Phone call with parent at the end of the day - tough call?

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Today I decided to take a risk, and end my day with a parent phone call. Now, I'm not really a pessimist but I strive to follow up on all parent messages in the am hours. I think that's when I'm at my best and when I have the clearest mindset of the day. Today was different, and I needed to talk with a parent as I was unable to call this morning. So I dialed the phone; boy was I surprised when the parent picked up and we had one heckuva a positive dialogue. This parent even took the time and energy to tell me how well our school had not only prepared her oldest student years prior, but to tell us how she appreciates everything we have done for her current student. She shared the great news about the prestigious institution her student was just accepted to and I could almost see her smile through the phone. I must admit, I could not be happier to end my day with a phone call like that. I'm packing it in, as I couldn't end the day on a better note.

Be a LEADER

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Words to live by: Be a Leader, Not a Boss. I work hard, with a shovel in hand, in the trenches with my teachers almost daily. I find it easy to walk the walk. This impresses upon them as an administrator, I'm not above that work. I am also not above showing, giving direction and advice, giving and earning respect, and using kindness in my thoughts and actions. I personally love the antiquated photocopy to the left - it represents a nostalgic approach to leading. I am fairly certain these traits have withstood the hands of time. This is my personal pledge.

So I ask you, are you a leader or a boss? Inquiring minds want to know...

Getting caught up...

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So I have been completely caught up with my Curriculum & Instruction position to do any blogging over the course of this school year. I've had a lot to say, but just have not put in the work to document my thoughts in my blog! On the flip side, it has been quite a nice break as I've been able to focus more on my site and provide individual facetime with my teachers, which I firmly believe is appreciated. It has allowed me the time to share my thoughts, more focused thoughts, with my PLN via Twitter and Google+. That is an important realization for me as I comfortably understand it is extremely tough to balance my online professional learning environment with my mortar and bricks one. I think of +Eric Sheninger and how the world he does it (still wondering, let me know if you have the secret!), all the while writing a book! Maybe I'm just too caught up and need to accept the idea of what I do best - striking a comfortable balance? I like that. I know what I excel at. I know what I need more guided practice at. I am okay with that. This will always give me comfort in knowing what I do well is appreciated, and will always push me to improve elsewhere. Simple thoughts for a Tuesday, I know.

Ice breakers with technology

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21st Century Icebreakers: 11 Ways To Get To Know Your Students with Technology 

Here is an excellent article I came across involving icebreakers and the utilization of technology. As summer winds down, planning for the start up of next year ramps up.  Keeping this in my mind, I'm always open to finding fresh and easy-to-implement ideas for my teachers.  From the author:

1. Have students create a Pinterest board with 10 pins that summarizes them.
2. Ask students to create a 30 second podcast that introduces themselves. Then allow students to present them or play them on separate devices as an audio gallery.
3. Create a classroom blog and ask each student to write a blog post introducing themselves to the rest of the classroom.
4. Have students create a quick comic strip to describe themselves or to recreate a recent funny moment in their lives.
5. Use PollEverywhere to ask students interesting questions and get to know them as a class, like their favorite subjects, bands or TV shows.
6. Use GoogleForms or SurveyMonkey to survey students about their interests, academic inclinations, and background info – a 21st century alternative to the “Getting to Know You” info sheet!
7. Have students create word clouds to describe themselves and share with the rest of the class.
8. Have students go on a QR code scavenger hunt in teams to get to know each other and learn about your classroom rules in a fun, engaging way.
9. Ask students to create their own Voki avatars that introduce themselves to the class. Encourage them to be creative with the backgrounds, characters and details of the avatar to reflect their own personalities and preferences.
10. Have students create graffiti online that speaks to their interests and personalities and share with the class.
11. Have students create mashup videos of themselves with Weavly to introduce their interests to the class.

My favorites that I would add to this extensive list of ideas would be:

1. Create a Glogster photo blog of the things they enjoy (account needed)
2. Skitch - annotation and markup tool
3. Animoto - great little videos for free/cheap!
4. Prezi - great direct substitute for PowerPoint, it's like PP but in 2013!
5. Blabberize - seriously, make photos talk.  I mean, awesomeness?

Principalm for School Administrators

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Anybody running Principalm software for student data management system on the go? Well I am!  I must say, for the price we paid (roughly $1k for our 1k students), we sure get a lot of bang for that buck.  I run Principalm on my LG Revolution smartphone (android powered) and boy is it smooth.  At the drop of the hat, I have student schedules, lockers, health conditions, parking info, grades, attendance, and discipline history at the ready.  Oh, and did I mention a 4" picture of the student!?

I think so highly of the software that we provided it to all three campus supervisors on older Palm handheld devices.  They use it to deliver student notices, check attendance/truancy records, learn student names/pictures, and the like.  This software has given us all the ability to have the majority of our student data management system on the go.  I have absolutely no complaints thus far, and am looking forward to expanding its' use elsewhere on campus (as well as connecting through an Infinite Campus back door - I currently have to download Ad Hoc reports if I want updated info, my only minor issue).

Lastly, it is important to make a note that the data is secure, even on my smartphone.  It is password protected, and it is setup to wipe the data at the third incorrect password attempt.  There are some additional security features but I never plan on letting my phone out of my view.

If you are an administrator looking at the software as an option for your campus, feel free to ask questions...