Working At The Edge

Make School Different: Digital leadership & Transformation

Quotes

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Recently, I was re-organizing my Evernote account and ran across a note that contained memorable quotes. I don’t recall specifically, but I probably collected these a few years ago and then stopped. After reading them, I felt the collection would make a good post on this blog. I’m not sure who said some of them, […]

Technology use “…if it’s appropriate.”

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I was checking out some of the video on the teachingchannel.org site in preparation for several workshops with teachers on Ruben Puentedura’s SAMR Model of Technology Integration. Here are two that got me thinking about how to move from the enhancement stages to the transformation stages within the SAMR Model: Daily Assessment with Tiered Exit […]

The Neutrality of Technology and Social Media

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This is a valuable share because we tend to blame technology rather than ourselves for the negatives. Technology is inherently neutral – neither good nor bad. It’s all in how WE choose to use it. The article The Advantages and Disadvantages of Student Social Media Use from Justin Marquis, Ph.D. (@drjwmarquis), effectively outlines a lot […]

Powerful Thoughts

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I really like this quote and visual from Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D. and her recent post titled, Information Abundance and Its Implications for Education. Take a moment to reflect on her words…. I don’t think we in education really understand the world we live in and how we need to change our response to it. Based […]

Do we really listen?

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Today’s TED talk, Ernesto Sirolli: Want to help someone? Shut up and listen!, is excellent and contains some valuable lessons regarding leadership and entrepreneurship (along with some good humor). [ted id=1617 width=560 height=315] Key takeaways: “We western people are inperialist, colonialist missionaries. There are only two ways we deal with people – we either patronize […]

Leadership Roles

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At a keynote presentation at the annual PASCD conference, Dr. Chris Moersch referenced an older article by Philip Schlechty entitled, On the frontier of school reform with trailblazers, pioneers and settlers. In the article, Schlechty proposes five types of roles people assume throughout the change process. Trailblazers – independent and don’t need a map. The stories […]

Exxon Mobile and School

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I can’t say I watch much television, but I’ve been seeing this commercial a lot lately, and I find it a bit disturbing. Watch it. (It’s only 30 seconds.) [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXEWPDdyokg] If we want to improve our schools, what should we invest in? – Great questions…you’ve got my attention! Maybe new buildings? – Maybe. But […]

Two Videos

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In the quest to change education, here are two videos I have recently discovered. What ideas do you find interesting? Practical? Controversial? How do we go about changing our system to bring about a vision such as that communicated in these brief documentaries? [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quYDkuD4dMU] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC_T9ePzANg]

Greatness

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How do our school/district leaders frame greatness? How would leaders respond if asked to describe a time when they felt they were part of something really great — exceptional? How wide would the variation be among a team of school leaders in describing greatness? Are we lacking a sense of greatness in public education? How […]

Institutional Digtial Footprint

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I started listening to Steven Johnson’s latest book, Perfect Future: The Case for Progress in a Networked Age. Early on, Johnson explains his belief that “if it bleeds, it leads” – this notion that things are getting worst and as a nation we are not making progress on many levels. And that is what is […]