New Social Media Tools

Social media technology continues to transform how teachers, students and leaders do their work. We're amazed at the creative tools that have emerged to support our work individually and with one another. Here are a few of our latest finds.

Popplet - http://popplet.com

This tool allows you to gather and organize ideas much like a concept map. It allows you to examine resources from different sources and organize an assignment or presentation. You can invite others in your group to add to the web/map. 

Educreations - www.educreations.com 

This tool allows you to create amazing presentations on a recordable whiteboard. It captures your voice and handwriting to produce short video lessons that you can share online. Created as an iPad app they're working on an app for Android devices. Public lessons can be embedded on blogs or websites. Ron uses it all the time in his online courses.

Idea Sketch - http://www.nosleep.net/ 

This app allows you to draw diagrams and create mind maps, concept maps or flow charts. There is an option to convert from text or to text if desired. It's a great tool for brainstorming and illustrating concepts. Apps are available for iOS and Windows devices.

We also want to include a tool that's been around for a while but just keeps getting better.

Prezi - www.prezi.com 

This presentation tool allows you to organize and share ideas on a large whiteboard. A wide selection of templates makes it easy to get started. Once you begin you'll find Prezi easy to adapt to a whole variety of presentation needs. It allows you to embed photos, audio, video and links to all sorts of information on the web. 

We hope you enjoy trying out these social media tools and would enjoy hearing from you about other's you've discovered.

Resources for New Principals

NASSP (National Association of Secondary School Principals) recently launched an initiative to support new K-12 principals. The Center for New Principals provides a comprehensive set of tools and other resources for new principals. Click on "Special Topics of Interest for New Principals" to access a list of topics. NASSP is a member organization but many of the resources are public domain and available at this site.

One link is to a set of survival skills that discusses time management, dealing with difficult people, crisis management and seeking balance between professional and personal responsibilities.

Another link takes you to resources on school improvement. Topics include collaboration and vision, change, and data-driven decision-making.

I'm always looking for great tools and other resources for new as well as experienced principals. I'd enjoy hearing from you about resources you find helpful.

Tools and Resources for Principals

Sixteen new schools have joined the Oregon GEAR UP network. With the generous support of the Ford Family Foundation these schools have begun to enjoy the benefits of the Oregon GEAR UP Program.

The Principals Leadership Program, a component of Oregon GEAR UP, provides support for principals in their work with teachers and community to create college readiness and access. It includes on-site visits from a mentor, regional meetings and seminars, networking with other GEAR UP principals, and professional tools and resources.

Over 200 Research Briefs are available to principals. They cover virtually all of the major topics of interest for secondary school principals and each was developed at the request of a principal. There are also several other tools that will help principals work with their staff to implement a comprehensive college readiness program. A new addition is a set of podcasts,Principal's Perspectives, each prepared by a Oregon GEAR UP principal about an initiative in their school. The podcasts are also available at Apple's iTunes store.

I think you will find these tools and resources helpful in your work to improve college readiness. I'd enjoy hearing from you about their usefulness.

Great Summer Reading

Summer is a great time to rest and relax for the coming school year. I value the summer as an opportunity to catch up on my reading and I’d like to recommend some of my recent favorites to you. They include:

The Way We’ll Be by John Zogby - Known for his polling expertise, Zogby provides an intriguing look at contemporary American life. He suggests that the American dream is being redefined by several meta-movements including learning to live within our means, looking inward for spiritual comfort, demanding authenticity and embracing diversity. The book discusses the implications for every American institution, including its schools, and challenges some long-standing norms about the future of our nation.

How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins - The author of Good to Great identifies the stages of organizations that fail to develop the capacity for sustaining their work. Rather than focusing on how individuals and organizations fail, Collins offers hope by identifying specific strategies that can be used to avoid decline.

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell - Written by the author of The Tipping Point and Blink, this book examines of question of why some people succeed far more than others. Gladwell identifies a pattern that emerges from looking at outliers---”people whose achievements fall outside normal experience.” It offers insights into ways each of us can increase our likelihood of success.

The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann - This parable describes the experience of an ambitious young man. Along the way he is introduced to others who reflect the principles of service, contribution and success. It is a delightful story that teaches a valuable lesson about success as a leader.

Great New Resources for Principals

I'm always looking for new tools and resources for principals and as the school year ends I would like to share a few with you.

Blogs for Principals - There are some incredible resources available at several blogs designed just for principals. Here are some of my favorites.

Get Organized! http://frankbuck.blogspot.com. This site is devoted to making life easier through organization and time management and is written by Frank Buck author of Get Organized! Time Management for School Leaders.

Leader Talk http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/LeaderTalk/. This Education Week blog is written by school leaders for school leaders and provides interesting commentary and useful ideas for leading your school.

Effective Principals, Effective Schools http://effectiveprincipals.blogspot.com. This blog shares strategies used by principals to positively impact their school. The author of The Principalship from A to Z maintains the blog.

I hope you find these resources helpful and would enjoy hearing from you about other great sites for ideas to improve our schools.

Dealing with Stable or Declining Resources

No issue impacts schools more intensely than the current economic malaise. Every school I visit is being impacted by stable or declining resources. At the same time they are more accountable than every before for a high quality educational experience for all students.

Almost universally the issue becomes one of how to be both more efficient and more effective. You are expected to sustain your efforts at improvement while being even more efficient with your resources.

Generally there are three responses. You can identify areas where you might reduce expenditures. You can also consider an alternative way of doing some of the things you are already doing.

Or you can prioritize what you are doing. This is almost always difficult because in the process you are seen as valuing one program more than others. When you prioritize you must anchor your decision in your school's vision and mission. For example, you would not want to eliminate programs that provide additional support to students if your vision is one where every student is expected to achieve at higher levels.

You do not need to set aside your vision during tough economic times. But you might need to reconsider how you provide essential supports. You may want to work with other schools or districts to share professional development. You might want to ask a local business leader to support your advocacy efforts with families or community. You might want to increase your efforts to identify volunteers, such as senior citizens, to work with students.

These challenging decisions are almost always better when teachers, families, and other stakeholder groups are included. I'd enjoy hearing from you about how you reconcile the need for greater efficiency and greater effectiveness.