popular, conducting classroom walk-throughs is an extremely practical use of collecting and organizing data.

Here are the steps for creating a walk-through form using Google Docs and then getting that walk-through form onto your tablet.

Design your walk-through form on paper. You may wish to begin with a paper form you are already using. Only after you have thought through how you want the form to look should you go to the computer.
Log into your Google account and go to docs.google.com. You will see a list of all of the Google Docs you have already created.
Click “Create New” and choose “Spreadsheet.”
In Row 1 enter each of the questions that will go on the form. (Examples: Teacher name, Subject, Resources Being Used, Objective/Essential question posted?, Student activity, Number of students not actively engaged, Teacher activity, Level of questioning, Overall comments). Press the tab key to go from column to column. Note: You do NOT need to have a column for the date. The date and time of the walk-through will automatically be gathered for you.
From the “Tools” menu, choose “Form” and “Create a form.” You will now see a form with your column heading already listed. Below each item will be a short blank where you could enter a response.
While some fields lend themselves well to a short answer, for others, a drop-down list, series of check-boxes, paragraph text box, etc. will be a better fit. As you move the mouse down the page, each item will turn a beige color and display a series of icons to the right. Click the pencil icon to decide what type of response you want and create your list of checkboxes, items on drop-down list, etc.
Each question will display a “make this a required question” checkbox. It is a good idea to check this box. That will keep you from overlooking an item. Click “Done" when you have finished editing that item.
At the top of the form is a button called “Theme.” Click it, and you can choose from an array of attractive looks for your form.
At the very bottom of the form, you will see “You can view the published form here” followed by a rather long URL. This is a very important step! Highlight and copy that link.
By this time, Google Docs has probably prompted you to save the spreadsheet. If not, click “Save.”
Now we want to get this form on your BlackBerry PlayBook, iPad or other tablet device you will be using in the walk-throughs. You can also use the form with a Smartphone, although the size may be too small for you to use comfortably.
Open a new e-mail on your computer, paste the link from the bottom of the Google Docs form in the body, and address the e-mail to yourself. Send the e-mail.
Go to your PlayBook, iPad, or other tablet. Check your e-mail, looking for the one you sent to yourself.
Open the e-mail, and click the link. You should now be looking at your walk-through form.
Your tablet should offer you a way to save a URL as a “shortcut” on your home screen. For example, on the PlayBook, you will tap the hollow star and choose “Add to Home Screen.” You have now created an app for the walk-through form.

What Do You Want to Do With Your Life?

2012-01-09T01:30:00.000-06:00

Setting long-term goals has long been an important theme in time-management literature. While I have always been good at setting and accomplishing short-term goals, defining goals for how my life will look years from now has been a missing part of the puzzle. That missing link came into focus four years ago. It happened by added a new twist to a well-established practice.

For many years, my wife and I have composed a Christmas letter which we enclose in the cards sent each December. The letters recap the events of the past year so that friends who live in other parts of the country can keep up with what we were doing. The letters also serve to help the two of us reflect on the year just passed.

It was in January four years ago that I did something simple that turned out to be very powerful. One afternoon in January, I wrote the holidays letters for each of the upcoming three years. I wrote them as if those years had already passed and were now being recounted to friends. This act forced me to write with the same level of specificity I have always used to recount the past year.I saved the letters and reviewed them each month. Every month those thoughts were being presented to me. Once a month, I was being reminded of the direction in which I hoped our lives would be headed.

When December arrived and I sat down to write the actual holiday letter which would be mailed, the similarity between what I wrote back in January and what had actually come to pass was remarkably similar. Consciously, I had done nothing differently. Subconsciously, quite a bit was different.

Every day presents little choices that move us either closer to our desired future or farther from it. That once-a-month reminder seems to be making a difference for me. I offer this one simple idea, "Christmas Letters from the Future" for your consideration.

Guest Post: Get Organized for College

2012-01-06T01:06:00.000-06:00

A new year means a new semester for college students. If last semester did not go well, the culprit was probably poor organization and time management habits. This guest post by Maria Salsbury is aimed at helping college students with habits which lead to collegiate success.

College students have a great deal of time on their hands and usually little structure from professors about how to accomplish assignments and complete readings. For most students, it's a very different experience from being in high school, where teachers gave very specific instructions about how to finish classwork in order to receive an acceptable grade. As a result, students in conventional schools and taking online college classes must find ways to manage their own time wisely and develop study skills in order to be successful in their college careers.

Know What's Required
When you begin each class, you should receive a course syllabus that outlines all the assignments and reading material. Professors will tell you when certain readings should be done generally, but may not set a specific reading schedule for you to follow. It's up to you to know what reading you have to complete and when papers and other assignments are due. Carefully read all the syllabi for all your courses and make up a schedule outlining when assignments are due and what preparation (research, gathering materials, working with team members, etc.) you need to complete ahead of time in order to complete your assignments.

Set Up Specific Goals
The University of Chicago recommends using the SMART TIPS method of goal-setting for time management and study skills:

S – Be specific with tasks (read first chapter in biomechanics, not study biomechanics).
M – Use measurable targets (read for 45 minutes and complete first short essay, not study for 8 hours).
A – Attainable (study biomechanics for 30 minutes each day, not complete biomechanics thesis in one day).R – Realistic (go to class each day, not get only A’s for grades for the quarter).
T – Timely (choose first essay topic two weeks before due date, not begin working on first essay the day before it is due).

T – Take a break. Our attention span is generally about 20 minutes long, so take breaks and engage in other activities to keep your mind active and fresh.
I – Invigorate. Interact with others and socialize. Get regular exercise.
P – Plan study space. Set up a study space that is conducive to studying and working on your assignments. If this means turning off the television, phone, or other distractions, then do it.
S – Set priorities. Evaluate daily and weekly priorities and make adjustments as needed.

Use Study Groups
One way students can manage their time effectively is to have a joint study schedule with other people. Study groups will lead you to stay on a study schedule in order to participate in the group and be supported by other group members. Study groups are also a great way to add socialization to your academic activities and keep some balance in your student life.

Keep a Regular Schedule
Far too often it's easy to be tempted to pull all-nighters or party over the weekends and blow off study time. The problem is it then becomes easy to drift away from your academic priorities and goals and getting back on track can be even more difficult. By keeping a regular daily schedule it becomes much easier to manage your time wisely and keep your priorities on track.

Get Organized
Part of time management as a student (or in any role) is simply being organized. Organization helps you tell at a glance what tasks need to be completed and when they need to be completed. Use a calendar to note milestones for each assignment and when assignments are due. For example, you can track your reading pace throughout the semester or quarter, so that you can stay ahead of your reading. Most cell phones now have calendar functions that can be synched with project management calendars, which can make it very easy to mark finished assignments and add projects.

Effectively managing your time as a student can be critical to your success in school and beyond. Unlike high school, in college it's up to you to stay on top of your course work and complete your assignments on time. Most professors and instructors at the college level don't look favorably on students who can't manage their own time wisely. Time management is a skill you'll need no matter what you do, so developing it early in your college career will serve you well the rest of your life.

Marina Salsbury planned on becoming a teacher since high school, but found her way instead into online writing after college. She writes on the Web about everything from education to exercise.

Gift Cards, Groupons...Use Them, Not Lose Them. Here's How.

2012-01-04T01:30:00.000-06:00

Christmas has passed, and if you are like me, you have received gift cards to your favorite restaurants. In addition, you may be a subscriber to Groupon, Living Social, or a similar program allowing you to to buy meal vouchers for half price.

As great as these items are, they are no good if they are not used. Each year, billions of dollars worth of gift cards go unused because people lose them or simply forget they have them. How can you keep from joining this crowd? The solution is actually very simple.

All you need is a set of tickler files plus one more blank file folder. I like hanging files for my ticklers. One reason is the ability to slide manilla folders into them.

Label the additional file something like "Gift Cards, "Gift Vouchers," "Free Food," or whatever appeals to you. Put all of your gift cards in that folder. As for the Groupon vouchers, put them in the same folder organized by expiration date. The voucher with the most immediate expiration goes in the front of the folder.

Put the entire folder in the tickler file for the upcoming Saturday. On Saturday, the file folder becomes a trigger to sit down with your spouse and decide which ones you may wish to use during the next week. Pull those candidates from the folder. Place them in the tickler file for the day you decided you wanted to use each one. Refile the folder for the next Saturday.

Nothing slips through the cracks. Once each week, you are reminding yourself what gift cards and vouchers you have remaining and any expiration dates and making using them part of your weekly planning. The process can take as little as one minute.

Every year, people waste billions of dollars through lost or forgotten gift cards and vouchers. In 2012, this situation need not describe you!

Free Tech Tools for a More Productive New Year

2012-01-02T11:12:00.000-06:00

Free Webinar

January 104:30 EST/3:30 CST

Click here to register

iGoogle
Dropbox
Google Docs Forms
reQall

Every year, one of the most popular New Year's resolutions is to"Get Organized!" This free, hour-long webinar shows you how to make life easier with four game-changing technology tools.

This webinar shows you how to:

Use iGoogle to organize all of your Internet resources.
Use Dropbox to instantly backup your documents and give you access to then from anywhere.
Use Google Docs to forever change the way you think about paper forms.
Use reQall to trap voice notes on the fly. Have them show up as text in your e-mail.

Are any of these tools brand new to you? If so, this webinar will give you the background you need to get up and going the same day.

Already familiar with one or more? Gain some new ideas for how to use these great tools.

Space is limited, so sign up today!

Facebook Activity Log

2011-12-30T01:00:00.000-06:00

The latest major change to Facebook is the new profile look, called the "Timeline." Being careful about the content you post, and monitoring what others post to your wall, has always been important. The Timeline makes this monitoring process even more important.

On your Timeline, the "Activity Log" is a complete list of your photos and activities you have posted on Facebook. You have the ability to hide content or specify who sees certain items. Going through the Activity Log to tweak what is appearing to others is a good idea, especially for those who are prone to posting pictures they may not want coworkers or potential employers to see.

This video demonstrates how the Activity Log works.

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What are your thoughts on the new look brought about by the Timeline?

Change...and Learning to Dial Your Rotary Phone

2011-12-28T01:51:00.000-06:00

Wouldn't you love to have heard the comment when this "modern technology" was about to replace the comfortable routine. And how impersonal it is! No longer would Andy pick up the receiver and say, "Sara, would you ring over at Floyd's Barber Shop?"

Looking back allows us to look forward. What practices do we cling to because they are familiar, yet years from now, people can hardly believe how we resisted the change?

In a wonderful book entitled Drumming to the Beat of Different Marchers, author Debbie Silver included the following quote that so eloquently goes to the heart of why change is so difficult:

It's not so much that we're afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it's that place in between that we fear . . . . It's like being between trapezes. It's Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There's nothing to hold on to.

—Marilyn Ferguson in The Aquarian Conspiracy

It's a reminder of one of my favorite quotes:

When you come to the edge of all the light you know, and you are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.
-Richard Bach in Jonathan Livingston Seagull

As a new year approaches for us all, change is a given. There will be those times when you feel you are between trapezes. There will be those times when you feel you about to step off into the darkness. In no time, you have learned to fly!

What worries you about the year ahead? What excites you?

Eye on Education Interviews

2011-12-26T01:29:00.000-06:00

As we approach a new year, not to mention "Get Organized Month," today's post recalls a two-part interview with Eye on Education published in March, 2011. Part 1 focuses on the collision between organization and technology in my career. That interview can be read here.

In Part 2, we look at my favorite on-line tool, the battle with procrastination, and student memories from my days as a band director. That interview can be read here.

For Unto Us a Child is Born

2011-12-25T01:27:00.000-06:00

O Come, All Ye Faithful

2011-12-24T01:54:00.000-06:00

King's College (Cambridge, England)

Celtic Woman-"O Come, All Ye Faithful"

2011-12-23T20:30:00.000-06:00

Celtic Woman and "O Come, All Ye Faithful."

Play from Your Strengths: The Magic of "Appreciations"

2011-12-23T01:00:00.000-06:00

In Making Ideas Happen, Scott Belsky talks about master storyteller Jay O'Callahan and the workshops he would conduct. Following each participant's presentation, the other participants would, in turn, talk about the things they appreciated most about the presentation they had just heard. "Appreciations" provides feedback which focuses on the strengths of the presentation rather than the weaknesses.

Belsky said of his own experience in O'Callahan's workshop, "And I noticed that a natural recalibration happens when you commend someone's strengths: their weaknesses are lessened as their strengths are emphasized. As my storytelling compatriots recounted their stories a second and third time, the points of weakness withered away naturally as the most beautiful parts became stronger." (page 197)

In a post called "Play From Your Strengths," I talk about authors such as John Maxwell and Peter Drucker whose philosophies are much the same as what Belsky articulated. In a society that tends to focus on shoring up weaknesses, here is a philosophy which asks us to focus on taking what is strong and make it stronger.

What would happen if we spent more time focusing on our strengths? Would we be better off? Or, are we escaping reality? What do you think?

O Magnum Mysterium

2011-12-20T01:20:00.000-06:00

Here is a rendition of one of the season's more beautiful works performed by a truly spectacular group. Enjoy the King's College Choir.

Latin text

O magnum mysterium,
et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,
jacentem in praesepio!
Beata Virgo, cujus viscera
meruerunt portare
Dominum Christum.
Alleluia.

English translation

O great mystery,
and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the new-born Lord,
lying in a manger!
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb
was worthy to bear
Christ the Lord.
Alleluia!

My Top Four Uses for Vlingo

2011-12-19T01:30:00.000-06:00

In November, I posted this information about Vlingo.The best way to describe it to someone who has never heard of it but has been watching the television since the release if iPhone 4S is to say, "It's like Siri." In fact, on December 15 and 16, I posted videos to my Facebook page which provide side-by-side comparisons of Vlingo with Siri. If you would like to visit that page, and hopefully "Like" it while you are there, go to Facebook.com/DrFrankBuck.

Here are the top four ways in which I have been using Vlingo that make increase productivity:

Dial phone numbers through voice commands. I push one button and say, "Call John Doe cell phone," and Vlingo places the call.
Compose e-mail by voice. I can push one key and say,"E-mail [person's name]...subject [I speak my desired subject line]...message [I speak the body of the message]." When I stop talking, Vlingo composes the e-mail and presents it to me for verification. If there is mistake, I can use the keyboard to make corrections and send.
Leave myself a reminder. For a couple of years, I have been a heavy reQall user. Vlingo gives me the same capabilities. I press one key, say "Note to self," and speak my reminder. Vlingo composes an e-mail message to me. I can examine it for accuracy before I hit "send." My reminder is there in my e-mail for me to handle as I am handling other e-mail messages.
Performing searches. Pressing one button and saying, "Pizza" returns a list of pizza parlors in my vicinity along with phone numbers. I can perform similar searches for such things as movies. More importantly, I can perform a Google search by voice. I press one button and speak whatever I would normally type into the Google search window. Vlingo returns the Google search results.

I have described four uses; however, there are quite a few more. You can update Facebook or compose a Tweet through voice commands. You can set Vlingo to read new e-mail messages aloud as you are driving. You can also open allocations on your phone through voice commands.

Vlingo is available for BlackBerry, Android,iPhone, Nokia,and Windows Mobile. If you are a BlackBerry user, you will want to grab this app by December 31, while it is being offered for free! It normally sells for $19.99. On your BlackBerry, go to the BlackBerry App World icon and search for "Vlingo."

A Social Media Christmas

2011-12-18T06:44:00.000-06:00

If we had Facebook back then...

Galway Christmas

2011-12-17T01:33:00.000-06:00

Google Mobile App

2011-12-16T01:42:00.000-06:00

The advertising surrounding Siri has certainly created interest in the voice recognition capabilities of smartphones. Other apps also use the power of voice recognition. You recently read on the blog about Vlingo, a program which allows you to use voice recognition to do anything from creating e-mails to searching for the nearest pizza parlor. Vlingo is normally a paid app. It is being offered free by RIM for the remainder of December.

Today's post is about Google Mobile App. It is a free program available for BlackBerry, Android, and iPhone. In short, Google Mobile App allows you to speak into your smartphone and have it perform a Google search.

This video shows how the app works.

Personally, I feel if you have Vlingo, you do not a need for Google Mobile App. Vlingo does everything Google Mobile App does plus more. If for some reason you are not using Vlingo, Google Mobile App is a great second-best tool to have on your phone.

Merry Christmas Darling

2011-12-15T01:31:00.000-06:00

I have always been a Karen Carpenter fan. As a band director, I closed my first Christmas concert with "Merry Christmas Darling." Little did any of us know that Karen Carpenter would pass away shortly thereafter. Throughout my career as a band director, closing the Christmas concert with this beautiful selection became a tradition.

Last year, after posting this video and making mention of it on my Facebook page, I received this comment on that Facebook entry:

I love that song. Dawn and I were background singers on that recording, vocals on September 17, 1978 and video for the first Carpenter's Christmas Special on Sept. 24 (four days before Erin was born).

The comment was left by Dr. Brad Logan, a good friend from many years ago when he was choir director at the University of Montevallo. Brad has been the director of the Bemidji State University Choir since 1998. His daughter, Erin, is now grown with children of her own. It's amazing how relationships intertwine. It is also amazing how much time you can spend face-to-face and then learn something new once you are separated by hundreds of miles.

Review of BlackBerry PlayBook

2011-12-14T01:00:00.000-06:00

Research in Motion's (RIM) First BlackBerry tablet reviewed by Jon Rettinger of TechnoBuffalo.

I have owned a PlayBook since the spring. The smaller size allows me to fit the Playbook in the outside pocket of a sports coat. The BlackBerry Bridge allows me to see all of my Outlook data on the PlayBook. A Bluetooth connection allows the BlackBerry smartphone to communicate with the PlayBook. When I am on the phone and need to access my calendar, this feature is extremely handy.

This review is very extensive and is one I would recommend anyone watch before making a decision to purchase or not purchase a PlayBook. With the reduction in price, we can expect the PlayBook to receive some much-needed attention.

A Christmas Festival

2011-12-13T01:29:00.000-06:00

Email++ for Your BlackBerry

2011-12-12T01:19:00.000-06:00

During workshops, I routinely talk about getting e-mail from "In" to "Empty" every day. The practice is made easy though the "drag and drop" feature on Outlook. Much of our e-mail contains information about places we have to be or things we need to do. The ability to get calendar-related e-mail on your calendar and to-do-related e-mail on you to-do list is huge. When you drag an e-mail to the Calendar or Task button, Outlook create an appointment or task, and it includes the entire body of the e-mail in the note section of that appointment or task.

I found an app for the BlackBerry that does the same thing. It is called Email++, and it's the best $4.99 I have spent in quite a while. Reading the instructions will help you as you make your decision to purchase and getting started after you download it.

For me, the best thing is the ability to take an e-mail and put it on the calendar or to-do list.

An added bonus of the app is its ability to identify your "free" time. Let's look at that one. An e-mail is from someone trying to set up a meeting. He wants to know what days and times are available for you. With Email++, you simply click "reply." Select the "Location and Availability" icon. Choose a day and indicate whether your interest is in that day or that week. You will see a list of all of the blocks of time during your workday(s) you are free. With one click, you copy that list. Now you can paste it in an e-mail response and send.

Yes, the icon was called "Location and Availability." If you want to e-mail someone to tell them exactly where you are, the GPS function of your BlackBerry, together with this app, makes the task easy.

You can get this app by clicking BlackBerry App World icon on your phone and searching for "Email++."

Straight No Chaser 12 Days of Christmas

2011-12-11T01:24:00.000-06:00

Straight No Chaser performs 'The 12 Days of Christmas" at their reunion show at Indiana University!

Fantasia on Greensleeves

2011-12-10T01:30:00.000-06:00

Enjoy Fantasia on Greensleeves by Ralph Vaughn Williams

For the younger readers, here is an activity which will give you more information on the piece and the composer.

Take Time to Save Time

2011-12-09T01:56:00.000-06:00

If you want to "get organized," plan on spending a little extra time now. The time you save comes later. Maybe that's why so many people avoid getting organized. It's easier to leave things in disarray...right now anyway. But, we pay the price later. So many people are so hard pressed to simply get through the day, working a little harder now to make things easier later is not a concept they want to hear.

At this time of year, one small example comes to mind. Our Christmas decorations include the "Sheltie Tree," a metal tree on which we hang a collection of decorative Shetland Sheepdog ornaments. Each ornament fits into its own particular cutout in a Styrofoam container. Putting the ornaments on tree...now that was always a breeze. Taking them down and putting each ornament in the correct place in the Styrofoam holders, now that was a different story! I would spend for what seemed like an eternity turning and trying to fit an ornament into this hole or that until finally I got it right. I always dreaded that part of the process.

One year, I got smart. As I was taking the ornament out of their containers, I took the time to write the description of the ornament beside the spot where it would be returned. When Christmas was over and it was time to pack it all away, the job I had dreaded was a snap. The Sheltie holding Santa's list went here. The Sheltie tangled in the Christmas lights went there. The annual ornament for 2007 goes here and 2009 goes here.

When all was said and done, the Sheltie ornaments were back in their protective boxes in a fraction of the time I normally spent. The time I had spend on labeling had been more than recouped.

Every year when I take those Sheltie ornaments and look at the hand-written description of the ornaments, I smile, knowing that the time I spent on the front end several years ago now saves me time each and every year.

Carol of the Bells

2011-12-08T01:05:00.000-06:00

Carol of the Bells from Celtic Woman

Paper Planner Pages

2011-12-07T01:11:00.000-06:00

If you use a paper planner to organize your life and have not found a format you like, this post is for you. The Free Resources page of my website lists four forms you can download, print, and use. And it's all for free.

Paper Planner Daily Page
The layout for this page matches the concepts we teach in my workshops. Items should be worded clearly. Like items should be grouped together. You will find a space to list your "Fab 5" for the day. Of course, the page provides a space for appointments. Finally, you have a dedicated space to answer the all-important question, "How did you make today count?" The page size is 8 1/2 X 5 1/2, meaning you will get two pages per sheet.

Put the pages on a paper cutter, punch holes, and you are ready to go. The back of the page is intentionally left blank. This page is where you take notes from meetings, phone calls, etc. Documentation is easy when you have this space available.

Montly Calendars
Click the tab for each month and print. Put the pages on a paper cutter, hole punch, and insert them into any notebook designed for pages which measure 8 1/2 X 5 1/2. Use the back of each page for additional information related to that month.

Goal Planner
Goals or projects are different, in that they are accomplished through a series of tasks. We need a place to house all of the tasks and related information for the projects we undertake. We then "farm out" the specific tasks to specific days. Having some Goal Planner sheets in the back of your book gives you control of the big picture.

Master List
We all have those tasks we want to accomplish "sometime," but do not want to assign a specific date. The "Master List" is just such a parking place. Put some of these sheets in the back of the planner, and you will never be at a loss for a "parking place" for the random tasks which come to mind. You can access any of these forms directly by clicking on the links. You can also check out all of the items on the Free Resource page by clicking here.

You can organize your life a good digital system. You can also organize your life with a good paper system. I long ago realized a person must be comfortable with a system for that system to work. Whichever your preference, this blog strives to be a place whee you can find answers.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

2011-12-06T01:14:00.000-06:00

Enjoy Bing Crosby in this old favorite.

Update for Those Who Attended the "Called to Be Exceptional" Conference

2011-12-05T17:27:00.001-06:00

I had promised you a document on the subject "Handling Multiple Projects." I have prepared and uploaded that document. You can click here to download. The password is the same as the other handouts from the conference.

Trio of "Must-Haves"

2011-12-05T01:54:00.000-06:00

This post rounds out the spotlight on the BlackBerry apps I use. The three apps in this post are all free.

Quick Pull

Simply rebooting your computer is often the answer to a host of problems. Likewise, restarting your BlackBerry recaptures memory. Restarting can be accomplished in several ways. One way is to physically remove the battery. If your BlackBerry is in a protective case, removing it from the case may be a hassle. You can also reset the device by holding down the "ALT" key, the right shift key, and holding the "Delete" key at the same time.

If that combination is tough to remember or tough to perform, try "Quick Pull." You can schedule this app to automatically perform a reset at a certain time each day. I prefer to simply run the app manually one each week.

On your BlackBerry, go to BlackBerry App World and search for "Quick Pull." It is a free download..

QR Scanner Pro

Everyone needs a good QR code reader, and "QR Scanner Pro" is quick and easy. Open the app, point, and click "Scan QR Code." When the software has recognized the code, it vibrates and shows your results. That's it! On your BlackBerry, go to BlackBerry App World and search for "QR Scanner Pro." It is a free download currently with an average rating of 4 1/2 stars.

Air Browser

The PlayBook does not allow for a good file structure. Air Browser lets you to cut, copy, and paste files. You can create, rename, and delete files and folders. On your PlayBook, go to BlackBerry App World and search for "Air Browser." It is a free download currently with an average rating of 4 stars.

Create Your Own Apps

2011-12-05T01:00:00.000-06:00

During November, we looked at the apps I use on my BlackBerry and PlayBook. You can, however, take any website and turn it into an app.

You must be running OS6 or OS7 on your BlackBerry for this procedure to work. On your BlackBerry, open your browser and navigate to the desired website. Look just to the right of the URL window. There will be a circular icon. When you click it, select "Add to Home Screen." That's it! You will now see an icon on your home screen. When you click it, you are at your desired website.

You can do the same thing on the PlayBook. While at your desired website, click on the white star to the right of the URL. Select "Add to Home Screen."

Similar techniques will work for turning URLs into apps on other platforms.

On my devices, I have an icon for TV Guide online, a Classroom Walkthrough, and a group of math calculators.

What websites do you use so often that you have created icons on your device that make them "apps"?

Sleigh Ride

2011-12-03T01:25:00.000-06:00

Enjoy this rendition of the Sleigh Ride performed by the Boston Pops.

JSU Follow-Up

2011-12-02T01:38:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the JSU students that are visiting after the SETS (Special Education Tracking System) training! This post is the perfect example of why I started this blog over 6 years ago...when the face-to-face workshop is over, the contact does not have to be over. The learning does not have to be over. In fact, it may be just beginning.

As we came to the end of our session, I wanted to be able to give you some way to obtain documentation on the SETS program. While all of you took good notes, this documentation will take you beyond what we discussed. The screen shots will further clarify much of yesterday's learning. The following two links will open documents which you can in turn save on your own computers:

SETS Student Desktop

SETS Processes and Forms

While you are here, I invite you to look around at over 6 years worth of posts. If you would like to bring new posts straight to your e-mail, you can subscribe by clicking here.

For those with Twitter accounts, I invite you to follow me on Twitter. For those on Facebook, I hope you will "Like" my Facebook page. (When we reach 200 "Likes," I will be giving away a copy of one of my books.)

Now that you have had an introduction to SETS, I would welcome your thoughts. Feel free to leave me a comment.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2011-12-01T01:26:00.000-06:00

During the Christmas season, you will find a mixture of stuff about being productive along with some of my favorite Christmas music. To start things off, folks my age remember when Andy Williams had his own variety show. Nobody sings this one like he does.

Drawing on the PlayBook

2011-11-30T01:53:00.000-06:00

Need to sketch a diagram or demonstrate how to work a math problem? Using the keyboard just isn't an option. You need to write freehand on the screen. This post illustrates two apps I have downloaded.

Wet Paint

"Wet Paint" is a drawing program for the PlayBook. Tap the pencil or paint brush icons and write on the screen with your finger. Tapping the eraser icon allows you to erase any portion of your creation with your finger. Think of it as a miniature chalkboard. Swipe from the top bezel and you see options to play a game of tic-tac-toe or dots!

On your PlayBook, search BlackBerry App World for "Wet Paint." The app currently has an average rating of 4 1/2 stars. The price is free.

Letter Tracer

This app is great for young children who are learning their letters and numbers. Select from print, cursive, or numbers. The Playbook displays a large, dashed figure the child can trace with a finger. The app is very basic. When I downloaded it, I was hoping it would guide a child with the correct direction of the strokes. Children can often produce an end result which looks correct, yet if you look at the manner in which they arrived it, you see some bad habits forming. This app does not address that sort of thing, but its still a nice tool for little ones.

On your PlayBook, search BlackBerry App World for "Letter Tracer." The cost is 99 cents.

Need a "Cheat Sheet?"

2011-11-28T01:29:00.000-06:00

I know you never used a "cheat sheet" in school. At least we'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Let's just say you at least know someone else who did. The art of composing a cheat sheet was efficiency and economy of words. A good cheat sheet packed the best information in a small space. I stumbled on two free download for my PlayBook that provide great resource information in a pinch whether you are a student, a teacher, or just someone trying to blow the dust off what you learned in high school.

Cheat Sheet...Your Math Refresher

On your PlayBook, go to BlackBerry App World and search for "Cheat Sheet." It's a free download, currently with a 4 1/2 star average review.

You are presented with a menu of four options: Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus. Tap on a menu and one of the sub-menus to reveal a sheet of formulas. They even look like they are written on notebook paper. The app makes no attempt to teach you the concepts. You simply get a refresher on the formulas you learned in the course.

Student Notes

On your PlayBook, go to BlackBerry App World and search for "Student Notes." It's also a free download, currently with a 4 1/2 star average review. Choose a subject from a wide array of courses. Whether you are interested in French, Physics, Biology, or a dozen others, this app is equal to the test. The information you are probably searching for is right at your fingertips. Grab it today!

Chess Clock Mobile and ScoreMobile

2011-11-25T01:24:00.000-06:00

Today's post combines a great reference site for current sporting events with a great tool when you need a pair of timers. Both apps are available for the BlackBerry PlayBook.

ScoreMobile

Nothing beats being able to tap this icon and see up-to-the-minute college football scores. Tap on a game and see a wide variety of stats right down to how much time is left in the game, who has the ball, and on what yard line. But you can get more than NCAA football. Choose from NFL, CFL, NBA, PGA, NHL, NASCAR, and more.

Go to BlackBerry App World on your PlayBook and search for "ScoreMobile." It's a free download with an average review of 4 1/2 stars.

Chess Clock Mobile

This app is a free download and is currently rated at 5 stars. If you play chess, you can expect to pay $20 to $40 for a chess clock. Being able to get one for free and always with you on your PlayBook is a neat addition.

If you are not familiar with a chess clock, the idea is in tournament chess, each player has a specified time in which to complete a certain number of moves. When one player makes a move, his timer stops and his opponent's timer starts. A chess clock, therefore, is a pair of clocks where at any one time, one clock is ticking towards zero while the other clock is paused. If you have a need for this type of dual timer, even if it's not for chess, this app is for you.

Go to BlackBerry App World on your PlayBook and search for "Chess Clock Mobile."

Linus' Thanksgiving Prayer

2011-11-23T01:18:00.000-06:00

Charles Schultz gave us some wonderful holidays specials to be enjoyed one generation after another. Here is one of the classic scenes, Linus' Thanksgiving Prayer:

"Called to Be Exceptional"

2011-11-22T01:53:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who came to one or more of my sessions yesterday. You were an exceptional group. I am glad you took the time to visit this post. We covered a great deal of ground in a short amount of time, so this post gives us the chance to step back, catch our breath, and decide how to move forward from here.

Dropbox

Southern Division Teachers' Conference 2011

If you were in one of the sessions, this photo is a practical example of its use. I snapped the photo on my smartphone yesterday morning. I used Dropbox on my phone to upload the photo "into the cloud." That meant when I got back to the hotel and booted my laptop, there was the photo in the "My Dropbox" folder on my laptop. No flash drive, no cables!

Sunday night I made a few little changes to my presentations. No need to remember to make those same changes on the presentation back home on my desktop computer. Because I had saved the presentations in My Dropbox, the changes I made here in Louisiana have already been made on my computer back in Alabama.

To sign up for your own Dropbox account, click here. This link will also both you and me 250MB of additional storage!

iGoogle
Once you have created your iGoogle page and want to start adding gadgets, this post will give you a list of ideas. Each is a clickable link and will let you easily add any of the gadgets to your own iGoogle page.

Handouts
Digital handouts from each session are available on the Free Resources page of my website.Remember the password which will be required to open each one. You will notice clickable links in the handouts, so you will probably want to save them to your computer rather than print them out.

Handling Multiple Projects
We were unable to get to the section on handling multiple projects. That's the beauty of the blog, and the very reason it was created over six years ago..so that when the workshop is over, the contact and the learning can just be beginning. Click here for a document explaining the concepts for handling multiple projects. There is a password, and it is the same password as what you used for the other handouts.

Drawing for Organization Made Easy
Congratulations to Lonnie Jones, who was the winner in the drawing for a free copy of Organization Made Easy!:Tools for Today's Teachers.

Staying in Contact
If you gave me your e-mail address, you should receive something by this weekend. School servers sometimes block e-mails, so if you run into a problem, you can always subscribe with a different e-mail address. On the sidebar, you see a button where anyone can click and sign up for this free newsletter.

Are you are Twitter? You will find me @DrFrankBuck.
Are you on Facebook? This is your invitation to "Like" my Facebook page.

Thanks again for being such an exceptional group!

What's That Tune...Shazam!

2011-11-21T01:07:00.000-06:00

How many times have you listened to a song and just couldn't think of the name of it? What if you could hold your smartphone up to the radio and have the title and album from which it came displayed on your device a few seconds later? That's exactly what Shazam Encore does.

Shazam listens to song and identifies it

On your BlackBerry, go to BlackBerry App World and search for "Shazam Encore." Normally, this app costs $5.99, but it is one of the apps being offered for free as a result of the BlackBerry outage back in October. The complimentary status runs, from what I understand, through December.

In addition to identifying the song, Shazam Encore will allow you to buy a track, read reviews, search for songs, and watch YoutTube results for your search.

Shazam is also available for the iPhone and Android.

Has anyone used this program extensively? What are your thoughts?

Dropbox and BlueBox: Access Your Data From Anywhere

2011-11-18T01:52:00.000-06:00

If you are not familiar with Dropbox, I highly recommend this free service. Dropbox allows you to store up to 2GB on their server which you can access from anywhere. I am planning a complete post for later on exactly how I have set up Dropbox and how I use it. For now, if you do not have a Dropbox account, go to this site and create one. Not only will you get the 2GB of free storage, but by using that link, you and I will each get an additional 250MB of free storage.

One of the capabilities you have is anything stored in Dropbox can be accessed from your smartphone. All you have to do, once you have a Dropbox account, is download the app on your smartphone. This page will take you to links for any of the devices. For BlackBerry users, the easiest route is to go to BlackBerry App World and search for "Dropbox."

For BlackBerry PlayBook owners, there is not a Dropbox app, although hopefully that will come. Until then, there is a great free app called "BlueBox." BlueBox will allow you to download files from Dropbox to your PlayBook. It will also allow to upload files from the PlayBook to Dropbox. The missing element is the ability to sync with Dropbox.

I use BlueBox as the way to get files from my PlayBook to my computer. If I take a picture on my PlayBook, all I have to do is upload that picture with BlueBox. In a few seconds, it is available in the Dropbox folder on my computer.

While having Dropbox on my BlackBerry is a great convenience, the real productivity boost comes from BlueBox on my PlayBook. It is an essential piece in allowing the PlayBook to become a laptop substitute.

Live, Laugh, Love...That's American Education

2011-11-16T01:41:00.000-06:00

Michael McBride of Plano Senior High School (Plano, Texas Independent School District) provided this speech for a gathering of Plano teachers.

You Want Heroes?

2011-11-14T03:41:00.000-06:00

This article is now several years old, yet it's message is eternal. In the world of journalism, there is perhaps no truer friend of education than Frosty Troy. His message is that if we are truly looking for heroes in our society, the classroom is an awfully good place to start. His article can be read here.

As we begin this American Education Week, there is perhaps no more appropriate time to remind ourselves of how essential teacher are to the prosperity of this nation--past, present, and future.

Is there a teacher, past or present, who has made a significant impact on you or a loved one? Have you taken the time to tell that teacher how much he or she has meant? What are you waiting for?

On This Veteran's Day...

2011-11-11T01:15:00.000-06:00

Veteran's Day is called by various names and celebrated in various ways by friends around the world. In England, they call it Remembrance Day. The playing of Nimrod, one of the movements of Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations, is a tradition on this day.

Veterans Day is an opportunity not only to carve out time from our lives to remember those who gave their own, but to celebrate all that we enjoy. Today is also my Davonia's birthday, my wife of 22 years. Nimrod happens to be one of her favorites.

Your BlackBerry Can Talk!

2011-11-09T01:30:00.000-06:00

Yes, not only can your BlackBerry talk, it can speak a variety of languages. The speech capabilities of the BlackBerry provide the subject for today's post.

iSpeech Translator

This app allows you to choose the language to translate "from" and "to." You can type a phrase and see the translated text displayed. By tapping on the speaker icon, you will hear the translation read. By tapping on the microphone, you can speak your text. iSpeech will provide you the written translation, or you can tap the speaker and listen to the translation.

iSpeech Translator is available for the BlackBerry and the BlackBerry PlayBook. Go to BlackBery App World on either device to download this free app.

DriveSafe.ly

How many times do you find yourself driving along andyour smartphone starts vibrating? New e-mail is arriving! What do you do? Do you look down and read it while still trying to concentrate on the road? Or, do you resist the temptation until you arrive at your destination?

DriveSafe.ly eliminates the dilemma. Turn in on, and when new e-mail arrives, DriveSafe.ly reads it aloud to you. Earlier, we reviewed Vlingo, which also has the capability to read your e-mail, plus much more. So, you may not find the need for this DriveSafe.ly. On the other hand, if you weren't crazy about Vlingo, but like the read-aloud feature for e-mail, DriveSafe.ly may be for you.

If you want DriveSafe.ly, you should waste no time in going to BlackBerry App World on your handheld and downloading it. Search for "Compliments of BlackBerry." DriveSafe.ly comes in two versions. The free version reads the e-mails. The Pro version allows you to respond to e-mails by voice. RIM has make the Pro version free for a limited time (until the end of December from what I know).

Next Posts

The next three posts will deviate from this month's theme of great apps for your smartphone. Salutes to Veteran's Day and American Education Week will provide an "intermission" from talk about apps. Starting with the November 18 post, we will continue the discussion of some must-haves for your smartphone and tablet.

Apps for Musicians

2011-11-07T01:22:00.000-06:00

When I was a teenager and learning a musical instrument, there were several essential tools for practice. First and foremost was the metronome, that unforgiving "tick-tock" that forced one to keep a steady tempo. Without it, you were prone to rush or drag without knowing it. As I remember, a basic metronome in those days set you back about $50.

A tuner was essential. Being able to look at a tuner as you play and see which notes are sliding sharp or flat develops the ear and allow ones playing to be much more pleasing to the listener, especially when playing with others. I felt pretty lucky that technology had advanced to the point that when I started teaching (in 1982), I could purchase a battery-operated tuner for slightly over $100.

Having a piano nearby always comes in handy. Being able to check yourself when practicing sight-singing is just one example. Of course, pianos take up a good bit of room and cost a good chunk of change.

Times have changed. I have all three tools on my BlackBerry PlayBook. If fits in the pocket of a sports coat, and the total cost for those three tools combined is 99 cents.

Metronome

On your PlayBook, go to BlackBerry App World and search for "Steady-Tick Metronome." The cost for this app is 99 cents. The image on the screen looks just like the old-fashioned metronome from my childhood.

On your BlackBerry, go to App World and search for "Classic Metronome." This app is also 99 cents and presents the same old-fashioned look. This version gives you several options, including the normal metronome click, the sounds of a cowbell, the sound of clapping, or no sound at all. In the no-sound mode, you see the pendulum action of the metronome along with the BlackBerry displaying a flashing red light on each beat. The app will even emit an A-440 pitch for purposes of tuning.

Tuner

On your PlayBook, go to BlackBerry App World and search for "Instrument Tuner." As you play your instrument or sing, the app will display the name of the note you are playing and give you a reading on whether the pitch is in tune, sharp, or flat (and to what degree). This app is free, which sure beats the $100+ I paid in the early 80's for a stand-alone tool that did the same thing.

Piano

What would you think about having a miniature piano keyboard in your pocket, and for free? On your Playbook, go to BlackBerry App World and search for "Piano." You will find several. This one is free, is currently rated at 4 1/2 stars, and has a range of two full octaves. You can play single notes or chords, and the sound is remarkably good. For a child, this app would prove a great introduction to the piano keyboard.

While these apps are available on BlackBerry App World, you will probably find comparable apps for other platforms.

For those using an iPad, Honeycomb, Galaxy, or any other tablet currently on the market, have you found an app that does what is described here? If so, leave a comment to let me and other readers know about it.

Vlingo: Your Personal Assistant

2011-11-04T02:57:00.000-05:00

The most notable and publicized feature of the iPhone 4S has been "Siri." Vlingo is its parallel for the BlackBerry and other devices.

This video provides a great demonstration of Vlingo:

Here is a video explaining the "in car" capabilities of Vlingo. The demonstration is on an Android, so i am not sure about all of the capabilities you see here for other platforms.

Here you see a person using Vlingo while driving:

Finally, this cartoon video expands on the capabilities shown in the other videos. It's hard whether all of this capability is present now, or whether some is plans for future releases.

A free version of Vlingo is available. You can find it by selecting the BlackBerry App World icon on your handheld and searching for Vlingo. Versions are also available for Android, iPhone, Nokia, and Windows Mobile.

Another reason for exploring BlackBerry apps during this month is the current offer from RIM, the makers of BlackBerry. BlackBerry e-mail services were down for several days during October. For this reason, RIM is offering to its customers approximately a dozen apps paid apps for free. The apps are being released one at a time during November and will remain free through December. The full-fledged version of Vlingo is one of those apps. On my Facebook page, I am posting about the apps as each is released. Come on over and "Like" that Facebook page to stay up on the latest about the free apps.

Is anyone already using Vlingo? Are you using something similar? I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.

There's an App for That

2011-11-02T01:10:00.000-05:00

Commercials are great for leaving us with catchy phrases that remain with us. A generation ago, we had the unforgettable, "Try it, you'll like it" and "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!" One of the memorable ones of late is, "There's an app for that."

The leading makers of smartphones vie for our attention with the apps available for them. This month, I will be presenting my favorite apps for BlackBerry and BlackBerry PlayBook. If I write about an app you already use, let me know what you think about it. Let me know about any features I may be missing. If you use another smartphone, do what I do. When I read about a great app for another smartphone, I look to see if there is a BlackBerry app that does much the same thing.One of the statements often made about BlackBerry is that there are few apps available compared to the Apple and Android. This chart illustrates the disparity.

Only 20, 000 apps, but just how many do you need?

BlackBerry has a mere 20,000 apps written for it, while Apple tops the list at 350,000. But just how many apps do I need anyway? The surprise for me has been how many apps I see promoted in commercials which I later find are also available for the BlackBerry. I must admit, when it comes to putting ones best foot forward, RIM has not been doing such a good job. They make good stuff, but lack in the marketing department. I guess this month is my attempt to help them out a little.

BlackBerry App World

Look for App World icon on your BlackBerry

If you are new to finding and downloading apps, BlackBerry App World is the place to go. Look for the App World icon on your handheld. If may be hidden in a folder, so don't forget to check there. If you don't see one, use your BlackBerry's browser to go here and get it.

Poynt
First up is Poynt. It provides information about things in your location (if your device has GPS capabilities) or any location you enter:

Business- Poynt is like the yellow pages. Enter the name of a business or the type of business ad Poynt provides the information for businesses in your area.
People- Poynt is also like the white pages. Enter the name of a person and see the phone number, address, and map to the location for any person in your area with that name.
Movies- Tap on the "Movies" icon and see a list of recent releases. You can see where movies are playing, get directions to theaters, view trailers, or read reveiws.
Restaurants- See a list of restaurants in your area. Search by cuisine. Read restaurant reviews and get directions. Planning a trip? Enter the zip code and view restaurants there.
Gas- When you are looking for a gas station, Poynt shows you locations and prices of all stations in the area.
Events- Looking for something to do? Poynt shows a list of events along with ticket information, directions, and available photos.

Poynt is a must-have, and is available for BlackBerry, Android, iPhone, WIndows, and Nokia.To get it for your BlackBerry, click the BlackBerry App World icon on your handheld and search the site for "Poynt." You can also download Poynt on the PlayBook by tapping on the BlackBerry App World icon on your PlayBook and searching for Poynt.

The Catch-22 That Allows the Digital Divide

2011-10-31T01:29:00.000-05:00

I was a college student when the move from LP records to CDs began. I must admit that I was one of the late adopters. That statement seems strange coming from one who both embraces the ways in which technology makes our lives easier and also one who is a musician. Why was my collection still on LPs and cassette tapes when the rest of the world had moved to CDs?

The reason is really quite simple. I did not buy CDs because I had no CD player. What good are CDs if there is nothing to play them on?

I did not have a CD player because I had no CDs. What good would a CD player be if there were no CDs to play on it?

That "Catch-22" rocked on for years until one day someone innocently gave me a CD. Now I have a CD, but can't play it. What wold it take to resolve the dilemma? "I know," I thought. "I will buy a CD player!"

And so I did. Problem solved!

Once the CD player was set up, there was a need for CDs. CDs started showing up. A CD player with but a single CD created a void. CDs filled that void.

Many communities face this same Catch-22 when it comes to Internet access in the home. Since not all students have Internet access, we make allowances so that students can get by perfectly well without it. Because they can get by without it, parents fail to see it as a priority. We continue to dance this Catch-22 dance while the digital divide widens.

How can we move past a situation which has been in place far too long? For five years, I have argued we must re-frame the question from, "Do you have the Internet?" to "How do you have the Internet?" Once Internet access at home becomes a priority, this great resource we have come to depend on becomes available to a population which didn't know what it was missing.

Create the need. Allow the void to exist. See how quickly others will fill that void.

How Good to You Want to Be?

2011-10-28T02:22:00.000-05:00

A week from tomorrow, an undefeated LSU team and an undefeated Alabama team will play in what may be, for all practical purposes, the national championship game. The teams have much in common. They are both from the SEC. They have both won national championships in recent years. Finally, they both won national championships under Nick Saban (with LSU winning another under Les Miles).

A year and a half ago, I posted about Saban's book, How Good Do You Want to Be? The book was interesting for two reasons. First, Alabama just won a national championship, and therefore the team and its coach were news.

Secondly, even though the cover pictured Saban dressed in Alabama crimson, the book was clearly written just after his LSU team won the 2003 BCS National Championship. How does what Coach Saban wrote seven years and two coaching stints ago relate to the present Alabama team? How does the book relate to a blog about organization and time management?

Chapter 2, entitled "The Competitive Spirit," opens with the subheading "Don't look at the scoreboard." Saban argues that the focus should be on the process not the product. If the process is solid, the product takes care of itself. That thinking is very much in line with what the coach has been saying each season since arriving at Alabama. In the book, Saban goes on to say, "It is natural to be affected by where you are in life, but looking at the score and results can only take you away from your competitive spirit. Not only should you not concern yourself with the score, you should also avoid setting the bar or establishing benchmarks for success" (p. 58).

A year ago, much talk centered around a possible repeat national title for Alabama. As we know, Alabama wound up losing three games, and in retrospect, graduation left a large hole that would have made a repeat national championship a long shot. In the book, Saban says, "One of the hardest things to do in sports is to repeat as a champion. It is exceedingly rare in college or pro sports these days. Part of the reason is parity, but part of it is champions lose focus because of the distractions that success brings. The championship becomes the focus--not what it takes to be a champion" (pp. 68-69). Furthermore, he says, "We don't talk about repeating as national champions and we don't spend time thinking about the targets that are on our backs" (pp.71-72).

Writing a blog whose focus is time management and organization, I am particularly interested in the three-page subheading in the "Being a Great Leader" chapter entitled "Organization." Saban says, "And to be the most effective leader, you have to be organized." Saban offers these examples of what he does to stay organized (pp.129-130):

Every practice plan and set of game notes, going back as far as I can remember, I organize into huge binders that I can refer to when I need to.
I keep a pen and paper with me at all times during practice to quickly write down items we need to correct.
Our pregame routine is organized down to the minute, and areas of the field are assigned for position groups. For example, no matter where we are playing, the running backs are always warming up at the 20-yard line opposite our bench.
I prepare an agenda and a list of items to cover the day before all daily staff meetings so nothing is left out.

Saban goes on to say, "Organization is critical to efficiency. If I have a pet peeve (and I have a few), it's wasted time..." (p. 130)

How Good Do You Want to Be? is a good read whether you are pulling for the team Saban coaches now or for the team he coached when he wrote the book. You have time to pick up or copy and read it before the game. It might not only give you a better insight into the game, but also how you can come closer to achieving your own goals.

Improving Reading Fluency With an iPad and Fry Phrases

2011-10-24T03:34:00.000-05:00

Fry Phrases are short combinations of words which come from Dr. Edward Fry’s "Instant Word List" (High Frequency Words). According to Fry, the words in the list represent the majority of all the words students encounter in their reading. Practicing these Fry Phrases with some emphasis on speed increases reading fluency.

A long-standing practice has been to put these phrases on flash cards and let students practice, with the goal being not only to call words correctly, but call them quickly. With today's technology, we can easily make a PowerPoint presentation with each Fry Phrase appearing on its own slide. With a set of tablets, each child can practice fluency independently.

Click to download a free set of Fry Phrases. The file can be saved on each tablet so that the set can be used regardless of the availability of an Internet connection.

As an additional resource, I ran across this excellent resource compiled by New Park Elementary School in Harlan, IA. Here, you will find an assortment of PowerPoint decks with slides that automatically advance, ensuring that students acquire some degree of speed.These resources will require an Internet connection.

"I have tablets for my classroom, now what?" These resources help provide some answers.

A Look at the BlackBerry Bold Touch

2011-10-21T01:39:00.000-05:00

BlackBerry Bold Touch (9900 and 9930) are two of the latest BlackBerry releases. I like having a full keyboard, but the idea of being able to open applications by touching them on the screen, swiping, enlarging by pinching, etc. is also appealing.

The Bold Touch combines both. Unlike the Torch, your keyboard is always available without having to slide part of the device to get to it.

This video is about 12 minutes long, and discusses the new features in OS7 and the "touch" feature.

For those who are using OS7, what are your thoughts?

BlackBerry OS6 Tips (Non-Touch Models)

2011-10-19T01:19:00.000-05:00

For BlackBerry users running OS6, here are a few tips I have picked up along the way. These apply to non-touch models:

Zoom In--Hold the "Alt" key and scroll upward on the trackpad
Save a webpage to your home screen--While you are on the desired page, click on the Globe icon in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Choose "Add To Home Screen" from the menu that appears.
Press and hold the trackpad from anywhere on the screen. You will see a menu of popular actions. (Reminds me of right-clicking the mouse.)
View recent messages from peple in your Contacts--Go to that person in your Contacts. Open their record and scroll down to "Recent Activity."
If you have several programs open at one time, you an move quickly between them by pressing and holding the Menu key.

BlackBerry users, anybody want to jump in with your favorite shortcuts?

The Happiness Project

2011-10-17T03:33:00.000-05:00

For as long as I can remember, Davonia and I have devoted several Saturday mornings a year to administering the ACT to eager college-bound students. Reading scripted instructions and watching kids bubble multiple choice tests provides a large supply of time for mental planning, day dreaming, and reading interesting things posted on the classroom wall.

My favorite wall posting of all time is one from John Lennon. It goes as follows:

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life.
When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.
I wrote down “happy.”
They told me I didn't understand the assignment.
I told them they didn't understand life.

When you get to the bottom of it all, the five-year-old got it right, he just realized it a lot sooner than most of us.

I recently read The Happiness Project at the suggestion of a dear friend who had just done the same. While I enjoyed the book, my biggest takeaway was that I was already there, and have been for a very long time. My favorite quote is:

“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he's always doing both.”
- L P. Jacks

What do you think? Is happiness the key? How do we get there? How do we know when we have arrived?

Patience is Doing Something Else in the Process

2011-10-14T01:15:00.000-05:00

We live in a world of “hurry up and wait.” It happens when we show up for the medical appointment on time, only to realize the doctor is running an hour behind. It happens when we arrive at the airport with plenty of time to navigate security, and find out the flight has been delayed.

“Wait time” is a real force in our lives. Add it all together, and it amounts to a huge time sink which can turn a good day sour. On the other hand, wait time provides pockets on unexpected discretionary time. How we use it is determined by how we prepare for it.

I am actually writing this post at a national conference waiting for the next session to begin. I fully expect to wait for the shuttle that will take me from the hotel to the airport, and then more wait time before boarding the plane. Without a doubt, I will have an hour and a half on the plane. Add it all together, and I am looking at three to four hours of wasted time...or I am looking at three to four hours where I can accomplish something of value. What determines which of the outcomes will be true?

Reading Material at Hand

When magazines arrive at my house, they go in a wooden letter tray beside my desk. I maintain a list of books I want to read and check them out from the library. They also go in that letter tray.

Before I leave my house, if there is any chance I will have wait time, I grab a book or several magazines. The spare minutes are plugged with reading I wanted to do anyway. People ask me, “How do you stay on top of all of the reading material?” Now you have my answer.

Build the List

While reading material is great for filling the gaps, it is by no means the only option. As subjects for future blog posts come to mind, they are trapped on a list. When I have wait time, I can choose a topic from the list and compose a new blog post. What you are reading now is a good example. The BlackBerry task list holds URLs for websites I want to examine in further detail. In fact, everything I have to do, no matter how large of small, regardless of how urgent or how far in the future, is trapped on that list.

In a later post, I will talk about how I organize that list and search it. For now, the point is that when waiting time presents itself, I can quickly find those things I wanted to do anyway and could be doing right then. I turn potentially wasted time into productive time.

Do you do much the same thing? What would you like to add to the discussion?

Choir Creates Quite a "Storm"

2011-10-12T01:28:00.000-05:00

With your eyes closed, you would think you hear rain followed by a real thunderstorm.

The group is Perpetuum Jazzile. Just a little something to brighten your day!

New Facebook Page

2011-10-10T01:47:00.000-05:00

After a great deal of thought, I have started a Facebook page for the professional side of my life. I am always looking for easier ways to do things and trying to make life easier for others. Since so many people are already familiar with Facebook, starting this page will make it easier to access content.

To visit the page, click the button above. You can also enter the URL http://facebook.com/DrFrankBuck (which makes my username here the same as on Twitter).

What can you expect to find on this Facebook page?

Notification of new blog posts. Each time I post on this blog, i will let you know about it on the Facebook page. I know many of you receive notification by being followers of this blog, subscribing through Feedburner, subscribing through RSS, or following me on Twitter. At the same time, some of these terms may be "Greek" to many others. If Facebook is a familiar friend, letting you know about new posts in this manner is a step forward.

Follow-up and discussion. I always like to get comments on blog posts, and I am pretty good about responding to them. In general, people tend not to comment on blog posts. Again, we seem comfortable with commenting on Facebook. I hope to get your reaction to posts...what you like, what you don't like, where you may agree or disagree, and what thoughts you have which will take the discussion to a deeper level.

New discussion. In addition, you can post on the wall to start an entirely new discussion, something the blog does not allow you to do.

If you have been reading this blog for a while, come on over to the Facebook page and say hello. See you there!

The Light Bulb Comes On

2011-10-07T02:00:00.000-05:00

When we put a new practice in, we must let it replace something else. "One in—one out." In the world of the tech-savvy leader, it's more like "one in—one dozen out." In the world of those who are barely hanging on, it's "one in—one more in—here's another—and another." When we don't fully understand the new, we hang on to the old. We do double-duty.

As a starter, here are three quick practices which make changing the light bulb a one-person job:

1. Take teachers out of the receipt-writing business

As an elementary principal, our school stopped issuing receipt books to teachers. Any student with money brought it in a sealed envelope with his name, homeroom, amount of money, and purpose written on the outside. Students went to one designated place in the school and turned their envelopes in to two designated people. These two staff members received the money. When the tardy bell rang, they would count the money, enter the information into a database, print receipts, and print a record of the transactions which was submitted to the office with the money.

The practice worked like a charm. Teachers had more time at the start of the day to teach, rather than practice their accounting skills. With a new procedure planned, I began making the needed changes in the faculty handbook. I was amazed at how much we had been asking of teachers in order to satisfy auditors.Entire pages came out of the handbook as we took this burden and its regulations off the back of our teachers. What went into the handbook instead was a simple paragraph explaining where to send students who have money and what information each student was to have on his/her envelope.

The procedure meant freeing up two people to handle the load of receipting money for the entire school. The larger the school, the more time required. However, the larger the school, the more time is already spent on receipting money. The light bulb is simply being turned by 100 people instead of 20. Since that time, the software to handle the job has gotten better. Let's take teachers out of the receipt-writing business.

2. Never ask a teacher to produce a report from the computer when one person can run the same report for the entire school.

Progress reports and report cards should be printed by one person in the front office, not by every teacher in the school. Ditto for award certificates. On my website is an all-purpose certificate and companion spreadsheet. When it comes time to print certificates for perfect attendance, honor roll, or membership in any school organization, the entire job can be printed in one huge batch. Let's get away from the antiquated model of dividing work amongst an entire faculty. Instead, let's use our technology efficiently.

3. Data data everywhere, but that doesn't mean we have to hand-copy.

Every year, the "high-stakes test" results arrive. Every year, in all-too-many schools, principals pass out computer-generated reports and ask teachers to copy figures from those printouts to paper grids. They call it "analyzing data." I call it copying numbers. The tech-savvy leader figures a way to deliver those figures in their final form to the teacher. The teacher's time is then spent making meaning of the data, not mechanically copying it.

How many of your co-workers does it take to screw in a light bulb? What can you do to end the madness?

Three Stories from Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T06:41:00.001-05:00

In 2005, Steve Jobs delivered the Commencement Address at Stanford University. It has often been recognized as one of the best such addresses every delivered. It's message seems even more relevant today.

New Circumstances and Old Procedures

2011-10-05T01:28:00.000-05:00

Consider the story of the mother and her young daughter preparing Easter dinner. Before placing the ham in the oven for baking, the mother cut both ends off the ham.

“Why did you cut off the ends of the ham?” asked the daughter.

“That’s the way my mother always did it,” replied the mother.

The daughter quickly got on the telephone to the grandmother and posed the question. The grandmother replied that she does, indeed, always cut the ends off the ham before placing it in the over. When asked why, the grandmother replied, “That’s the way my mother always did it.”

It just so happened the next week brought about a visit from great-grandmother. Overcome with curiosity, as young children often are, nothing would do but to pose this same question.

“Great Grandmother, Mommy always cuts the ends off her ham before she puts it in the oven. Mommy says she does it because that’s the way Grandmother always did it. Grandmother says she did it because that’s the way you always did it. Is it true, Great Grandmother? Did you always cut the ends off of the ham?”

“Yes, indeed, my child,” replied the elderly woman.

“But why?” asked the young girl.

Holding her hands about 12 inches apart, she replied, “Because my pan was only this big.”

The point of the story is that when we as humans are faced with a set of circumstances, we come up with procedures to handle those circumstances. So often, our circumstances change…but our procedures stay the same.

How Many of Your Colleagues Does It Take to Change a Light Bulb?

2011-10-03T01:46:00.000-05:00

How many (fill in the blank yourself) does to take to change a light bulb? The original answer to the joke is “Three,” with the punch line being “…one to hold the bulb the bulb and two to turn the ladder.” Other variations tell us that the task requires 5 trumpet players, one to change the bulb and four to stand around and tell how they could have done it better. In the case of the movie star, it only takes one…she holds the bulb and the world revolves around her. You can find pages and pages of “light bulb” jokes. It’s a favorite way to poke fun at the students from a rival college or different ideology.

We all know it should take one person to change a light bulb, but we wait for the ridiculous answer and the even more absurd explanation.

The really absurd thing, however, are the real-life “light bulb” jokes. They are those tasks that could and should be handled by one person, yet we wind up involving far more. Our time is wasted, our patience is tried, and we neglect the important work we could be doing in favor of the one-person job someone has seen fit to turn into a twenty-person job.

In my years of experience in education, I saw all too many times when someone at every school was running a report to submit to the central office. The pitiful truth of it all was that one person could have run have the report for the entire school system in less time than it took to give every school instructions on what to do, track who had submitted the report, and then compile the results.

The same scenario happens on a daily basis at the schools every day when principals ask dozens of teachers to each run reports which could just have easily been handled by one person in the office.

Time and time again, I see teachers do this to themselves as they do things by hand that a computer could do far better and 10 faster. Is it any wonder so many feel exhausted at the end of the day and also feel little has been accomplished?

Wednesday, we will examine the root of the problem. Friday, let’s look at solving it.

What are the “light bulb” situations you have come across?

Overwhelmed

2011-09-30T05:11:00.001-05:00

One principal who helped mentor me described the end of the school year as “…like being on a sled going down a steep, snow-covered hill. Things just get faster and faster and there’s nothing you can do about it. You just try to avoid running into a tree.” We forget just how much hits us until it arrives. The end of the year just seems the logical time to bring closure to just about any activity you can name. Everyone is trying to clear up everything all at the same time. Work shows up faster than we can possibly get it done. Without intervention, this year will be no different.

As the year comes to a close, we would actually like to enjoy it. Everything we have worked for all year long blooms! How nice it would be to savor the moment instead of feeling the stress of so much to do in so little time!

It doesn’t all have to be done right now.
Some of what is on our plates could wait until the dust settles. Our fear is that by the time we actually have the time, those good ideas will have been forgotten, so we try to cram it all in while things are fresh on our minds. Two simple tools allow us to take those worthy tasks and carve a place for them in our future. One more gives hope that we could prevent this onslaught next year.

The Tickler File
There are the physical things which are lying around in the form of papers and files. Their physical presence serves as reminder of the work to be done with them. Every time we look at them, we are distracted from the task at hand. That’s where the tickler file comes to the rescue. We have a pretty good idea of when the dust will settle and life as normal will resume. Drop those papers in the tickler file for that time. They will resurface exactly when you have decided you wanted to see them.

The Signature Tool
There are the mental things rolling around in our heads. Every one of them screams “Don’t forget to…!” yet still we forget. Those things which could be done later compete for our limited attention with those things which much be done now. Our signature tool, be it paper or digital, is the answer. Pick a date when things will be more settled. Write it down or key it in depending upon whether you system is paper or digital. Either way, you have earned the right to forget about it. It will come back on its own, and it will do so on exactly on the date you had chosen.

The Repeating Task List
Some of the avalanche is caused by other people. Some of it, we likely have nobody to blame but ourselves. It seems as soon as life settles down in June, we forget the feeling of overwhelm and what we might have done to minimize it.

The world of education is a cyclic world in which many of the same tasks and same projects repeat every year. Some of what we are doing in May could have been done in March, if only we had thought of it in March. You can structure a system which will cause you to think of it in March, or at any time you choose. I have spoken often of the value of the repeating task list, a simple tool which allows us to think of something one time and then let our system remind us at just the right instant.

Finishing teacher observations, scheduling next year’s dates, grading mountains of make-up work, or taking inventory of our equipment are just a few examples of the tasks which need not be able to left for the mad rush of mid-May. If all of what we are trying to fit into a small window of time was actually written down in one place, we would instantly realize that we have set ourselves up for failure and begin to do something about it.

Master these three tools and watch your productivity go up and your stress level go down:
1. Tickler File
2. Signature Tool
3. Repeating Task List

End the Insanity
Mid-May is a terrible time to fix the problems of mid-May. Now is a perfect time to lay the plans and implement the procedures that will make this May the perfect end of a perfect year.

Our two greatest problems are gravity and paperwork. We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming.
— Dr. Wernher Von Braun

Here is What We Do...

2011-09-28T01:16:00.000-05:00

Over the years, the material I present has changed, matured, and expanded. Trying to put together a comprehensive catalog that is not out of date as soon as it is completed has been a challenge.

Clicking on the image to the left will take you to a virtual catalog. Feel free to browse. If something strikes your fancy, I hope you can join me the next time I am presenting that topic. If would like to bring me to your school or other organization for the one of choosing, click here and we can begin a discussion.

Looking for Your "Brand"?

2011-09-26T01:23:00.001-05:00

There was a time when choosing a username was something to which you did not give a second thought. You typed in the first thing that came to mind. If that name was not available and the site suggested something else, you took it. Those days are gone, or at least they should be. Whether it's Twitter or YouTube or Blogger, we want something that identifies us, a single name that identifies us across the web.

I found very quickly that "Frank Buck" had already been taken on a number of fronts, not to mention the fact that I share that name with a famous wild animal hunter from days gone by. Happily, Blogger was a notable exception. I also discovered that adding a title in front of my name gave me something that no other "Frank Buck" seemed to have. So, "DrFrankBuck," with well-placed capital letters, became my "brand" across the web.

Are you struggling with the same question, trying to find one username you can use universally? If so, namechk is the site for you. There is no registration. Simply enter the username you are considering and click "chk." Namechk returns an "available" or "taken" result for up to 160 different sites.

Want to view a "taken" site? Click on its icon and you will be viewing the Twitter feed, Facebook page, or YouTube collection for the person with that name. Start your search with a short list of possibilities and in just a couple of minutes, you should have pegged a brand for yourself. If you are looking for a time-saver, this is one!

While you are at it, are you thinking about a website domain name? Take a look at Panabee. Enter the words you are interested in having in the domain name. Panabee shows you what is taken and what is not.

Deadlines and Toothpaste

2011-09-23T01:43:00.001-05:00

What is the trigger that tells you it’s time to buy toothpaste? Is it when you’re squeezing the last little bit out of the tube? Or, is it when you take the last unopened tube from under the counter? How you answer this question speaks volumes about your entire approach to deadlines and either the stress, or lack of stress, they cause.

In the tooth paste scenario, the person who adds “Buy toothpaste” to the list when there is none left has created an urgency, and a trivial urgency at that. Buying toothpaste becomes a “must do” for the next day. There may be no other shopping items to get, yet we’re going to make a trip to the store for that lone tube. If our favorite brand is out of stock, we either settle for something else, or shop somewhere else. Needless to say, we will be paying the regular price for toothpaste.

What about the one for whom the “buy toothpaste” trigger occurs with the last unopened tube is taken from the cabinet under the sink? If toothpaste is bought tomorrow, that’s fine. If it doesn’t get bought until next week or even next month, that’s fine too, because there is enough to last. Surely there will be a great coupon for toothpaste along the way! If our favorite brand is sold out, no problem. Next time we go shopping, the new shipment will surely have arrived.

One of the keys to minimizing stress is to work ahead of deadlines. You work at a pace that is refreshing rather than frantic. You work on activities that fit together naturally – running a bunch of errands at once, or paying a whole stack of bills at once. You are driven by efficiency, what offers the most “bang for the buck," instead of jumping from one fire to the next.

Work ahead of deadlines, and you give yourself the gift of time. The “Julie Andrews Hour” ran during 1972 and 1973. Andrews closed each episode with the song “Time is My Friend.” The lyrics are as follows:

Time is my friend for ev'ry time we meet
The time we spend is tender and sweet
Sweet songs to sing
And pretty words to rhyme
And memories that cling thanks to time

Quiet parks to walk
And long talks to talk
And tall hills to climb
And mountains of time

Then time to go
For everything must end
I'll see you soon I know
Knowing time is my friend

It's time now to go
For everything must end
I'll see you soon I know
Knowing time is my friend

For the one who works ahead of deadlines, time is a friend!

The Importance of Being "On Time"

2011-09-21T05:01:00.001-05:00

I have posted before on the book The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence written by Tom Peters. On page 363, he talks about the subject of punctuality:

A "couple of minutes" late is... late. Five minutes late is... late. One-point-three minutes late is... late.
Late is... Late. "Better late than never"? Never. Period.
Early is not late.
Early is respect.
Early = "I care."
It matters.
Arriving early for a meeting is not a sign that you are "anxious." It’s a sign that you are ... PUNCTUAL.
Late is rude.
George Washington was never late.

Online Egg Timer

2011-09-19T01:28:00.001-05:00

I have seen different online timers, but this one is different because you can have three different timers going at the same time.It's free. Check it out.

http://my.online-eggtimer.com

Want to "Validate" Someone Else

2011-09-16T01:22:00.003-05:00

Want to make a difference in someone's day? This fable illustrates the power in each of us to make someone's day better or worse.

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To view the credits for this delightful video, go to the original post on YouTube.

What will you to today to validate someone else?

Wylio...Photos With No Attribution Worries

2011-09-14T01:00:00.001-05:00

Photos are plentiful on the Internet. But...you have to be careful of copyright and Creative Common license restriction. Here is a website that handles that for you.

Go to Wylio and set up a free account.
Enter to search for a photo.
Select your picture.
Wylio displays a preview of the picture and asks you to decide whether to align left, right, or center. You can also use a slider to re-size the photo.
When you get the picture like you want it, click the "get the code" button.
You can now paste the code in your blog. The picture will appear with the correct Creative Commons attributions.

Reducing the File Size of Photos

2011-09-12T01:38:00.000-05:00

The file size of photographs can get very large. Want to know an easy way to reduce the file size? This post provides the perfect answer. I tried it, and the reduction on file size was huge.

How Have You Grown in the Last 10 Years?

2011-09-09T03:29:00.000-05:00

In this month's newsletter, we talk about remembering the tragedy of September 11 ten years ago, including both where we were at that exact moment as well as where we were in general at that time in our lives. We use that recollection as a springboard for how we can maneuver the next 10 years, 5 years, or whatever time frame in which we want to set goals.

I was a school principal and had just stepped into my office when a parent called with the news of a plane striking the North Tower. I walked into the library, where a television set was tuned to the breaking news. It was at that moment when a second plane struck the South Tower, thus beginning the challenge of how to explain the unexplainable to children who should not have to deal with this sort of tragedy.

My life has changed since them. I am sure yours has as well. We have taken advantage of opportunities, and perhaps watched other opportunities go by. We may be able to point to the exact phone calls, relationships, emails, books read, or events witnessed that opened doors. We may be able to point to the actions taken that turned opportunities into the realities that shaped the last decade of our lives.

Ten years ago, when you looked into the future, how did it compare with the reality of your life today? What about the next 10...or 5...or 1? Where do you want to be in the future? Opportunity will knock. What can we do today to be ready when it does? Here are three ideas to consider:

Clear the Decks
Take a hard look at your "to-do" list. What tasks take time yet give no return? Get rid of them. Who else could do it? Delegate it. Will it repeat? If so, make it clear, identify the details, and make it part of your repeating task system.

What Are Your Goals?
It's easy for day-to-day activities to consume every minute. The weeks and months click away, but nothing seems to change. As you look to the future, how do you want it to be different from the present? If you can articulate it, you have a chance to make it happen.

Connect the Dots
The opportunities which turned into realities over the last decade happened because of small events that worked together. Turning your present goals into future reality will happen in the same way. What knowledge do you need to acquire, relationships do you need to forge, or skills do you need to hone in order to be "ready"? What are the small actions you can take today to make it happen?

Today, we look back 10 years. We look at a national tragedy, but we also look at where we have come since that tragedy. Let's go a step further and ask ourselves where we want to go in the next 10 years, 5 years, or 12 months. Let's take the next steps towards turning opportunity into reality.

"You've got to think about the 'big things' while you're doing the small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction"-Alvin Tofler

Focused or Fragmented? The Choice is Yours

2011-09-07T01:27:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Eye on Education for the opportunity to guest post on their blog. Enjoy "Focused or Fragmented? The Choice is Yours."

Locking Google Safe Search

2011-09-05T01:12:00.001-05:00

Keeping students safe on the Internet is a constant challenge? Did you know about this one?

As a teacher, you can look for the colored balls even from across the room. Those tell you safe search is on. This is a great to know about whether you are a teacher or a parent.

Organization Starts Early

2011-09-02T01:20:00.002-05:00

Foyer at Raymond L. Young

Good organization pays off at any age. It starts with developing the habit of writing down the things you have to do, and having one tool that holds everything you write. That was the message delivered to 4th, 5th, and 6th graders at Raymond L. Young Elementary School. Like many schools, the students have planners supplied by the school. Unlike many schools, the faculty realizes the importance of devoting time to how to use them effectively.

A packet of letters arrived in my mailbox, and here are some of the things students had to say:

You gave me a lot of information and inspiration to make my life and my parent's lives a lot more organized.
When I got home Friday, I got organized ASAP!
I never thought you could stay so organized when you have so much to remember.
My favorite part was when you told us we could write non-school things in our planner.
I used to put school stuff in my planner. Now I put birthdays, holidays, when we're out of school, and lots of other stuff in there.
Finally I cleaned up my room and closet and that's very unlike me. I also cleaned out my drawers and found out that's why I couldn't find my clothes.
I'm writing down everything I need to know. I'm forgetting less now so that's a good sign. Life is certainly easier!
School is a lot easier when you are organized.

A thank-you gift

Could You Write a Book? If You Blog, the Answer is “Yes”

2011-08-31T01:32:00.002-05:00

With all of the digital information we read, there’s still something special about a book. Watching the “pages” go by, even if those papers are digital, provides comfort. Seeing a book with our name on it provides a sense of accomplishment.

If you have a blog, you can turn it into a book in a matter of minutes, and do it for free. As a great side benefit, you will be backing up your blog in the process, so that if something happened or you wanted to move your blog to another service, you have all of your data safely stored on your computer.

First, you will make a backup of your blog. In your Blogger dashboard, click on “Settings.” Then click “Export Blog.” On the next page, click “Download Blog,” and you will be able to save a file to your hard drive with all your posts and comments. I have a repeating task in Outlook which prompts me every three months to backup my blog.

Next, let’s create our book.

The site we will use is called BlogBooker. Once at the site, click on the icon for the blogging service you use. You will then be prompted to browse for your blog export. Upload it and the site will create your book!

Are you authoring a blog that you know will be temporary? When the time comes that the blog’s purpose has been fulfilled, what better way to complete the project than turn it into a book? Store it digitally or print and bind it. Either way, you have something you can cherish.

Thinking About the Getting a Doctorate?

2011-08-29T03:24:00.003-05:00

Since earning my doctorate 15 years ago, many people have asked my advice for how to navigate the waters. While people often have horror stories to tell, I must admit, I have none. In fact, the doctorate was the smoothest of my collegiate programs. The time from the first day of class to the day of the dissertation defense was two years and two months. Thinking about going for that terminal degree? Here is my best advice...

Start the Inquiry Early
Start contacting the university you want to work with at least a year in advance. When I went through the program, the university took a new group only one time a year, and that time happened to be in the spring quarter. You don’t want to get fired up about starting and then find out you missed the deadline to apply by a few days, and now you will have to wait a full year to do anything.

My suggestion is to start by contacting whoever is the head of your major area and ask for an appointment. Yes, you are asking to talk to an important person, but at the same time, you are probably held in high esteem in your area of expertise or you wold not be at this point. With your years of experience, your success in the classroom and possibly in the administrative arena, your other advanced degrees, and your obvious drive, who wouldn't give up an hour of their time to encourage you to enter their program? Your face is now associated with the name they will see on the application, and you will have been able to share with a key decision-maker your successes and your potential for added impact on the world of education.

You will probably have to take a standardized test (GRE, MAT, etc.) to be admitted to the program. Find out where these tests are given and how often. I found out a local university (not even the one where I was applying) gave the MAT every single day!

The Dissertation IS the Doctorate
The first time I heard a professor say, "The dissertation is the doctorate," I didn't believe it. Believe it. You will take classes, and they won’t be so much different from classes you have taken in the past. People don’t wash out of doctoral programs for failure to be able to show up on Tuesday night from 6:00-9:00. They wash out because they get to the end of the coursework, see this gigantic wall called the "dissertation" and think, “There is no way I can do this!”

Decide on your dissertation topic BEFORE YOU START THE PROGRAM, or at least form a general idea for your topic. Go to a university library and spend some time looking through Dissertation Abstracts International. When I started my journey, Dissertation Abstracts had just begun coming out on CD-ROM, and people were able to search by topic. By this time, I am sure the technology is even better.

Who else has done something similar to what you are considering? What new twist could you put on an exiting study? Is there something about your population that is different from the one on which the previous study was conducted? What big hole exists in the literature? You will be able to find a topic you like and approach it somehow differently than it has ever been addressed before.

Start Writing Now
You are going to write a paper for every class you take, just like you did for your Masters and Educational Specialist degrees. The idea is that every time you have to write a paper, you will find some way to link it back to your dissertation topic. Every paper you write feeds the dissertation. From the day of the appointment with my chair when we hammered out a title, research questions, and method for testing the hypotheses to the day of the dissertation defense was six months. That's because I already had a wealth of literature review accomplished through previous papers.

I have seen far too many people write papers which have no value beyond the class they are taking. When they finish their coursework, they are looking at a blank computer screen and wondering how to begin. Those who have been feeding the dissertation all along the way already have a wealth of research and are ready to write.

The Secretary is Your Friend
Get to know the secretary in that department. Doctoral programs are often ripe with ambiguity. The secretary is often the one who takes ambiguity and turns it into something concrete. If you want a straight answer, a secretary who has become a confidant is a life-saver.

Why?
I guess the last thing should be the first thing: Why do you want to have the doctorate? If it’s something YOU have always wanted to do, sort of a dream that would be the cherry on top of the sundae, then go for it! Are there some doors you want to open that a doctorate will help? Go for it!

Regardless of the reason, you meet people. You expand your network. You will step out of your comfort zone. You will put in some time, and in the process become a better manager of your time than you ever thought possible. You will grow and you will start to realize that you have more to offer than you originally thought. If you have read this far, the wheels must already be turning. Good luck!

What about those of you who have already gone down this path? What are your thoughts? What can you add to the conversation? Thinking about starting on your doctorate and have something you want to ask?

If the World Were a Village of 100

2011-08-26T01:08:00.000-05:00

If the world were to be reduced to a population of 100, what would it look like? This video gives some insight:

What surprised you the most? Is there a cautionary tale somewhere in there?

So What's Google+ All About? (A Short Video)

2011-08-24T01:40:00.000-05:00

I have been hearing lots of buzz but really didn't have a clue. What about you? Maybe this video will help some...

What is Wikipedia all About?

2011-08-22T01:11:00.001-05:00

What is Wikipedia all about? Here is a short video which explains the concept.

Click here to view the video.

Cell Phones in the Classroom...How Do We Do It?

2011-08-19T01:45:00.000-05:00

Depending on where you live, cell phones in schools have progressed as follows:

A violation of state law
Not against the law, but banned from being on campus
OK to bring on campus, but must stay in the locker all day
OK to use between classes, but must never see the light of day inside the classroom
Maybe, just maybe something that can be used to promote learning and increase productivity

Over a decade ago, we were looking at handheld devices (primarily Palm) as being a significant breakthrough in how we could deliver instruction. At the same time, cell phones were becoming popular items in the backpack of students. Since that time, the two devices have merged, and they have merged with other existing devices as well. Now, you can make a phone call, keep a calendar, take a picture, and view a video (just to name a few) all on the same device.

The business world was finding the all-in-one tool to be a "must" for productivity. And if it makes adults more productive, we must ask the question, "Can it make students more productive as well?" More and more, people are beginning to feel the answer is "Yes." In an environment where we want technology yet lack the funds to purchase it, we also exist in an environment where students have purchased their own.

I would not for one second suggest we allow smartphones into classroom and then come up with ways to use them. That's a recipe for frustration and mediocrity. Instead, the question before us is what can be done best with a smartphone, and then loosen the restrictions that have kept best practice from becoming current practice.

I wish I had all of the answers, and I don't think any of us has them all. I do want to share one post that provides some of the nuts and bolts for moving from where we are with cell phones in our schools to where we could be. I recommend 10 Proven Strategies to Break the Ban and Build Opportunities for Student Learning with Cell Phones.

Importance of Organization with Technology and Teaching

2011-08-17T01:09:00.009-05:00

Computers began to appear in classrooms almost 30 years ago. How best to integrate them into the learning process remains a popular topic. This guest post, written by Lindsey Wright, offers practical advice.

While the use of technology has been touted for awhile now as an essential part of the educational process, many teachers and administrators are baffled by how to integrate computers and other technological tools into the classroom environment and make them a meaningful part of learning. It’s not simply enough to say that you’ll designate time each week for students to work on computers or require them to type their papers. To truly integrate current technology with curriculum, you must be crafty, think outside of the box, and develop new organizational methods for classroom management.

Successful Models for Computer Integration

Science teacher Judi Heitz wrote an article way back in 1999 discussing the problems she encountered working with students. While some of her ideas are a bit dated, especially in an era in which the online school has become increasingly prevalent, her solutions for integrating computers into students’ academic lives still hold up. The first thing that is essential to successful classroom integration of technology is in making its use meaningful to goals of the lesson. Simply letting the computer be a means to an end is not enough.

As such, Heitz required students to communicate with each other via e-mail and use search engines to develop models for a genetically engineered product. While the computing requirements she set forth for the project might seem a bit lax for the current generation, the principles remain sound. Teaching students to work cooperatively across a digital medium is essential. So is teaching them to evaluate internet sources to broaden their knowledge base and develop original theory and thought. While genetically engineered products might not have been part of the basic science curriculum, by asking students to create their own genetically engineered products, Heitz introduced them to a new level of genetics and led them to explore it. Ultimately, as Heitz noted, the project taught the students to explore, to evaluate sources, and to work with one another to develop new levels of knowledge.

Another teacher, Kenneth Beare, who specializes in ESL, makes a number of excellent suggestions in his article “How to Use a Computer in Class” for successfully organizing a lesson that uses the computer. However, the primary thought to keep in mind when developing the lesson is to keep it simple. Having students dashing willy-nilly from the Internet to word processing to spreadsheets doesn’t help them or you. To create a meaningful lesson, the computer should be used as a facilitating tool. The goal should be to master a particular aspect of the curriculum while at the same time mastering a particular aspect of computing.

Beare also emphasizes that, as lessons are typically divided into warm-ups, introduction of materials, class work, and summary, it behooves the teacher to incorporate the computer aspect of the curriculum into at least two areas of the lesson. For an example, the teacher might begin class one day by introducing the topic and including a discussion of how the computer will be used during class work. During the introduction, the students will model the teacher’s use of the computer. Following this, the students will work to complete the class assignment, using the computer as a tool. The next day, a review of the previous day’s material might require them to complete a smaller-scale version of the assignment as a warm-up.

It is also essential that computers be integrated in such a way that students expect them to be part of the lesson. If it’s not possible for every student to have a computer at his or her desk, a computer work center is an excellent solution. As detailed on Scholastic.com, there are a number of solutions that will keep computer centers running smoothly and facilitate independent use and detailed investigation by students. For instance:

Index cards or posters that provide computer instructions can help to keep students oriented as to the basic goals and rules of computer use.
Developing activities or assigning students to research or work on a particular website that corresponds to the lesson keeps the computer center relevant and current.
Lessons completed in one session tend to work best at computer centers, unless the students can work on the same lesson for several weeks.

By maintaining center organization and encouraging relevant study, the teacher can organize the computer center to foster creative thinking. These centers, due to their somewhat informal nature, are also great for encouraging group work. Keeping extra chairs at the computer center further encourages this, reinforcing the collaborative nature that characterizes good research and digital learning.

Computers don’t belong just in the school computer lab, nor should they be used only as word processors. Rather, the careful organization and integration of computers into the classroom means that students, regardless of their technological capacities at the outset, will learn valuable skills while broadening their knowledge of different subjects. Ultimately with careful lesson planning, a creative mindset, and a willingness to experiment in their organizational styles to discover what works best for them, teachers can integrate computer-based learning seamlessly into their classrooms.

Lindsey Wright is fascinated with the potential of emerging educational technologies, particularly the online school, to transform the landscape of learning. She writes about web-based learning, electronic and mobile learning, and the possible future of education.

Repeating Task System Revisited

2011-08-15T01:57:00.001-05:00

I have spoken and written often about the importance of developing a repeating task system to take control of the tasks which must be completed not just once, but every year, every quarter, every month, every week, etc. In working with people one-on-one, I am finding more and more that the concept of repeating tasks is one which requires a great deal of review for people to truly "get it," and that is the reason for this post.

A couple of events forced me to dive into the world of podcasting literally overnight. I wound up putting together a podcast, less than 10 minutes in length, which not only explains the problem, but gives you three solutions.

To listen to that podcast, click here.

Anybody have their own repeating task system set up? Is it like one of these?