I’ve met many superintendents who really want to streamline costs and administrative workflow specifically in the area of paperless board meetings. But at the end of the day, many of them tell me. You don’t understand. My board is not ready to go paperless. I feel your pain. And I’ve heard about many strategies that ...
When disaster strikes…what happens to your school system’s information and records? Recent years have included multiple natural disasters from tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, lightning strikes that burn schools to many, many more. Just how safe are your records and other important information if such an occurrence happens in your district? That’s where cloud technology comes into ...
As a former school board member of ten years in Georgia, I was required to complete 12 hours of training during my first year of service and six hours each year thereafter. The training requirements have now changed; however, school board members must still complete training courses so that they are in compliance with this ...
In recently buying a new pair of shoes, I reflected back on how one purchased shoes 25 years ago. Shoe stores had employees who actually measured your foot, put the new shoe on your foot, carefully tightened the laces, and had you stand up so they could press the toe area to ensure a proper ...
Have any of the teachers in your school systems tried flipping their classrooms yet? Have you heard about it and what the advantages might be? As you know, new content is “typically” delivered to all students at the same time by their teacher. Some call this “sage on the stage”, presentations (with or without PowerPoint), ...
Technology has changed the way virtually every industry in the world operates – from farmers to physicians – by supporting people’s relationships with one another and their work. Just as eBay altered commerce, iTunes changed the music industry, and Amazon forever changed the corner bookstore, technology innovations are poised to transform and disrupt the decades-old ...
You may have begun to see funny-looking black and white squares (QR Codes) that look a bit like stamps stuck on advertisements in magazines. I really hadn’t paid attention (eyes rolled) because sometimes I get a bit wary when I hear about ANOTHER new techie thing. Who has time to keep up with all that? ...
Art, music, P.E., drama…do we need performing arts and physical education in our schools? Absolutely. There are some students who only come to school because they look forward to their art class. The same is true within the other disciplines. So, then why are these the first things to go when budgets are cut? What ...
Is your head in the clouds? It should be. If you are a school administrator or a board member, you may have never heard or thought about “cloud” technology. I mentioned the word the other day in an e-mail and was surprised to hear back that it meant nothing to the recipients. I would respond ...
Planning for accreditation can be an incredibly busy time for any district. Our plates are all full, as the tired saying reminds us, but we needed to collaborate on this extremely important sign and seal of our district work. And as with all things in a school district, working with adults is an excellent opportunity ...
If you’re like me, you’ve attended your fair share of meetings (staff meetings, board meetings, cabinet meetings…you name it.) Most of these meetings have had an agenda but many agendas were just SKELETONS, or basic outlines of the topics that will be presented, discussed or acted upon. So as we’ve had access to technology tools, ...
At the eBOARDsolutions User Conference in March 2011, I co-presented with Dr. Valery Hall of the Forsyth County Public Schools in Georgia. In her role of assisting both the superintendent and the board of education, Valery is integrally involved in preparing the agendas for their board’s meetings. Thus, our session involved agenda preparation and effective ...
Now that doing more with less is the new norm, how do you market and promote your school district and successful programs? Maybe it’s time for a brainstorming session with your school public relations professional. Don’t know where to start? I’ll kick the conversation off with these five freebies: Create desktop wallpaper and screensavers for ...
Over the last two decades I’ve worked with school systems (both administrators and teachers) helping them to more effectively use technology. In most of these cases, this has been in the service of a technology company such as Apple, Promethean or eBOARDsolutions. According to this Edupotia article “Shaping Tech for the Classroom” by Mark Prensky ...
Let’s face it. Not all board members are tech savvy. But more and more, it is so important that leadership can use technology to access important information (such as online meeting agendas, policies as well as news, registering for conferences…the list is endless). But what about the board members who’ve been led to the water ...
Georgia’s local school systems can ask their communities to pass a Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for additional revenue. Those pennies can really add up. That’s how we paid for our high school’s auditorium. To the school board, how do you get your community to support this initiative? First, if you’ve passed a SPLOST ...
Over the last few years, I asked many people from school districts this question, “Are your board meetings and policies online?” And I’ve been pretty content to hear the answer has most often been “Yes, they are.” “Great!” I think (until I go look on their website). In most cases, I’m finding a few PDF files ...
School leaders remain committed to the success of their students, schools and communities. The commitment grows even as the pressures of diverse student populations, continued budget deficits and a persistent lean economy. Based on No Child Left Behind legislation, parents are increasingly aware of school choice options which place additional pressure on educational leaders for ...
Video of Keith Ellenburg- Technology Director, Putnam County Schools Once upon a time, a board member looked around after a board meeting at all of the packets of paper in the board room and exclaimed aloud, “I wonder how many trees we’ve killed this year. We should be using technology to go paperless! They did ...
With tighter budgets than ever before in education, what do you do when the public questions the work of the board of education? This time of year when it seems like every citizen has something to say about the millage rate of their school system. Well, as board members, it’s imperative that we are transparent ...