Top LYS Tweets from the Week of August 14, 2011

Here’s another thing that I learned this summer while training teachers on student computers. The technology we provide for students is sub-par. The computers are old. The computers are slow. The software loaded on them is inconsistent and inadequate. And, the computers are in various stages of disrepair.

Again, I am not blaming the technology departments. This problem is more of a function of budget. There is not enough time, money and manpower to meet both the operations and instructional technology requirements of the district. When technology departments are forced to choose between the rock and the hard place, the most logical solution is to keep the district running and let teachers and classrooms make do.

Thanks to our forward thinking elected officials, the budget situation will only get worse in the short run. So if I were a still a principal here is what I would do - let the kids bring their better equipment. Laptops, tablets, and smart phones; tell your kids to bring them and let them use and share them. Parents will upgrade equipment faster than the district will every allow the campus. If the student changes the settings of his computer, who cares? If the equipment breaks, the campus is not responsible. And the student will take better care of his computer than he takes care of the school computer. It’s a win-win. Bootleg technology – it’s a good thing.

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 August 14, 2011, as tabulated by the accountants at Price Waterhouse.

1. Teacher "nests"? I think I have an ADMINISTRATOR "nest". (By tlogganecker)

2. There is no greater education reform tool than the common scope & sequence. There is no greater reform practice than following it.

3. Tonight’s Run Thought: Overcoming individual adversity teaches resiliency.

4. Tonight's Run Thought: Overcoming team adversity teaches trust.

5. More than ever I believe that computer labs are a waste of space and money. Get those computers in the classroom and invest in more laptops, notebooks and tablets.

6. It's not enough to just put technology in schools. You have to let students use it.

7. When did putting 45 students in a sixth grade math class become a viable option? (By RalynnErnest) When we voted in the last election.

8. Politicians can feign "concern" over recruiting good teachers, but as long as education degrees pay less than other degrees, it's all posturing.

9. Just drove by Nixon HS. If they aren't the Nixon Politicians, they are wasting the most fear evoking mascot name ever.

10. The search for a practical solution for differentiated instruction begins with the Fundamental 5.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

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