Free Forms and Templates You Can Use!

This is an amazing site of free documents and presentations. Docstoc is a user generated community where you can find and share professional documents. Find free legal documents and free business documents. Upload your documents for all the world to share. I found several useful resources. For example, I downloaded a PowerPoint presentation on the The Ten Guiding Questions for Creating a Great Presentation. I have also found it a useful resource for downloading templates/letters to jump start a document so that I don't have to start from scratch.

Click on the image below to see a sample search on leadership.

Technorati Tags: Documents,Online,Internet Resources,Share

Click to read full article>>>

In-Box to Zero

Do you have too many emails? Does your inbox look like the one above? If so, you may find the video below to be of value. Not withstanding the "casual" dress and some "language", the folks from Google are smart. The practices suggested in this video work. Merlin Mann, a well known productivity guru and creator of the popular 43 Folders web site will talk about Getting Things Done, the importance of getting your inbox to zero, and strategies for dealing with high volume email.

Please note: The audio gets out of sync around 22:30 but does not materially affect the ability to profit from the video.

Getting Your In-box to Zero

A Few Tips I've Learned

• The fewer you send, the fewer you will receive. Use the phone more often. Consider limited and careful use of IM programs such as Live Messenger.


• Schedule predetermined times each day to address emails and ignore them otherwise. Admittedly, easier said than done but doing so will increase productivity.


• Put the following at the end the subject line whenever possible (NRR). Then, on your automated signature, include this:

Your Name

Note: If you see NRR at the end of the subject line it means "No Reply Required" but is always welcomed.

Additional Resources From the 43 Folders Web Site:

Posts in the Inbox Zero series

• 43F Series: Inbox Zero [Introduction] - “Clearly, the problem of email overload is taking a toll on all our time, productivity, and sanity, mainly because most of us lack a cohesive system for processing our messages and converting them into appropriate actions as quickly as possible.”


• Inbox Zero: Articles of faith - “When I first suggested the email DMZ and said there was a way to get your inbox to zero in 20 minutes, I wasn’t lying. But I was using a definition of “empty” that may not square with your current conception of the email world. So let’s start with a few of my own articles of faith to ensure we’re on the same page going forward.”


• Inbox Zero: Five sneaky email cheats - “In the words of the great Lucas Jackson: ‘Yeah, well, sometimes nothin’ can be a real cool hand.’”


• Inbox Zero: Where filters will and won’t help - “[F]ocus on creating filters and scripts for any noisy, frequent, and non-urgent items which can be dealt with all at a pass and later. ”


• Inbox Zero: Delete, delete, delete (or, “Fail faster”) - “Just remember that every email you read, re-read, and re-re-re-re-re-read as it sits in that big dumb pile is actually incurring mental debt on your behalf. The interest you pay on email you’re reluctant to deal with is compounded every day and, in all likelihood, it’s what’s led you to feeling like such a useless slacker today.”


• Inbox Zero: Schedule email dashes - “If you can get away from being driven by email’s motor and find a way to deal with your work mindfully and on your own terms, you may be startled to see how much easier it is to keep that inbox at zero.”


• Inbox Zero: What’s the action here? - “Focus on finding the fastest and straightest path from discovery to completion, and your inbox fu will be strong.”


• Inbox Zero: Processing to zero - “You’ll never stay ahead of this stuff if you don’t recalibrate starting today. Give each message as much attention as it needs and not one iota more. Remember the contextuality of triage: if you keep trying to care for dead and doomed patients, you’ll end up losing a lot of the ones who could have actually used your help.”


• Inbox Zero: What have you learned? - “Try to learn from what you’ve just experienced, and reapply your new wisdom to the way you treat email every day — nay, every time that little “new mail” chime sounds. You’ve just come out the other side of productivity bankruptcy and have, perhaps for the first time, a clean record and a fresh start.”


• Inbox Zero: Better Practices for staying (near) zero - “As a person who has done the near-impossible and managed to establish a temporary beachhead against the occupying email army, you are your own best expert in what needs to change to keep things together, but I’d like to share a few things that have helped me stay email-sane (most of the time).”

Technorati Tags: Email,In-box,Productivity,GTD

Click to read full article>>>

Have You Ever Attended a Technology Conference?

The NECC conference is scheduled for June 29-July 2, 2008. Click on the picture to access the NECC 2008 web site. NECC (National Educators Computing Conference) has been the "premier forum in which to learn, exchange, and survey the field of educational technology. This annual conference—presented by ISTE and keyed to the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS)—features hands-on workshops, lecture-format and interactive concurrent sessions, discussions with key industry leaders, and the largest educational technology exhibit in the nation."

I have personally attended three NECC conferences and found them to be very informative. The opportunity to hear from leaders in education and technology, to speak directly with vendors, and to see live demonstrations of educational technology is invaluable in staying abreast of current trends.

I recommend that we NOT just send our IT staff. We are responsible for our school's vision, allocation of limited resources, and setting priorities. Consequently, it is imperative that WE stay abreast of current trends in technology and how technology can contribute to, or distract from, providing a 21st century Christian education for God's glory.

Topics to be covered at this year's conference include:

School Improvement addresses development and articulation of a vision for the role of technology in school improvement, and includes such strands as:

• 21st-Century School Design


• Educational Visions/Planning


• Funding


• One-to-One Initiatives

Technology Infrastructure focuses on the technology, resources, and policies necessary to build the technology infrastructure for effective teaching, learning, and administration.

Professional Learning focuses on the development of leaders and the education and accountability of students, teachers, administrators, and other educators, and includes strands such as:

• Administrative Development


• Instructional & Administrative Productivity Tools/Resources


• Online Professional Development


• Professional Development


• Student, Teacher, and/or Administrator Leader Preparation


• Teacher Education (Preservice & Advanced)

21st-Century Teaching & Learning covers all aspects of technology use in the learning environment, and includes strands such as:

• All Curriculum Areas


• Innovative Learning Technologies


• Instructional Strategies & Classroom Management


• Laptop Learning/Learning with Handhelds


• Literacies for the Information/Creativity Age


• Multimedia/Video/Virtual Reality


• One-to-One Curriculum


• Problem Solving & Critical Thinking


• Project-Based & Problem-Based Curricula


• Student Assessment of Content Standards


• Student Assessment of Technology Standards


• Technology Integration


• Videoconferencing


• Web/Internet/Web 2.0

Virtual Schooling/E-learning covers all aspects of designing, choosing and evaluating, and implementing online courses and e-learning experiences for students and includes strands such as:

• Developing/Locating Digital Content/Learning Objects


• Evaluating Online Courses


• Instructional Design


• Student Assessment


• Virtual Learning Technologies


• Virtual School Programs

Response:

--Do you believe that school technology can make a meaningful contribution to the quality of education provided or do you believe it is merely necessary because parents expect it? In other words, is technology important as PR or important for making substantive contributions to student learning and understanding?

--Have you ever attended an educational technology conference? Why or why not?

--If you sent your IT staff but you have never attended such a conference, why?

--If you have attended a technology conference, what was your experience?

Technorati Tags: Technology,School Technology,Conferences,Technology Standards,NECC,Technology Integration,Technology Leadership,Technology Trends

Click to read full article>>>

What the Best Schools in the World Do

“A school is only as good as its teachers!” I have made that declaration hundreds of times in hundreds of forums. Not exactly rocket science. It is akin to making the obvious observation that the success of

one’s heart surgery is dependent on the quality of one’s surgeon. Nevertheless, it is encouraging when a major study of the world’s best school systems echoes the same sentiment. In How the World’s Best-Performing School Systems Come-Out on Top, (Barber & Mourshed, 2007) published by McKinsey&Company, a South Korean policy maker asserts: “The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers.” Teachers matter—a lot! In addressing the importance of teachers in creating world-class schools, Barber and Mourshed outline the three things that matter most in producing top performing school systems: 1) getting the right people to become teachers, 2) developing them into effective instructors, and, 3) ensuring that the system is able to deliver the best possible instruction for every child.

To get the right people to become teachers and in the classrooms, the top performing school systems in the world focus on three strategies. First, they develop strong processes for selecting and training teachers. Second, they pay good, not great, starting compensation. Finally, they carefully manage the status of the teaching profession (p. 26).

Once you have the best people in the profession, you have to effectively develop them. There is a tendency for educational reform efforts, including efforts at producing positive change in our Christian schools, to focus on school structure, policies, and programs rather than on what matters most—what happens in each classroom. We can confuse sound and fury with systemic change. The sad reality is that the noise we make about excellence and sustained change may signify little. Cuban provides a provocative analogy to a common experience in our schools--a storm’s effect on the ocean:

The surface is agitated and turbulent while the ocean floor is calm and serene (if a bit murky). Policy churns dramatically creating the appearance of major changes while deep below the surface, life goes on largely uninterrupted. (Cuban, How teachers taught: Constancy and change in American Classrooms, quoted in (p. 35)

To put this into perspective, think back over the number of in-service training sessions, conferences, workshops, and seminars that your teachers have attended over the years. Now, ask yourself a hard question; how much different are my classrooms today than they were 10 or 15 years ago? How much different do my teachers teach? How many of the ideas, concepts, and skills presented and discussed at all of these training sessions have actually taken deep root in my classrooms? How much of the research is actually practiced in my classrooms? In describing the priority of ensuring systemic change in the classroom, one very effective principal declared:

Being a teacher is about helping children to learn. Being a principal is about helping adults to learn. That’s why it’s tough…I walk the halls, walk the halls, and walk the halls…I only look at my inbox after everybody leaves. (p. 34.)

Ensuring that the school delivers the best possible education to each child is the third major finding. The top performing school systems focus on setting high expectations. They monitor and intervene against these standards at both the school and student levels. For our schools, this translates into monitoring and intervening at the classroom/teacher level as well as for individual students.

Response:

What challenges do you face in recruiting the best people as teachers? What strategies have you employed to get professional development to “stick”?

Reference:

Barber, M., & Mourshed, M. (2007). How the best performing school systems come out on top: McKinsey&Company.

Technorati Tags: World-class schools , World-class education , School Reform , World-class teaching , School culture , Academic Excellence , Best teachers , Hiring teachers , Retaining teachers , Professional development

Click to read full article>>>

How Would our Seniors Do?

THE primary aim of most Christian schools is to teach their students to think biblically, to development a biblical worldview. Central to that mission is preparing them to "defend The faith." The arguments lodged against Christianity by Burrus (click here for PDF) are not particularly sophisticated. Nevertheless, here is the question: Can our seniors provide intellectually honest, logically coherent, and theologically sound responses? If the majority of seniors who have attended our schools for at least four years are not able to effectively respond to these attacks against their faith, I would argue that we are failing in our primary mission.

As the leaders in our schools, we have the responsibility to know to what extent our students are intellectually competent to defend their faith--for the sake of their own souls as well as their witness to the Gospel. How do we know if they can respond to these and other arguments against the Christian faith? If we don't know, why not? How can we find out?

I suggest the following responses for consideration and discussion:

1) Map the Bible curriculum (there are several good tools for mapping the curriculum including, Curriculum Mapper and Rubicon Atlas) from K-12th grades to determine what is taught when and why,

2) Develop an essay or series of essays to measure your seniors' ability to respond to The 10 Reasons Why Christianity is Wrong, or similar attacks. Read the essays--are the seniors largely "clueless"? Do they respond simplistically, in so many words: "God said it, I believe it, that settles it?",

3) Discuss the results with your teachers. What is their reaction? Assuming your seniors performed poorly on the essays, how will the curriculum, teaching methods, and assessments be changed?, and

4) Initiate intensive in-service training to focus on developing teaching and assessment methods designed to dramatically improve our students' knowledge, understanding, and ability to articulate the intellectual, philosophical, and theological foundations of their faith.

Response:

How do you think your seniors would do? If poorly, why? Our schools spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in the pursuit of our core mission of helping students develop a biblical worldview. If they cannot adequately respond to relatively weak attacks, what are we doing wrong?

Do you believe any of the suggestions above have merit? If so, are you currently implementing any of the suggestions or if not, would you consider doing so? If so, which ones? What challenges do you anticipate? Do you have other suggestions to share from your school's successful experiences and practices?

Technorati Tags: Worldview , Leadership , School Culture , Christian , Christianity , In-service Training , Bible , Mission , Apologetics , Christian School Leadership , Curriculum Mapping , Assessment , Professional Development

Click to read full article>>>

Could This Be the Future of Textbooks?

Although difficult for some of us to imagine, is it possible that digital readers will replace today's bulky textbooks? The possibilities and implications are intriguing. (Click on the picture to see demonstration video) Imagine:

1. Updates to every textbook every year with the push of a button

2. No bulky book bags for students to carry or to litter hallways

3. Electronic versions of major newspapers, magazines, and professional and research journals available to every student all of the time

4. Potential cost savings

5. The implications for plagiarism and cheating

The kindle may not be THE device, but it may be paving the way for future devices that could make books as we know them obsolete.

Response:

1. Would the potential advantages outweigh the problems?

2. Do you believe digital readers could someday replace conventional books?

3. If money were no obstacle, would you buy one? Why or why not?

Technorati Tags: Digital Reader , Electronic Reader , Textbooks , Technology

Click to read full article>>>

Dinesh D'Souza to Speak at Briarwood Christian School

Briarwood Christian School has started a Distinguished Visiting Scholar lecture series. The purpose of this lecture series is to give our students and faculty an opportunity to learn from internationally respected Christian scholars and leaders. I believe this is essential as we seek to encourage our students to “love God with all of their minds” and to interact with living examples of what it means to apply the truths of God’s word to one’s life and vocation.

In God's kind providence, last year we were privileged to have Dr. John Lennox[1] address our high school students and faculty as the inaugural Distinguished Visiting Scholar. Last month, Mr. Truett Cathy, Founder and CEO of Chick-fil-A restaurants, addressed our high school students. This month, we are privileged to have Dr. Os Guinness[2] as our keynote speaker.

Several years ago, at my previous school, I was privileged to secure Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia as a guest speaker. Our students read several of his books prior to his lecture and had prepared questions for discussion after Justice Scalia’s presentation. Our seniors were honored to have a private reception with Justice Scalia after his presentation.

We have just confirmed that Dinesh D'Souza has agreed to speak to our faculty and students in 2009. I share this information with the hope that it will stimulate visionary thinking as we consider how to create world-class Christian schools. The video clip (CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE a Video of a recent DEBATE) is a wonderful example of how God can use a Christian to defend The faith and spread the Gospel.

Response:

Have you had special guest speakers whom you would recommend?

What are the challenges, "dangers" of having guest speakers?

Would you ever invite speakers who were totally against your school's philosophy and mission, e.g, the ACLU et al? Why or why not?

---

Endnotes:

[1] Dr. Lennox is a graduate of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and took his doctorate there in 1970. Then for 29 years he was Reader in Pure Mathematics at the University of Wales from where he has a D.Sc. He is currently a Research Fellow in Mathematics at Green College, Oxford, and a Senior Fellow of the Whitfield Institute. John has lectured extensively in Europe, both Western and Eastern, including many visits to Russia as a guest of the Academy of Science. John is very involved in the science-religion debate, having been active in Christian work since his student days. For example, he gave the Whitefield Institute annual public lecture in 1998 on the topic "Is the watchmaker really blind?" in which he challenged the materialistic atheists like Dawkins et al.

[2] Dr. Os Guinness was Educated in England, he did undergraduate studies at the University of London and postgraduate studies at University of Oxford, where he graduated with a D.Phil. in the social sciences from Oriel College. He has written or edited more than twenty books, including The American Hour (Free Press, 1993), The Call (Word 1998), Time for Truth (Baker 2000), Long Journey Home (Doubleday 2001), and Unspeakable: Facing Up to Evil in an Age of Genocide and Terror (HarperCollins, 2005).

Technorati Tags: Wordview , Debate , Apologetics , Christianity , Atheists , Atheism , Speakers , World-class

Click to read full article>>>

Fascinating Video on Creativity

Response:

What is your response to this video?

How do we specifically/practically stimulate and ensure creativity in our classrooms?

Technorati Tags: Creativity in education , Transforming schools

Click to read full article>>>

How Should We Deal with Climate Change?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has just released its latest report on climate change. The purpose of this post is not to debate the reality or causes of climate change. That is a task for scientists and policy makers. As Christian school leaders we have a different task: How should our teachers address this issue in the classroom? Here are questions that confront us:

• Should the science of climate change be addressed in our classrooms? If so, how?


• What is a biblical framework for assessing the science of climate change in our science classes? In our social studies classes? In our Bible classes?


• How can this issue be used to stimulate interest in science?


• How can Problem-Based Learning, Inquiry-Based Learning, and Authentic Assessments be used to address the issue?


• Should students be encouraged to be involved in addressing the issue through community service or other forms of activitism?


• How do we deal with the PR side of this issue, e.g., parents who believe that climate change is a liberal cause or those who believe that we should all buy a Prius?


• How should this issue be handled in anticipation of the inevitable assertions by some that climate change is evidence of the End Times?

Response:

Do you plan to address this issue with your faculty? If so, how? What are your concerns? What are your challenges?

Technorati Tags: Climate Change , Global Warming , Al Gore , Worldview

Click to read full article>>>

One Comment, One Changed Life

Education was not highly valued in my family when I was growing up. My father dropped out of high school to join the military and my mother never went beyond high school. With the exception of the newspaper and my mother reading her Bible, I never saw my parents read. College was never a topic of conversation. I was an average student with little vision for the future and who watched too much TV.

That all changed one day in high school when in literature class I was chosen to be a “defense attorney” charged to defend Marcus Brutus for his role in the assassination conspiracy against Julius Caesar in Shakespeare's play of the same name. I took to my role with gusto, eager to vindicate Brutus for trying to save the Republic. My client was acquitted!

After class a student came up to me and said: "You are a very good debater. You should be an attorney." That was the first time I recall receiving a compliment regarding my "intellectual" abilities. The thought flashed through my mind: "You know, perhaps I can; I'm not really trying!" With this revelation my motivation and grades dramatically improved. In God's kind providence I was the only member of my immediate family to attend college and I eventually earned my doctorate. One comment, one changed life.

A similar story is told by Highlander Way Middle School technology teacher Carole Colburn, recently named the 2007 Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) Outstanding Technology-Using Classroom Teacher of the Year. MACUL then nominated Colburn for "Outstanding Teacher" category of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Awards program. In 2006, Colburn also was selected from hundreds of applicants to participate in the Microsoft Innovative Teachers Forum, the first of its kind held in the U.S. She has received numerous awards for her work. She also serves as the mayor of her small town of Dansville.

Her journey started with a few kind words from a teacher. The Livingston Daily reports that Mrs. Colburn was a shy, quiet child who did not have a lot of confidence in herself until one day her speech teacher told her: "You really have a gift for public speaking." That compliment helped spark a change in the way Colburn looked at herself. "I knew I wanted to make that kind of difference with kids," she said.

Solomon reminds us that gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. (Pro 16:24) A few well chosen words can change a life.

As leaders, we have the opportunity to use words to change lives in at least three ways: 1) to encourage and inspire our staff, 2) to encourage and instruct parents, and 3) to inspire our teachers to seek opportunities to speak words of life to their students. Words are free but they can make a priceless contribution to another’s life.

Response:

Do you have a testimony of how a few well chosen words changed your life? As leaders, what specific actions can we take to create a school culture that encourages and reflects words of inspiration and life? Do you have examples (without names) of words spoken by teachers that are destructive, demoralizing, or merely detached? What are the implications for how student work is assessed?

Technorati Tags: School culture,Inspire,Transformation

Click to read full article>>>

Challenges Facing Christian School Administrators

Zach Clark and I often spend time on the phone or on the road with Christian school leaders. We see or hear about three common challenges that school leaders face. Here are three challenges commonly faced by administrators.

1. The squeaky wheel
This is the feeling of constantly protecting the school from the people who are pushing their own agendas. This could be a group of teachers, parents, or parents. One leader we know says that at their school they are trying to completely eliminate the "thems, theys, and everybodies." These folks believe they represent and speak for the majority, but you know they are really a minority. You just wish you could prove it.

2. The reactive mode of leadership
This is something most leaders in any field have to guard against. In Christian schools it manifests itself in a feeling that you are constantly responding to needs, phone calls, emails, requests, squeaky wheels (see above) and most anything that gives you a feeling of missing out on moving the school forward strategically. This is what causes some to feel like they just aren't having the impact that they deep down believe they should.

3. Truly developing a Christian worldview among students
We've noticed far more unity of philosophy than there used to be, even a decade ago. Schools wholeheartedly agree they should be about the business of developing young men and women who can think, live, speak, write, and lead with a Christian world-view.

We should graduates students who are "different to make a difference," as they say at Briarwood. Unfortunately, our philosophy is often better than our practice. We are starting to see more and more leaders who are really seeking to determine the level of impact the Christian school is having on the development of the Christian mind, and how it can be improved.

Reponse:

Do you experience any of these? How do they manifest themselves at your school? What is your leadership response?

Click to read full article>>>