A Principal's Reflections
AUGUST 23, 2010
'Updated 4/17/13 The concept of a PLN has been around for a very long time. PLN''s back in the day consisted of individuals with the same professional interests engaging in mostly face to face communication. Fast forward a good amount of years and enter the internet. No one can argue that the evolution of the real-time web has dramatically altered how we communicate, gather information, and reflect.
The Web20Classroom
MAY 3, 2010
'If you haven''t already heard, TED is one of the world''s coolest conferences. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Desgin) brings together some of the most forward thinking, progressive and really fascinating people on the planet to talk about, really anything they want. There are lots of things that TED can teach us in education and tons of ways we can use TED in the classroom.
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The Electric Educator
SEPTEMBER 6, 2010
'Have you ever experienced the unique and rare moment when, after doing something the same way for year and years, you have an epiphany and wonder, "why am I doing it this way?" Most of the time the answer is tradition, that''s the way we''ve always done it. At one time, there probably was a sound, logical, reasonable explanation for the decision to do it that way.
A Principal's Reflections
NOVEMBER 17, 2010
'Cross-posted at The Educator''s Royal Treatment. As I mentioned in a previous post I have been working on a educational technology presentation for principals in a NJ school district. The title I chose was "Harnessing the Power of Educational Technology" as I firmly believe that the many free tools available at our fingertips possess the ability to enhance our effectiveness and efficiency as administrators.
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.
A Principal's Reflections
JULY 21, 2010
'Yesterday I was granted an opportunity to deliver a keynote at the NYSCATE Leadership Summit in Troy, NY. The topic of my talk was, "Leadership in the Digital Age." During my talk I spoke about two paths that a leader could take, telling people what they want to hear, or taking them where they need to be. This theme served as a catalyst for my discussion on leading change in the 21st Century.
A Principal's Reflections
MARCH 24, 2010
'Last night I participated in #edchat on Twitter and the topic of discussion focused on techniques teachers could use to improve communication with parents. I added my ideas on the topic and attempted to link techniques and strategies I utilize to both teachers and administrators. Educators must be experts in effective communication techniques, especially when it comes to parents.
EdTech Update brings together the best content for education technology professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
A Principal's Reflections
OCTOBER 28, 2010
'As a Principal, one of my most important responsibilities is the evaluation of instruction. In general, the observation process is quite arbitrary. The feedback a teacher receives really depends on the training a particular administrator has received, District vision, and what books or research have been read. What I have tried to do is take a little bit of everything I have learned to provide my teachers with the best feedback possible in order to promote professional growth and increase stude
A Principal's Reflections
JULY 9, 2010
'Earlier today I read an article published in the Washington Post by Diane Ravitch entitled " Ravitch on Teachers and Her Critics ". For the most part I agree with her views on No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and in many other areas. However, I was very taken aback by this statement that she made referencing 21st Century Skills, " And, to the extent that it is about pushing more technology into the schools, it is pointless, as technology will never take the place of good teachers.
A Principal's Reflections
AUGUST 12, 2010
'So many exciting things have happened recently as a result of my own learning and growth in educational technology and leadership. As a result, I have seen my own knowledge increase in these areas, participated in exciting professional development opportunities, presented at both my school and at other events on web 2.0, and begun to collaboratively change the culture of my school.
A Principal's Reflections
JULY 2, 2010
'Yesterday after receiving my iPad I quickly reached out to my PLN for some suggestions on which apps to download. The key for me is that I will be using this device at work in concert with my administrative team during administrative walk-throughs, observations, and to take notes during meetings (I am sure some other uses will come up as I get more acclimated with the iPad).
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A Principal's Reflections
OCTOBER 10, 2010
'As I write this post I am sitting in the Des Moines airport waiting for my flight back to the East Coast. I was fortunate to spend the last few days here in Iowa as a guest of Scott McLeod who founded and runs the C.A.S.T.L.E. program at Iowa State University. The purpose of my trip here was to learn about the deployment, facilitation, and observable impact of 1:1 laptop programs in various Iowa school districts.
A Principal's Reflections
AUGUST 6, 2010
'Yesterday was a particularly busy day for me. In the midst of interviewing candidates for an open vice principal position, calling prospective teachers, and going through mounds of paperwork I managed to make the time to video conference with administrators and educational stakeholders in Virginia, Iowa, New York, and Florida. Let me begin by saying that I was absolutely honored that various members of my Professional Learning Network (PLN) and the greater educational community reached out to m
A Principal's Reflections
NOVEMBER 1, 2010
'The following interview took place after Education Week''s Leadership Forum "Unleashing Technology to Personalize Learning" on 10/5/10 in Washington D.C. In order to increase access and use I am now utilizing Facebook with students and parents in my District. There are so many people already using Facebook to interact with their friends and family.
A Principal's Reflections
NOVEMBER 11, 2010
'This morning I attended a meeting with students that represent New Milford High School and my superintendent. The purpose of the "Superintendent''s Council" is to allow students to have a voice and empower them to make meaningful changes to the culture of the District. During the meeting the students were asked what changes or initiatives they would like to see.
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A Principal's Reflections
DECEMBER 19, 2010
'In my District I am part of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) with other administrators. The focus of our PLC is the Classroom Walkthrough practice as a tool to improve student achievement. During our professional day in October we decided to collect data on whether or not student-centered learning was taking place and present our finding to our respective staffs in January.
A Principal's Reflections
SEPTEMBER 21, 2010
'Innovation and 21st Century learning mean different things to different people. This little girl sums up my views in a simple, yet direct fashion: The role of an educator in the 21st Century relies on transformations in teaching and learning to meet the needs of students in today''s society. Innovative instruction contains many of these elements: Are you an innovative educator?
A Principal's Reflections
DECEMBER 5, 2010
'After reading a great blog post this morning entitled " The Wisdom to Learn From Failure " I quickly began to reflect on how the majority of educational systems are set up in a way where failure, or even the thought of it, is unacceptable. Early on in both my teaching and administrative careers I often found myself trying to avoid failure at all costs.
A Principal's Reflections
NOVEMBER 28, 2010
'I was re-reading a recent post by George Couros ( Is Change the True Barrier? ) and began to reflect on some of the comments made directly on his site as well as those in the Twitter stream. The following comment by David Jakes really got me thinking: " Perpetual never-ending conversation about change is the barrier." As I looked more into the recent pleas for change in education I came across this video: Talk is cheap (I do think this is a pretty good video though)!
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
MAY 3, 2010
'In the field of education change and innovation are words that are often spoken, but rarely acted upon. As our world evolves, technology has become increasingly prevalent in the lives of students. They are now part of a digital generation that have incredible opportunities to create content, collaborate on a global scale, and follow a path of continuous, life-long learning that extends beyond the walls of a school.
A Principal's Reflections
JUNE 28, 2010
'This morning I came across this amusing, short video that highlighted one of many advantages that digital learners have over their traditional counterparts: This video serves as a great catalyst, in my opinion, to begin listing all of many benefits students receive when immersed in learning environments that combine solid pedagogical techniques with web 2.0/digital resources.
A Principal's Reflections
OCTOBER 17, 2010
'Check out this video for some great learning applications associated with Facebook. Do you know of other learning applications? If so list them here!
A Principal's Reflections
NOVEMBER 6, 2010
'Over the past couple of days I have been preparing a presentation for K-12 Principals entitled "Harnessing the Power of Educational Technology" (I''ll share more about this at a later time). I must say that I have been quite impressed with myself as I decided to create the entire full day presentation using Google Sites. During what seemed to be countless hours of tweaking presentations, searching for videos, and deciding what content I wanted to cover I found myself reflecting on my growth as
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A Principal's Reflections
DECEMBER 30, 2010
'I''ll admit, I am a technology junkie. In my opinion it is not very difficult to quickly become one as a result of the world that we live in. The challenge for people like me is to develop a school culture that not only places an emphasis on academic rigor and excellence, but also one that promotes learner creativity and imagination. I truly believe that students who are placed in stimulating environments where their curiosity is peaked, creative juices are unleashed, and their wildest dreams a
A Principal's Reflections
DECEMBER 9, 2010
'Upon becoming Principal of New Milford High School in June of 2007 I made it one of my primary goals to work hard at sharing with my stakeholders all of the accomplishments centered around teaching and learning occurring on a routine basis. As Principal I was aware of these things, but I was pretty sure that the majority of the educational community was not.
A Principal's Reflections
OCTOBER 9, 2010
'Facebook, the premiere social networking site, is used by hundreds of thousands of students all over the world. While the site has become somewhat of a nuance for most teachers—they distract from valuable study and class time—some schools are embracing the social media site with welcoming arms. Not only are some schools incorporating Facebook into their lesson plans, but they are also tutoring students as young as 6-years-old on how to ''properly'' use the site.
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
DECEMBER 16, 2010
'The following is the second guest post from NMHS student Meredith McCann. Meredith is a senior at NMHS and plans to pursue a career as a math teacher. I feel fortunate that the administration and staff of New Milford High School is made up of people who care for their students and are committed to education. They are dedicated to our school, and they continue to look for ways to improve and modernize the classroom.
A Principal's Reflections
JULY 6, 2010
'In my last post I wrote about some iPad apps that I thought were must adds for administrators and educators alike. Since then I have received some great suggestions from my PLN and had the chance to check out other apps that I have found a use for as a High School Principal. The key for me is that I want this device to be a valuable tool in collecting data, staying in touch with my administrative team, unrestricted real-time access to my PLN, and as a form of motivation for my teachers to take
A Principal's Reflections
DECEMBER 13, 2010
'I have been engaged recently in numerous conversations regarding teacher effectiveness, motivation, peer mentoring, and pride in student achievement. As many professional educators I can come up with a variety of strategies to employ with the ultimate goal of improving and building upon these areas. This is not the point of my post however. Shortly after one lengthy discussion on the above topics took place I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with one of my teachers where he presented
A Principal's Reflections
NOVEMBER 24, 2010
'Large classrooms can make students feel anonymous, and as a result, many may feel less compelled to actively participate or pay attention during class. Whether it is in primary or secondary school, or in a college classroom, getting students to become engaged in the materials being presented can be a frustrating battle. This is especially true now that students can become distracted during class by a number of things, including the Internet and technology.
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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