I generally try to avoid re-posting many links in favor of writing original content, but I know I’m not the only one juggling work, family, and graduate school. For those in a similar boat, check out Lifehack’s post this morning on "How to study with a full-time job." For example:

Most commutes (with the exception of bumper to bumper trips) are a
quiet time perfect for getting in as much studying in as possible.
Also, if any of your materials come in a digital format (PDF, Word Doc,
etc.) you should convert these documents into audio files, and listen
to them during your commute. Here is an excellent post that details how
to turn just about any electronic document into an MP3.

I have a 30-minute each way commute and am able to listen to quite a few podcasts on my way to and from work, so it makes sense that it would be an ideal time to do some auditory studying.

As I logged into my Google Reader account this morning, I thought Scott may have been sleep-posting while on a hunger-induced midnight run to the kitchen, but I read the rest of his post and wanted to briefly throw out some thoughts of my own.

I think the missing piece in my organization will continue to be professional development around student engagement and the effective uses of technology in instruction. Of course, as most of us in public education realize sooner rather than later, the money to buy the stuff is always in short supply. It may be reminiscent of the whole chicken/egg argument, but I think professional development has to come first – otherwise you’ve got a bunch of nice computers that end up becoming $1200 grade books and email checkers.

To be clear, my district has some other priorities right now as we attempt to get off of academic watch. Chief among those is implementing the SIOP model as well as a district-wide initiative to bring more rigor and relevance to the curriculum. Now, I don’t think SIOP, R&R, and technology integration are mutually exclusive (technology sure is relevant to our kids!), but I do know that buying and implementing programs is an expensive proposition leaving little or no money behind for extras right now. I think our district leadership has done a great job with few resources, so I am content to change little things and demonstrate that we are making use of the technology that we have now.

One thing I’ve noticed around here is that a group of teachers asking for stuff are much more effective when they present a clear, instructional need. To that end, we have our Internet study and some other small things going on in the building. Without adequate professional development, teachers may not even be aware that there is an instructional need to fill.

Wednesday was week 2 of the "Internet Study" that I have been helping to co-teach. After the last meeting, one of our English teachers started a blog and has been encouraging her students to post responses to poetry.  She wasn’t at the meeting, but her student teacher was there and shared some interesting observations which I will summarize:

• Kids who won’t turn in homework have posted insightful responses to the poetry posted on the blog.
• When the student teacher introduced Death of a Salesman to the class, students were asking if they could "do all the assignments online."

One of the possible explanations we came up with for the students’ eagerness to "discuss" English was that posting a response to a blog entry seems to align nicely with a teenager’s innate desire to be "noticed." How better to be noticed than to comment on a blog posting that is out there for the world to see? We also deduced that kids like the feeling of "participating" and "collaborating" far better than the typical "Go-home-read-this-write-a-paragraph" English class assignments.

Of course this isn’t new information, but what was incredible to see was the power of the classroom teachers coming to those conclusions on their own without being "told" why they should be doing these things.

In a couple of weeks, I plan to give them an overview of blogs and wikis and turn them loose in the computer lab.  Good times!

I was a bit unsettled by how it felt yesterday when I came to work only to find my Gateway laptop couldn’t / wouldn’t acquire an IP address in order to get onto the network. I poked my head out of the office to ask if I was the only one with the problem, but it seemed everyone else was well into their morning email and calendar checking.  After all my usual troubleshooting failed to rectify the problem, I called the help desk who insisted that I re-do all of the usual troubleshooting steps I’d already tried.  Still nothing.

Having my Smart(?)phone die last weekend, and now having no access to Exchange or Google to check my calendar, I sat paralyzed.  I was certain I had an appointment coming up, but I couldn’t recall what it was…

Ultimately, common sense prevailed and I snuck into the principal’s office and used his computer to print a copy of my Google Calendar, but I must say I was none too pleased with the helpless feeling of not knowing what to do or where to go.  Nor was I ready to come to terms so suddenly with my complete and utter dependence on technology to help me manage my time.

Now, where did I put my planner?

Kelly Christopherson at Educational Discourse tagged me with my first meme.  I won’t let you down!

Relative to your leadership role…

What’s working well?

It’s easy to get bogged down pushing papers, slicing and dicing data, and dealing with student discipline issues. I made a New Year’s resolution that I would spend more time in classrooms with students and teachers — not just at eval time, but over the course of the year.  I think after the initial "why-is-he-in-here?" phase, the teachers are very receptive to having administrators come through. It has made me a part of instruction again and has sparked some of the projects and conversations I write about on my blog.

What brings you great pride and joy?

The idea that I can actually help this school make some changes. The notion that after almost 2 years in this building I’m starting to hear teachers asking for more access to technology with specific projects or instructional reasons in mind. Instead of generalized complaining about not having "computers," teachers are identifying specific instructional needs that are much easier for me to bring forward to the principal or district technology staff than, "We need some more computers."

How have you made a difference for good in the lives of those you serve?

Teachers are feeling empowered to try new things and students naturally benefit. I try not to push, but if I see an opportunity to introduce some technology into a lesson or project, I will make it a point to visit that teacher’s room a few times and strike up a conversation. Usually, I’ll open the discussion by saying something like, "You know – I was thinking of your Black History Month project when I found [insert resource here] on the ‘net and thought it might be a good fit…"

What brings you quiet satisfaction?

Planting small seeds and watching them grow.  There isn’t much more satisfying than spending an hour with a teacher who "knows nothing about technology" only to see them 5 days later maintaining a classroom wiki and posting poetry on her blog for students to comment on.

What have you learned over the last few months?

I’ve learned that you can’t motivate with policy. It is far more powerful to start small with an interested individual or group than it is to roll out mandates, policies, and programs at faculty meetings. I doubt we’d have as many teachers working on the projects they’re doing now if we had required it. But now I routinely have teachers stopping me in the hall and saying, "You know that project you’re working on with Mrs. Smith? I’d like to try something similar but I don’t know where to start…"

I’ve also learned that I have an amazingly supportive district leadership team.  I spent over an hour with the assistant superintendent discussing what support (if any) would be available to me as I pursued my doctorate.  While she conceded there were no financial supports in place, she was more than willing to accommodate me with paid time off to work on writing and research.

How can you use this information (above) to move your organization forward?

The fact that I feel like I’ve answered 5 questions with the same response tells something: All of the work I’m doing is interrelated and it’s all about empowering teachers to do different things to reach and engage kids. I’m in classrooms more so teachers are more receptive to my being there and less threatened that it’s an "evaluation."  That means that they (hopefully) feel OK about trying something new — even if it flops — without fear of some negative repercussion.

There’s a buzz around the building and I’m hopeful that we’ll soon reach a critical mass where "traditional" teaching will become the exception and not the rule.

If a teacher who "isn’t good with computers" can create and maintain a poetry blog, I’m optimistic that we’re on the right track.  As such, I am hoping to take some of this momentum as I participate in our district’s technology provisioning committee and make the case for more access to computers for teachers and students.

Thanks for the tag, Kelly — I didn’t know I had so much to say.