Data, and Documents, and Pivots....Oh My!

I know about data....in education today, we are a data-driven society! Just last week, I spent about 10 hours of my Thanksgiving holiday analyzing my students' benchmark assessment, then pouring over EVAAS data. Compared all of that to student grades, STAR tests.....

So, when I saw the project was entitled Data Driven Project do you think I was too worried? Nah. Opening the documents, I was fascinated with all the data. Found myself playing around with those pivot tables....loved how I could sort the data and look at certain details.

Was moving right along with the project until I had to make my own pivot table. Hit a snag! Even got my the tech teacher at my school to tutor me. Still a snag!

Have learned about pivot tables---an entirely new tech concept for me. Learned how administrators can use them to really sort through the data and look at certain groups of students, at particular teachers, etc. Learned that I still have a lot to learn when it comes to creating my own pivot tables, though!

Memorable Quotes About Leadership

Manageament is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.---Peter F. Drucker

Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.---John Wayne


Send me quotes that inspire you!

Tech Keeps Us in Touch!

I had surgery on my arm nearly 2 weeks ago, and have been recuperating at home. The use of technology has kept me informed about the happenings at school! Of course, I have had lots of phone calls and texts...tech at its basic, I know.

The computer has been a life-saver over the past couple weeks as I have found myself house-bound. Communicating through emails has kept me in touch with numerous staff. What has been even more helpful, is that my coworkers have been able to forward me news from administration...so I am not out of the loop!

While this is tech at its very basic, I know....still, it has served to keep this educator a part of things at school...and has kept me from going stir-crazy in the meantime!

OMG! This is so FUN!

You simply have to try this text to movie site called Xtranormal! It is FREE, fun, and I can just see my middle school students getting as hooked as I am.

Getting an account and learning the ropes was so easy. Give it a try and let me know when you have a text-to-movie I can watch!

Education--Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow!

This You Tube video will give you something to speculate (my sixth grade students would be proud...that is a vocabulary word this week!) about, although it is not entirely dissimilar to other information we have discussed in our LEED Technology blogs.

Watch Education Today and Tomorrow and see what you think!

Technology in the Real World!

I have spent most of this week in the courtroom...on jury duty for an armed robbery case. Talk about stressful! I'd rather be in my classroom with my 110 middleschoolers any day.

However, the experience gave me one more reason to appreciate technology. The district attorney used the LCD projector to show us some pictures of evidence. Very good for those of us who needed to visually see these items. Then, in his closing arguments, he used the projector with power point slides outlining the various elements we were to consider during deliberation. Very effective! We were hearing what he said, reading it, and viewing the outlined elements...really helped me understand what I was to consider.

Of course, I was amazed to see the judge with his laptop open the entire time (we jurors wondered if he was playing Solitaire!)...the clerk of court used her computer to document throughout the proceedings, and the DA used his laptop the entire time.

Now, I will go back to my middleschoolers and discuss with them another way in which I have experienced tech in the real world, whether it is using a computer to fill out an application at Target, to using tech to check out someone at a local restaurant, to documenting a doctor's order at the hospital....tech is really out there in the real world!

Your Opinions Wanted!

A colleague and I wrote a grant last year and obtained about $50,000 worth of technology---30 laptops and a cart. This has been a wonderful asset to our middle school students. Last week, as I introduced writing to 110 sixth graders (who have had very little experience with writing since their writing test in 4th grade)...I "sweetened the pot" by rolling the laptop cart into the classroom. Talk about motivating!!!! We finished up on Friday, but the kids came in this week asking if they were going to get to write any this week.....okay, maybe the writing itself is not what they wanted, but hey, I will take motivation in any form at this point! Especially when it comes to middle schoolers and writing! Just wanted to share a positive experience related to technology in my classroom :)


Okay, so all in our LEED class seem to agree that technology is captivating for our students, and that teachers must be knowledgeable and capable when it comes to tech saviness.

What about principal/leaders? Should the principal (and/or AP) be held to the same tech accountability as the teachers in the building? I have known a principal who pushed the teachers to use tech, but did not know how to create a simple PowerPoint (did not even really know how to do all the things he needed to with his email account...AP helped him).
Since so many of my LEED peers want to be principals or APs one day, thought it would interesting to hear your opinions on this! Let's Blog 'bout it!