Nocking the Arrow

CC Image - Weebly We have incorporated a new web site built upon the Word Press platform at our school. We have changed web publishing platforms at least three times in the past several years, and this understandably leaves our teachers hesitant about learning another publishing tool. We became a "GAFE" ( Google Apps for Education ) district two months ago, and we have adopted Schoology as our learning management system. Did I mention that we are also expanding our 1:1 iPad program ?  These recent changes helped convince our teachers to choose one of three recommendations for creating their classroom web pages. Create a classroom web site in Google Sites Create a classroom web site with Blogger Create a classroom site using Schoology's blog, and profile builder. These options are fairly intuitive, as well as, supportive of our existing web structures. It wasn't long after we set up training opportunities for these options, that Weebly announced it...

Angel Ramos is an excellent instructor, but he is not a professional educator. He motivates his clients to learn and grow measurably, but he is not an educator. Angel is impacting the long-term quality of peoples' lives, but he is not an educator. Angel Ramos is an accomplished and popular trainer at Xsport Fitness , where I have been training for for the past five years. He employs training methods that would make him a very effective classroom teacher. What can educators learn from an outstanding fitness trainer like Angel? RAPPORT - Angel, like all good trainers, establishes a rapport with his clients. He learns about their interests, their likes and dislikes, along with their motivations for training. Angel establishes a supportive relationship with his clients. These partnerships create an atmosphere where clients are more likely to " buy in " to the often rigorous training sessions. BASELINE MEASURES - Personal trainers, like Angel, put their clients through ...

"Let's Learn Together" October, as you know, is Connected Educator's Month . Social media is being flooded with strategies and resources promoting greater connectivity in the name of learning. Can a learning management system (LMS) promote learning through greater connection opportunities? It would certainly seem so. Here are three ways  Schoology  advances learning through connections. Schoology updates and public resources can be shared to Twitter and Facebook . Schoology groups help students and educators learn together by sharing resources. Schoology integrates with popular productivity applications such as Google Drive and Evernote . Additional Reading Schoology Blog Schoology Knowledge Base - YouTube Schoology Support Center

CC Image - "Time" by Alan Cleaver As I write this post, I am once again reminded that time is our most precious, non-renewable resource.  Don’t we all wish we had enough time to do the things we need to do, as well as, the things we want to do. Like most educators, my daily task list keeps me busy throughout the day. So much so, that I can expect to bring at least a few hours of work home with me each night. The challenge becomes balancing the time needed to complete work-related tasks with time for family, friends, exercise, and rest. Oh, and there is one more thing, time to learn , converse, and collaborate, with my personal learning network . My growth mindset , and my desire to serve others means that I am comfortably suited to work my current job as a school technology coordinator. Every day presents exciting new challenges along with several intrinsic rewards. However, I feel that my effort...