Top LYS Tweets from the Week of April 10, 2011

Technology is changing by the minute. The rule use to be that the brand new laptop computer you bought today was already six months obsolete. Now laptops are obsolete. Just this week, while I was a passenger in a vehicle driving 70 miles an hours on a freeway between cities, I used my USB cellular card in a notebook computer to participate in a Skype videoconference with a group in the Ukraine. It was as clear as if I was sitting at the table with the group. And it was free.

At this point, the ability to keep up with advancements in technology applications is too much for one busy educator. The solution is to empower everyone on your campus to looks for ways to leverage the power of technology. And by everyone, I mean students, teachers and administrators. The collective will identify and implement what works, faster than any one individual. Embrace bootleg technology now.

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now using bootleg technology devices to follow Twitter. If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us. To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of April 10^th 2011, as tabulated by the accountants at Price Waterhouse.

1. At Abell Junior High - Ms Heronema’s ELA class is on fire. 5 for 5 on the Fundamental 5!

2. At Abell Junior High - Real world, real time relevance in an English class. Ms. Worster is CRAZY!!!

3. Dale Mitchell, the principal at Hutto Middle School entered the 75,000th observation into the PowerWalks system today!

4. Late to start, quick to finish instruction is the biggest self-inflicted wound to teacher effectiveness.

5. If the pace of change to your practice is best measured in calendar years, your status as an expert is suspect.

6. Great audience in Central Texas. They were floored by the one-year improvement in instruction that we are witnessing at MISD junior high schools.

7. The hidden benefit of the Foundation Trinity is that it exposes lazy actors at all levels in the system.

8. In business effective bullying can substitute for leadership for a long time. Less so, in school leadership.

9. Why are teacher certifications critical (NCLB highly qualified requirements), but exemptions and waivers for politically appointed education leaders are the norm?

10. Why do politicians target the poor, mentally ill, infirm and kids for budget cuts? Those groups don't vote or contribute to re-election campaigns.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Coming Soon! "The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction" www.TheFundamentalFive.com

Attend the LYS presentations this summer at TASSP, TASB, and TEPSA.