Performance support can combat the stress that comes from a heavy workload in more ways than one.

The first cluster in CHAMPIONS is Contextual. What exactly does this mean? Dorsey Dixon gives us an answer in his latest blog post.

Vote for our proposed panel consisting of members from Qualcomm, the U.S. government, and Float to hear how augmented reality can change how we work and live.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context does just what the title implies and a lot more. In this series, Jule Kind, Director of Off Campus Library Services (OCLS), shares about some of the most used library resources....Continue Reading »

August 18, 2015 Here are two free iPad apps you can use with students to create talking pictures. Both of these apps allow you to record your own voice to use as a voice-over in your photos. 1-... ....read more

  The latest blog challenge from LinkedIn reminds us to #ThankYourMentor.  As a Human Resource professional, I want to also encourage my colleagues time to reach out and offer a hand and the gift of mentorship to another professional.  We will be stronger together. In December, we said our final farewells to an incredible man in the one-and-only Fred Barnabei.  Fred brought me to the state of Georgia in 1988 and I will always hold fond memories of my twelve year tour in Augusta under his leadership and his tutelage.  I still remember his call to...

The HR profession is full of acronyms. Grab any three or four letters from the alphabet and throw them together and there’s probably a corresponding law for it. But there are two acronyms in particular that create a lot of anxiety for HR professionals: FMLA and ADA. Intermittent Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave has rapidly become one of the most common sources of heartburn for employers. Sprinkle in some of the Americans with Disabilities Act’s (ADA’s) ambiguous wording, and the...

Do you really know all the processes that consume your employee’s time? Do top performers spend more time in specific work processes? What time-consuming activities should you consider for process improvement or automation? In this manager’s dilemma, I walk through a "Processes by Time" Dashboard in WorkiQ Desktop Analytics, and point out a few key insights that managers should know about process time. This dashboard displays: The average amount of time to complete a defined process. The NET amount of time spent in each process over several days. The average and NET time spent performing defined tasks (sub-processes) within a process. The NET amount of time spent outside of defined processes. This WorkiQ Desktop Analytics dashboard can be adjusted to report a range of dates, a specific employee, or a group of employees. Request WorkiQ Demo     The post Managers Dilemma: What processes consume an employee’s day? appeared first on WorkiQ Blog.

The film will tell his life story through 12 songs.

SummerSlam will air live Sunday, Aug. 23, from Brooklyn's Barclays Center.

An instructor wonders about the whereabouts of a student.  The student finally responds, disclosing unimaginable heartache.  Providentially, the instructor can relate to the student's burden. Like a fresh cup of coffee on a Saturday morning,...Continue Reading »

I love this blog post from Principal Ben Gilpin. He describes what happened when he threw a baseball mitt and glove in his car before leaving town on a family trip. Ben says "We were preparing to embark on our road trip, I was packing different odds and ends for the car ride.  Just before it was time to go I decided to throw in a baseball and mitt. My two boys at the time had zero interest in baseball and truth be told, couldn’t name one major league player. Troy (9 years old at the time), noticed the baseball and glove.  We stopped a couple times on the way and each time he wanted to play catch." Source: The Colorful Principal: Visible Growth So, the Mud Puddle Principle is one of my personal principles of habit forming. Imagine a 10-year-old boy standing beside a mud puddle. Now, fast forward 10 seconds and imagine what he’ll be doing then. Oh yeah, he’s going in! A mud puddle is pretty much irresistible to most kids! Just being near it makes it happen. So, when you hope your students or kids will try something new, put it nearby. Nothing else, just nearby. You can also apply this with your own habits. For example, I’ve read that making something just 6 seconds more accessible makes it more likely. So, I put a glass beside my bathroom sink. Every time I stand there to brush my teeth, I drink a whole glass of water. I place books that I want to read beside my two favorite chairs. When I need to write thank you notes, I put them there as well. Right now, I’m researching for my third book. I like to use index cards (like John Maxwell does). So, I have index cards beside every place I sit in the house, in a prominent place on my desk and in my pocketbook. I have also put them beside my bed and beside my bathroom sink. Now, any time I have a thought or remember a story I want to tell, I grab a card and write it down. I fall in the mud puddle of research so easily now! The Mud Puddle Principle works with data too! My husband, Kip, is an engineer. He says that the first step in changing a statistic is to track and post it publicly. Everyone starts obsessing over that stat because it is IN THEIR FACE every day. They teach them this in engineering courses. As an interesting caveat, this principle also works in the opposite direction. If you want to resist - make it harder to reach, harder to find, or put it out of sight. Hide the cookies. Bring out the exerbike! Ben Gilpin writes an excellent blog, you’ll want to check it out. And, oh, by the way — how did the story end? Fast forward 9+ months.  Troy is now 10 years old and this is his first year playing baseball on a team.  I have a chance to watch him and help him almost every day and what I saw as a very raw 9 year old is now a quickly improving 10 year old.  Just last night his coach put him on the mound to be the first pitcher. He and I had worked on a few things and I knew he could do it, but I was still pretty proud to see how far he has come. The Mud Puddle Principle can change your life by transforming your habits. So be intentional about what you put beside your favorite chair, beside your bathroom sink, or in your purse or briefcase. While Ben reflects on visible growth (you really should read the whole post), I see mudpuddles. Question: What are you putting nearby? What things do you get into that you need to put further away. The post Productivity: How the Mud Puddle Principle Can Shape Your Habits appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Sponsored by Staples. Check out the Staples' Teacher Rewards Program! I have a thing for office supplies! I think it comes from being a teacher. This week (May 3-9) is Teacher Appreciation Week. Now, I can share my favorite productivity tips and tools (as always) along with how to get them for yourself at your local Staples store. Staples Teacher Rewards Offer for Teacher Appreciation Week. This Teacher Appreciation Week, May 3-9, Staples has a best-ever offering of 40 percent back in Staples Teacher Rewards. This exclusive, in-store offer gives Teacher Rewards members 40 percent back in Staples Rewards on school supplies, teaching and art essentials, posters, cleaning supplies and laminating. Teachers enrolled in the free Staples Teacher Rewards program will receive a coupon for 40 percent back in rewards. In addition, they will receive a second coupon for 40 percent back in rewards to give to another educator that can be redeemed during Teacher Appreciation Week, May 3-9.  Educators who are not currently Staples® Teacher Rewards members can sign up online or at anyStaples store to receive the coupon. Teacher Reward members can also print the coupon on www.staples.com/teacherappreciation.  The special savings offer is exclusive to teachers and excludes technology. Step 1. First, make sure you’ve joined the Staples Teacher Rewards program. (You can click the link or sign up in a store.) Step 2. After you sign up, print the coupon at www.staples.com/teacherappreciation. (You also get one to share with another teacher!)  Step 3. Then, go to a Staples store and shop! (See my ideas below for test prep and productivity.) I’m excited to now be working with Staples through the end of August with all kinds of deals and a glimpse into becoming more productive. Sharing my favorite productivity items is going to be fun, so join the Teacher Rewards program now to take advantage of the deals with me! Staples is the sponsor of this blog post. Everything I share below is what I use already. All of these items are ones I ask parents for at the beginning of the year if they ask about the kinds of supplies I love. When I read a great book, I sketchnote it. Here, I’m sketchnoting Jon Acuff’s new book "Do Over". Taking the time to Sketchnote helps me remember what I’ve learned. To make this possible, I keep colored pens in a pouch in my purse, so I can do it anytime. 1 - Colored Pens I’m all into Sketchnoting thanks to my new friend Sylvia Duckworth. So, in a pouch in my purse, I carry a set of colored pens. I have two favorite brands: the Pentel Felt Tipped Pens and the G2 Colored Gel Pens. I also use them to grade but always pick just about any color but red, blue, or black. Some recent research has shown that the color red is a negative association for most students.  "Bleeding all over the page" is not good for anyone. Because my students use black and blue pens, I like purple, green, or aqua or something different. It is just more me. Those who use red pens to grade are missing the research that shows you should be using green or another color. (See Elwood, J. A., & Bode, J. (2014). Student preferences vis-à-vis teacher feedback in university EFL writing classes in Japan. System, 42, 333-343 ) 2 - Post It Notes Post-It Notes are awesome for brainstorming. Some of the newer post it notes come in the cool shapes. For example, I love the thumbs up (looks like of like a Facebook like).  If a student has done something awesome, I’ll often write a note, so I don’t mess up the "perfect" piece with my handwriting. I love the "exit slip" Twitter board idea that many teachers are using in elementary classes. Students write down a 140 character or less answer to the final question and post it on the Twitter board. The teacher picks some to tweet out! See this Pinterest Board for Twitter board/ exit slip ideas. Sharpies of all kinds are on sale during Teacher Appreciation Week. When I do my shopping on Sunday (the first day of the sale) - this is going to be the first place I hit! (Check your local store flyer for the local price - I’m showing prices for my local Albany, GA store.) 3 - Huge Sticky Tablets of Paper and Markers of Many Colors I like to have my students come up with acronyms. For example, I always have them come up with a way to remember the order of memory for computer (Byte, KKilobyte MegaByte, Gigabyte, etc.). I give them all different colored markers, and they brainstorm how they will remember it. Then, they write it on their big post it note poster paper and stick it up on my wall. I use this for so many things. Oh and they have a serious sale on Sharpies going on at Staples during Teacher Appreciation Week! Awesome! Garr Reynolds from Presentation Zen has great ideas for how you can use these large self-stick post-it notes on the wall as you present. 4 - Patterned Duct Tape I was keeping some children the other day and these two little girls found a small hole in the play stove. They asked me for duct tape to fix it. One cute little girl said, "All I need is duct tape and my Grandaddy - those two can fix everything." But I use it for even more. When I need to have separate places on my wall or want to do a display or mini "bulletin board" - we tape it on the wall. We use it in our Makerspace as students up-cycle things. For example, when a chair has the stuffing coming out of the padded part, my students will wrap it in designer duct tape, and it becomes a special chair where everyone wants to sit. Decorative duct tape (some call it "duck") is a must-have for your makerspace. For ideas for duct-tape art projects, check Pinterest. I kind of like the duct tape water bottle holder. I have a journal for dreams, one for prayers, one for things I’m thankful for, and one where I just write thoughts. You don’t have to go to this extreme, but using paper to think can improve your life. I love journals 5- Journals I keep a joy journal. Did you know that just writing down five things you’re grateful for every day will make you happier after one month than if you won the lottery? (Read 9 Fine Reasons to Keep a Journal). I have these particular pens — always in bold — that I use to write in my journal. (Uniball Vision Bold or G2 Bold) I’ve also got a book that I’ve written my affirmations in and another one for ideas. Journaling has made me who I am - I love to get journals and have them ready to go. You can also make your own journal with duct tape, cardboard, and the very cool colored paper that Staples has on sale during Teacher Appreciation week. 6 - Make a Personal Notebook Using the M by Staples Arc Customizable Notebook System While I started off with another system for making my notebooks and planners — I’m all about the M by Staples ARC Customizable Notebooks and have been for a long time.  I love to make my books and to be able to pull things in and out of them easily. I often print custom designed planner pages and put it in my notebook. If you are a DIY planner gal like I am, you have got to get ahold of Arc. (Use the different colored pens from #1 and you’ll love it even more.) I love creating my own notebooks. Several years a go, I found this system at Staples that lets me create an awesome system personalized just for me. As much as I love SOME apps, I do better when I use paper. For others of you who get into the diy-planner trend made possible by this system, check out all of the templates that you can customize and tweak to your liking. Just remember to get the special punch. I follow John Maxwell’s filing system for ideas and quotes (except I use 3×5 cards and he uses one size larger.) Right now, I have 2 boxes full and growing. Many of these are quotes that came from my Kindle highlights. 7 - Index Cards and Index Card Boxes While I use Evernote for my online work, I take notes highlighted in my Kindle books and copy them into Evernote. (See how in this blog post.).  Then, I copy and paste the quotes from the books and paste them onto my index cards in Microsoft Word. I print them out and use these cute index card dividers to title each topic and store them in my snap together storage boxes. This past week when I presented in Saskatchewan, I had an Ignite speech to give on habits and productivity. I took a little red plastic case. Before leaving home, I grabbed 3 three topics: life, habits, and routines. I was able to crank out my Ignite speech. (I follow the filing system John Maxwell uses with index cards and I love it.) Want to print out your own notecards? Follow this YouTube video and download the template. (Docx) I have a plastic index card holder for trips. I can grab cards that I need to prepare a topic for a speech and blank ones for new ideas. 8 - Colored File Folders I color code everything. While there is a place for the plain manila file folders, I prefer to use the colored ones. They are thick and hold up so well. At school, each class has a color (yellow for 8th, red for 9th, blue for 10th, green for my administrative files). At home, I have green for finances, purple for family, red for urgent, blue for my business and yellow for miscellany.) The purple folders have to be looked for sometimes but I like purple because that was often a color of royalty and hat is how I want to treat my family. When I set up my filing system, I print out a color code reminder so that I can remember and others can know my coding system as well. That way, they don’t pick up and make a file out of a color that doesn’t match the system. 9 - The gadgets you need If you want to get some great gadgets, here are some I recommend. Quite a few are on sale this week. (Note: the Teacher Rewards doesn’t apply on technology.) I love my Bose bluetooth speaker. I’ve tried others and this one sounds great and holds a charge. They are on sale at Staples during Teacher Appreciation Week (along with lots of other Bose Stuff.) Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker - My husband gave me one for Valentine’s Day.I use it to listen to my podcast and others every morning. I also put it in the car to listen because I don’t have a Bluetooth connector for my vehicle’s speakers. Big Kindle Sale during Teacher Appreciation Week. (iPads too). Both are awesome devices. Kindle Everything - I love my Amazon Kindle (see mention above in Index Card system.) I just couldn’t live without my Paperwhite. And, they are on sale! (Yeah!) Do you have a data backup plan for your home computer. I like the My Passport Drive because it has an automatic backup feature built in that is easy to set up. External Hard Drive for Backup — You MUST Have one of these for your home computer. (See my blog post "Stop Playing Russian Roulette with Your Data" on why you need one.) The kind I use at home Chromebooks, Computers, Surface Tablets are all there. There are tons of deals, so if you’re shopping for a computer, you should also consider it for this week. 10. Supplies for the students We all do it. I do. You do. We buy hundreds of pencils, pens, and highlighters a year and keep them at our desks. With the huge discounts during teacher appreciation week, this is the time to stock up. I also LOVE colored expo markers - it makes writing on the board so much more fun. TEST PREP TIP!! Mini dry erase boards are a favorite of mine and many others Angela Watson recommended using mini dry-erase boards and markers for test prep to make it more fun in last week’s Truth for Teachers podcast. See the blog post she wrote on this. So, what are your favorite office supplies and gadgets? What are you getting this week for teacher appreciation week? This is definitely the week to plan to shop with other teachers! Just sign up for the Staples Teacher Reward Program first! I hope all of you out there enjoy Teacher Appreciation Week and will pop by Staples (like I am on Wednesday) to get your discount. You can sign up online or go by the store. And when you do, you also get a discount to give a friend. I’m thankful for the opportunity to work with Staples. I’ve shopped there for years and years — and I do so love office supplies. This is a great reason for me to share lots of little productivity tips that I wouldn’t have thought to share otherwise. Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a "sponsored post." The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to edit and post it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.)   The post 10 Top Teacher Appreciation Week Ideas (and a Way to Save Money on Them) appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

The Struggle to "Go For It" with No Regrets on the Family Front I loved Sheryl Sandberg’s TED speech upon which a movement began. But I am sitting here reflecting upon it and how I feel about my decisions to put family first. I wrote this post in 2014 but didn’t publish it. Perhaps it is the untimely death of Sheryl Sandberg’s husband that has me reflecting back upon this. Perhaps I felt it was too much about me. However, after a year of " leaning in" and putting myself out there, the results are astounding so far. I ended up winning the BAMMY award for best Education Talk Show Host (an award I almost pulled myself out of the running for) and since have secured a Staples sponsorship as their back to school Ambassador. I’m about to hit 100,000 followers and have keynoted six conferences during this school year. Two weeks ago, I had a webinar with more than 700 participants! I don’t say this as a brag but to say, as you read this post, you see me grappling with whether I should put myself "out there" even further. And yet, while blessed with these things, I’ve not compromised on my role as Mom and wife. Those who think they must sacrifice their children on the altar of their own success are sadly mistaken. I’m living proof it doesn’t have to be that way. This week of Teacher Appreciation, I hope you’ll enjoy this reflection as you learn to balance the demands and appreciate your role in the world. We all struggle with times of leaning in and leaning out. - Vicki Davis in May 2015 I’m sitting here in the lobby talking to other Westwood fans after an incredible game won by our Varsity Girls Basketball Team sending us to our third state championship game in 3 years. Two years ago, we lost and were second and last year we won. Tonight is yet to be seen. FYI: The girls won! Snuggled in the two beds upstairs are my daughter and one of her best friends. They are cheerleaders, and they are seniors. The girls basketball team is staying overnight. I wanted my daughter to be part of it all — not only to be here but also to be rested as she’s also in the throes of some rigorous end of year coursework. She heads to Georgia Tech in June to join her brother there and not one day goes by that I don’t miss her brother. Even though sometimes he was tough, I miss buying two gallons of milk every other day, and I miss cooking five pounds of meatloaf. I am so glad that I cut way back on speaking to enjoy his senior year. And I’ve done the same this year with my daughter. You see, although I did keynote a technology conference in Wyoming, I could have been at SXSW or heading to Barcelona now for a big Microsoft event. Both of them are awesome opportunities and would have been incredible to join - just amazing. But last night I was there. I was there as we hugged each other with tears in our eyes. I was there as my precious basketball girls game up the stairs with excited looks on their faces. I got to be there. We ate a very late dinner at Carrabas, and it was almost as if each motion and movement were in slo-mo as I saw every raised glass and every laugh. I saw it all and drank it in like a drowning man breathing in air. These are those precious moments that are most rare and often most discarded. I guess you could say I was one of those women who leaned out. As a General Manager of 13 counties of a cellular phone market, I left a great six figure job to be a stay at home Mom. Trading big bucks for a big diaper pail, I cared for two toddlers - planning lesson plans, experiences, and lots of Mommy time. I didn’t lean out, though, I leaned down. It was during those times I taught myself how to program in HTML and started my own business creating websites and fixing computers. I didn’t lean out, I leaned down. I didn’t lean out; I leaned down. I leaned down to pick up my babies and to nestle my nose in their hair every morning. I leaned down to hold them when they had booboo’s and to pat their little fannies as they cried in the night with a tummy ache. I leaned down, and I don’t regret it for one moment. I don’t regret missing those things I could have done last year as my son played in football games. I did miss his senior night that almost killed me- but overall I was there for just about everything. Scaling back on speaking was a good decision for me and my family. And I’m glad to be right here in this lobby laughing with friends, hugging the students I love and drinking some coffee that is surprisingly good. I’m glad to go back to the room in a minute with two snoozing teenagers who will be snoozing in their dorm rooms next year instead of anywhere near me. In short, I’m glad I leaned down. It could have gone another way. I was in a GTE Program called the Marketing Management Development Program - it was an awesome opportunity for training and learning. I was voted "most likely to become president of the company." They moved us every 6 months. I left the program early to take an incredible job for an amazing boss that everyone wanted to work for. Then, I got promoted several times and it was very exciting. After not getting a promotion for something I was best qualified for, I left that company for a big promotion into the "field" and took a cell phone market from less than 100 phones a month to more than 650 within 3 months. It was a great job and I loved it. But when I started to have children, everything changed for me, and I’m glad it did. While I love working and managing and doing all those sorts of things - and I enjoyed having the money — I saw that my life is for more than that. I saw people that needed me. I saw some things that only I could do. Ultimately, my love for my children led me to teach - they needed me at their school and I was going to be there. But somehow, in leaning down I found my true love. Really, I have more than 500 children now - close to 1000 after the 13 years I finish up this spring. My love is kids. My own first and then any other child who gets within 10 feet. If I see a toddler, I’m going to lean down and get on the floor or pull out my iPad and teach them something cool. If it is a middle schooler, we’ll probably ending up talking about something middle school-ish (probably gross b/c that is what they do). If it is a high schooler, we’ll talk about their uncertain future as they explore their dreams. But as we do all of these, these are moments that I stole from a future that could have been filled with other things. It could have been filled with more "me", I guess. It could have been much different, and I guess I could have been one of those lean in women who never left the table and stayed in the throes of business. But the thing I’ve discovered about myself is that I do not define success by how much money is in the bank. (Sometimes I sure wish I did! But, for me, it is how many lives I can change and help be better. Changed lives- especially those of my children- is the currency of success. Sometimes I’ve leaned in. Other times I’ve leaned down. I’m thankful for both. If I can write something that helps you be a better teacher - or if I can write something that helps someone be a better parent. Or if I can be there to capture a moment or share a moment with my kids. Those are moments that will play upon my still, cold face when I am laid to rest that you cannot take away from me. They say you can’t take "it" with you but it is the money, cars, etc. and trappings - no, those things you can’t take it with you. But honestly, I care more about who I leave behind and the impressions in their mind. My children might not be able to say I was CEO or head of this or that, but they can say something important — Mom was there. I wasn’t there all the time because I do travel and speak some, but they can say I was there when it counted. I was there to wipe their tears, change their diapers, check their homework and cook them dinner. I was there to hear them cry when they had a teenage tragedy and to wash the stinkiest football jersey east of the Mississippi. Maybe I gave a lot up by not leaning in but I don’t feel guilty about it one bit. And maybe that is the problem. I’d rather invest in my children than in myself. TIME TO LEAN IN But then there comes a time to lean in when the kids are gone or growing up. While I still have one who will be at home, there are "things I’ve gotta do." I realized that I was learning out when I had a friend who wanted me to submit for the i3talks at the BAMMY awards this year. You see, early on, I let myself be nominated for a few awards - I’d go through the interview, etc. and then it wouldn’t happen even though those selected, I didn’t think, were as qualified - they were more "certified." So, I said no more. Just work hard on sharing and doing for others and let other people go for stuff like that. Oddly, there were once or twice when I asked my readers to vote for me for the Edublogs and I’d get a firestorm of criticism - usually from men - although my male counterparts who asked for votes wouldn’t get the same criticism. So I stopped letting people know I was nominated there too. Just focus on the main thing. Then the BAMMYS - I was asked to come join them and present some things. Even nominated. I most assuredly leaned out — "awards aren’t for me - I’d just rather stay here and do a great job and help people." I never told anyone at my school or even tried to go. I just want to help people. But here’s the thing and I’m talking to you teachers — you’ve got stories to tell and listening to Sheryl’s speech and reading books like Compelling People, I’ve realized that there is a difference between taking care of your kids and choosing to not take care of yourself and career. I may have chosen to be a stay at home Mom, and I may have chosen to be a teacher and not to go full time on the speakers circuit. I’ve chosen those things. But who says I should choose to sit quietly at home and not put myself out there? The other day I was talking to my husband and youngest son about the fiction book I’m writing. They love the story but I’ve got a whole huge struggle with putting myself out there on a fiction book - all the self doubts come in. So, my youngest son said, "Mom, its a great story and you need to tell it." I said, "Yeah, I guess the worst thing I could do is fail." Without a split second he says, "No, Mom, the worst thing you can do is quit writing the story." As Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day says, the most expensive land in the world is the graveyard. The graveyard is where all of the hopes and dreams are buried. Also buried are the books that were never written and businesses that were never started and risks that were never taken. I will not bury my best with me. Well, not only am I going to lean in, I’m going to contribute and be part of things and put myself out there. It is time. So what if it is more the norm in our society for women to sit back - there’s a reason that 90% of the speakers at our edtech conferences are men. Don’t fault them if they apply and put themselves out there to present and we don’t. It isn’t that the men don’t deserve it (God forbid the day we’re hired based on our gender) but 80% of teachers are women and we should have a better representation than we have right now in the speaker’s circuit. We’ve got to wise up and grow up to the world we’ve made and question its merit. We’ve got to be willing to lead with our own lives and actions. There’s just a big difference, again, between choosing to take care of your children and choosing to not take care of yourself and your own career. Taking care of them does not mean neglecting your own hopes and dreams all the time. Both parents end up sacrificing because that is what parents do. If you’re looking for sacrifice free parenting, don’t have a child. It doesn’t exist. Taking care of them does not mean neglecting your own hopes and dreams all the time. Both parents end up sacrificing because that is what parents do. If you’re looking for sacrifice free parenting, don’t have a child. It doesn’t exist. I think I’m just questioning my own route I’ve taken over the past few years to quietly let awards and nominations and the like pass me by just so I wouldn’t be criticized. So, here’s for the lean in. I’m heading to the BAMMY Awards. As I said in the early part of this piece, this was written in late winter 2014 — a little over a year ago. So many incredible things have happened. But I am so glad for the choices I made to focus on my family and choose them, while still choosing to do what I can in my career. I’ve blogged at 5 am before the kids got up for almost 10 years now. I never have been able to do everything, but refusing to sacrifice my children on the altar of my own career has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. And now, after two have gone to college and with one still left in middle school, I’m also experiencing awesome things as I lean in even more. There are times and seasons of life - learn to enjoy each one. I’m glad I was a stay at home Mom. I’m glad I’ve lived life with no regrets. And I shall not live with the regret that during this time now that I didn’t lean in more. The post Leaning In, Leaning Down, Putting Yourself Out There appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

ECM 152: Principal Todd Nesloney tells you how to really get kids excited about reading. No trinkets. No prizes. No book levels. One school led by Principal Todd Nesloney got rid of it all. Every teacher and every student set a simple goal: read twenty books in one semester. Any book. Any kind. If you hate the book — STOP READING IT. Listen on iTunes Listen to Todd Nesloney Tell All About Their Reading Program As he shares in the show, when Principal Nesloney took over his school of fourth and fifth graders, he inherited many struggling readers. Too many kids were reading at first and second-grade reading levels. After one semester of observing existing programs, Todd didn’t see the programs working. So, after working with his staff - they threw out everything. The problem was that most of the kids had never had a book that they wanted to read. "When you find the right book it changes your view completely, and you can’t stop." @techninjatodd #edchatPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This There is no program on earth that can replace educator enthusiasm for meaningful progress. I also love the discussions Todd had with his staff. One colleague was upset because she listened to audiobooks and didn’t know if that "counted." She had tears in her eyes when Todd told her "reading is reading." No gimmicks - just reading. Important Take-Aways from Episode 152 Follow @techninjatodd on Twitter Todd’s Blog is MEGA INSPIRING. It is a must read for all principals. Todd’s January 11, 2015, Blog Post "Falling in Love with Reading Thanks to @DonalynBooks" Where Todd set forth his vision for the reading program. The Book that started the movement: The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller Follow Donalyn Miller on Twitter @DonalynBooks (Yes, I’m trying to book her for a future show!) A blog post about the "Secret Society of Readers" used by @ofancyfrench (It looks like she’s Principal Nesloney’s librarian. She tweeted me last week, and I followed the tweet back to her blog. Haven’t heard back yet if she’s Todd’s librarian, so I guess it is a secret. Either way - this idea rocks!) ECM Educators — YOU CAN DO THIS! If you want to improve something, be all in but don’t pretend. If reading is important, then we should read. Episode 152 is one of those shows to email and share. Todd rocks it! Oh, and he responded to my email to let me  know that his test scores did reflect improvement! Awesome! I also want to give big props to ECM Educator, Tammy Brown, for her tweet after listening to the show. I just ordered The Book Whisperer after listening to @TechNinjaTodd on #EveryClassroomMatters with @coolcatteacher — Tammy Brown (@southernbelle85) June 19, 2015   Leaders are readers and readers are leaders A person who TAKES ACTION when inspired is moving forward a little bit every day. When you hear about a great book, read it. When you hear a best practice, that can help you, learn more about it. When you have a best practice, share it. Educators who care, share. Tammy used the hashtag, cited the original person and let me know on this tweet. Good modeling there, Tammy! One more point. Some have asked me why I wait a few days between when the show goes live and blogging the show. Well, there are some ECM educators out there who give me so much great information. Several takeaways belonged in this post that were tweeted to me. When you find something awesome or have something to add to a topic - tweet me! The post How a school threw out their reading program and finally got everyone excited about reading. appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

What I found when I analyzed all of my tweets from the last 12 months Your clicks tell a story.  Your interests. Your problems. What you think is funny. I looked at your clickthroughs on my tweets for the last 12 months. With over 100,000 followers, your clicks tell a fascinating story with a few surprises. Click the tweet buttons and share helpful things on your Twitter feed. (It will ask your permission before it tweets.) I will give you the spreadsheet at the end. I will also explain how to calculate these statistics on your Twitter feed. These reflections and social media tips will help bloggers covering ISTE. 1. The Top-Clicked Twitter Link of 2014-2015 (1988 clicks) How to enable collaboration on Thing Link Interactive Images j.mp/12hYfnIPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This Link: j.mp/12hYfnI Richard Byrne, author of Free Technology for Teachers, wrote the top clicked post. A teacher asked him how to make a collaborative multimedia collage. He suggested Thinglink , a tool adored by special needs teachers. This tweet teaches: This was the most clicked-through tweet of this past school year. Nothing on this tweet can show you just how many people clicked on it. Focus on what HELPS. If you focus on retweets, you might accidentally be focusing on the echo chamber. No wonder teachers get frustrated! They want useful stuff, not just pretty pictures. You can’t look at tweets and KNOW what interests teachers. That tweet has only 6 retweets and 8 favorites. It had almost 2,000 clicks! Teachers are helping students collaborate online. Bloggers who answer teacher questions are helpful. Good questions asked to the right person can help thousands. 2. Sketchnoting (1745 clicks) These were three different tweets. Don’t cry foul! They were all about sketchnoting. I added the word "Awesome!" and tweeted the first tweet again. Awesome! How To Get Started With Sketchnotes http://j.mp/1EW9tyW via @coolcatteacherPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This Link: http://j.mp/1EW9tyW I found this resource by Smashing Magazine when learning how to sketchnote. It helped me. I tweeted it. Sketchnoting Fans: Paper 53 Built a Sketchnote Community http://j.mp/1PGHXHZ via @coolcatteacherPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This Link: http://j.mp/1PGHXHZ Popular sketchnoting app, Paper by 53, created a community for sketchnoters. I wrote a blog post  with resources. These tweets teach: Sketchnoting is being studied by educators. As you research, share helpful links. If you blog, tweet links to posts more than once . 3. We Want to Be Memorable(1734 clicks) What Students Remember Most About Teachers http://j.mp/1sRTOGB via @coolcatteacher Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This Link: http://j.mp/1sRTOGB Lori Gard shared this letter to a new teacher on an Edutopia discussion forum. She wrote this post in January 2014 on her own blog. It went viral. She reposted it on Edutopia in December 2014. This tweet teaches: Teachers want to be remembered. I tweeted this three times: Dec 2014, Jan 2015, May 2015. Some people think that when they tweet something once, that is enough. Only a small number of people see each tweet. If something is helpful, share it again. Lori was savvy. She cross posted. She took this from her blog and shared it on Huffington Post. Then, she shared at Edutopia. I found this post looking at the most shared box on the right-hand side of Edutopia. Take time to look at popular posts on your favorite websites. Read them for inspiration. Share them to be helpful. 4. Motivational Posters (1033 clicks) 15 Motivational Posters to Kickstart Your Creativity http://j.mp/122C3hi via @coolcatteacherPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This Link: http://j.mp/122C3hi This poster was shared as part of the original tweet. Twitter and Facebook users seem to share posts with photos. These quote posters were made by Be Happy and shared by My Modern Met. This tweet teaches: Educators like quotes. I found this post through the suggested posts on Buffer. My Modern Met shared popular quotes from another site. Look at other sites for helpful ideas. Typically, the link to Be Happy should be at the first mention of their name. Modern Met didn’t do that. I did bother me a bit, but if BeHappy is happy, who am I to say. Posts with graphics get shared more. If you want your tweets to be noticed, include graphics. 5. Contests for Schools (734 clicks) AWESOME CONTESTS: Calling Teachers and Students: 10 Ways to Win for You and Your School http://j.mp/1CvfP70 via @discoveryed This tweet is a collection of contests curated by Discovery Education. They posted this on February 4. I tweeted it the same day. This tweet teaches: Teachers are eager to do what they can to earn free things for their classrooms. Discovery Ed is one of the organizations on my secret VIP list in Twitter. I do this for 2 reasons: I’m a Discovery STAR Educator and sharing is what we do. Secondly, I trust Discovery’s content. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have shared it so quickly. Make sure tweets are up-to-date. You’ll notice that I didn’t put the list above in a tweet box. I don’t want you to tweet it. It isn’t current. Every contest date has passed. Never ask people who trust you to tweet old stuff. Notice the all caps. I still gave credit to Discovery at the end. While retweeting is fine, if it is really awesome, tell people why. 6. Everything You Need to Know About Sugar (591 clicks) Everything You Need to Know About Sugar: http://j.mp/16KMjwv via @coolcatteacherPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This Link: http://j.mp/16KMjwv Many of us are obese.We’re looking for answers. The problem is that scientists don’t even agree. This post on the Atlantic examines sugar. This tweet teaches: Educators care about good health. This is another item I found via the Buffer App’s suggested topics. Note that the title of the post "Being Happy with Sugar" is different from the text in the tweet. Try different versions of the title on Twitter. Educators have diverse interests. We want to live better lives. 7. Productivity (525 clicks) 6 Things The Most Productive People Do Every Day: http://j.mp/1pSCN2J via @coolcatteacherPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This Link: http://j.mp/1pSCN2J The Institute of the Future Think Tank says it well: "We each have only one pair of eyes and ears, and more importantly, one mind to deal with the data." This blog post interviews Tim Ferris, author of The 4-Hour Workweek on the Barking Up the Wrong Tree blog. This blog uses science to help readers live a more awesome life. This tweet teaches: Many of us consider ourselves unproductive. The post cites research that "people work an average of 45 hours a week; they consider 17 of those hours to be unproductive." Time is precious. We want to use time better. Numbered lists get reshared. Another bufferapp suggested post find. (See a pattern?) The layout of the post is easy to read. 8. iPad Creativity (515 clicks) 10 Creative Ways to Use Your iPad in the Classroom @Edudemic http://j.mp/1vS5zCK #ipadchatPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This Link: http://j.mp/1vS5zCK Leah Levy’s post on Edudemic is a nice summary. Certainly, it is an excellent example of best-practice for curators of content. This tweet teaches: iPads are popular. (You didn’t need me to tell you that.) Educators like lists. (Again.) RSS is useful. I found this in my Feedly reader. It has a handy icon that shows you how popular articles are. This makes it easy to find content if you’re in a rush. Know "fan" hashtags to be helpful to them. (But don’t spam. That is not cool.) 9. Inside the Movement to Throw Out Grades (483 clicks) Inside the Movement to Throw Out Grades: Can It Be Done? http://cctea.ch/ecm-125 via @coolcatteacherPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This Link: http://cctea.ch/ecm-125http://cctea.ch/ecm-125 This is a link to an Every Classroom Matters show. Or, at least it was. The site was upgraded and the link broke. I fixed the link with a new one above.  This show conversation with Starr Sackstein and Mark Barnes discusses how "throwing out grades" works in the classroom. This tweet teaches: Controversial topics spark curiosity. Vet carefully. I hosted this show, so I felt confident in what I was sharing. Check your links every time, even if you have used it before. Web sites change. Check your links. You’ll notice a link starting in "cctea.ch". I bought that domain name. Why, you ask? I bought the shortest name I could ti use for link shortening. (Domainr helped.) I used bit.ly’s Branded Short Domain service. For someone who likes statistics (like me) there are some geeky stats I can use now. (Remember, how I said in #1 that what educators click on is more important to me than retweets? I want to know what is HELPFUL. Retweets can increase clicks. But many times retweets are sound bytes, not something useful to make me a better teacher. No soundbyte ever made me a better teacher. Best practices do.) Looking at the show statistics on the BAM Radio website, you can’t see how popular this show was. Look at stats but make up your own mind whether something is worth sharing. 10. How to Use Handwriting in Google Docs (474 clicks) How to Use Handwriting in Google Documents http://j.mp/1HHJF9l via @coolcatteacherPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This Link: http://j.mp/1HHJF9l Richard Byrne is my go-to edtech geek. He shares how to use handwritten responses in Google forms. This tweet teaches: Google Docs is a popular tool. Read the post to see what a generous blogger looks like. Richard Byrne gives credit. Notice how he cites John Stevens and the developer of the g(Math) add on for Google Docs, John McGowan. Great bloggers are generous. The people who steal stuff are scum. (There are some popular bloggers out there who are stealing other people’s content. I may not out them, but I sure won’t tweet them if I know they are doing it.) Other Popular ClickThroughs from the Last 12 Months Tweet Clicks This Tweet Teaches: Epic list: Here Is Who @larryferlazzo Recommends You Follow On Twitter In 2015 http://j.mp/1K2FGq8 Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet ThisLink: http://j.mp/1K2FGq8 393 Curating lists of people is helpful to overwhelmed, busy educators. I trust Larry, so I followed everyone he recommended. A Crash Course In Teaching With Apps That Align to Bloom’s Taxonomy http://cctea.ch/ecm-109 Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet ThisLink: http://cctea.ch/ecm-109 386 Another popular Every Classroom Matters show GOOGLE FORM USERS: 12 Tricks for Making Your Online Forms Simpler and Quicker for Users http://j.mp/1DxWjqA #gafe Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet ThisLink: http://j.mp/1DxWjqA 384 Google is hot, but this post was from a designer, not an education source. I tweeted it to #gafe - Google apps for Education. 15 Best Google Drive Add-Ons for Education http://cctea.ch/1czGRiw via @coolcatteacherPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet ThisLink: http://cctea.ch/1czGRiw 377 One of the most popular posts I’ve written in the past year. The Guidebook for Writing in the Digital Age: Reinventing Writing http://j.mp/1qmVhqe Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet ThisLink: http://j.mp/1qmVhqe 374 My new book Reinventing Writing is popular. I’ve made videos and resources that I’m giving away for free on this topic. Nine Popular Student Response Tools Compared In One Chart http://j.mp/1FbPj3a Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet ThisLink: http://j.mp/1FbPj3a 359 Helpful graphics from independent sources are helpful. Another great one from Richard Byrne. Who Said It First Tracks Down the First Tweet on Any Topic http://j.mp/1xQXytB Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet ThisLink: http://j.mp/1xQXytB 343 A cool tool. There are people who copy tweets from others without giving credit. If you have time for that, this tool helps. 5 Infographics to Teach You How to Easily Create Infographics in PowerPoint http://j.mp/1GtrNyq Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet ThisLink: http://j.mp/1GtrNyq 342 Educators look for new ways to use older tools. FASCINATING SEARCH ENGINE FOR EDUCATION APPS: AppoLearning http://j.mp/19CC9Qg #ipadchatPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet ThisLink: http://j.mp/19CC9Qg 335 Educators want help finding apps. This was also promoted by the cool folks at AppoLearning. You can search by grade level. Very cool. The Best Comic Strips For Students & Teachers In 2014 http://j.mp/1sklE3C via @larryferlazzoPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet ThisLink: http://j.mp/1sklE3C 331 Another mega-list by Larry Ferlazzo. 5 Blog Platforms for Teachers Compared In One Chart http://j.mp/1QCP0Sx via @rmbyrne Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet ThisLink: http://j.mp/1QCP0Sx 327 Another cool comparison graphic shared by Richard Byrne 3 Efficient Ways to Keep Parents Informed About Your Class and Their Children   http://j.mp/1APqPbS via @rmbyrne Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet ThisLink: http://j.mp/1APqPbS 325 Educators struggle to communicate with parents. What is Hotlinking? - Why You and Your Students Should Avoid It http://j.mp/1bEk0SF via @rmbyrne Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet ThisLink: http://j.mp/1bEk0SF 321 Copyright and problems like hotlinking are often clicked. People want trusted sources of digital citizenship info and Richard Byrne wrote a mega-simple post. Chromebooks 101: A Guide to Chromebook Success http://j.mp/1C1cEza via @coolcatteacherPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet ThisLink: http://j.mp/1C1cEza 310 The two pieces I wrote for Intel on Chromebooks remain wildly popular even 1 year later. The Best Places To Get The SameText Written For Different Levels http://j.mp/1G2RRfY via @larryferlazzo Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet ThisLink: http://j.mp/1G2RRfY 302 Rewordify is a popular tool. Now that Google is no longer supporting reading levels, we need these tools. Larry Ferlazzo wrote this helpful list. How did I get these numbers? I use the Bufferapp to schedule tweets. This way, I can write tweets for the next few days in one sitting. So, when I’m teaching, I’m focusing on my students. I DO NOT tweet during the day unless traveling or on break. Buffer tweets for me when I’m doing other things. Buffer gives me fantastic analytics. If I put on my business hat, popularity is like a mini focus group. There’s only one problem. Sometimes I’ll use Hootsuite or Commun.it. When I tweet other places, I can go to bit.ly to get stats on overall clicks but they may not be from just tweets. So, I try to tweet from buffer as much as possible. If you want to go back more than 90 days, you have to pay. (I’m on the $50 awesome plan. That is how much I depend on Buffer.) This is one of those few tools I pay for. If you’re not going to pay, you can still get analytics for the last 90 days. But if you’re just tweeting casually, the free plan and 90 days is enough. Here’s the spreadsheet I downloaded to create this post: Buffer Stats for @coolcatteacher Click Through I hope this transparency helps you understand educators. I hope it helps you as you share resources. I’m creating a mailing list for people who want social media sharing tips. I plan to send 1-2 updates a month for those of you interested in social media tips. The post A Behind-the-scenes look at what educators like appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

A Peek Into the Business Model of an Education Influencer with 100,000 Twitter Followers Teaching all day is exhausting. Could you imagine coming home and having hundreds of emails to handle? Well, that is what happened to me. My friends always ask me how I do it all! Teachers around the world have been kind to me. I want to be generous and helpful to them. But with such demands on my time, I have to get smart. So, I hired a brand manager. Here’s the press release, Vicki Davis and Angela Maiers Sign Brand Management Contracts with SyndicatEd. What is a brand manager? Why would I hire one? How can you build up your influence so you’re ready for this step? If you just want education tips, skip this post. If you want to understand teacher-influencers (or become one) — read on. 1 - Epic Takes Effort We cannot help the times in which we live, only the way in which we live the times. (With a hat tip to the wizard Gandalf.)  Speaking of wizards, I needed one. Should I speak here? Should I say "yes" to this opportunity? Do I do this deal? I don’t have hype; I need help. It is exciting to grow. It is exciting to have opportunities. But not when you’re drowning in them, and you can’t do what you love. There’s an old southern saying that you should "dance with the boy that brung ‘ya." I came to this dance because I am attracted to smart people. I follow them. I learn from them. I came to this dance by sharing great stuff. I have to write more great stuff. I have to record inspiring shows. I have to keep giving wildly impactful speeches. I also need to read and cultivate friendships. Epic takes effort. Here’s what happens to too many influencers. They get so busy with the new stuff, that they forget the old stuff that got them there. They stop blogging. They stop sharing great stuff. They become irrelevant. Mind clutter kills creativity. Busy is the enemy of epic. Hiring a brand manager helps me focus on writing, creating, and recording great stuff. I’m leveling up every day. The best is yet to be now that I’m free.  2 - Podcasting is Growing Last Sunday was huge. Because I was freed up to write, I wrote the most popular post in the history of this blog. "How a school threw out their reading program and finally got everyone excited about reading." The social media stats? This screenshot was taken on Friday, June 26 at 5:25 pm. The post was uploaded on Sunday, June 21 just after 10pm. Almost 50,000 people have seen this post. This blog post took time. Lots of it. It also had a podcast included so people could learn more. Educators who care, share. It is happening. Internet radio/ podcasting is growing because of it. Forbes says that the future of the car means podcasting is going to be big. Forbes says, "In the future everyone is going to have a podcast. So start yours now." Maybe it is the Serial podcast. Maybe personalizing your own radio station is easier now. Hearing someone’s voice is motivating. We’ve seen this incredible growth in the stats for the Every Classroom Matters show. Just two months ago, the show was at 50,000 downloads a month. It is now at 65,000 and skyrocketing. Clever companies want to advertise. So, BAM Radio has created Edvoices. Edvoices will sell advertising across BAM Radio. It will simplify. I don’t think the individual podcaster model is sustainable. Busy educators like me will partner with communities like BAM. We’re going to teach people to podcast too. (See #6 below.) In the end, no one person can do everything. Sometimes you have to let go of the good to grab the great. By having someone help manage my brand, I’m able to podcast, blog, and still teach. Hiring a brand manager lets me package blog posts, tweets, and show sponsorships together. Companies who advertise with me can have more impact.  It also simplifies things for me. 3 - Helping My Family Fishing. Walking the dogs. Being home helps me be a better person. I have a son going into eighth grade. I am his teacher. I am needed here. Most teachers have side jobs. My "side job" is this blog. I couldn’t afford to teach without it. With two children in college, I speak to pay the bills. I also speak because I LOVE IT! I love teachers and have a heart to help them reach every child. There are two kinds of active income: Stay and Away. Here’s what I mean by that. There is money I can earn while staying at home. (STAY) There’s money I make by traveling and speaking away from my family. (AWAY) If you are going to be a full-time educator, you must make the most STAY income possible. I love traveling and meeting people, so AWAY is  great. But the demand for AWAY is more than I can do if I’m going to STAY in the classroom. I get to speak at the very best conferences. I’m fortunate to speak at fifteen or so places a year. Every time I go, I come back changed. The organizers are awesome. The teachers I meet are incredible. Tons of friends from Twitter say hi. Speaking is incredible. But I’m always happy to fly home and be back with my students the next day. Hiring a brand manager helps me be a better teacher, Mom and wife. I can also get the most STAY income possible. 4 - To Be More Generous to Students and Teachers Through sharing my teaching, I found myself in a spotlight. So, I got out the biggest mirror I could find. With the Every Classroom Matters show and my blog, I shine a light on teachers. I want everyone to see your amazing work. This world isn’t about me. But if I can help people, I’ve improved the world. My life means something. Because, I tell you what — these students sure do. They don’t have time to wait for us to get our act together. I am called to help people be more awesome. Awesome teaching. Awesome learning. Awesome life. I want to share what works now! There are people who don’t make excuses but make progress. They are my heroes. The influencers I call my friends are generous. They are fun. They are smart. They help people. I want to be generous too. Sadly, selfish people can take advantage of generous people. Hiring a brand manager helps filter requests. I can focus on helping the right people. 5- Asserting the Value of All Influencers My family has one big complaint. My friends do too. Vicki, you’re too nice. Recently, I had five hours of phone calls in one day. At the end of the day, I had done no blogging. I had written no books. What had I done with my time? Five different companies wanted my "opinion" on their product. I gave each one an hour. Then, I realized something. I wasn’t nice, I was dumb. Teacher feedback is necessary for a good education product. Listening to your users is great. But there are companies who trick influencers by appealing to their generosity. They are getting free consulting. I now see that as using people. Another southern saying, Why buy the cow if you get the milk for free? There is a difference between companies and people. I will be generous to people. I will be generous to my friends. But, companies have budgets and should pay for consulting. No more free milk. Companies aren’t the enemy. Profit isn’t the enemy. There are tens of thousands of fantastic, ethical companies out there. They wouldn’t dream of taking advantage of people’s generosity. But many do. I will continue to work with the best companies and products in the business. Some may be start-ups. Some may icons. They will all be excellent. But gone are the days where I’m going to help every single company who emails me. There’s not enough of me to do it. It isn’t smart. It isn’t possible either. If you are an influencer and you are making this mistake, please stop. You are worth more than free. You don’t have time for the emails. Some of you are being used. It isn’t fair to you or your family. Being nice is dumb when it takes you away from your calling. Hiring a brand manager helps me work with companies who value my expertise. Hiring a brand manager sends a message to other influencers. You are finite.  Some of you are being used. Decide who deserves your generosity. You are valuable and so is your time. Start acting like it. 6- Iron Sharpens Iron Some of you want be an influencer too. Many of you already are. You’re reading about what I do. You’re saying - that’s me! That’s my dream! I want to help more of you do this. Traveling the world is awesome. Writing books is cool. Writing blog posts that thousands of people read is incredible. Why not you? Hiring a brand manager is part of my plan to help more of you do this. Here’s what I’m planning: A - Helping Other Education Talk Radio Hosts Grow Their Audience I listen to lots of podcasts. With some simple tweaks, I think many of them could gain thousands of listeners. They could help more people. They could get sponsors. Even better, they could have more helpful shows. So, Errol St. Clair Smith and I are launching the  Certified Edcasters program. (The BAM Radio Certified Edcaster Program is application only. You must already have a show. We will accept 20 talk show hosts for the first class. Email info@bamradionetwork.com if interested.) B - Sharing Social Media Strategies and Best Practices with Key Influencers When I travel, I meet educators who want to use social media for good. They are eager. They have great ideas. Some of them have ideas that will change the world. But they don’t know how to tell people. I can help. I want to. It is time for me to share and help others who want to help education. Sign up for my social media secrets email. I will email these tips twice a month to anyone interested. Sign up.  C - Creating Closer Connections with Awesome People Awesome Educator Facebook Group. I’ve created a new closed Facebook group for educators. I brainstormed with Lisa Durff. We named it the "Every Classroom Matters Awesome Educator Network." The group is to talk about teaching. No politics. No vendors. Ask to join if you’re an educator. If you’ve read this far, you’re invited! Building a Team. I’m blessed. Amazing people have always been my friends. I don’t know why. In order for me to be my best, I have to trust amazing, ethical people. Lisa Durff. Last year, I hired Lisa Durff (almost Dr. Durff - she’s close to earning her Ph.D.). She helps me filter, vet and handle my email. She is the first person who reads my posts. She points me to research. I call her Sherlock, but I should call her sure luck. When she advises me on my writing or anything, I’m a better person. She also believes in me and knows me. When you get ready to scale, a trusted person with organization skills helps. (Oh, and she never wants to be mentioned. Sorry, Lisa, you gotta stay in this post. Errol St. Clair Smith. Errol called me just over two years a go. He told me that he had an ear for talent. He said I would make a great Internet radio show host. I said I would do it on one condition - that he would take the time to mentor me. I knew nothing. He kept pushing me and helping me be more. He kept telling me I was undervaluing my work. He helped me see many of the things I’ve shared in this post. I work well with Errol. He’s a savvy entrepreneur. I trust him to manage my speaking, brand, sponsors, and show. (His email is errol@coolcatteacher.com if you want to talk with him. He’s working on my speaking schedule for next year right now.) Cool Cat Teacher Teammate #3? I’ve considered looking for someone to help me on my geeky / WordPress/ technical side. Praying over this one. We’ll see. The brand manager I hired, Errol St. Clair Smith, already has my trust and best interests in mind. His advice skyrocketed my show to the top of the iTunes charts. I know he’s in the process of doing the same for my career.  7 - Financial Benefits Money is not a dirty word. I don’t know any educator who makes enough of it. I just refuse to believe that I have to leave the classroom to support my family. I believe that there’s a new way for teachers to make money. An ethical way that helps our profession and our families. I believe I can develop and model a way to consult/speak/write AND TEACH. I won’t be in the classroom forever. (Who is?) I do not want to leave the classroom until I have a model for all teachers to follow. I dream of being able to have a career as a teacher and a successful entrepreneur. I dream of helping other teachers do it too. I’ve been down the road of giving everything away for free. I’ve made huge financial mistakes in the last five years. But it was when I gave it all away for free and didn’t take care of myself. My family suffered when I did it because we couldn’t pay the bills. I’ve hired a brand manager because I believe it will help me make more money. I believe it will help me create a model that others can duplicate. I remain transparent. Not because I’m not smart or "too nice." It is because that transparency is what I brought to the dance. It is who I am and I will continue to be. You — the readers of this blog — trust me. When I’ve been open with you, you’ve helped me far more than the transparency cost me. You’ve recommended me to conferences. You’ve recommended my books. You’ve shared my work. It is you. For as generous as I hope to be, you’ve been far more kind to me. I owe you a lot. I owe you my career. I owe you my children’s college education. I wouldn’t have a brand without YOU. Thank YOU. I will be back to sharing the best of practical classroom advice with the next post. Are you an education influencer? Want more blog posts like this? Sign up for the email list.  When the press release came out, I wanted to help you see my reasons.I’m working smarter so I can help more people.  I’m not changing, I’m just getting better. The post Why I hired a brand manager appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

A new Every Classroom Matters episode In this episode, the inventor of "Iron Chef" lesson design, Jon Corippo shares with Vicki his remix of the jigsaw cooperative learning method.  Iron Chef Lesson Design with American Idol peer feedback may just be your favorite new cooperative learning method. (You can’t make this stuff up! ) Important Takeaways for Listeners John opens the show by denouncing a mode of teaching used by many that exasperates him and bores students. He critiques traditional jigsaw methods. The "secret ingredient" idea can help you link together the presentation. Jon giveds examples of Iron Chef lesson plans with history, science, literature, math, grammar, and how to add spice to book reports. How do you fully engage students who work quickly? How can you grade easily? How do you supercharge peer feedback? How can you use this to help kids appreciate each other’s strengths? What are other ways teachers get kids excited about learning? How can you incorporate formative assessment? How to make the top 20 Grammar errors exciting with Iron Chef lesson design. This Iron Chef episode is for all of you out there using cooperative learning, Chromebooks or Google Apps for Education. You can also use this method with Office 365, Keynote, and Prezi. Scroll down for a great quote to pin. Free Educator Resources As he shares on the show, Jon’s students use Google Presentations. The research tool that Jon mentions makes researching topics quick and easy inside all Google apps. Jon’s Iron Chef Lesson Design Website is where I got the templates we talked about on the show. Interview Links @jcorippo What Teachers Say Listener, Leslie Ihrig (5th-grade teacher) says, "I’ve used this with literature and social studies. Works great. In addition to adding excitement to the lesson, kids are meeting presentation standards." See Leslie’s Jigsaw on forming a new nation in the US. Thanks to my Facebook friends for pointing out: Teacher Laurie Anastasio‘s use of Iron Chef Lesson Design with her second graders as they learned about Geometry and Plane Figures. Jamie Smith’s Iron Chef Lesson Design with Literary terms for use with grades 4-12. [PDF] You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or elsewhere, get the RSS feed, or listen via the media player above. Want to talk about Iron Chef Lesson Design? If you want to talk about the show, join the conversation on Twitter or Facebook. Join the Every Classroom Matters Awesome Educators Network on Facebook "Teaching should take you up to something." Jon Corippo, Inventor, Iron Chef Lesson Design The post How Iron Chef Lesson Plans Make Cooperative Learning Awesome appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Limited Time Offer Ten Habits of Bloggers that Win is one of my most popular posts of all time. Ten simple habits have helped me grow this blog. Since I wrote that post in 2006, it needed an update. It grew into an ebook. Eventually, I’ll sell it on Amazon. For now, I’m giving it away to a group of readers — you. Just sign up for one of my mailing lists. It’s yours! Why Am I Doing This? I have three reasons. 1. Publishing has changed First, there’s a new way to publish books. It is where people crowdsource a book. That audience gives feedback. The author includes the audience in future revisions. The first set of readers are called alpha readers. That’s you.After the book is revised, then it is released. Many people have done this. I’m trying it now. After you read the book, email me. Feedback. Stories. Ideas for improvement. Pictures. Some of you will shape the future of this book. Hey, I could even use a better cover. 2. My loyal readers deserve benefits Second, I want to give benefits and freebies to those who trust me with their inbox. This is the first of more to come. 3. Because school is about to start Third, lots of people want help with blogging. School is about to start on Monday. If I don’t share it now, it will sit on my computer getting old. I’ll improve it as feedback comes in. I figured I’d try out this alpha reader thing. I’ve been wanting to do it. Sign Me Up and Send Me the Book I have two mailing lists: The Cool Cat Teacher Blog Mailing List - 2-3 Times Per WeekGet this blog in your inbox. When I update the blog, the next day it will come to you. Social Media Success Newsletter - 2 Times a month Get social media tips and tools. After you sign up, you’ll receive the email with the link. Click on the book and click download. NOTE: This is not for you to share, distribute, or publish. It is for you to read. If your friends want it, they can sign up and get their own copy. This work has come a long way from the original blog post. Thank you to my friend Sylvia Duckworth who previewed the book and put in a sketchnote! Sylvia is the first person who has mashed up this book and helped it improve. This is exciting. I have no idea what will happen with this. So, now, I’m clicking publish. Remember, this is for a limited time. When I get enough readers and feedback coming in and start revising, I’ll move on and share another freebie. Don’t worry, I’ll always share the freebies with those on my email list. The post FREE BOOK: 10 Habits of Bloggers that Win by Vicki Davis appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

An Every Classroom Matters Episode on Building Parent-Teacher Relationships sponsored by Bloomz First-rate teachers value parents. Jumpstart positive parent partnerships from day one.   Show parents how much they matter. Principal Amy Fadeji and Superintendent Joe Sanfellipo have a collection of simple ideas. Important Takeaways How to Connect. Four ways Amy encourages teachers to connect with parents. (Check out our show sponsor Bloomz too!) First contact. First-rate teachers value parents. Jumpstart positive parent partnerships from day one.   Show parents how much they matter. Principal Amy Fadeji and Superintendent Joe Sanfellipo have a collection of simple ideas. Joe stresses the first contact with the parent should be positive. He has a method that seemed like more work the first time they did it. Now teachers do it willingly. It makes a huge difference. Fab Fridays. How Joe ends every Friday on a positive note with five important phone calls. Helping Parents Love Phone Calls from the Principal. Amy has a fantastic idea. Her teachers give her information that lets her make positive phone calls to parents. Parents don’t dread a phone call from the principal now. Make Social Media Work for You. How to use social media to help improve perception of your school in the community. I made some of the best quotes into images at the bottom. Take them to share on social media. More solutions… Don’t just plan lessons. Plan for positive parent relationships. Set up communications. Two-way. Pave the way with positivity. Take time to be kind. Share this show with superintendents, principals, and teachers. If isn’t the start of the year for you, it is never too late to start again. Educator Resources Audioboom Amy Fadeji’s YouTube Channel for Her School Joe Sanfelippo’s district website Joe’s Podcast: BrandEd Interview Links @mrsfadeji   @joesanfelippofc Sponsor Bloomz is your one-stop solution for parent-teacher communications. More than just connecting with their cell phones, you can send long or short messages. You can send pictures and links. You can even coordinate volunteer schedules, donations, and parent teacher conferences. I’m using Bloomz in my classroom. Set up Your Bloomz Classroom today You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or elsewhere, get the RSS feed, or listen via the media player above. Join the Every Classroom Matters Awesome Educators Network on Facebook The post 10 Ways to Build Powerful Parent Partnerships from Day One appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

The Teacher as a Talent Scout Good schools don’t just teach you subjects. Good schools teach you about yourself.  A focus on strengths is the secret to a better school. We want students to be leaders, but we never let them lead. Let’s change that! Here’s how.   Do you want your teachers to be six times more engaged in teaching? Do you want your students 30 times more likely to be engaged in school? Would you like to triple your teachers’ quality of life? Then, focus on strengths, not weaknesses. Recently, I sat down with, Dr. Brad Johnson on Every Classroom Matters. He says "When you combine student talents with their passion you’ll find their purpose." We must move the emphasis from standards to strengths. Sure, we need to help kids with their weaknesses. Most people need basic math, reading, and writing.  But when we hyper-focus on weaknesses, we forget to nurture talent. If Baryshnikov was born to dance, why should he die in trigonometry? While I’ve already written up the show that inspired this post, I’ve been thinking about three of the ways Brad says we can focus on student strengths and make our schools stronger. (Read more, in his book What Schools Don’t Teach.) Here are some thoughts on what all of our schools should be doing. 1. Encourage teachers need to bring their talents to their teaching. Figure out a way to teach with what you love. You’ll be more excited. Your students will too. Richard Spencer is a dancing science teacher. (See video above.) Trish Cloud uses Minecraft with Common Core Standards. Monica Evon uses apps aligned with Common Core. Jed Dearybury sings with his fifth graders. Tinashe Blanchet used filmmaking to teach math. Jacques duToit tweets with his history class. Scott Allen teaches math with sports. Marsha Harris taught French with app programming. If you want to be more exciting, be excited. Think of what you love. Use it to teach. 2. Help students enjoy and appreciate their strengths and the strengths of other students. A grade is not a measure of value as a person. Everyone matters or no one matters. (Hat tip Harry Bosch.) Sadly, ask a student about where they stink, and they’ll answer. Ask them about their strengths, and they’ll shrug. What’s wrong with this picture? Don’t we give genuine compliments? And we only focus on the weaknesses? If a parent did that, we’d say they were a bad parent. Why are some schools getting away with it? 3. Create leadership positions for students. Instead of giving strict instructions, we should be appointing leaders. Brad says, We want students to have a leadership, but we never let them lead. @DrBradJohnsonPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This Here are some of the job titles from my classroom this past year: Project Manager (PM) Assistant Project Manager (APM) Lead Graphic Designer Production Coordinator Lead Programmer Database Auditor Audio Engineer In my classroom, if there’s a job we create a title for it. Jobs have a responsibility. If there is responsibility, there is accountability. Accountability and responsibility cause incredible learning activity. To teach leadership, we have to have leadership positions. Yes, it changes our classrooms. It makes us more of a coach. But that’s the way it should be. Let students lead. Give them responsibility. Don’t be a dictator. How Do You Measure Up? Do you give tests to help students find their strengths? (I do.) Are you only looking for weaknesses you can "fix"? A 2007 neuroimaging study by Arnaud D’Argembeau of Belgium found the forward most region of the medial prefrontal cortex is important in "Helping a person reflect on their traits and abilities versus those of others."   How do we help students know themselves? Look for their strengths first. Strength-finding is part of the brain that we can develop. We can shift from standards to strengths, from standardization to personalization, from weakness to wonderful. As we look for strengths, we’ll build stronger schools. As I started this year, I showed a picture of an uncut diamond to my students. I asked them what it was. Most didn’t know. I said it was valuable, but sometimes didn’t look like it. I said it represented them and it was an uncut diamond. My job this year is to help them find their talent. We might only find a few facets but that we’d look for it. I will know I have succeeded when I have told every parent and student something truthful that I’ve noticed that student does well. The mentality of looking for strengths instead of deficits changes everything. The classroom becomes a place where we rejoice in talent. We celebrate talent. Students point out strengths of each student. I would daresay, it even makes class more fun. How do you look for talent? How do you spot strengths? How do you communicate such a mindset to your students? Empower students with hope, don’t crush them with their incompetence. We can do this. We can help students find their talents. If you look at people who tell stories about great teachers, it was almost always those teachers who saw something in the student they didn’t see in themselves. Be that kind of teacher. Be the noble teacher. Be a talent scout. The post Want kids to love school? Stop telling them they stink and find their strength. appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

August 17, 2015 Language learning is one of the key areas exponentially enhanced by the widespread of Internet technologies and mobile connectivity. Anyone now can easily start learning a language... ....read more

August 17, 2015 Teaching students how to conduct smart search queries online is an important part of cultivating a digital citizenship culture within your classroom.  Smart searching goes beyond... ....read more

This afternoon I was talking with someone who said that she wants to write more blog posts but feels like "everything I've written has been said already." I hear that a lot from new bloggers. My response is often based in the advice of Derek Sivers who says that "what's obvious to you, might be amazing to someone else." For a full explanation of this idea, watch the short video embedded below. Applications for Education This message needs to be shared with our students too. One of the ways you can do this is by having students write a weekly reflective blog post. They don't have to write complex blog posts, just a short summary of their learning and observations that week will do. In this way students can learn from each other. Even if they don't pick up anything brand new from this process, they will at least be reminding each other of what they have learned that week. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesHow to Quickly Create Vocabulary Lists from a DocumentRiddle Adds More Features Teachers Will Like for Creating Online Quizzes5 Tools Students Can Use to Keep Track of Assignments This Year