source: www.giantbomb.com

You gotta love Kid President! The whole series of videos have taken the internet by storm, and the most recent one I viewed was one of my favorites…. 20 Things We Should Say More Often. This video really makes me want to eat a corndog (even though I don’t like them)!

As you plan your staff or student welcome back, this could be a great video to share. Throughout the video, Kid President does an amazing presentation on why we should say nice things to each other. Kids would really like the video because it will make them think, and laugh. Adults, who probably need this more than the kids, will enjoy Kid President’s delivery and specifically, his content.

Enjoy

Source: Will Richardson

Two days ago I blogged about how 90% of the world’s information was created in the past two years. As I went through my twitter feed today, I saw a tweet from Laura Gilchrist, who attended a Keynote given by Will Richardson, that peeked my curiosity (see image to the left). It is funny (or ironic, or just part of the Big Data) that I have been thinking about this topic and how it relates to being a Principal. Of course, Will nailed it! As the amount of information increases, the value of it declines. Therefore, the price of education rises. I went onto his presentation (you can too) and he furthers explains the problems with this dilemma by saying “Big things happen in Big gaps.” He goes on to ask, “Where will you get your education?”

Now, I could be misreading Will’s presentation or making broad generalizations, and if so I will correct….. But the point is this, our job as educators is to provide the opportunities for students to fill in the gaps. Seems impossible, right? How will they “know” all this information? See, that’s the rub… they can’t and they won’t if we continue to do things the SAME way. Will offers a few suggestions to address this dilemma:

Content and Knowledge are everywhere
Teachers are everywhere
Data is everywhere
Networks are the new classrooms
Learning is everywhere (Will Richardson)

He also suggests that we, “Unlearn delivery, competition and assessment.” This is so paramount to the original premise of understanding “Big Data” and the true meaning of 21st Century learning. Now, if only the various departments of education can understand this, and let us implement it.

Here is his complete presentation. I highly recommend that you follow Will on Twitter, check out his blog, and read his books.

This Sunday, July 27, 2014 8:15 PM EST on Teachercast.tv, the Principalcast Crew hosts the infamous Daisy Dyer Duerr!

Daisy Dyer Duerr is the PreK-12 principal of Saint Paul Public Schools in Saint Paul, Arkansas. She has been an administrator for 9 years, after teaching social studies for 8. Daisy is a 2014 NASSP Digital Principal Award Winner. She’s also a 2013 and 2014 BAMMY! Award Finalist and a frequent speaker at national educational conferences (ISTE, NASSP Ignite, MASSP, Edscape). She established and leads the weekly Arkansas Twitter chat, #ArkEdChat. As an educational leader working in a rural district, Daisy is deeply interested in technology’s enormous potential to positively impact both students and teachers, wherever they may be.

Be sure to join us on Sunday, July 27, 2014 8:15 PM EST on Teachercast.tv to see Daisy!

Source: www.configure.it

Did you know that 90% of the world’s information was generated over the last two years? Well, I didn’t until I read this article! So, my question is … how are we preparing our students based on this information? How are we preparing our teachers? Administrators?

In addition, how can we keep up? Or do we need to keep up? These are all questions I pondered after reading this article and preparing for this blog. Here is my feeble attempt to respond.

Impact on student learning

• I think the first step in understanding this “Big Data” is awareness. I will certainly be sharing this information with teachers and encouraging them to share it with their students (and hopefully parents).
• Have teachers and students make their own connections to this “Big Data.” For instance, engaging kids in an activity designed to help them not only understand the magnitude of data, but also how they might contribute to furthering the data. Let them explore data, and see what connections they can make.

The Experts 

• We have been saying f0r a long time that teachers are not the experts in the classroom anymore. If this article’s conclusion doesn’t enlighten the strong holds “sage on the stage” or the “know it all” then I am not sure what will!
• Granted, with such “Big Data” there will always be experts, but what does the expert in the future look like? What will they know? For the classroom, I see this as the access to information. Designing lessons where kids can become the expert in something will require the participant to understand how much information they accessed to become an expert…..

The Future

• If we are producing more and more information that adds to the “Big Data” (this blog adds a sliver to the overall) we can only expect that it will grow faster and become bigger. There are those who analyze these trends and forecast what things will be like… All I can say is…. Good Luck! As we produce more and more information, we can only have theories on the impact on the future.

What do you think of “Big Data”?

Gathering the supplies for the make-over

When was the last time that you took your workspace (or home space) and completely changed it? It always sounds like a good idea, and the end result is usually better then when you started. The hardest part of the change is being displaced. For the past few days, I have been uprooted out of my office. No phone, computer, books, papers, or any other stuff….  I have to be honest, I feel very out of sorts! I admire those who don’t have an office (Patrick Larkin when he was a principal) because it is very difficult not having a home.

I understand that the uprooted feeling is part of the change process. It allows you to take stock of what is important regarding your personal and professional belongings. It requires you to also take the time to prepare for the new beginning. For me, I have had meetings, appointments while being displaced. I’ve kept myself busy assisting with the redesign of the office as much as I could. I have enjoyed painting, spackling and even washing the carpets. Now I am just waiting for everything to get back into place, so I can get back in place.

Last night on the Principalcast Podcast we hosted Kelly Tenkely. Needless to say, she rocked the house! Throughout the podcast she told us her story of how she became a “connected” educator. She talked about her battle with Rheumatoid Arthritis and how being advised to take time off from teaching, eventually lead her to create the Learning Genome Project, and Anastasis Academy.  She discussed her Blogging Alliance days (she blogged every single day for 4 years). Through the podcast, you will learn that no matter what Kelly gets involved in, she always exerts 100% effort!

After the podcast, Theresa and I just looked at each other and went… WOW. Hopefully, you will too!

source: www.gilad.co.uk

Lets face it.. things are the way they are because we think this is the way things should be… Sound familiar? Crazy? Maybe a little of both? The fact is that we often get stuck in assumptions or “how things have been done”… For instance, we think schools should look a certain way, smell a certain way, and produce a certain way! When do we ever THINK about this? Even more, when do we ever QUESTION?

Since the summer is a great time for planning the new school year, what will you do this year to challenge the notion of how things have been done? What will you do that will cause you to think, as opposed to react, conform?

Let me know…. your kids are depending on you!

Our Art teacher Meg Peck got a chance to meet Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love!

I think it is important, maybe even imperative to maintain the school blog through the summer. Granted, there may not always be a lot of information to update, but the school must be seen in all its stages.

For instance, each week as I walk throughout the building and consult with the custodians, I take pictures to chart their progress and then report that out to our community (Our 3rd floor is ready, we are redesigning the Library, etc.) In addition, I ask the staff to submit photos from their summer vacations. I feel this is extremely important so our community can see the importance of travel, rejuvenation, or milestones from the staff. Simple, yet very effective ways of maintaining the summer bridge for the community!

Check out the RM Bacon Weekly (and I mean weekly, even in the summer)

Share your school blog stories! What do you do in the summer? Let me know

source: scottschwertly.com

I love my #PLN. My two co-hosts (Jessica Johnson and Theresa Stager) were talking to me about the Miracle Morning book they were reading. We have talked with guests on the podcast such as Todd Whitaker and Eric Sheninger about how they most of their mornings. We have always come out of those conversations inspired, and challenged! Then, there is the reality of the modern day principal that stays up too late (usually connecting with others online) and wakes up late. It is a frustrating cycle for those who are not in the morning routine… But then there was this book, this voxer group, this podcast, this, this possibility!

I ended up ordering the book and it came in today. I am so excited about reading with this book and working with my PLN to become more effective in the morning… According to the back cover, this book will not only help me with the morning routine, but also with other goals and changes I have only dreamed of…. I took the first step… I got the book and I blogged about it!

Want more information?

Miracle Morning Website 

Miracle Morning on Amazon

Miracle Morning on Facebook

Miracle Morning on YouTube

Hal Elrod on Twitter 

source: pandawhale.com

Where do we find problems? When do we have time to find problems? In researching information for Genius Hour, I came across this video by Ewan McIntosh from his TEDx presentation. Even though the talk is almost 3 years old, the topic could not be more relevant. How do we find problems and how do we allow teachers to find problems?

I can definitely see some of my teachers engaging in problem finding, and I am excited about the possible results from these inquiries. Maybe they will tackle problems that I, as the principal, didn’t even know existed. The sky is the limit, and the problems are not the problems…. In my world, the problems are the opportunities! Once they see the power of problem finding, they will be more comfortable with allowing the students to do the same!

Check out this TEDx talk by Ewan, you will be glad you did!