Nearly 16,000 educators from around the world gathered in Philadelphia earlier this month for ISTE 2015. Attendees crowded the exhibit hall floor to test drive the latest gadgets and tools for learning and instruction. SmartBrief Education editors were on the ground, covering it all. We showcased several of these products in this month’s SmartBrief on EdTech Product Showcase. Take a look at what caught readers’ attention: Educade from GameDesk. Educade is an online library of free K-12 instructional resources, including lesson plans, apps, games and hands-on activities. Teachers can search for resources by grade level, subject matter and technology type. Users must register in order to access the library. OpenEd. Teachers looking for new instructional tools can find them at OpenEd, an online resource library with lesson plans, videos, games and assessments designed for K-12. Most content on the site is free but users may purchase a subscription to access premium content from education publishers. STEM report from Vernier. Thirty-five percent of high schools currently include science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in their core curriculum, according to a recent report from IESD and Vernier. Another 41% of high schools plan to implement STEM courses by next year. The report is available for download from Venier’s website. White paper on science education from Pasco. Technology - including tools used in science education - is most effective for learning when used as part of an inquiry-based instructional approach, according to research highlighted in a new white paper from Pasco and IESD. The report offers findings from a review of research on science education and the use of technology in the science classroom. Also included use cases from schools using Pasco technology. Quick Key Mobile. Developed by K-12 educator Walter Duncan, Quick Key Mobile is designed to provide real-time feedback on digital and paper assessments. The solution enables educators to create quizzes, administer assessments, and manage data at the student, school or district level. The system is designed to integrate with PowerSchool. Observe4success and EdTrainingCenter. A Web-based system from Observe4success and EdTrainingCenter aims to provide schools with personalized classroom observation and teacher professional development. Activate. Activate, from C8 Science, combines computer games with physical activities to help students with ADHD improve neurocognitive functions. The system’s cognitive software and assessment tools are designed to identify areas where students struggle and coach them through to success. The physical exercise program aims to build physical endurance and social skills. Dash and Dot. Meet Dash and Dot, programmable toy robots designed to teach students how to code through play and storytelling. Created by Wonder Workshop for students aged 5 and up, Dash and Dot come with apps for different age groups and learning and play styles. Apps for young learners include music and movement. Older students learn coding and application development with Blockly, Objective C and Java. SMART kapp iQ. SMART kapp iQ is a 4K ultra high-definition interactive whiteboard display from. Users can collaborate on and save content from the board in real time — even from remote locations — using their Android or iOS devices with the SMART kapp app. The display, available in 55- and 65-inch sizes, is designed for plug-and-play installation, with no IT integration required. Total Motivation. Mentoring Minds has released Total Motivation, a supplemental curriculum designed to help teachers identify and fill learning gaps with students. The program, available in print and digital formats, includes tools for instruction, formative assessment and real-time progress monitoring. Copia Class. Copia Class is a cloud-based platform that houses text, videos and education content from various publishers. The system also features tools for student collaboration and real-time performance reporting. Copia Class integrates with most SIS providers. Kajeet Education Broadband. The Kajeet Education Broadband program lets schools and districts buy discounted data in bulk and pool the data for student use. The pooled data can be used at home or on campus on any device. Unused data rolls forward each month and never expires. What caught your eye at ISTE this year? Drop us a line in the comments below. Related Posts: No Related Posts Ed-tech product roundup: July, ISTE 2015 originally published by SmartBlogs

(Photo: Flickr user Dan4th Nicholas) Consumers who think nothing of ordering their books, clothes and shoes online still often balk when it comes to buying their groceries anywhere but the store. The costs and the logistics involved in delivering perishable consumables has kept the food and beverage sector lagging other e-commerce efforts, but flexibility, personalization and omnichannel strategies are helping grocers catch up. Only about 1% of all U.S. consumers do their grocery shopping online, but online grocery sales are forecast to grow at a 21.1% compound annual growth rate between 2013 and 2018, to nearly $18 billion, while traditional grocery sales are expected to grow only 3.1% annually during the same period, according to Business Insider Intelligence. In the U.S., grocery e-commerce is working best in high-density urban areas where it’s more cost-effective than in sprawling suburbs or sparsely populated rural areas, said Rahul Bindish, vice president of sales for Grid Dynamics. "A lot of it is trial and error," he said. One thing grocers are discovering is that, unlike traditional e-commerce, there need to be more flexible options when it comes to food sales, including click-and-collect programs. "Omnichannel initiatives, where you can actually have a consistent experience across channels, are changing the game for grocers in the U.S.," he said. In-store pickup can eliminate the need to wait around for deliveries during a specific pickup window or the risk of having fresh food sitting outside the front door waiting for the customer to get home, he said. That kind of flexibility is key in today’s competitive grocery landscape, said Unata CEO Chris Bryson. "The modern consumer expects that today they can shop in the store, tomorrow they can shop online, then they can order online and pick up in the store. There’s a huge move in the direction of flexibility. The shopping experience of the future is allowing shoppers to shop any way they want," Bryson said. Bindish agrees. "Grocers are saying ‘How can I extend the shopping experience beyond my store, to online and mobile, so my customers have a consistent experience across these channels," Bindish said. Another difference when it comes to groceries is that consumers buy many of the same items on a regular basis, a challenge that’s also an opportunity for retailers looking to personalize the experience based on the customer’s shopping history, Bryson said. "I think the retailers that are seeing the most success in the category are making sure the experience is rooted in personalization. They’re leveraging the data to make the checkout process easier, and more and more they’re putting a premium on the user experience and high-quality design," he said. Design and organization is especially key in food retail, where stores typically stock between 50,000 and 100,000 different items, Bryson said, and it takes on even more significance as consumers do more and more of their shopping on smaller screens. "The modern consumer is so time-starved and has such high expectations for mobile, they expect it to be fluid and easy to use," he said. Mobile also offers more opportunities for personalization, including creating digital shopping lists that consumers can take to the store, and using those lists to target coupons and promotions, said Grid Dynamics’ Bindish. "For example, if you know I buy 2% organic milk every week and you have a special on that, that should be on top of the list," he said. Retailers can also recommend new products based on the purchases of other shoppers with similar lists, he said. The demand for an omnichannel experience gives brick-and-mortar supermarket chains an advantage over pure-play online retailers and marketplaces breaking into the grocery business. "If you see some of the new entrants into this marketplace, like Google and Amazon, they’ve not expanded significantly beyond the pilot areas they’ve selected," Bindish said. "Instacart and Amazon Fresh, they do fresh produce delivery. For them, the model works in urban areas. Markets like San Francisco can be very successful, there’s a high concentration of people who order small basket sizes and get one or two deliveries a week." Amazon has been a leader in developing the technology that’s fueling growth in grocery e-commerce, and newer players like Instacart take a new tack when it comes to flexibilty — with an Uber-like business model, Instacart sends shoppers out to participating local grocery stores, filling and delivering orders within an hour in some markets. It’s too soon to know how big Instacart will grow, Bryson said. "It’s early days so it’s hard for us to say," he said. "We haven’t seen any public results. It offers more choice to the consumer. It’s funny how some retailers will have an Instacart experience and also support their own e-commerce experience, or a click-and-collect program. There’s more options, more choice for the consumer." __________________________________________________ If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s email list for more stories about the food and beverage industry. We offer 14 newsletters covering the industry from restaurants to food manufacturing. Related Posts: Q&A: Relay Foods CEO Zach Buckner on leading an online startup in today’s food retail world Online grocery demand: Food retailers must get ready for change Companies get creative to navigate the complex world of online grocery Flexibility, personalization drive online grocery growth originally published by SmartBlogs

There is nothing quite like the adrenaline rush of that moment when you’re first awarded an important leadership role. Having "finally arrived" you imagine yourself as the rock star taking center stage at a roaring stadium of adoring fans. You can almost hear the ear shattering cheers of the crowd as they clamor to get closer, iPhones in hand, ready for the chance to take a cherished selfie and bask in your celebrity. The congratulatory comments and notes follow soon after, as do the handshakes, hugs and back slaps of colleagues, some of who may be actually be truly happy for your success. But, after repeatedly playing this movie in your head, (in which your performance in the leading role is, of course, Oscar-worthy) at some point you come face to face with the enormity of your responsibility to others. Grand titles and big salary aside, the burning issue now is how you’ll show up as a leader and what legacy you’ll leave behind. The answers to those questions will largely depend on your knowledge of who you really are. When the movie in your head winds to a close, you have to become someone other than that fantasy Mick Jagger you’ve been channeling. You have to be the leader who makes a difference for the business and for the people in it who make it hum. Becoming that authentic leader requires being able to answer four important, soul-searching questions: 1. Who am I? This is more than a "name, rank and serial number" kind of question. Knowing who you are means you deeply understand why you’re here and the unique contributions you intend to make — not just to the organization, but also to the larger world. It means having a profound sense of purpose in your life and the capacity to articulate it well, so that you engage and inspire others. You should be able to fill in the blank in the sentence "My purpose in life is to ___________. " If you can’t, it’s time to start working towards that answer, because your success as a leader depends upon it. Authentic leaders are able to visualize the sight line between their own purpose and the mission of the organization to such a profound degree that their work is more than a job — it’s an extension of who they are. 2. What are my passions? This is not a question that seeks to understand if you’re passionate about food, wine, football or skydiving, nor if you’re passionate about that attractive new member of your tennis club. The understanding of passion that’s essential for you to lead well requires deep insight into the passions that you express as a result of the purpose that drives you. After years of working with leaders around the globe, significant research has revealed 10 core passions that operate in everyone. They are codified as the following passion archetypes: Builder, Transformer, Teacher, Connector, Healer, Altruist, Conceiver, Creator, Processor and Discoverer. Knowing that you are a passionate Builder, for example, will drive you to achieve huge goals and dream big dreams. But, if you are managing someone with a Processor passion, you’ll need to slow down and lay out a detailed plan if you want to gain their support and benefit from their expertise. Understanding your own passions and how they interplay with those of others empowers you to leverage both the skills and the passions of the people on your team to get the best results. 3. How am I impacting others? As a leader, a critical responsibility is to design and maintain the culture of the organization. If your people debate and discuss issues openly and then work together to arrive at the best path forward, it’s because you’ve created a culture where information-hoarding is frowned upon and where people are encouraged to take risk and explore new ideas. Conversely, if your culture is one that pushes against reality and demands, rather than inspires results, you’re likely to have few people around you who commit to your vision or tell you when the data proves that it’s flawed. Consider the recent leadership shakeup at tech and power giant Toshiba as a case in point. A series of leaders, including CEO Hisao Tanaka, resigned on the heels of a $1.2 billion accounting scandal. Tanaka pushed employees to deliver on "challenge or stretch" targets to such an extent that profits were likely padded to make it appear that the goals had been attained. Tanaka and his predecessor, former Vice Chairman Norio Sasaki (who resigned along with the others), were known to operate with a "no excuses" mentality, which created a culture where few were willing to disappoint them, and even fewer likely to tell them the truth. This culture, and the leadership that spawned it, resulted in an over 20% drop in Toshiba’s stock price. 4. Where are my edges? Knowing the boundaries of your value system and clearly understanding what you’re not willing to do to win favor or profit provides you with an internal GPS to guide your behaviors. In the safety of our own thoughts, it’s easy to define ourselves as we’d like others to see us, but the work environment is where all those perceptions get tested. It’s where you are challenged to demonstrate the courage of your convictions as a leader and where you learn to embrace both your strengths and your weaknesses. Knowing your edges will prompt you to ask important questions of the business and the decisions that are made by you and other leaders in it. Beyond the question "Is what we’re planning to do legal?" a strong value system will cause you to ask, "Is this the right thing to do for our business and the promise of our brand?" Perhaps these are questions that the ousted leaders at Toshiba might now have time to ponder. Alaina Love is chief operating officer and president at Purpose Linked Consulting and co-author of "The Purpose Linked Organization: How Passionate Leaders Inspire Winning Teams and Great Results" (McGraw-Hill). She is a recovering HR executive, a global speaker and leadership expert, and passionate about everything having to do with, well, passion. Her passion archetypes are Builder, Transformer and Healer. You can learn more about your own passion archetypes here. When she’s not working with her Fortune 500 client base, Love is busy writing her next book, "Passionality," which explores the alignment of personality, purpose and passion, and how it contributes to our well being. Follow Love on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or her blog. If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s e-mail list for our daily newsletter on being a better leader and communicator. Related Posts: "Pivot Points" and knowing that every leader has a unique journey How to be recognized as a young leader Leaders, be careful what you reward Agility is today’s most critical leadership competency Teeing up for success: Saying yes to corporate golf events and other business golf 4 questions every leader should be able to answer originally published by SmartBlogs

Introverts are students who are bright and capable of communicating, but class discussions feel unnatural or uncomfortable for them. Sharing via technology is more comfortable, and it can benefit all students since everyone is heard. Here are a few ideas for using tech tools to draw out these learners: Backchannel. There are a few platforms, like TodaysMeet and Backchannel Chat that allow your classes to backchannel, or have an online discussion while watching a video or presentation in the classroom. Participation is as easy as typing and hitting "send" so it feels less threatening and unnatural to an introvert. The transcript of the chat can also be saved as collaborative class notes. Here is an example from a 9th grade class that watched a YouTube video on the Whiskey Rebellion recently. Games and Formative Tools. I often use Socrative, a student response tool, to pose questions to my classes. With Socrative, they can submit their answers anonymously and then, as a class, vote on the best one. Often the introverts are selected as winners because they’ve put more thought and depth into their answers. Another fun formative game app is Kahoot!. Either I create activities or students create them for each other. Kahoot gets my classroom energized with music, bright colors and a little healthy competition. Again, participation doesn’t require anyone to speak out loud, although they often do end up cheering for the winner at the end. Digital Bulletin Board. Students can use an app like Padlet to post text, links, video clips, images, or text for crowdsourcing their ideas. Here is a great example of a bulletin board about women in the Civil War that my tenth-grade students made using a combination of quotes, images found online, and their own drawings and words. Again, introverts won’t have to speak out in front of the whole class to participate in a powerful way. Strategies like these do more than engage all learners. They also send a message to introverts that their teacher understands they have a lot to contribute when given the right opportunity. Kerry Gallagher is a technology integration specialist at St. Johns Preparatory School in Danvers, Mass., a one-to-one iPad school serving 1,500 students grades 6-12. She taught middle and high school history in bring-your-own-device environments for 13 years. Gallagher is well known for her paperless collaborative classroom model which thrived on project-based learning. She also helped her students create Rockets Help Desk, a far-reaching student-driven technology integration program in her previous school district. Gallgher received the 2014 Yale-Lynn Hall Teacher Action Research Prize for her submission on the use of mobile devices for a paperless public school classroom and is a 2015 PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovator. Gallagher has been a conference presenter on the effective use of technology in the classroom at Harvard Law School, Yale School of Management, and Stanford University. In addition to EdSurge, she writes for Smarter Schools Project and ConnectSafely. She holds a B.A. in Politics from Saint Anselm College and J.D. from Massachusetts School of Law. ***** Tech Tips is a content collaboration between SmartBrief Education and GreyED Solutions. Have a tech tip to share? Contact us at techtips@greyedsolutions.com Miss a Tech Tip? Visit our Tech Tip archive. ***** Related Posts: No Related Posts Tech Tip: Using mobile devices to empower introverted students originally published by SmartBlogs

SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 190,000 business leaders. We run the poll question each week in our e-newsletter. Would you rather be seen as being a fair leader or a just one? I’d rather be seen as being fair: 44% I’d rather be seen as being just: 56% Justice Beats Fairness. Life’s not fair. Not everyone will be happy with the decisions you make and there will always be complaints about fair treatment. Being just is a difficult task. It requires leaders to be deliberate about how they spend their time (not everyone will get the same access), how they discipline, hand out promotions and assignments, and ultimately treat people. If you’re ever feeling "fairness pangs" where you have to make a tough call that isn’t necessarily fair, at least ensure justice is on your side. Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS, author of "Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results" and "One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership." Related Posts: How do you handle someone who’s a "squeaky wheel"? How do you deal with "steamrollers" on your team? Leadership : Which is harder: improving a slacker’s performance or getting a high-performer promoted? How do you invest your time and energy in your team members? How effectively do you recruit and hire outstanding talent? Would you rather be seen as being a fair leader or a just one? originally published by SmartBlogs

The social media revolution has made marketers’ lives much easier. It’s true that the field finds itself in uncharted territory. After overcoming the learning curve, however, the possibilities are endless. Social media not only gives marketers access to a larger audience than ever before, but allows them to act efficiently without leaving their office. When individual updates can reach millions of people, the odds of generating leads can be exponentially higher than before. But simply making an online profile isn’t enough - you must know how to capture its full potential. 1. Listen to your audience There are countless methods of expressing your message across social media, but you need to know which ones will best reach your customers. Any given shopper could be a regular user of Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest - or maybe they solely depend on LinkedIn when looking for products in your field. Devote time to research where these users frequent and then decide the most effective manner of marketing to them. Each online network has its own style, tone and purpose, and adapting to the culture of each website is essential to delivering your message properly. 2. Promote relevant material The results are in: customers don’t like being annoyed by meaningless advertisements. If you want to attract their business, it’s best to offer them something with relevance outside of the buying process. Marketers have found social media success by taking on the role of content providers - for example, by posting relevant articles that appeal to their target audience based on the product being sold. This encourages like-minded people to follow your online stream for informative or entertainment value. When you do choose to advertise a new product, they will not only be around to see it, but will also have a favorable perception of the brand. 3. Stay aware Social media makes it easy for your customers to stay updated on your brand - and the same logic holds true for your competitors. Observing the competition’s marketing scheme will help your company stay one step ahead. What may be more important is the need to play defense by listening to what others are saying about your own brand. The vast open atmosphere of social media levels the playing field for all of its citizens. Resolving criticism from unsatisfied customers can help public image tremendously - on the contrary, criticism left unanswered can do unjustifiable damage. 4. Create a schedule Timing can make the difference between going unheard and breaking through to thousands of followers. An update posted in the middle of the night, for instance, has a much worse chance of being seen by followers if it’s buried under a mess of competing posts by the time users are awake. Study the daily and weekly habits of your target audience, but also be attentive of other events on the company calendar. Scheduling social media activity around key announcements and sales can help maximize exposure when most needed. 5. Never stop improving As the world of social media continues to turn, today’s marketing tactics may not prove as useful tomorrow. Social media is a relatively new concept that has seen rapid change - especially for businesses. Regardless of the transformations that will occur to the platform as whole, you can start improving your social media strategy today by experimenting and taking note of the actions that were most responsible for attracting fresh leads. Learn what qualities made those efforts successful and then apply them wherever else possible. No outreach strategy is perfect - they need to be refined through trial and error. Frank Paterno is a creative marketing executive with experience identifying, creating, delivering, and communicating value with technology-based products and services. He is Vice President of Marketing at IntelliConnection, a lead generation and marketing automation service that enables businesses to focus on closing sales instead of searching for prospects. IntelliConnection has delivered reliable services for three decades and continues to stay relevant and focused on its customers. Related Posts: Is the social media universe still expanding? How to improve social media marketing with video This week's most clicked This week's most clicked Instagram’s feat is a call to action for marketers 5 ways to use social media in lead generation originally published by SmartBlogs

As an HR professional, I know the value of the performance appraisal. However, I also know that, if done poorly, they can have the opposite effect on an organization. Performance appraisals have typically been driven by human resources. When performance appraisals are done poorly by management, it reflects on HR. Traditionally, management has sat their employees down one on one to go over the year in review, set the upcoming year’s goals and expectations. For years, the process has worked for few, but because of the time involved, it’s not done with any degree of success. Why should we do performance appraisals? The purpose of performance appraisals is to provide individual feedback relative to the organizational goals. They should measure an individual’s contributions in terms of quality, quantity, timeliness, and costliness. Why have organizations and upper management lost interest in them? Why do experts and management agree the performance appraisal/performance management effort is broken and is a waste of time? HR departments drive performance appraisals, so they take the burden of their failure. There are many reasons why performance appraisals fail. Some appraisers have no idea what to measure. In other words, they can’t tie an individual’s performance to the company’s strategic plan or business plan. Many appraisers focus only on recent events rather than evaluating the entire year when reviewing the employee’s performance. Many appraisers fail to follow up periodically on the goals they have given their employee to achieve — missing opportunities to correct problems or review progress during the year. Why don’t appraisers do a better job? Most appraisers have too many employees to evaluate. More companies’ management structures are getting flatter, creating more work and more appraisals for each manager. Appraisers complain of the reviews taking too much time away from day-to-day management activities. Employees being appraised don’t always agree with their supervisor’s assessment, leading to unwanted friction and attrition. Upper management recognizes when performance appraisals are done poorly because of inconsistencies, obvious favoritism, and dual standards by appraisers. Corrective action Why not measure the department’s actual performance against the stated goals for the period being evaluated; and do away with individual appraisals? Where did the department’s performance stand against its goal? No individual performance appraisals, just organizational or department appraisals. No more time agonizing over ratings; this takes all the subjectiveness out of the ratings picture. Each department’s rating is a reflection of their contribution to the organization’s bottom line. Each department’s employees, supervisors, and managers share the success or failure of their department’s performance. This allows for appraisal consistencies within a department that reflect that department’s performance. Performance appraisals are important because they are supposed to help defend an employer against accusations of discrimination or retaliation. Organizational appraisals would create more consistency in the peer relationship between appraisals and rewards. They would end the practice of favoritism and ratings unfairness, which is so often at the heart of workforce disengagement. Upper management, in accordance with the organizational goals and strategic business objectives, would determine performance increases for each department. They would be based on a pre-determined reward for "meeting," "exceeding" or "failing" to achieve their department’s revenue or bottom-line goal. In other words, the appraisal process would be used to make business decisions for the organization’s future and the the employee. Improving "team" dynamics and collaboration is another positive affect of organizational appraisals. The success of a department’s appraisal will have a direct result on all employees in that group. As in team sports, the sum of the parts are greater than any individual. Coaching and training would have to be more prevalent to get the desired results. Preventative action Instead of meeting with individuals to go over performance goals, the meeting is held with teams or departments, so everyone hears the same goals their department is expected to achieve. Concurrently, the same meeting can be used to go over the results at the end of the rating period to share the result of their work and how they will be rewarded. This would save management a lot of time previously spent on individual discussions and improve overall communication. Increasing productivity of management is another effect of this approach, allowing more time to solving problems and training their subordinates, and less time preparing written evaluations, less time meeting, and less time complaining. This one meeting creates another opportunity to communicate the company’s mission and vision. It is an opportunity to outline the company’s strategic goals and explain how each employee’s contribution is an integral part in achieving those goals. Follow-up quarterly meetings to review department goals against actual results with the team, replaces individual meetings and improves department communications while saving management time and keeping employees engaged and accountable. Eliminating the time-consuming appraisal process can improve communications and performance. It is a way to create a positive workplace environment. Developing trust, respect and loyalty are the secondary benefits of this approach. Just because you always have done performance appraisals for each employee doesn’t mean you have to continue doing them. Bottom line: The organization’s actual performance will more accurately reflect employee performance. Michael Palucki is human resources director for TEAM Technologies in Albuquerque, N.M. He is an HR professional with more than 20 years’ experience working in every facet of human resources, including compensation, recruiting, employee relations and benefits. If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s e-mail list for our daily newsletter for HR, talent and recruiting professionals. Related Posts: Boost employee engagement by encouraging collaboration What employee engagement data can tell you about change management Why CEOs need a new breed of HR leader Crush stupid policies "Development" was never meant to be a replacement for training Why performance appraisals fail: A root-cause analysis and alternative originally published by SmartBlogs

Why do some people get ahead and others do not? That’s the thought-provoking question addressed by authors Kim Zoller and Kerry Preston in the book "Enhancing Your Executive Edge." According to the authors, what distinguishes those who succeed in moving up the ladder is their "executive edge," a presence that projects leadership, confidence, and credibility. I couldn’t agree more! Increasingly. I am being invited to work with clients to develop their presence as they advance from director-level to executive positions. Making that leap from senior to executive management is a quantum leap, filled with new expectations and a vastly expanded level of exposure. If your career goals include this type of career trajectory, or your "edge" needs a boost to help you rise to the challenge of a new position, this book can be a game changer. It is organized into these five segments, each with concrete steps that will enhance your executive edge: Self-management and social awareness Personal branding Communication and presence (my favorite) Business protocol Motivation, perseverance, and excellence Below are some of the ideas and advice that made an enormous impact on my thinking about enhancing my executive edge. Executive Edge skill: Reading people Communicating effectively often requires you to be able to "read" the emotions and motivations of others. This may sometimes seem like a mysterious sixth sense, but it’s really about active listening and taking the time to get to know people. Tap into your curiosity about people; pay attention to how they typically react in different situations. Be observant, and not just about what you hear. Notice body language and make frequent use of "listening checks" to ensure that you accurately understand what you see and hear. If you see someone behaving in a way that seems uncharacteristic, ask about it! I know from years of experience that nonverbal cues, especially eye contact, can significantly impact how well you communicate with and influence others. (To learn how to use these cues to your advantage when you present, see "The Eyes Have It: Confidence, Credibility, Connection.") Executive Edge skill: Building emotional intelligence Mastering emotional intelligence is about learning to manage your feelings so they help work toward goals rather than getting in the way. Have you noticed yourself falling into any of these habits of emotional thinking? Filtering out the positive and focusing only on the negative Polarized black-or-white thinking, where you neglect to consider gray areas Overgeneralizations where one event inaccurately colors your thinking The "fallacy of change:" expecting others to change because you need or want them to do so Zoller and Preston advocate dealing with emotional thinking first by recognizing it, then by figuring out where the emotion is coming from. Armed with that understanding, you can move to a more logical place and replace those distracting thoughts with more productive ones. For example, if you’ve just given a less-than-stellar presentation, it’s easy to generalize that experience until you begin to doubt your ability to present in every situation. Instead, take a step back and recognize the source of your anxiety, then replace it with a commitment to work on your presentation skills so you’ll perform better and be more confident moving forward. Executive Edge skill: Enhancing your reputation and credibility We all know that the better your reputation, the more credibility and influence you have with others. But have you stopped to examine how your actions affect your reputation? Zoller and Preston list some critical actions and behaviors that you need to be vigilant about, including: Do what you say you’re going to do: always honor promises and commitments Be honest, reliable and accountable Be open to others and make them feel valued Executive Edge skill: Growing your presence and presentation skills In a 2014 national study by The Center for Talent Innovation, 26% of business leaders reported executive presence as essential for getting promoted to top jobs, and 60% believed that a lack of presence negatively affects how others perceive you. Zoller and Preston reveal that executive edge presence is rooted in consistent behaviors that produce a positive response from others. These are just a few of the behaviors that define presence: Demonstrating confidence, poise and an ability to speak on your feet Actively listening and reading an audience Standing tall, using eye contact and a firm handshake I found it compelling to realize that these are the same behaviors that contribute to stage presence when you step up to speak! (Read this article to learn more: "Do Better Listeners Make Better Speakers?") Takeaway advice to help you enhance your edge "Enhancing Your Executive Edge" is a powerful book that’s written in simple, straightforward language. It is chock full of helpful questions for self-reflection as well as dos and don’ts (what the authors call "differentiators" and "saboteurs"). Here’s my advice on how to get the most out of this book: Don’t be deceived by how easy it sounds! Building executive edge takes intense self-reflection and effort. Zoller and Preston’s easy-to-read descriptions of the necessary skills may tempt you to think, "Oh, I already do that." Take the time to ask yourself the hard questions and be honest about where you can improve. Pick one thing to work on. As a presentation and communications consultant, I’ve observed that if you develop one area, then everything recalibrates and all your skills go up a notch. So don’t try to do everything at once. Focus on one skill at a time, and you’ll find that you will be sharpening your edge every day. Little things make a BIG difference. One of my favorite insights was a bit of advice from John Murphy, a service industry executive quoted in the book. Murphy reminds us "There are no silver bullets. It is not just one thing. The real executive brand is built on countless little actions over and over." Stephanie Scotti is a strategic communication adviser specializing in high-stake presentations. She has 25-plus years experience of coaching experience and eight years teaching presentation skills for Duke University. She has provided presentation coaching to over 3,000 individuals in professional practices, Fortune 500 companies, high-level government officials and international business executives. Learn more at ProfessionallySpeaking.net and ProfessionallySpeakingBlog.com. If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s e-mail list for our daily newsletter on being a better, smarter leader. Related Posts: Moving up the value chain of public speaking: The catalyst Moving up the value chain of public speaking: The interpreter Moving up the value chain of public speaking: Expert, interpreter or catalyst? 3 superpowers of public speaking What you don’t know can hurt you: 12 tips for presenting on-camera Enhancing your executive edge originally published by SmartBlogs

Devices and applications are critical to improving student outcomes, according to a recent poll of SmartBrief on EdTech readers. And yet technology integration continues to lag at many schools and districts. Only 28% of readers classified their school’s tech integration efforts as "very effective." Educators often cite budget as a reason but admit it’s not the sole, or even primary, culprit. So what is the hold up? We asked SmartBrief on EdTech readers to give us their thoughts on the issue. Educators need more technology training, according to nearly half (49%) of the poll respondents. Putting devices into teachers’ hands is only half the battle—they need frequent training on using these tools properly. Sixty-six percent stated that more professional development for tools and teaching strategies would improve integration efforts at their school or district. Take a look at the findings: Do you think the use of devices and applications is important to driving student outcomes? Yes: 61% No: 39% How effective are the technology integration efforts at your school or district? Very effective: 28% Moderately effective: 50% Not effective at all: 22% What is your school or district’s biggest hurdle to true technology integration? Inadequate bandwidth: 29% Not enough technology training: 49% Lack of tech tools and resources: 22% What would improve technology integration at your school or district? Better relationship with our IT department: 3% More professional development for tools and teaching strategies: 66% Better buy-in from teachers: 24% Better support from administrative leadership: 7% Where is your school in the integration cycle? What’s stalling efforts? Let us know. Drop us a line or leave a comment in the space below. Related Posts: No Related Posts What’s the hold up? originally published by SmartBlogs

Last year at this time I penned an article entitled "The 4 R’s of Summer School." In it, I presented four strategies to help teachers make the most of their summer vacation. While school administrators are typically not "off" from school to the same extent as teachers (there is still plenty of planning, ordering, interviewing and the like that occurs over the summer months), the relaxed days of June, July and August present school leaders with a special opportunity that is unique to this time of year. I like to think of them as a principal’s own set of summertime "R’s." Rest and relax. Without question, the school year can be very demanding. Stressors abound, in the form of instructional oversight, disciplinary matters and staffing and budgetary shortfalls, just to name a few. Principals burn their candles at both ends in order to make it to the finish line. The summer is a time for school leaders to indulge in some much needed and deserved extra rest and relaxation. Ideally, this should include some time away, far from the school and school community. Getting away will you a chance to put school matters out of your mind and recharge. Record (your out of office message). In order to get away in earnest, you have to be able to "disconnect," at least at it relates to school business. Set your email and voicemail to away mode, with an out of office message that lets everyone know your summer schedule and limited availability. You’re not really on vacation if parents and others can reach you and expect a timely response. Review. Summer is a great time to take a step back and reflect upon your professional practice. How did you do this past year in terms of providing strong instructional and organizational leadership? Were you successful in meeting your goals? If not, what stopped you? Resolve and revise. Set new goals over the summer. Also be sure to review your personal mission statement and core values. Much can happen in a year, in terms of shaping your direction and principles. Use these months to make new commitments while also revising your existing purpose and value documents. Reload. No leader can continually give meaningful guidance and direction without being a lifelong learner. Without question, the field of education moves more rapidly and in a greater number of directions than ever before. Principals must be Chief Learning Officers as well as Chief Executive Officers of their schools and do whatever they can to remain ahead of the learning curve. Summer provides many learning opportunities as well as chances to network and learn from peers. Rejoice. As a leader, you have much to be proud of. Over the past year, you guided, directed, cajoled and encouraged others to grow and achieve. Teachers improved in their instruction because of your insight and mentorship. Students learned many new concepts and skills. Other personnel within the building (such as your advancement and development offices) benefited from your guidance, direction and support. By celebrating those successes you will be motivated to achieve even more next year, which is really what school leadership is all about. Naphtali Hoff (@impactfulcoach) served as an educator and school administrator for over 15 years before becoming an executive coach and consultant. Download his free leadership ebook at http://impactfulcoaching.com/freebook. Read his blog at impactfulcoaching.com/blog. If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s email list for more stories about education. We offer newsletters covering educational leadership, special education and more. Related Posts: The tyranny of the "right" answer How our grading supports inequity, and what we can do about it Redefining smart Linking educational silos Maintaining balance The 6 R’s of a principal’s summer school originally published by SmartBlogs

New data sources, along with artistic product descriptions and a lack of classification standards, have dumped a mound of valuable but hard to interpret data on our doorstep. Now what? We at Food Genius see food and think data. No matter if we’re looking at a menu, a receipt or an elaborate product description from a supplier, we see food terminology and think data. For example, let’s look at three Thai/Asian salads: the Rad Thai Salad from SweetGreen, the Thai Chicken Salad from Panera, and the Premium Asian Salad with Crispy Chicken from McDonald’s. Salads are simple, right? Just greens, vegetables, a protein and dressing. Ah, but we all know life just isn’t that easy. The true insight is in the detail. Between SweetGreen, Panera and McDonald’s, they have more than 30 distinct salads on their core menus. To even begin understanding this from a data standpoint, we need to cluster (or what Food Genius calls "normalize") them by type. In our case, the type is Thai/Asian salads. Now that we have clustered these salads together, we can organize the data. We took a simple approach and focused on ingredient type and we didn’t concern ourselves with preparation methods, health-claims or sensory terms (all of which are important but add complexity). You could keep nuancing this example but even at this level of interpretation, insights start to surface. For instance: Key in on a few of the primary attributes of a salad: greens, vegetables, protein. You’ll immediately notice that Panera and McDonald’s are closely aligned, far more than SweetGreen and Panera. You’ll notice that nuts and seeds are a standard of identity for this salad type, either as a topping or as a dressing flavor. These types of analyses are nothing new. For decades, the approach in gathering this data was to send people running around the country collecting menus. They would then hand-enter the menu data based on some predetermined classification methodology. This method, besides being tedious from a resource standpoint, also leaves you with little control over the data. What if you (a supplier, distributor or operator): Don’t want to look at 5,000 menus but instead 50,000. And you don’t want to see them once a year, but every month? Need to understand POS or receipt data from multiple different sources that have different naming and abbreviation conventions? Have decided to tackle the herculean effort of adopting a new product classification system and need to test and iterate possible structures? As foodservice has become more complex and data continues to become more available, a dynamic (technology-driven) approach to making sense of food data is necessary. Food Genius’s approach is to utilize cloud computing and machine learning algorithms to deliver highly scalable and flexible data-driven business tools. As much as our technology, it’s our methodology for cleaning up the messiness of food data that is at our core. We normalize, organize and classify. (Photos: Food Genius) Normalize - Normalization is grouping. The best way to group is with a bottoms-up approach. Using our salad example, Food Genius begins normalizing by analyzing ingredients and identifying patterns within the ingredients. The common ingredients we’re looking at in our case are greens, toppings and a dressing. So now, we’ve programmed our algorithms to understand we’re looking at salads. We see that the toppings themselves and flavor profile of the dressing are characteristic of an Asian or Thai salad. The saying "Show me, don’t tell me" is brought to mind. Don’t tell me the name of an item, show me what’s in it. Then I can tell you what it is. Organize - As items are normalized, we know we’re looking at all the same ‘types’ of salads, so the organization of the data for these items becomes apparent. In our example, we see two of the three salads have an herb ingredient and all three have a protein. This is fairly easy for the human eye to pick up when looking at three menu items but keep in mind that in the U.S. alone, we have over one million eating establishments that represent tens of millions unique menu items. Classify - Through normalization and organization we have a solid foundation. With classification, we build it up. A classification system, specifically a hierarchical classification system, is what gives the once unstructured data structure. Referencing back to our example, these will be the row headers. A comprehensive classification system is what allows Food Genius to query the data for all salads containing an Asian flavored dressing or all salads that include nut toppings. Accurate classification goes a long way in taking you from data to insight. Food Genius cut its teeth in working with restaurant menu data and it’s still a very critical data set for the foodservice industry to understand. However, what we see in the not too distant future is a tremendous amount of new data becoming available: customer data. With the proliferation of restaurant technologies, from guest analytics to online delivery services, data is now being generated that was previously unobtainable. Jason Felger is CEO of Food Genius. __________________________________________________ If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s email list for more stories about the food and beverage industry. We offer 14 newsletters covering the industry from restaurants to food manufacturing. Related Posts: Creating the next "it" food: The rise of limited time offerings 5 things you need to know about menu boards Prepared foods report: New consumer behaviors hone in on fresh, healthy and sustainable Brand intimacy: How do food and beverage companies measure up? Digital technology plays a growing role in employee training Solving the messiness of food data originally published by SmartBlogs

Goals drive us as a whole (company, that is) and as individuals. They define what we need to do and how we need to do it. As managers and employees, we all have individual goals tailored to the work that we do and the contributions we make to organizational success. The question is, do those goals make sense? We’ve all heard of the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely) way to set goals. Let’s go beyond the popular goal-setting acronym and take a more in-depth look at four characteristics of a truly smart employee goal: 1. It’s transparent. Company-wide goals aren’t the only goals that should be made public. Employee goals should also be transparent. Bersin’s "Predictions for 2015″ report suggests that high-performing companies make individual work goals public for all to see. Ideally, the whole department — or even office — should be in on it. When more people know about an employee’s goal, the weight of responsibility increases. While making work goals public can add more pressure to employees, it also ensures that their goals are at the forefront of everything they do. And goals that are shared with team members, are later celebrated with team members when met. 2. It ties back to larger company goals. The key to driving business success is to set individual work goals that closely tie with those of the overall organization. And yet, 43 percent of employees in ClearCompany and Dale Carnegie’s "How Leaders Grow Today" survey claimed to be familiar with company goals, but couldn’t list any specifically. The solution? Help employees better understand the company vision. Employers should actively communicate strategic business objectives and update employees on progress and changes as often as possible. Employees who clearly understand the company vision and how their work contributes to overall success will have an easier time setting goals that more accurately align with company goals. 3. It challenges employees. Employees are often told their goals should be achievable and realistic (two core components of SMART goals), but this can lead to goals that are small and void of aspiration. And what is a goal if it doesn’t motivate you to push yourself? While goals should be attainable, they shouldn’t be too easy, as easy goals invite complacency. We need to encourage employees to set goals that are outside of their comfort zone — goals that reach into untapped potential, test individual limits and inspire greatness. After all, who doesn’t like a good challenge? 4. It’s revisited — often. As employees grow and business develops, goals change. Or, at least, they should. Goals need to be reevaluated on a regular basis, in order to keep them aligned with company objectives. The aforementioned Bersin report recommends managers and their employees revisit goals often (even weekly). In a perfect world, you would have time to meet with employees, individually, on a weekly basis to review goal progress. However, that’s much easier said than done. Instead, have employees self-report their goal progress during weekly team meetings and save the formal goal review for quarterly performance check-ins. What do you think? What are some other qualities of a smart employee goal? Share in the comments!   Andre Lavoie is the CEO of ClearCompany, the first talent-alignment platform that bridges the gap between talent management and business strategy by contextualizing employees’ work around a company’s vision and goals. You can connect with him and the ClearCompany team on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Related Posts: After the performance review, what? Build a team of workplace teachers Why performance appraisals fail: A root-cause analysis and alternative 12 questions to help you conduct effective stay interviews When do you let an underperforming employee go? What makes a smart employee goal? originally published by SmartBlogs

Welcome to SmartBrief Education’s original content series about the unique stories of teacherpreneurs. These are the innovative individuals confronting challenges, creating solutions and challenging the traditional definition of "educator." For teachers, the politics surrounding public education sometimes makes it feel more like 1773 than 2015. We can feel marginalized by a system that seems to subject our profession to "test"-ation without adequate representation. And while educators might dream about dumping standardized tests and NCLB paperwork into the Boston harbor, there are far better ways we can advocate for change, like getting involved in productive, meaningful conversations with policymakers. As teacherpreneurs with the Center for Teaching Quality, both of us sought opportunities to meet with state leaders and initiate conversations about education policy. While our roles gave us structured time for this work, the five "trade secrets" we share here can be adapted and used by any teacher who wants to advocate for the profession. Take the lead. The first step might be an email framed as an invitation for a discussion, followed by a phone call. Personal connections and networking often lead to unexpected results. Nancy handed her business card to a U.S. senator on a plane and later was contacted by his top educational advisor. Deidra lived in the same neighborhood as her state representative and invited him to discuss his education policy work with her. In order to establish trust and open communication, each of us held several small group discussions with local politicians, including state representatives and educational advisors. We realized that meetings are more productive in informal settings (coffee shops or local restaurants). And we both asked politicians to join us for solutions-focused conversations about several education concerns, not just those related to salaries and benefits.Remember that certain months are extremely hectic (new campaigns, last-minute budget sessions), so don’t get discouraged if you don’t hear something immediately. The lack of response to an initial email or phone call does not necessarily mean you are being avoided. Keep reaching out. Offer support. Politicians are used to being asked to DO things for their constituents. Set the tone by offering your insight without implying that you expect anything more than open dialogue. Try to be empathetic, imagining how you would respond if parents or administrators seemed only interested in their own agendas, rather than two-way conversations. Acknowledge areas of agreement, then try to steer the conversation to making the public aware of the rationale behind these shared opinions. Consider tweeting about these productive conversations, making sure to let the policymaker know what you plan to share and why. Keep it real. Use your classroom and school as examples of what policies look like in real time. Connect political decision-making with the faces of the teachers and students those choices will impact. Deidra’s state representative shared that he wished he would known more about how an actual school day works before voting on an attendance bill that made sense on paper but created all sorts of problems when implemented. Representatives in North Carolina told Nancy they would appreciate being invited to visit classes, not as a local media event, but as informal observers. Sharing your stories- explaining the implications of a policy on students’ and teachers’ daily lives — can make all the difference when a politician has to vote on the myriad bills coming his or her way. Be professional yet accessible. Our ultimate goal is educating policymakers so they make decisions that improve public education. Don’t bring a soapbox or political agenda to your meeting; it’s the quickest way to shut down productive dialogue. Approach your lawmaker as a fellow community member or parent who shares your desire to improve public education for all students. In this spirit, try to avoid "educationese" and acronyms- terms that most non-teachers do not understand, such as "VAM" (Value Added Model), "PLN" (professional learning network), "summative assessment" or "backwards design." Articulate your vision. Paint a picture of an ongoing relationship, rather than providing input on a single issue. When Deidra met with her representative, she wanted to know where lawmakers got their information on education issues, but she also wanted to share her vision for teachers becoming providers of that information. As a result, her representative asked for her help in forming an advisory committee to meet with him regularly while the legislature was in session. He later admitted this group’s insight was responsible for changing the way he had originally planned to vote. In North Carolina, Nancy is working to set up a "kitchen cabinet" of teacher leaders who want to discuss issues with politicians in a solutions-focused, informal environment. Ultimately, we have to believe that teachers and politicians want the same thing: to improve the educational opportunities and experiences for all students and families. Although our worlds are vastly different, it’s time for us to reach out and start meaningful conversations. Taking the lead, while focusing on collaboration and empathy, is within the realm of the possible for all teachers. And it may provide just the spark needed to fuel revolutionary change in education policy — without the aid of gunpowder, tea or the Boston harbor. Deidra Gammill is National Board Certified CTE teacher from Mississippi. She served as a teacherpreneur for the Center for Teaching Quality during the 2014-15 school year. Nancy Gardner, a renewed National Board Certified English language arts teacher from North Carolina, served as a teacherpreneur for the Center for Teaching Quality during the 2014-15 school year.   Related Posts: Path to innovation: Two teacherpreneurs reflect on the journey Hybrid roles: Making a whole out of two halves How to go from "teacher" to "teacherpreneur" From classroom to boardroom: How to combine your passion for education and innovation "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" Teacherpreneur trade secrets: 5 ways all teachers can advocate for the profession originally published by SmartBlogs

The show "Shark Tank," like much of the media, perpetuates the myth that you have to be aggressive, assertive, even confrontational to advance your career and become a leader; that thoughtfulness, politeness, and the inability to summarize an important idea in less than a minute are crippling diseases; and that the business world is akin to a shark tank where you are likely to be devoured unless you adopt the characteristics of the sharks to survive. Amusing for sure, but as true reality? As Borat would say, "Not so much." Confrontation sounds exciting and climactic. Directly taking on your superiors over a perceived slight or a co-worker over credit stolen can be a strong temptation. The fantasy of doing so and pulling it off is powerful. Hollywood makes billions appealing to this urge, depicting hero after hero speaking big words and standing up to formidable powers. However, in the real world, the one that we work and live in, confrontation is usually a risky and dangerous thing. Unfortunately, confrontation often necessitates stating a position aggressively, defending it and then expecting a resolution. This is tricky territory for almost everybody, as it can lead to intractable positions being taken, fears of showing weakness, unintentional personal comments, and worst of all, the misidentification of motives. Such things, once surfaced, are hard to eliminate. We usually launch into confrontation without knowing all the facts, and we forget that in order to know all the facts we need to see and understand things from the other side. This is especially important for leaders — or more to the point, those who aspire to be leaders. Understanding the limits of confrontation and seeing the other side of any issue are key skills that leaders must master. The best way to see the other side of any issue is to engage rather than confront. The next time an issue bothers you at work, or you feel you have earned something and been denied it, ask questions to better understand the situation. By all means, ask what was considered or what the reasons were behind a decision that affected you. You can even say that you would have liked to see things go in a different direction or in your favor. But avoid being overly aggressive or confrontational. Far better to continue to work at sharing what you have to offer, trusting that someone in a position to advance your career will eventually see and notice your strengths is a much higher percentage play. In the end, businesses must succeed in order to survive. If you cultivate your strengths and share them as widely and as constructively as possible, a person or group running a business or managing a department within a business will see that you can help make their business more successful. They will want you. Or someone senior within your company will see that you are not appreciated where you are, or perhaps are underutilized, and they will look to bring you into their area. However, if you pursue a tack of confrontation, you risk losing all of these possibilities. Engage instead: Ask questions, make suggestions, explain your position and ask (not insist) that the other person consider your view, especially if the other person is your boss. Manifesting such skills will enhance your status as a leader. Those seeking leaders for key positions, as well as those being led, value these qualities as highly as any other. As for those who to you seem to be advancing themselves by methods of active confrontation and continuing to demand more with apparent results, do not always believe what you hear, or think you see. Often what is happening behind the scenes is far different. Remind yourself that it sounds much better and ego supporting for someone to tell you that they received something by putting their foot down or showing that they would not be pushed around. To say they simply laid out accurate and well-supported reasons, and then politely asked for something they thought was fair, does not make for an exciting story. After all, naming a show "Dolphin Tank" would not sound quite as powerful. Keith Danko is the founder of Witherspoon Partners, a leading player in the alternative asset industry. He has over two decades of experience building and managing businesses, most notably restructuring and serving as CEO of ACAM Advisors. He also served as CEO of CQS US and as an executive director of Goldman Sachs, where he built the firm’s international asset-backed securities business. A Duke University graduate with a Harvard MBA, he is the author of "Within Your Grasp," has written extensively on trends and careers in alternative assets, and has authored the white paper "Portable Alpha: An Updated Perspective." If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s e-mail list for our daily newsletter on being a better, smarter leader. Related Posts: Don’t be afraid of confrontation Dealing with personality stallers — ours and others Enhancing your executive edge Learn to be a conciliator Put your personality into your communications Only the sharks survive? The risks of confrontation originally published by SmartBlogs

SmartBlog on Education’s monthly content award recognizes content written by educators, for educators that inspires readers to engage, innovate and discuss. SmartBrief Education editors and writers sift through thousands of sources each day, reading a variety of content, including blogs and commentaries written by you and your peers. In an effort to recognize some of the innovative voices in the field, we’ve asked our team to nominate their favorite content each month from which we’ll choose two winners for the Editor’s Choice Content Award. These award winners are then in the running for our annual Educators’ Choice Award. Meet this month’s winners: Tricia Ebner for Cleaning House, Center for Teaching Quality Jeff Ylinen for Why it’s critical to pair content with lab for course success, eCampus News June winners: Aaron Brock for History Students Create Children’s Books, Future of History Justin Reich for Can Text Messages and Interventions Nudge Students Through School?, Mind/Shift May winners: Jennifer L. Scheffer for 10 Edtech Tools Teachers Can Use Tomorrow (Literally), Make IT Happen Taylor Meredith for Starting Student Feedback Loops, The Formative Feedback Project Listen to an interview with Taylor on Education Talk Radio. April winners: Sarah Henderson for Laughter and Learning: Humor Boosts Retention, Edutopia Mercer Hall and Patricia A. Russac for Inspiration Plus Creativity Equals Innovative Teaching And Learning, the ASIDE blog Listen to an interview with Mercer and Patricia on Education Talk Radio. March winners: Brad Gustafson for What Do You Burn For?, Adjusting Course Listen to an interview with Brad on Education Talk Radio. Ariel Sacks for Decoding the Common Core: A Teacher’s Perspective, Education Week Listen to an interview with Ariel on Education Talk Radio. February winners: Starr Sackstein for Authentic Student-Led Discussion, Music to My Ears, Education Week Teacher, Work in Progress Listen to an interview with Starr on Education Talk Radio. Andrew P. Marcinek, A Class Full of Geniuses, THE Journal Listen to an interview with Andrew on Education Talk Radio. January winners: Lori Desautels for Energy and Calm: Brain Breaks and Focused-Attention Practices, Edutopia Listen to an interview with Lori on Education Talk Radio. Nancy Barile for 10 Tips for Setting Successful Goals With Students, Education Week Teacher Listen to an interview with Nancy on Education Talk Radio. Meet our 2014 winners and read about our annual Educators’ Choice Content Award. If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s email list for more stories about education. We offer newsletters covering higher education, educational leadership and more. Related Posts: SmartBrief honors innovative bloggers: Meet this month’s winners Flipping over changes in the classroom It’s time to throw out grades What if all teachers were scholars? Channeling Goldilocks: Trying to get it "just right" SmartBrief honors innovative bloggers: Meet this month’s winners originally published by SmartBlogs

Photo: Flickr user Wally Gobetz Wine lovers may pay more attention to variety, vintage and what color goes with which dish, but some are also giving more thought to where and how the grapes were grown. Sustainable agriculture doesn’t have a fixed definition in the way "organic" has had since federal organic standards were finalized in 2000, but a growing number of consumers are seeking sustainably produced wine, and third-party certification programs are infusing the term with more meaning. The wine industry has been open to collaborating on sustainability issues, perhaps more so than other agricultural sectors that haven’t had to band together as much in the past, said Executive Director Allison Jordan of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, an educational program formed by the Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers that launched a statewide sustainability certification program in 2010. Last year, the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission committed to becoming the country’s first 100% sustainable wine producing county by 2019. "There are some other agricultural sectors that have developed programs, like the Almond Board in California, for example, but I think for wine some it stems all the way back to prohibition," she said. "The trade association goes back over 85 years, and there’s just the understanding that on certain issues, we really need to cooperate as much as possible. When it comes to best practices, there’s a long history of being willing to share information." Unlike organic which can typically command a premium at retailers and restaurants, sustainable certification isn’t giving producers stronger pricing power. A number of wineries are now paying certified growers a bonus, said Lodi Winegrape Commission Program Director Stuart Spencer, but that hasn’t necessarily translated into higher prices for the wine. Just as wines in general run the gamut from cheap to ultra-pricey, sustainable wines can be found at all the price points, said Jordan. "It’s not necessarily the same in the case of organic wine or wine made with organically grown grapes," Spencer said. "With sustainable, it’s not clear yet whether people will be able to pay more." That said, growers and producers still see financial benefits from sustainable production, in the form of cost savings and enhanced reputation. "Sustainability is part of your story, it can help build brand allegiance," Spencer said. "At the trade level, it can help open doors for you. Many restaurants and retailers are more concerned with the products they’re carrying and selling, and that can help create business opportunities. But in many cases, too, for larger companies, sustainability is more a risk-management tool. They’re more worried about the downside of not being conscious of these issues." In the U.S., sustainable wine certification efforts began in California. "We started our program back around 1991, when our organization was first started," said Spencer. "At the time, it began as an integrated pest management program, and over the years, that evolved into a pretty comprehensive program. Around 2000, we did a self-assessment workbook and let growers score themselves." In 2005, the commission launched the state’s first third-party sustainable certification for vineyards and wineries. The focus is on balancing the environment, the employees and the economics of the operation, he said. "I think in Lodi in particular, there’s a sense of community that’s greater than in other parts of California, so we have been able to accomplish a lot. A lot of our farming families are fourth and fifth generation, so there’s a kind of long-term outlook that helps with a program like this," Spencer said. About 100 sustainably certified Lodi growers were farming about 21,000 acres as of last year, according to Spencer. The program includes about 101 different standards, from pest control to water conservation to financial solvency. Each standard is evaluated and growers are qualify based on their total score along with whether they’ve stayed under a specified threshold for pesticide use over the course of the year. "Our system is a scientific-based system that quantifies the pesticide use in the vineyard. There are five indices we looked at, including acute risk, chronic risk, avian risk, bees and aquatic life. Different pesticides rank higher or lower on the different indices, and a model was developed," Spencer explained. "Wine grapes here in California are relatively benign when it comes to pesticides. The biggest impact comes from sulfur, which is organic and is used as a mildew control tool." Lodi’s program set an example for others, including the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. Today, the Alliance has certified vineyards that grow grapes on about 17.5% of the state’s 570,000 wine-grape acres, and 87 wineries that produce nearly 66% of the 240 million cases of wine made in the state annually, said Executive Director Jordan. Between this program, Lodi’s program and other third-party certifications, about a quarter of the state’s wine grape growing acreage is certified sustainable, she said. __________________________________________________ If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s email list for more stories about the food and beverage industry. We offer 14 newsletters covering the industry from restaurants to food manufacturing. Related Posts: Cool beer, wine and cocktail trends to quench summer thirsts How to sell wine to your diners in a recession Drink local: Incorporating the locavore movement into your beverage menu Beverage trends: Consumers gulp down coffee, natural, seasonal and premium 1 winery’s best practices in social media How California’s wineries are leading the U.S. in sustainable wine originally published by SmartBlogs

This post is adapted from "All Hands on Deck:: Navigating Your Team Through Crises, Getting Your Organization Unstuck and Emerging Victorious (Career Press, 2015) by Peter Boni, managing principal, Kedgeway,Inc., and former CEO of Safeguard Scientifics. So here you are, brand new in a role or considering taking one to reposition an organization or department. It has run aground, faces critical issues, and isn’t performing up to its potential. The task is lonely, daunting, complete with skeptical eyes staring at you. Hopeful eyes are staring, too. Can you be the catalyst to lead the organization, department, or team past its current issues? Can you get the ship off the bottom to sail safely once again? If so, where do you start? Before you can hatch a plan, you must ask questions and listen; then ask for help. Ask Questions and Listen; Then Ask for Help Success stories generally start with the practice of fundamentals. Asking questions at the outset is high on your priority list. Stories of failed navigation through difficulty start with the absence of the practice of those fundamentals. Who to Ask Asking a diverse group of people similar questions can lead to superior input based on several points of view. Those viewpoints are likely picked up at varying angles of observation, some hands on and others at 30,000 feet. Whether determining if I should accept a position or what an appropriate game plan would be once I accepted it, my due diligence to hatch a plan always started with asking everyone under the sun for help. Most people who are asked are thrilled to help. They are quite candid about giving their points of view, with details and specific examples to back them up. So, given the wisdom of this strategy, whom do you ask? Insiders: You can find a plethora of people who are knowledgeable about an organization and its issues, problems, opportunities, and more. You’ll find them at the higher echelons as well as from the board of directors to the CEO, executive staff, and senior management. Some are in the middle of the hierarchy, responsible to the higher echelons. Others are first-line supervisors or individual contributors in operational or support rolls. Those close to developing or delivering the value proposition to key constituents have a closer operational view than those at the higher ranks. These insiders all have a point of view. Just ask them—from the receptionist to the board chairman, from the team captain to the water boy, from the janitor to the mayor. I’ve found that many near the bottom of the totem pole have an enormously mature and insightful perspective. Former insiders: Organizations with issues have likely suffered turnover in senior, middle, and/or junior positions. People moved on. They, too, have observations and opinions developed over time and further reflected upon after being on the outside for a spell. Seek out key former insiders and ask them the same questions as you ask current insiders. Recipients of the Value Proposition: A business has customers and perhaps user groups. A government has citizens, special interest groups, party heads, and political supporters. A sports team has fans and support clubs. A higher educational institution has students and parent groups. A healthcare organization has patients, nurses, and doctors. A nonprofit has a targeted constituency. Ask these people the same questions. A lost customer, patient, fan, student, alumni contributor, political supporter (or whomever) left the organization for a reason—maybe for more than one reason. In fact, they may be receiving that value proposition from a competing organization. What an interesting perspective, having seen the good, the bad, and the ugly from the other side of the fence. Ask them. Partners to Provide the Value Proposition: Commercial enterprises have strategic alliances and business partners, vendors, and those who are in distribution. Nonprofit organizations, government organizations, sports teams, healthcare providers, military units, and most organizations have these partners, too. Ask those individuals the same questions. Who dropped out? Or who was asked to drop out? Given their experiences dealing both with the organization and the decision to leave, they have a learned point of view. They also have experience dealing with competitors who delivered that value proposition, albeit a bit differently. Ask them. Competitors Who Deliver That Value Proposition: They could be competing sales or marketing people, factory employees, engineers, or members of the financial or support staff. They could be a different political party, another sports teams, healthcare providers down the street, members of the campaign staff of competing political candidates, or nonprofits that have targeted similar donors to deliver to the same identified social needs. Most organizations face competition when it comes to their value proposition. These competitors have an insiders’ view as well as an outsiders’ view. Ask them. Former competitors may have totally abandoned the field to make their living in another, perhaps aligned, arena. They left for a reason and they have a perspective. Ask them. Outsider Observers in the Know: Industry analysts, lobbyists, journalists, advocates, consultants, and unions all develop a view. They see from afar, but they often have a strategic view that’s further removed from an organization’s day-to-day drama. Ask them. Certain knowledgeable people have left their field to become involved in a different, perhaps aligned, arena. Put them on your list. Ask them, too. Thought Leaders: Some carry more weight and influence than others. Thought leaders could be former or current insiders, outsiders, partners, competitors, or observers. When asking questions and requesting help, find out who they are and put them on your "ask" list. What to Ask In both for-profit and nonprofit settings, the answers to only a few questions have given me the baseline to learn quickly what others discovered over a period of months or even years. Over my four decades of asking these questions, I’m struck by how candid the answers have been and how knowledgeable I become by listening. Question No. 1: If you owned this operation lock, stock, and barrel—or if you were a dictator and could do anything to enable the organization to achieve its potential based on what you know about it and its environment—what handful of things would you do? Question No. 2: What would you have the organization keep doing, start doing, and stop doing to reach its potential and maximize its value proposition? Question No. 3: Who are the thought leaders in this field and in this organization? Identify them and seek them out for a one-on-one discussion. Ask thought leaders for their help. Listen to them. And ask them to participate on your informal advisory panel so you can test the premise of a plan hatched from the exercise in Phase 1. I ask everyone Question No. 3, even if I already know I’m speaking to a thought leader. I’ve always been surprised by how many have been flattered by my asking. They have given me terrific counsel, which made an enormous and immediate difference to the success of my assignment. Related Posts: Why waiting is a new executive’s first task Build a team of workplace teachers Only the sharks survive? The risks of confrontation Teacherpreneur trade secrets: 5 ways all teachers can advocate for the profession What makes a smart employee goal? Who and what to ask before hatching your plan to lead originally published by SmartBlogs

(Photo:Ben Popken) Menu boards are critical to many restaurant and foodservice operations: customers can’t order what they can’t see. And yet, we rarely consider their impact on the bottom line. Does the type of menu board matter — a digital board vs. a chalkboard? Do consumers really want photos? Have calorie counts had an impact? To understand menu boards, Datassential surveyed over 1,500 consumers and 350 operators for our brand new Menu Board Keynote Report. What are the issues both consumers and operators have with menu boards? Which innovations do consumers find most useful? What can operators do to create a menu board that will bump up the check average? Some of the results surprised us. One-third of consumers said they ordered the cheapest item on the board because it was the easiest to find. The same percentage said menu boards are generally placed too high up, making them difficult to read. And only 32% of operators say that every item available is represented on the menu board. Clearly menu boards are having an impact. Here’s a sneak peak at five insights you need to know from this brand new, just-released report: The type of operation impacts if a consumer will look at a menu board. Consumers are over twice as likely to say they look at a menu board at a fast casual restaurant every single time they visit, compared to a convenience store. Menu board engagement varies by the type of consumer, as well — how often they shop at a particular type of operation, or their age group. Millennials are more likely to look at the menu board frequently, confirming that they are most likely to be looking for new favorites or experiences. Digital menu boards are not as common as you think. Though they have received a lot of attention in the industry, only 16% of operators have a digital menu board. Yet digital menu boards can solve many key issues that both consumers and operators have, including incorporating more menu items and item descriptions, allowing for more design flexibility, and making it possible to update the board more often. Operators are missing out on sales opportunities. Nearly 60% of patrons say they look to a menu board for promotions and specials, but only 39% said that information was very easy to find. In fact, there were multiple menu parts that exhibited a gap between customers’ desired information and how easy they are able to find that information. We also uncovered the menu categories that operators are much less likely to include on menu boards, including check-boosting items like desserts, side dishes, and alcoholic beverages — only 1 in 10 operators who serve alcohol said they included alcoholic beverage information on the menu board. Photos are critical. Virtually all patrons consider photos to be important on menu boards, and this was particularly true for Millennials. But consumers also considered photos to be more important for particular categories — 43% said they preferred to see photos for promotions or LTOs. Yet those preferences didn’t always match the menu categories that operators are most likely to show photos for, and many operators may not appreciate the appeal and impact of photos, though this varies by operator type. Operators have issues as well. It’s not just consumers who report challenges with menu boards — four out of five operators said they have some type of issue with their menu board. The most common management issue? Thirty-five percent of operators reported not having enough room for detailed menu descriptions, and 1/3 said it was difficult to organize the board so customers could easily think through an entire order. We also asked operators to report their most common customer complaints regarding menu boards, from incomplete information to difficulty reading boards. This is just a small peek into this one-of-a-kind report. We also looked at why patrons look at menu boards, the impact of calorie counts, and the segments that are more likely to change their menu more often. We asked operators where they found their menu board inspiration, from competitors to trade shows. And we asked consumers to rate menu boards at restaurant and convenience store brands to uncover the "best in class" performers. We also took a deep dive into drive-thru menu boards and the particular issues associated with them. And we found the innovations that consumers most want to see on a menu board — and it’s not necessarily what operators plan on incorporating into their board. While we uncovered a number of challenges for both consumers and operators, many of the issues have clear solutions, and there are certainly opportunities to increase both customer and operator satisfaction. The real question that today’s operators must ask themselves is, "What is the true function of the menu board?" Is it merely to inform patrons of what is available? Should it serve as an educator? Or should it drive up average check sizes? Answering these questions is critical to designing menu boards more effectively in the future, and this report kicks off that discussion. Maeve Webster is the senior director and Mike Kostyo is the publications manager at Datassential, a leading supplier of trends, analysis, and concept testing for the food industry. To purchase the Menu Board Keynote Report mentioned in this article contact Webster at 312-655-0596 or maeve@datassential.com. __________________________________________________ If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s email list for more stories about the food and beverage industry. We offer 14 newsletters covering the industry from restaurants to food manufacturing. Related Posts: The race is on to become the "Chipotle of pizza" Beverage trends: Consumers gulp down coffee, natural, seasonal and premium Report: What do food industry operators want and how do they buy? Prepared foods report: New consumer behaviors hone in on fresh, healthy and sustainable How Newk’s Eatery sees fast-casual 2.0 5 things you need to know about menu boards originally published by SmartBlogs

"[Y]ou must know what you want to achieve, be certain of your aims, and have these goals constantly in mind… You must educate your (people) … And since the world never stops for a moment… you must constantly reassess chosen policies towards the achievement of your aims." ~ David Ben-Gurion, first prime minister of Israel Much has been written about how 21st century leaders differ from their 20th century counterparts. Today’s leaders must guide complex organizations that are more virtual and multinational in nature than ever before. They must nimbly navigate through a fast-paced marketplace that is in continuous flux and determine the proper course forward from a myriad of options. They also need to recruit and retain a millennial workforce that has different interests, needs, and working habits than their elders. In such a demanding business environment, leaders would be wise to develop a strong learning environment at the workplace. The celebrated CEO of General Electric Jack Welch famously said that "an organization’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage." Continuous learning and successful implementation of that learning is crucial to the success of today’s organizations. But learning alone is not enough. Leaders that want to stay ahead must make sure that their companies also place a premium on teaching. To be a learner is to engage in a one-way (receiving) process of understanding followed by action. The learning originates from an outside source: consultant, seminar presentation, book, etc. Even if the organization chooses to integrate the learning, it never really owns it. In contrast, teaching organizations go one meaningful step further. They emphasize teaching over learning, placing the learning onus on internal personnel who are expected to learn and master ideas that they will then pass along to others in the workplace. Research clearly shows that we remember more when we teach than when we listen. This is because the need to teach material forces us to master content to the point where we can deliver it clearly to others. As my ninth-grade teacher used to say, "If you can’t say (or teach) it, then you don’t know it." It may sound all nice and good to add teaching responsibilities to the mix, but we know that most workplaces are not filled with experienced teachers and presenters. How can leaders expect to implement a teaching culture if they don’t have a stable of instructors on hand to advance learning? As a former principal who has observed countless teachers, I can attest that the best teachers are the ones who can make learning clear, interesting and relevant. This ability stems mainly from a deep quest for personal learning as well as the ability to ask tough questions and present answers in a way that others can to process and understand. When preparing their talks or meetings, have your "teachers" think in terms of these "five p’s": Paint a picture. Create a vision of what others will do as the result of this learning process. Give them something vivid and exciting to wrap their heads around. Personal. Let others know what’s in it for them by learning this. How will it change and enhance their jobs? How will it help the company grow and become stronger? Positive praise. Encourage them with lots of praise and recognition of their achievements as well as their willingness to take risks. Perseverance. This can be the hardest part for both teacher and pupil. Challenges will invariably arise, particularly after the opening enthusiasm has waned. Be ready to work even harder mid-process so as to not lose steam. Perform. It’s not enough to share ideas and preach compliance. Good teachers know that they achieve so much through modeling. Show them what you want and then "walk the walk." That will do so much for your credibility while also reinforcing desired behaviors and thought processes. In summary, I present to you the words of Noel Tichy, author of "The Leadership Engine and Cycle of Leadership": "We have looked at winning companies—those that consistently outperform competitors and reward shareholders—and found that they’ve moved beyond being learning organizations to become teaching organizations. … That’s because teaching organizations are more agile, come up with better strategies, and are able to implement them more effectively. … Teaching organizations do share with learning organizations the goal that everyone continually acquire new knowledge and skills. But to do that, they add the more critical goal that everyone pass their learning on to others. … In a teaching organization, leaders benefit just by preparing to teach others. Because the teachers are people with hands-on experience within the organization—rather than outside consultants—the people being taught learn relevant, immediately useful concepts and skills. Teaching organizations are better able to achieve success and maintain it because their constant focus is on developing people to become leaders." Naphtali Hoff (@impactfulcoach) became an executive coach and consultant following a 15-year career as an educator and school administrator. Read his e-book "Core Essentials of Leadership" and his blog at impactfulcoaching.com/blog. If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s e-mail list for our daily newsletter on being a better, smarter leader. Related Posts: What makes a smart employee goal? The 6 R’s of a principal’s summer school Deepening the workplace bond 12 questions to help you conduct effective stay interviews When do you let an underperforming employee go? Build a team of workplace teachers originally published by SmartBlogs

This month, SmartBlog on Education is exploring classroom design and management — just in time for the new school year. In this blog post, educator Cheryl Mizerny shares strategies used by master teachers to help engage and motivate students. William Glasser said, "Effective teaching may be the hardest job there is." I tend to agree with him. How else can we explain the sheer volume of books, websites, blogs, courses and consulting firms expressly devoted to the art and science of teaching? In fact, one of the things I am most proud of about my chosen profession is that teachers, as a whole, are already doing a pretty great job, yet most of us explore how to do even better. One of the ways in which many teachers would like to improve is in their ability to reach and motivate all of their students. While it’s true that there are those who seem to be natural-born teachers, it is possible to learn some of their secrets to keep every student in your classroom engaged and invested in their learning. What do these "naturals" have in common? First, master teachers seem to be able to develop strong, yet professional relationships with their students. These are the adults to whom students seem to gravitate and seek out on their free time. They earn the fierce loyalty of their students and always get the very best work out of them. This doesn’t happen by accident. Some ways to develop stronger working relationships with students: First and foremost, don’t prejudge them based on data available to you before the school year. I never look at my students’ files until after I have had them I class for a little while and seen what they can do with my own eyes — including students with IEPs. If this is not possible in your circumstances, then make a conscious effort not to let what you read and hear color your opinion of a child and how you work with him or her. Students appreciate the opportunity for a clean slate. This also applies to any preconceived notions you may have based upon your experience with their siblings. Get to know your students as individuals. What are their interests and hobbies? Seeing themselves reflected in your classrooms goes a long way in establishing buy-in. Make sure that every student in your classroom experiences some degree of success. Even if they have difficulties with the concepts, there must be a way for them to access the knowledge. This can be slow-going, but capitalize on the parts that they do understand, be their cheerleader and celebrate that while they gain competence. Use techniques that allow students to get to know you as a person. While I do not believe it is appropriate to share every detail of your private lives, it is beneficial for them to hear of some of your experiences with school and learning. The best teachers are also storytellers. If they see what you went through and how you are successful as an adult, you can serve as a mentor or model. Above all, be sincere in everything you do and say. Children sense insincerity a mile away. When you tell them something, mean it and follow through. They will lose all faith in you if they believe you are just going through the motions. Second, talented teachers establish a positive classroom climate where students want to be. Again, this is deliberate and by design. Every one of us has walked into a room and felt as if we don’t belong or aren’t wanted. How much learning do you think will be done if your classroom feels like a hostile environment? Some ways to develop a positive classroom climate: A mutually respectful classroom is one based upon inclusion, trust and safety. You must make it clear, through your words and actions, that you believe every student in your classroom has inherent value, that you will do nothing to hurt them emotionally, and that you will not allow others to do so. Promote the concept of a growth mindset. Instill in your students that the key word in their learning is "yet." In other words, they should understand that improvement is possible and be able to say, "I don’t know how to do that . . . yet." Failure in this type of classroom is inevitable and should be encouraged as learning opportunities. This allows students to accept risk taking and they are more willing to try what you are asking of them. Make a thoughtful effort to be fair in any and all administering evaluation, discipline, and privileges. Nothing turns students off faster than if they think you don’t like them as much as their peers. This, of course, could be just their perception, but this misconception can become reality if not corrected. Teach students the skills of effective collaboration. Placing your students in groups to work is a great idea, but it only works well if they know what a productive team looks and acts like. Teachers tend to assume that students know how to conduct academic conversations because they seem to want to talk to one another all the time, but learning how to focus their energy is a valuable use of your time. Students will not feel fully invested in your classroom if they don’t see themselves. All cultures and backgrounds should be represented to the greatest extent possible. Accept and promote multiple perspectives. Better still, make some of this part of the curriculum. Finally, plan to devote significant time to how you deliver your content. As a teacher, you are charged not only with teaching your material, but with teaching students. You may be sitting on a vast store of the most interesting knowledge in the world—but it does you no good if your students tune you out. You need to make that material interesting to your students. Make your enthusiasm infectious. Some ways to effectively deliver content: Relevance is important, especially with older children. To the greatest extent possible, frame your content within an inquiry structure. Providing problem-based, real-world, hands-on issues to grapple with gets students excited and helps them see why and how the material is worth knowing. The content should be challenging and involve critical thinking, but know that some students will need scaffolding and support to get there. Providing this extra assistance ensures their success. Do your research do become aware of best-practices such as making thinking visible, flexible grouping, and brain-based learning, and reflect upon your lessons to incorporate as many as you can. Experiment every year with something that scares you. Not only does this show students that you practice what you preach, it puts you in their shoes as you become a learner. Try something such as gamifying a lesson, incorporating Genius Hour or playing with a new technology. Your students will appreciate the novelty, and you may find something you love and want to do again. This happened to me this year when I turned my choice research projects into Genius Hour (which I called Passion Projects). Nothing I have done in years has been as well received by the students and parents, and my engine was revved as well. Well-worth taking that risk and trying something I’ve never done. Like all mindful teachers, I constantly evaluate my practice to see if I am doing the best I can for my students. Every summer I spend time tweaking what has worked and determining what new thing I will try. I reflect on what was successful and crashed and burned and make adjustments accordingly. Because teaching is the hardest job there is, I know I will never feel as if I’m doing everything perfectly, but that doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying. My lofty goal is to reach every student, every day, every year. Cheryl Mizerny is an Editor’s Choice Content Award winner. She is a veteran educator with over 20 years experience. She began her career in special education, became a teacher consultant and adjunct professor of educational psychology, and currently teaches sixth-grade English in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. She writes a blog about student motivation and engagement at The Accidental English Teacher. If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s email list for more stories about education. We offer newsletters covering educational leadership, special education and more.                 Related Posts: Channeling Goldilocks: Trying to get it "just right" The serious business of classroom fun Tips to ease students’ test anxiety Finding the gift in every student PBL spotlight: Passion project serendipity Reaching every student originally published by SmartBlogs

Alpert's new album "Come Fly With Me" is due Sept. 25.

Former and current 'Daily Show' correspondents recall their favorite moments from working with host Jon Stewart.

Do you use your face and body language with dynamic effect? A very effective CEO once told me that if any of her people are having a problem with a client, she knows exactly what to do. She puts that person on a plane and sends him or her off to work things out in person. This is far more effective than a phone conference and many, many times more helpful than writing a memo or sending an email, she says. Nothing compares to a face-to-face meeting. She intuitively came to the conclusion that my observations have verified and communications researcher Dr. Albert Mehrabian has even tried to quantify—that words are less important than your voice in affecting the feelings and attitudes of your audience, and, even added together, they don’t make as big an impression as nonverbal and nonvocal cues. While there are no reliable, exact measures as yet, from all the anecdotal evidence I have accumulated from my years of doing and observing presentations, I have no doubt that facial expressions and body language play a major role in whatever impression you make on your audience. Whether you are meeting someone one-on-one or speaking to an audience of five thousand, before you’ve said a word, people have made some kind of judgment about you. And while your superficial appearance is important—what you’re wearing, how fit and groomed you are, and how attractive you may be—they determine what kind of a person you are based on cues that are far more subtle. Unaware of this, many presenters focus exclusively on the words of their presentation and ignore all the other more important components. They give no thought to the best place to stand when talking to an audience. They don’t know how to use their hands or their eyes to give their message maximum impact. When you know how to use the tools of body language and facial expression to enhance your persuasive powers, you will be a far more effective presenter than you ever imagined. There are three ways to master nonverbal communication skills: Take a strong stance. Move purposefully. Master eye contact. Learn about these and more in my new program: Presentation Bootcamp: Hands-on Presentation Delivery Skills   Go Rule It!   Jason Teteak Rule the Room   The post Command With Your Body appeared first on Rule The Room.

Recently, I received an email from one of the members of my Rule the Room Newsletter with the following questions: 1. If you have a longer talk and want to remember everything and all points, what is the best way to have reminder cards? 2. Do you break the talk down to parts that will key your memory or do you make abbreviated notes for salient points? 3. Do you write the whole talk out & refer to it when need be? These questions are so important that I decided to write a blog on the topic using an excerpt from my new book: Rule the Room:  Unique, Practical and Comprehensive Guide to Making a Successful Presentation. When I have one-on-one meetings with new clients who have come to me on their own or whom I have been hired to help with their presentation work, I invariably discover they are very knowledgeable and genuinely enthusiastic about their topics. Yet often, when I observe them in front of an audience, I see all that energy and excitement disappear. The presentation they deliver is not compelling. In fact, they may even bore the audience. My goal is to help those clients get up in front of an audience and fire it up—to present with the same ease, spontaneity, conviction, and, when appropriate, humor I saw when they were speaking in a more casual, intimate setting. The first thing I do is tell them to get rid of a conventional script. The number one way to guarantee your presentation will fail is by referring to your notes too often or, even worse, making the catastrophic mistake of reading directly from the script. In general, the more attention a presenter pays to the script, the less attention the audience pays to the presenter. I have never met a presenter who was not able to talk about the subject of his or her presentation at great length and in great detail in an informal situation. This is why there is no reason to write out, word-for-word, what you’re going to say when you speak to an audience. You’re the expert. You know your subject. Trust me, and trust yourself. You already know what you need to say. You have the words. Instead of a script, what you need is a blueprint. Creating this tool will serve two essential purposes. First, it helps eliminate the primary fear of every presenter: making a mistake with the material. When you create your blueprint, you can be more assured that when you deliver your presentation, you will say everything you had intended and in the right order. Relieving your anxiety on that score will make you feel more secure. Feeling secure will make you seem relaxed. This makes you seem more credible, and as a result the audience will be more receptive to you. Second, the blueprint helps you ensure that your audience will never be disappointed or bored. It delivers to audience members exactly what they need and what they want—the tools that will enable them to achieve the takeaways that you promised them. This is what will make your presentation different from any other. To develop your core content, follow three essential principles: Define the tasks. Solve the mysteries. Keep things simple. You can learn more about these in Chapters 1-4 of my new book, Rule the Room.  Below is a summary of each of them for you: Define the tasks. Go through the takeaways (what your presentation gives your audience) one by one. Begin by asking yourself, "Does the audience know how to do this?" This is unlikely, of course, since if the audience already knew how to make those takeaways happen, they wouldn’t be at your presentation. For example, when I asked a client of mine named Richard if he felt his audience would understand how to put his takeaway "Mine existing relationships" into practice, he said no. So I told him that he would have to come up with tasks—procedures or actions that make the takeaways possible. You must do the same. I suggest that a presenter come up with about three tasks for each takeaway. You describe the tasks in exactly the same way you described the takeaways. Use an action verb. Use as few words as possible—ideally, seven words or fewer. Use clear and simple language. When I asked Richard to come up with tasks that would help the audience mine existing relationships, the first one he came up with was "Prioritize your client list." What he would explain and help his audience understand was how to figure out which of their customers were the best prospects for the services Richard was proposing they offer. Once you’ve defined the tasks, go over each one individually and ask yourself if the people in your audience would know how to carry it out. If not, then you have to come up with at least one subtask. Go through the same process as in creating the task. Use an action verb, as few words as possible, and clear and simple language. Looking at his first task, Richard felt the audience wouldn’t necessarily know what to do when he said "Prioritize your client list," so he came up with a subtask: "Sort by client type (municipal, agricultural, etc.)." What he meant by this, he would explain to his audience of bankers, was defining which businesses were most likely to use the services his company could help the bankers offer. Solve the mysteries. The example is the final level of the task hierarchy. A good presenter gets to it as quickly as possible. It is the most powerful way to ensure that your audience knows how to do what you suggest. The examples are very important because they’re the solutions to the mysteries. If you don’t give examples, the next time you give the audience members a mystery, you run the risk that they won’t listen, because they won’t trust that you have a solution. When you do give them an example, you will see some very active note taking. Your audience members will have been satisfied by getting some actionable information. Focus on finding and delivering a single example that is so specific and clear that the immediate reaction will be, Aha! I get it! If you want to include additional examples, list them in your handout (see chapter 4 in my new book). You can use words to describe your example. In some cases, a picture will do a better job, and if you can find one that does, use it.  Either way, make sure your audience does not leave the room without a very detailed mental image of how to translate the takeaway you’ve promised them into an action. Richard concluded his explanation of how to mine existing relationships by giving his audience two examples of loans he had helped other bankers successfully place. The first was a loan for a piece of farm equipment (Smith Farms), and the second was a loan for a snowplow (Town of Jonesburg). After hearing these real examples, Richard’s audience knew how to follow through on the task, subtask, and sub-subtask he had recommended. Keep things simple. Don’t overwhelm your audience with material. Try to keep your presentation to around five agenda items per hour, ideally ten minutes each but no shorter than six and no longer than thirteen. If you discover you have too much content, restructure your presentation—that is, make a single takeaway into two. Cut the amount of content only as a last resort. To stay within the guidelines, do not exceed one full page of notes for each takeaway. Use Richard’s blueprint as a real-case example to create your own pages. I am going to review the entire process here so you get the big picture. His presentation had five takeaways: Expand your loan services. Lower your loan risk. Mine existing relationships. Meet your customers’ needs. Get a supportive partner. For "Mine existing relationships," Richard felt his audience would understand the concept but might not know how to put it into practice. So he went to step 1, "Create the main tasks." He used an action verb for each one, described it in fewer than seven words, and used simple language to convey it. I have mentioned one of the tasks he came up with, but he ultimately came up with three: Prioritize your client list. Find qualified leads. Ask the right questions. He next went to step 2, "Create the subtasks." He considered the first task: "Prioritize your client list." He felt his listeners would not know how to do this without further instruction. So he continued the process. He used an action verb, described it in very few words, and used clear and simple language. He came up with one subtask: "Sort by client type (municipal, commercial, etc.)." Again, he felt his audience would need further instruction. So he continued the process. For step 3, "Create sub-subtasks," he came up with one. He used an action verb, described it in very few words, and used clear and simple language: "Focus on clients who have additional financial relationships." Would his listeners understand how to do that? He felt the answer was yes. He gave the example of two clients (Smith Farms, Town of Jonesburg) he knew had needed loans for leased equipment. Once Richard had defined the entire hierarchy of tasks and given the example, people in his audience knew exactly what to do. They could leave his presentation and put his suggestions into action. Because they had learned something actionable, they were able to actually change their behavior.   Jason Teteak Rule the Room     The post Create Your Presentation Script appeared first on Rule The Room.