A Principal's Reflections
JANUARY 3, 2013
'I have read some very thought-provoking posts and associated commentary over the past couple of weeks focusing on how particular educators use social media. What I have found interesting is the powerful opinions as to how one should use social media. I think it is great that so many people have focused opinions on what social media should, could, or should not be with a considerable emphasis on specific do''s and dont''s.
The Web20Classroom
MAY 29, 2013
'I had a wonderful conversation this morning on Twitter with a teacher from New Zealand that commented on a tweet about using Skype Classroom to go global. She mentioned how her students were going to Skype and talk to kids in Iowa. How awesome is that! I just love the fact that the world gets so much smaller when we use technology like that. There really are endless learning opportunities for students (and teachers as well).
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Educational Technology Guy
MAY 20, 2013
'I put this list together for our district as we are going with GAFE and Chromebooks and I figured I''d share it here too. Google Apps and Chromebooks Training Resources Google Apps for Education (GAFE) GAFE Training Center [link] Learn how to use GAFE [link] GAFE User Guides [link] Google in Education - Teacher Resources [link] Google for Educators Resources [link] GCF Learn Free - Google Training [link] Google Apps Crib Sheets [link] Recordings -- Innovative Chromebook Teachers - Hangout on Ai
Tom Murray
DECEMBER 26, 2013
'The role of the typical school district technology director has become obsolete. Speak with your average teacher in many school districts in the U.S., and you’ll find the technology department is better known for getting in the way than for serving the educational needs of both staff and students. Many technology departments, led by obsolete tech directors, are inadvertently inhibiting learning.
Generative AI holds tremendous promise for all stakeholders in higher education. But guardrails are needed. Strong governance that empower instructors are at the core of a responsible approach to using generative AI in academia.
Baker's B.Y.O.D.
MAY 30, 2013
'UPDATE AS OF 1/15/14: The company Gobstopper has changed its name to Curriculet, but this update hasn''t changed how I use Curriculet with my students. The stories and information in the below post still hold true despite the change in company name. While I''ve written quite a bit about assessing writing (ad nauseum) via digital means, reading instruction and assessment have remained a primarily paper-based enterprise in my class.
A Principal's Reflections
APRIL 8, 2013
'A year and a half ago I decided to implement a job-embedded growth model at the suggestion of some of my teacher leaders. They desperately sought time during the school day to engage in professional growth opportunities, learn how to integrate Web 2.0 tools, and develop their own Personal Learning Networks (PLN’s). After some thinking and looking at various options inherent in the current schedule, I decided to cut all non-instructional duties in half to create a Professional Growth Period (PGP
EdTech Update brings together the best content for education technology professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
A Principal's Reflections
SEPTEMBER 18, 2013
'The beginning of the school year always renews my focus on how to improve my leadership skills. Each year I critically analyze ways I can improve as well as what I feel I am doing well. To my mind, we all have the capacity to lead. It is through leadership that we become catalysts for positive change. Once sustainable change takes hold, we will see the fruits of our labor in the form of transformed teaching and learning practices amongst learners and in ourselves.
A Principal's Reflections
MARCH 13, 2013
'Recently Jeff Fiscina , one of my math teachers, submitted a guest post on my blog that emphasized some of his grading practices that best support and promote student learning. That post got me thinking about the process we went through to assist Jeff in developing and embracing his current grading practices as well as that of other teachers. It was about a year ago that I decided to tackle the grading culture here at New Milford High School, which wasn''t much different than the majority of sc
A Principal's Reflections
MARCH 4, 2013
'The following is a guest post from Jeff Fiscina , one of my math teachers at New Milford High School. Today is the day after a test. I walk around to hand back tests to the students. Students, who did well, put a smile on their faces. Students, who did poorly, sink into their chairs in displeasure. I come back to the board to review the problems which created the most difficulty.
A Principal's Reflections
APRIL 24, 2013
'Yesterday I had a conversation with one of my teachers who has future aspirations to become an administrator. The two of us had set some time aside for her to discuss my many roles as a principal. During the conversation she asked me if I regretted any of the decisions I had made. I paused, thought about this for a minute, and responded that I did not.
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A Principal's Reflections
NOVEMBER 27, 2013
'The following is a guest post by New Milford High School sophomore Sarah Almeda. After learning about her Chemistry blog titled Avogadro Salad I asked her to share some insight on the importance of blogging from a student''s perspective. I was so blown away by what she wrote below that I went against my long standing personal policy of not following my students on Twitter.
A Principal's Reflections
SEPTEMBER 11, 2013
'I have written extensively over the past couple of years about our Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative at New Milford High School at the Huffington Post and on my own blog. It has been interesting to look back at all my blog posts to see how far we have come with BYOD at NMHS. My first ever post on the topic just provided a small glimpse at the possibilities inherent when students are empowered to use the technology that they already posses to enhance their learning experience.
A Principal's Reflections
MAY 22, 2013
'Over the course of this school year, I have been fortunate enough to share ideas on technology integration with Judy Wilson , my children’s principal at P.S. 3 in Staten Island, NY. Many of these conversations focused on my own son’s use of technology as a catalyst for creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking developed by playing Minecraft and using iMovie to storyboard and create his own movies.
A Principal's Reflections
DECEMBER 11, 2013
'I n my opinion one of the most important roles in any school is that of Media Specialist. Over the years I have longed to create a position that would serve a multi-faceted role of librarian, media specialist, and educational technologist. The challenge for me though was that Shannon Miller''s , Joyce Valenza''s , and Gwyneth Jones''s don''t grow on trees.
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A Principal's Reflections
JULY 22, 2013
'We can all agree that professional development is essential in any profession, especially education. It is an opportunity to become better at what we do as well as gain knowledge on new pedagogical techniques, learning theories, leadership strategies, technologies, and federal/state mandates. With budgets being continuously slashed across the country, Districts are beginning to tighten their belts.
A Principal's Reflections
OCTOBER 7, 2013
'The following is cross-posted at Laura Fleming''s blog titled Worlds of Learning. Laura is the new media specialist at NMHS and has been challenged to develop innovative ways to create structures to recognize informal learning of both teachers and students. As a 21st Century Library Media Specialist, part of what I strive to do is to serve as an instructional technology resource for both educators and learners. ?
A Principal's Reflections
NOVEMBER 20, 2013
'At New Milford High School teachers are adapting their professional practice as we continue to evolve into a Bring Your Own Device school where student-owned technology integrated effectively. NMHS teachers are also beginning to to integrate social media tools that are blocked and banned in the majority of schools across the country. Ms. Smith’s science class has gone paperless.
A Principal's Reflections
DECEMBER 18, 2013
'There is no better way to get the pulse of a school as a leader than to be in classrooms. I have never considered myself one to be tied to a desk and/or office, but the managerial aspects of the position and ridiculous amounts of paperwork catch up to you at some point. This year educators in NJ, like many other states across the nation, are still adjusting to new mandates related to teacher evaluation and tenure changes.
Speaker: Andrew Cohen, Founder & CEO of Brainscape
The instructor’s PPT slides are brilliant. You’ve splurged on the expensive interactive courseware. Student engagement is stellar. So… why are half of your students still forgetting everything they learned in just a matter of weeks? It's likely a matter of cognitive science! With so much material to "teach" these days, we often forget to incorporate key proven principles into our curricula — namely active recall, metacognition, spaced repetition, and interleaving practice.
A Principal's Reflections
JANUARY 16, 2013
'The culture at New Milford High School empowers teachers to develop creative pathways for students to demonstrate conceptual mastery. Joanna Westbrook, one of my first year English teachers, never shies away from this. Earlier this year she experimented with using Twitter to foster creative thought. Well earlier this week Mrs. Westbrook was at it again.
A Principal's Reflections
AUGUST 5, 2013
'Cross-posted at the Huffington Post. NJ Spotlight is a fantastic resource for me. They are unbiased in their approach to educate citizens on numerous topics, with education being one of them. I recently came across an opinion piece titled Putting New Jersey''s High School Diplomas to the Test. The article focused on NJ''s relentless push to increase standardized testing and institute end of course exams that students would have to pass in order to graduate.
A Principal's Reflections
MARCH 28, 2013
'Cross-posted at the Huffington Post. As we continue to advance in the digital age schools and districts are beginning to re-think pedagogy and learning environments by instituting either 1:1 device programs or Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiatives. In my opinion, schools that wish to create the most relevant and meaningful learning culture will go in one of these directions.
A Principal's Reflections
NOVEMBER 10, 2013
'I am very excited about my upcoming book titled “ Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times ” which will be published by Corwin Press. The entire book looks at leadership through the lens of practitioners in the digital age. Effective leadership is extremely important in any system, but it is even more imperative in schools if we are to provide all learners with a world-class education.
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A Principal's Reflections
DECEMBER 4, 2013
'The following post was written by Laura Fleming who is the Media Specialist at my school. It is also cross-posted at her blog Worlds of Learning. Here Laura describes our philosophy and journey to create a Makerspace for our students. Setting up a Makerspace has been a priority of mine from the moment I started here at New Milford High School , and it’s already well on its way to being achieved.
A Principal's Reflections
MAY 15, 2013
'This year’s Holocaust Study Tour took place from April 1 through 14. I am proud to say that this unparalleled learning experience, under the direction of Colleen Tambuscio, has taken place for the last twelve years at NMHS. Students that participate in this experience travel to Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic as they learn firsthand about one of the most traumatic events in human history.
A Principal's Reflections
DECEMBER 1, 2013
'This post is the third in a series that will outline the foundational elements of my new book, Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times. It is set to be published by Corwin Press on January 14, 2014. Currently there is a pre-publication discount of 15% for any orders before this date. Over the next couple of weeks I will introduce what I have come to identify as the Pillars of Digital Leadership , a conceptual framework for leaders to begin thinking about changes to professiona
A Principal's Reflections
APRIL 30, 2013
'It is springtime at New Milford High School and new ideas are flourishing. Teachers are consistently empowered and given the autonomy to take calculated risks without the fear of failure to enhance the teaching and learning process. The end result is that our students benefit from lessons that combine sound pedagogy with the effective integration of technology.
Speaker: Chris Paxton McMillin, President of D3 Training Solutions
There are plenty of great authoring tools for developing eLearning, but the one you select could directly impact your course's outcomes. Depending upon your learners’ needs and your organization’s performance goals, you could be overlooking considerations that impact the both effectiveness of your courses and how long it takes to finish them. From general capabilities to specific workflow structures, some aspects are critical when it comes to learning objectives and deadlines.
A Principal's Reflections
APRIL 11, 2013
'As the end of the school year draws near, the education reform rhetoric is heating up. This means states like New Jersey and New York are closer to implementing new teacher evaluation systems as a result of Race to the Top, NCLB waivers, and other mandates adopted through recent legislation. It seems like we are now at a crossroads between what the reformers think is best for elevating education in our country and the opinions of actual educators who work with students day in and day out.
A Principal's Reflections
NOVEMBER 4, 2013
'How can an English teacher help to develop critical literacy across the curriculum? What follows is a guest post from NMHS teachers who have been collaborating with English teacher Joanna Westbrook to create authentic literacy tasks in each of their disciplines. You will hear from a science teacher, a social studies teacher, and an art teacher as each provides her take on how the Common Core and 21st Century learning goals affect what goes on in the classroom.
A Principal's Reflections
DECEMBER 22, 2013
'This post is the sixth in a series that will outline the foundational elements of my new book, Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times. It is set to be published by Corwin Press on January 14, 2014. Currently there is a pre-publication discount of 15% for any orders before this date. Over the next couple of weeks I will introduce what I have come to identify as the Pillars of Digital Leadership , a conceptual framework for leaders to begin thinking about changes to professiona
A Principal's Reflections
SEPTEMBER 24, 2013
'I decided to hold back (for now) on a rant that has been brewing for the past two days and instead have decided to take a more constructive approach on my blog. A great debate that has emerged over social media channels has been how we honor and acknowledge our educators and others in the profession. During many insightful and constructive conversations with Chris Wejr we went back on forth on the merits and challenges inherent in this complex process.
Speaker: Amanda Davis, Chief Experience Officer and Liam O'Malley, VP of Association Solutions
The "new normal" is now a little less new, a little more normal. Does that mean your current LMS strategy is in need of a refresh? Is your organization or association leaning into the always-evolving eLearning environment to ensure you have the tools and content to remain relevant through all this change? There are many complex decision-making processes within your learning & development strategy and LMS lifecycle management, including: Selection.
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