The Right Tool for the Right Job - Part II

Approaching the end of the year and thinking about the future, I am evaluating my technology yet again, and planning for the future. I've found that my iPad is absolutely my "go to" device, and I carry it around campus before school and during classroom walkthroughs. Although at first people were overly interested and/or intimidated by seeing me arrive with a tablet, I find that teachers (and students) no longer pay attention to it.

In Evernote, my current schema is to start a new note every day called Admin Log, which begins with a list of the things I need to do for the day. I usually start by copying the prior days' notes, so it's got all of the things I didn't get to previously. It includes both personal and professional items. I use tags for the school site I'm at, and for the grade level(s) I observe. It is very easy to sort by tags and see all of the 2nd grade notes, comments, and images. Some of my daily notes end up being quite long, particularly if I take several pictures, and I don't think the search feature in Evernote desktop works very well. Those factors make it difficult to find the right note or the right information within my notes.

For next year, I'm planning to organize my notes into more logical notebooks that are more easily searchable. After a conversation with D, I'm thinking about having separate notebooks for each teacher, so I can easily get back and see the observations I've done and photos I've taken. I can also attach PDFs and send emails to a notebook, so that makes it a one-stop shop for all of the data I'll need for evaluation and supervision. I'll have a different notebook for facilities, and others as I see the need. Parent contacts and discipline are a couple of things I'm still noodling about, as I'm not sure how useful it is to have that information solely within my account. Functionally, it's possible that the old fashioned binder is still the best way to deal with those items.

I'm still not sure how to deal with my to do list. Wunderlist just doesn't "speak" to me, and I find it quite cumbersome to use (Sorry Brian!). I'd kind of prefer to have everything together, but Evernote isn't really a very good tool for tracking longer projects. On this side, I'll have to just keep playing around with it to find a system that works.

Good thing that summer is coming up so I can get all this organized!

The Right Tool for the Right Job

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Now that I'm several months into my new position, I'm starting to take charge of my own organization, and customizing the work flows and reports expected by my supervisors to fit better with my style. As I read more by school site leaders, I'm also starting to incorporate suggestions that seem to me to be a match to my goals and expectations for myself. I decided the best approach to using any given tool is to just jump in and use it, so here's what I've been using to improve my administration and management:

iPad
I am now carrying my iPad everywhere in  my rounds on campus. So many times over the past 5 months carrying a clipboard I've wanted to capture and image with a note - now I can do that. I've already decided that my iPad and cover is pretty heavy, so I'm looking at other options that will make it more portable and easier to use.

Evernote
I am starting to use Evernote as a daily administrative log, based on a post by J. Robinson in the 21st Century Principal blog. I have created a little template for observations that matches what one of my principals expects, and I paste in that text for every classroom I visit. I can check off boxes for what I see, and add my notes. I'm still transferring it to a hand-written form afterwards, but since that allows me to clarify my thoughts and add constructive suggestions, I'm okay with that (for now).

Twitter
I've been using Twitter a lot over the past few months, posting 2-3 times per week about things happening at the school. Now that I'm carrying my iPad, I'm finding it easier to compose a tweet while I'm in a classroom. Which means I'm in a far better position to share the great things that students and teachers are doing, every single day.

Wunderlist
I now start my day with a list of to-dos. This involves a quick calendar review, and a scan of everything sitting on my desk (or email) that needs action. I have been doing it on paper and crossing things off, but my preference is certainly to go digital. So I'm trying Wunderlist, on the recommendation of some blog I can't recall at the moment. This one is new to me, but I've got hopes. I used to use Do It (Tomorrow), which was decent but didn't meet my needs at the time. I might go back to that one as well, and see which one is best for my current situation.

Project Management - an essential skill for leaders

Project management is one of those things we all do to varying degrees. We often call it juggling, as we try to balance competing constraints and the needs and desires of all stakeholders while implementing something that has been handed to us. But there is an actual science to project management, and a better understanding of project management skills and processes may allow us as educational leaders to be both more effective, and more efficient!

In order to define project management, one must start by defining a project. A project is a limited-term strategic initiative that brings value to the larger organization or structure. Project management then is the set of knowledge, skills, and processes that will best bring that project to fruition. There’s an old adage that when you are working with a contractor on a project, the options are good, fast, and cheap - pick two! With that in mind, it is clear that balancing timeline, cost, and quality of product are the three requirements of effective project management.

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The Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) describes nine key knowledge areas within project management (in Dinsmore & Cabanis-Brewin, 2010).  Each of the nine knowledge areas have sub-processes in which a project manager must be skilled. It begins with integration management; being able to balance all of the requirements of the project in such a way as to support the mission of the larger organization or structure. Integration management may include initial project plan development and design in addition to managing the process once the plan is written. Other knowledge areas include management of scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communications, risk, and procurement. These key processes must be managed in a way that is fluid, always balancing growth and setbacks in one area with complementary actions in other relevant processes. While the knowledge areas and sub-processes are generally accepted “good practices” in project management processes, those practices are applied differently in different project types of different scope and audience.

In K-12 settings, project management is an expected skill of educational leaders. Many times the scope, outcomes, budget, and schedule are pre-determined, and the project must be conducted within those constraints. Particularly when implementing grant programs, even sub-processes are pre-determined, whether or not they are appropriate for a particular individual situation. So I would propose that a final skill required for project management with educational settings in particular is embodied in the Serenity Prayer - grant me the serenity to accept that which I cannot change, the courage to change what I can, and the wisdom to know the difference!

Helpouts - A tool to personalize learning?

I ran across this video about Google Helpouts:

It got me thinking about our push into personalized learning in my district. Helpouts are not just an interesting way to learn - they are an interesting way to teach. I wonder how we might leverage students teaching other students, not just as tutors about academic content, but about sports, music, gaming, life skills - anything that they have a passion for. Sharing one's passion with others is a powerful way for students to show their expertise, and even leadership.

So, how might we use this tool, or one similar to it, to support our students in their quest for personalized learning?

We Are College Bound!

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One of the schools I work in is a member of the No Excuses University network, with the goal of raising the college awareness and ultimately college-going rate of our students. We call our students "scholars" not "kids," and every classroom has a university they have adopted and use as their logo. Yesterday The Atlantic published an article about the types of language we use when encouraging students to go to college which really made me think about the efficacy of our approach. It said that, in many cases, we focus solely on the financial benefits that a college education will bring our students, and use that as the primary motivation. Instead, we should be "selling" college as a pathway to intellectual fulfillment and a better life in general, rather than just a way to make more money.

In one portion of the article I found particularly interesting, the author said that his students of poverty tended to talk about what they wanted to BE, rather than what they wanted to DO. Students might say they want to be a doctor or a lawyer, but they don't really have an idea what that means. Wealthy students might respond to the same question by saying they want to litigate trials or treat children with cancer, and then figure out the college path that makes sense for that goal.

I am looking forward to sharing this concept with my staff. It's not just about talking about college, it's about HOW we talk about college with our low-income kids. We need to continue to help them articulate their passions, then help them see that college is the path to turn those passions into a lifelong career.

Resolutions

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It's a new year, which of course means new resolutions; new challenges ahead. This year I resolve to grow - as an educator, as a learner, as a professional, and as a human. So here are my resolutions:

1. Connect more. I want to spend more time with family, friends, colleagues, fellow students and even ideas. I want to publish more (here and Twitter). For me, this means being more deliberate during the day, with specific expectations for myself. It also probably means less screen time at night as I engage more with family, friends and colleagues.

2. Climb a mountain. Yes, I know it's a non sequitor after the previous item, but it's my second priority this year! I want to summit a mountain - more than 10,000 feet - while avoiding a technical climb. Mt. Whitney fits the bill. It's about 14500 feet, with a 10.7 mile hike to the top. According to the website, the 22 mile round trip CAN be done in a day, as long as you start before dawn! The challenge with this is that there is a lottery for trail passes, and there's no guarantee I'll be able to get a pass on a day I'm actually able to do it.

3. Read professional books. I read a lot, but mostly blogs (for professional growth) and research studies (for my doctorate program). I want to read more books like Jim Collins' Great by Choice, and actually assimilate ideas into my practice.

4. Learn Spanish. And Mexican history. Okay, I know I won't be able to fully meet this particular resolution, but I want to make progress. If we're going to spend a third of our retirement in Mexico, it certainly would be a good idea to learn the language and the culture a bit better! I've been playing around with Duolingo, and I just ordered a Kindle book of the history of the Mexican Revolution.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2014!