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A couple of months ago, our tenth graders received their writing scores for the year. As a school we did very well with our proficiency level of 96 percent. What really bothers me about that particular writing test is a burning question, "Does it accurately measure the kinds of writing our students need to be doing in the 21st century?" Our students in North Carolina are asked to complete a writing...

Diigo is one of the those Web 2.0 social networking tools that I have not gotten around to finding a way to use yet. I have looked at some of the Web 2.0 activities suggested by blog posts, but as with any tool, I needed to just sit down and "play" with the tool to see how I might use it in my administrative practice. I have found some interesting 21st century administrator uses for the tool, and...

As students become more engaged in social networking sites, school administrators are likely to find themselves dealing more and more with irresponsible behaviors like cyberbullying which in turn spills over into the school building. McAfee’s study The Secret Online Lives of Teens makes it clear that teens are more willing than ever to divulge private or personal information about themselves in these...

Oreskes and Conway’s book Merchants of Doubt is proving to be a fascinating read. I purchased it the other day after seeing a brief description of it on Barnes and Noble’s web site. What caught my eye was the subtitle: “How a handful of scientists obscured the truth on issues from tobacco smoke to global warming.” I am in the middle of one of my reading jags. Several months ago I became fascinated...

There are several mindmapping products out there, and I have previously reviewed one particular software solution called Inspiration. I have personally used several products, and each on has its advantages. Freemind Freemind is an open source mindmapping solution and as far as open source solutions go, it is a solid mindmapping solution. Its interface is fairly simple to use but I have found some...

I recently began reading Dan Agin’s book Junk Science: An Overdue Indictment of Government, Industry, and Faith Groups That Twist Science for Their Own Gain. In that book, Agin goes to great lengths to point out how special interests in government, commerce, and the “faith” industry are using “junk” science to change or sway public opinion toward their own biased positions. Yesterday, the US Department...

Today, I had an opportunity to hear Tony Wagner, author of the book The Global Achievement Gap give a keynote speech at the North Carolina New Schools Project (NCNSP) Annual Summer Institute. I have read Wagner’s book two times and it is one of many books now that sound the clarion call to educators about reinventing public schools to meet the needs of 21st century students. Wagner conducted a study...

Our school system completed its conversion to using Google Apps this past week. Like any change, there were those individuals in our central office who experienced a bit of frustration with the change. I have been an enthusiastic supporter of our conversion since I heard that it was a possibility. Our small school system stands to save financially with the conversion. By using Gmail, much of our email...

Below is a video in which Secretary of Education Arne Duncan addresses school principals. Take a look. In it he promises additional funding for Title I and for IDEA, and he states clearly that it will not become a competitive grant. Perhaps the Department of Education is beginning to listen rather than prescribe, prescribe, prescribe.   Secretary continues to state two more things we all agree...

First impressions are everything as the saying goes, and my first impressions of the 18th Annual Model Schools Conference put on each year by Dr. Willard Daggett’s International Center for Leadership in Education, have two facets. Facet number one is that the “Model Schools Conference” is all about the glitter and glamour with little substance. The opening keynote speech with its flashing spinning...

A step-by-step guide to unlocking the iPhone's SIM card and making it available to other cell carriers' networks.Cyrus Farivar,Friday, September 14, 2007 05:00 PM PDT, PCWORLDIf you're one of the million people who've purchased an iPhone since the end of June, you probably signed up with Apple's exclusive carrier in the U.S., AT&T, when you activated your phone. That means your iPhone identifies...

The First 10 Steps to Modding the iPhoneWarningThere are some things you should know before you perform anything on this site. There is obviously some risk involved here, but everyone I know of has been able to restore their iPhone by using iTunes. I’ve heard no report of anyone damaging their iPhone by modding it.This site is not for those uncomfortable around computers, and especially the command...

Spirit – Untethered Jailbreak for iPad, iPhone and iPod TouchPosted by Noskire, May 3, 2010Awesome! Those of you that’ve been waiting for a Jailbreak for the iPad and an untethered jailbreak for the iPhone and iPod Touch — it’s here — no more waiting on Geohot. That’s right — Spirit is here to satisfy those needs. Spirit jailbreaks all current devices: iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch on firmwares 3.1.2,...

For those who have never sat in the principal’s chair, you miss out on so many opportunities to deal with very strange situations, or should I say unexpected situations. This situation was yet again another opportunity for me to reflect again on my practice as a 21st century educator. About two weeks ago, I mailed letters out to the parents whose children are prospective students for our school....

This afternoon, I was typing a letter in my office. Most of our students had cleared the building. I heard pieces of conversation between teachers just outside my office. They were discussing who was going to administer and proctor the coming state tests. Suddenly, two students rushed into my office with a Flip camera and blurted, “You’ve gotta see this!” Earlier in the afternoon, they had gotten...