Comments for 21st Century Collaborative

Comment on An interview, plus win a signed copy of The Connected Educator by Simon

Simon — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:55:04 +0000

I agree, the crowded curriculum is a nightmare. There simply is too much to do and if being connected isn’t your passion, there is no time for it.

Comment on An interview, plus win a signed copy of The Connected Educator by Simon

Simon — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:52:17 +0000

I think there are a number of people who choose not to be connected, despite it’s importance. It becomes a cycle, they don’t connect so they don’t get to read the amazing stuff that’s out there and interact with the amazing people that are around so they continue to miss the value of it. Conversely being connected just makes you realize how important it is to be connected. It’s up to us connected people to bring the non-connected people in. As a new principal this year I am in a prime position and relish the opportunity of doing just that! Thanks to Sheryl and everyone else for the continued inspiration.

Comment on The Connected Educator by What I need to relearn | Learning Zone

What I need to relearn | Learning Zone — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:52:23 +0000

[...] reading The Connected Educator by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and Lani Ritter Hall and one of the cool elements is the challenge to [...]

Comment on An interview, plus win a signed copy of The Connected Educator by Sue Maloney

Sue Maloney — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:08:58 +0000

It seems we have the hardware, the bandwidth, the energy, but not the time to connect with professionals beyond–or even within–our building. I’m sure of, but not very articulate about the need for, and value of, spending some of our valuable PD time developing and sharing PLNs. I’m looking forward to reading and learning from your book!

Comment on An interview, plus win a signed copy of The Connected Educator by Kevin

Kevin — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:38:11 +0000

The biggest challenge to schools today is the multitude of information/skills that they educators are expected to be knowledgeable of, tested on and evaluated from. For example, educators are expected to be familiar with the Common Core curriculum while being experts in 21st Century Instruction while students are being assessed with standardized 20th Century multiple choice assessments. Not a healthy combination when you combine this with the variety of educator (classroom and administrator) experience, lack of professional development funds to assure that everyone is on the same page and political pressure to be successful immediately, as measured by an antiquated testing process. I would love to see the CEO of any business take on this challenge given parameters that our school systems are given.

Comment on Wax on…Wax off and other lessons learned by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach

Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:58:13 +0000

Dale,

So good to see you. Have you read my book yet? When you do be sure and check out pg. 114 as you are featured.

Thanks for adding your value here. I think your dilemma is a eat your veggies before desert or yes, we do have to fold laundry and do dishes even though we do not value the act but value the outcome.

I love what Seth says… http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/02/you-dont-need-more-time.html

Oh and btw. It wasn’t a rough year at all. Just a rough Christmas. All of that happened in two weeks.

Comment on Wax on…Wax off and other lessons learned by Dave Dale

Dave Dale — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:59:27 +0000

Hey Sheryl, long time no talk. Sounds like you have had a very tough year! I hope everyting works out for the best.

In reading through your last post I was struck by a couple things. One, I have been harping away at my students and myself for years about personal responsibility. I have a framed picture on my wall at school that says “I am a free man”. It summarizes my feelings on personal responsibility. I have the choice, and the final decision in mine! I have found this to be easy to say but hard to live. I am still working at it.

The second thing was your comment about being busy being a lousy excuse. My first reaction was to fly off the handle and start ranting uncontrolably. But, instead, I thought for a while and this is what I came up with. I often feel like I don’t have enough time to get done what needs to get done by the time it needs to get done. I often feel victimized by the demands life. This does not connect well with my philosophy of personal responsibility, I know. So why do I feel that way? Life (and the job) often demand of me things that I do not value and I feel put upon to complete or participate in those tasks. I then have much less time to devote to the things I do value. Can I just ignore the things I don’t value? I probably would not continue to collect my paycheque (which I certainly do value) if I did. So my difficulty is in balancing my life to focus more on what I do value, while still maintaining those other tasks that I need to complete to do things like keep my job. Any ideas how I do that?

Comment on An interview, plus win a signed copy of The Connected Educator by Joyleen

Joyleen — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 19:13:59 +0000

Many of our digital imigrants who are supervisors and bosses do not see the need to spend money on new technology. Some see it as a waste. How do we change their attitudes. Perhaps students will…

Comment on Internet Safety? Or Just Plain Weird? by Leadership Shift by mjordan - Pearltrees

Leadership Shift by mjordan - Pearltrees — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 15:42:20 +0000

[...] Google Image Result for http://www.21stcenturycollaborative.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/lf2.jpg Which is a shift from the dictionary definition: [...]

Comment on Wax on…Wax off and other lessons learned by Brianna

Brianna — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:05:46 +0000

I appreciated your sharing a number of things in this post. First, I enjoyed the creativity and symbolism of your chosen image as it represents multiple perspectives, layers of depth, and innovative thinking.

I felt a huge connection with your statement about being comfortable with the uncomfortable and recognizing that struggle does not denote failure or inadequacy. As a perfectionist, I often work so hard to avoid the uncomfortable because I inherently view it as a sign that I am not doing enough or succeeding in the task. Success means efficiency and polish–no? No! I needed the reminder that success often means being willing to engage with and become mired in the complex problems and structures surrounding our personal and professional lives.

I also felt challenged by your reminder that excuses veil only a resistance to become uncomfortable and that my greatest role as a teacher is one of a mentor and model rather than a manager and lecturer.

Thanks for sharing these lessons as they caused me to reflect and challenge myself to think about my goals in this new year.