What does March Madness have in common with elementary education? LOTS!

I left school at 5:20pm.  I was home by by 5:30pm.  I have only moved from the couch to start the grill, get brats off the grill, and to put my three year old to bed.  Strangely, she loves basketball.  Well, she loves me and clapping, not so much basketball.

I love the 1st round(2nd for the technical people out there) of the tourney and love the parallels is runs with the my job as an administrator in an elementary school.  The following are the top ten parallels. 

10. Every team that is there is there for a reason just like every one of our students.

9. Some teams are stronger than others, just like our students.  Some of the teams come very prepared for the tournament ready to go deep.  Some of them do not.  Some of our students come more ready than others.  (The nice thing about elementary is that our teachers are so skilled they can level the playing field).

8. Every team out there loves to be cheered on.  Every student in an elementary loves to be cheered on!

7. Scheduled bathroom breaks(halftime for NCAA).

6. Great coaches who have changed with the game and are growing every year just like the great teachers who adapt to help their students. 

5. Zone defense.  2/3 in the NCAA.  Elementary schools usually run a 4/150 at recess!  Teacher are great defenders. 

4. We see 40 minutes of a game.  There are thousands of hours that go into the 40 minutes we get to watch that no one knows about.  Teachers do this day in and day out.  I have been at the school late countless times seeing teachers preparing for the "big game" the next day. 

3.  We are always blown away every year by an unexpected "Cinderella" team.  This phenomenon happens every day in school. I am blown away by something a student, a teacher, or a parent does on a daily basis.  

2. In every game there is always a game changing moment.  That amazing place in time that can go either way and can change the course of the tournament (ie. Bryce Drew's last second shot off a set play know one could have ever imagined).  It happens everyday.  A student you didn't think would ever "get it"  comes out of nowhere and literally floors you with a statement or a project you never thought possible. 

1.  Excitement! So much excitement...every minute...every single day!

GO SCHOOL!

Carpe Data!

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This video blew my mind.  The medical world has figured it out.  The days of the broad spectrum treatment are gone.  They are using constant information to create individual health plans for people.  The iDoctor says it best just after minute 8, "... It's treating all human beings the same.  That is crazy, when each of us are truly unique in every way..." "Seize the data..." "Its understanding you, which we have never really done before."  

When will we start to look at students this way?  When will we be seizing the data and shape education for all those unique students we have?   This kind of medicine is PROACTIVELY differentiated to the the individual.  It is not waiting for the patient to get sick.  It is taking a person at their current health and trying to make them healthier.  This kind of thinking needs to be implemented at the beginning of every unit of study in a school.  

Carpe Data!  

Tools of the Digital Trade

Learning Platforms
Angel		Learning management system are a tremendous tool for storing and disseminating class resources.
Moodle
www.joinopenclass.com
Brainhoney
Edmodo
Haiku
Canvas
Screencasting
Jing		Capture the screen you are working on and record your voice.  Expands the reach of class to your on-line audience.
Camstudio
Screenr.com
Screenchomp (iPad)
Camtasia		Camtasia is a recorder and editor in one program and is available for purchase.
Video extraction and editing
Grabilla.com		Cut videos from the net with ease to give to your students or embed in your presentations.
Tubechop.com
Videograbber.com
Curating & Portfolios
Livebinder.com		Store your favorite websites, pictures, videos, articles, documents.  Also allows for collaboration!
Dropbox.com
Threering.com
Scoop.it
Evernote.com
On-line collaboration
Twiddla.com		Digital meeting boards for on-line team meetings or note taking.  Can be use for everything from group think tanks to book studies.
Linoit.com
wallwisher
Voicethread.com
www.6wunderkinder.com
realtimeboard.com
Edistorm.com
Google docs
Blogging
Edublogs.com		Blogging
WordPress.
Blogger
Kidblog.org
File converter
Zamar.com		Convert files like images, video, documents, audio and more to other formats
Onlineconverter.com
www.online-convert.com
Random Fun Sites
Mentormob.com		Create media playlists.
Bundlenut.com		Create bundles of links. Browse them with our handy bundle browser.
Glogster.com		Poster yourself – Make your interactive poster easily and share it with friends. Mix Images, Text, Music and Video. It is fantastic!
Capzles.com		Capzles helps anyone create beautiful, interactive, rich-media timelines online using videos, photos, text, music, audio and most documents.
museumbox.e2bn.org		This site provides the tools for you to build up an argument or description of an event, person or historical period by placing items in a virtual box.
Vuvox.com		VUVOX allows you to create interactive slideshows and presentations from photos, video and music from Flickr, Picasa Web Albums, YouTube, Facebook or your PC. You can share them with friends, and embed them on your Myspace page, blog or website.
Animoto.com		Animoto turns your photos and video clips into professional video slideshows in minutes. Fast, free and shockingly simple – we make awesome easy
Photovisi.com		The easiest way to create photo collages online!
edshelf.com		All kinds of edu resources.
Thinglink.com		ThingLink lets users add interactive links to any photo and turn them into fun web experiences that drive engagement.
SideVibe.com		SideVibe gives teachers the ability to turn any Web page into an online activity to enhance student critical thinking, online learning, while improving teacher and student productivity…
Xtranormal.com		Students type a script into a scene with different characters. The site adds a computer-generated voice and animates the scene.

Never underestimate the power of "What if..."

My wife loves Pintrest.  She loves to find home decor ideas that are extravagant(that somehow get filed under DIY) and asks me, “Do you think we could do this to the(name part of house).”  I act like it is a huge deal and huff and puff about the time and skill level it would take to complete but secretly get excited.  Why?  I love going to LOWES and HOME DEPOT.  I am enthralled by the empty canvas my house seems to be as I walk down the aisles. I actually go to these box stores when boredom sets in to walk around and get ideas.   I actively harness the power of the words “What if” as I scavenge the store.  “What if I knock out the wall to the kitchen?”  “What if I excavate the entire perimeter of the house and waterproof the walls?” “What if we add a laundry shoot?”  All of the “what ifs” have led to a house my wife never wants to leave because it bares our footprint and  left me with a sense of satisfaction and skills I didn’t know I possessed.   Recently, the same feeling appears as I walk the halls of the school.   I see an amazing landscape of opportunity.  “What if we taught 3rd and 4th graders to program robots?”  What if our students were given the opportunity to publish a book?”  ”What if we change the schedule to allow tinker time every week?”  “What if,” moments cross my mind on an hourly basis.  Some are possible, some are reaching, and some may never materialize but I never underestimate the power of uttering those two words.  Who knows what it might lead to in the future? 

I often think about what the world would be like without the power of “what if.”   I feel we would be looking at a flat globe, not eating pizza, and still reading by candle light. I most certainly would not be writing a blog post.  It scares me to start blogging. It is not an easy thing to put your thoughts and (seemingly poor) writing out for the world to see, but ”what ifmy writing is worth reading?”  “What if this post encourages other to do the same?”  “What if I become an international celebrity writer?”  Ok, that last one was a little farfetched but that is part of the fun of asking yourself “what if…”

Taking The Leap

As my wife is putting holiday cards together, I am reading Will Richardson’s WHY SCHOOLS? book and have been inspired to share my little thoughts on education and innovation.  I have always believed that the best teachers/administrators are the most proficient thieves so if you see anything you like…STEAL FREELY!