Screencast

This week I worked on a PowerPoint for one of my classes and although I thought I was an expert in that program I was glad to realize I had much to learn. Our professor provided us different articles and websites that gave us a clear description of what PowerPoint presentations should and should not look like. I used to include transitions and animations for the sake of aesthetics; however I learn those are not always needed if they become a distraction. I also learned about "Kanso", which is the concept of beauty, visual elegance, and grace are acquired through simplicity. many times less is more! It is impossible to cram every bit of information into a slide otherwise it will become so clogged that one's audience may get confused and lose interest in what one has to say.

The second part of the project was to create and record presentation on a tool, skill or tip we learned about during class we believe will most help others to be a digital-age leader. Through our presentation we had to teach the main points of that specific tool to our classmates and professor and sell them on its importance and usefulness. I believe the most difficult part of the project was putting it all together. I had to record myself over and over again because on the first try I barely made three minutes, yet one of the requirements was to have between four and five minutes. The second time around I was good on time but kept mispronouncing words so I decided to start all over and really practice before submitting a final recording. Although screencast was fairly simple to use, I personally prefer screencast-o-matic because it was more user friendly. I did like the way one could simply upload the presentation into Jing and be able to share with anyone.

If I were to have to use it in the future, I would use it to teach teachers about Web2.0 tools since I know many teachers do not have the time or energy to attend professional development sessions after school. A simple 5-minute video can be viewed at home before a meeting and be discussed later on at a PLC. I would also use it to help students who have trouble following written instructions... if a visual would help, then this would be the best tool.

I can honestly say that this has been one of my favorite semesters, although definitely not the easiest. I have had to really learn about time management because I have had to turn in assignments using tools and skills I had never learned about!

Unit Recovery

Many educators are for unit recovery because they believe that students should be given several opportunities to learn the material; however there other educators who believe students need to learn to be responsible and if they do not obtain a passing grade on the first try then that should serve as a learning experience. What do you think about schools that offer mid-semester opportunities for students to save their semester by coming in on weekends to revisit material so that they can have a second opportunity of passing their classes?

I personally believe not all students learn at the same pace and that many times educators are not aware of what a child may be going through at home. They may be worried about his/her family getting evicted, not having food on their plate, not being able to afford a coat in the winter, having a sick family member, having to take care of siblings, or even going through depression. Everyone deserves a second chance.

At the 12 week marking period I am planning to offer an opportunity to students in the 50-74% range to revisit material and prove mastery of those standards using Edgenuity. At first, I received a lot of push back from teachers because they felt that power was being taken away from them and others simply did not believe that an online program could be rigorous enough to re-teach the material. In the end I received the needed support and I am very grateful to our department chairs who helped me get teacher buy-in and even met during their PLCs to create recovery units on Edgenuity.

Virtual Teams

I first heard of virtual teams this semester when our professor met with us via Blackboard and assigned us to different teams. I did not know what to think about it at first because I had never been part of one. Well, eight weeks into the semester I can truly say that I am blessed to work with educators who are dedicated, knowledge-hungry, and cooperative. Kerrick Mapson and Vanessa Gonzalez are amazing people to work with because they are always enthusiastic and willing to share their knowledge with me. I have learned a lot from these two awesome colleagues.

In all of my course evaluations I have suggested that we work in at least one project in groups so that we could learn from others with our same aspirations. I guess my prayers have been answered. At first it may be scary working with others not knowing if they are procrastinators or if they are open-minded, but I believe working in teams is something we must all learn to do because they are becoming a "fact of business life", as Michael Watkins put it in "Making Virtual Teams Work: Ten Basic Principles".

I think this would be a great way to create PLCs with teachers and leaders from around the world and see what works for them.

If you get a chance, please watch the 3-minute video on a program that deals with helping companies manage global virtual teams.

Ever thought about Flipping Leadership?

I know you are probably tired of reading articles about flipped classrooms, but have you heard about flipped leadership? Well, get ready... flipped leadership is about doing more with the little time we have. This new technique allows leaders to send out information ahead of time so that teachers not only access it on their own time, but have time to digest information and show up to faculty meetings ready to discuss topics and collaborate with their colleagues or even ask questions. This rarely happens at faculty meetings due to time constraints. Flipped leadership also allows parents and the community to feel part of the school by becoming aware of student gains, events, and even special guest appearances. It's all about engaging all stakeholders. Many times we complain about collective responsibility; however how many times do we inadvertently shun parents, politicians, community leaders, and business owners away?

How many times have we walked into a faculty meeting and watched a five-minute video when we could have done that at home? Well... why not watch it at home and use that time during the faculty meeting to discuss the video?! The same goes for articles. We could use that time to bring up issues in our schools and together come up with solutions. If we want our students to do higher level thinking and use technology as a learning tool then we should start doing it as well.

How many times have you felt the need to skip professional development sessions during pre-planning and just want to sit and collaborate with other educators about lesson plans, classroom management, and strategies that TRULY work? I know I have...plenty of times. Twitter offers us the opportunity to share best practices, obtain wisdom, and get advice from educators who we may never meet, yet share our same passions and struggles. The best part about Twitter is that it allows us to seek professional development opportunities that truly interest us and are relevant to our content area. Through Twitter we will discover blogs, articles, and videos which could have taken us weeks to find! It's like working on the same project with millions of people!Let's be innovative and step out off our comfort zone...flip it!

"5 Reasons You Should Flip Your Leadership"

"Flipped Leadership"