Working At The Edge

Make School Different: Digital leadership & Transformation

Managing Digital Distraction

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The graphic below was created in response to some results from a survey we administered last spring connected to our technology initiative, Teaching and Learning 2014. A consistent perception over the past two years of surveys has been that a laptop computer in the hands of a teenager is a digital distraction. This feeling is, […]

Google Drive as cloud storage

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We have been using Google Apps for Education in my school district for about five years, under the name Falcon Apps. It has really become a part of the culture throughout the organization and has worked particularly well with our 1:1 laptop/learning initiative TL2014. For the past five years we have provided students with email […]

IDIOTS?

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As I was flipping through my Facebook feeds on Sunday, I noticed the following post from Fast Company. I see their point, and I do understand that the behavior of some people can be labeled with no other word than distraction. However, I think it is how we use the technology that is often missing […]

Making the Time for Social Media

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It’s sometimes a challenge during the school year to keep from getting absorbed in the “urgent” things that need to get done. Personal learning time is often the first thing that gets sacrificed. With the summer, though, comes a gentler pace that allows for more reflection and the opportunity to more easily commit the time […]

The Seven Essential Life Skills and Policy

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The 7 essential life skills outlined in the video below are nothing new. We have been talking about these skills for nearly a decade, when educators started to feel the need to prepare students for the “21st century.” Here are the skills: Focus and self-control (this is the idea of attention and managing distractions) Perspective […]

Infographics…a way to manage large amounts of information

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I’m currently listening to a very interesting audiobook – Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long. I am enjoying the book because the suggested strategies for dealing with distraction are rooted in how the brain works. Distraction, especially in our hyper-connected world, is a topic that […]

Are educators ready for Common Core?

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Today I attended a very good professional development provided by Discovery Education – The ELA Common Core Academy. I left the session (another day tomorrow) feeling like I have a greater understanding of the Common Core Standards and the instructional shifts required of our teachers so that our students can meet these new standards. My […]

Using Technology: Wrong and Right (or Play and Think)

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I pretty much dislike right/wrong dichotomies (things in life are rarely black and white), but this graphic posted by Bill Ferriter (@plugusin) on Twitter is worth sharing and briefly commenting on. I like the question, “What do you want kids to do with technology?” because the answer will show whether the thinking is stuck in […]