10 Professional Development Books for Teachers

I have a colleague whose husband is working his way through the interview process for a middle school science position at a nearby school. He caught word from a friend who is also working there that the principal just loves to ask candidates about the last book they read relating to education. My colleague came to me for advice on what her hubby should read, and since only a few titles came to mind, I turned to my Twitter followers for help. Special thanks to @AngelaStockman, @marlawitkowski, @thor_winnipeg, and @vickyloras for suggestions. Extra special thanks to @newtechnetwork for the idea to post the results of my little survey.

Visible Learning for Teachers
By John Hatte

Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland? 
By Pasi Shalberg

The Answer is in the Room: How Effective Schools Scale Up Student Success
 By Alan M. Blankstein

Driven by Data: A Practical Guide to Improve Instruction
 by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo

Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College 
 by Doug Lemov and Norman Atkins

Changing the Way You Teach: Improving the Way Students Learn
By Giselle Martin-Kniep and Joanne Picone-Zocchia

Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time 
 by Vicki Davis Julie Lindsay

The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective, and Powerful Ways To Use Social Media to Drive Social Change by Jennifer Aaker, Andy Smith, Dan Ariely and Chip Heath

When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6-12 
 by Kylene Beers

The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education 
 by Diane Ravitch

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Making Connections with Blogging

Something strange has been going on around here lately. I noticed the other night that blog subscriptions through Feedburner have risen nearly 30% since the beginning of September, and the number of folks following the site has also been increasing in small increments. About a week ago, @timholt2007 posted a video he created that was inspired by one of my previous blog posts. Tonight, I was even greeted by four new comments to various blog posts when I logged in to the Blogger dashboard.

It's hard for me to describe how humbling it is when someone tells me that what I'm doing in my classroom and then sharing via my blog or Twitter feed has value to them. It's quite motivating, actually.

This is what blogging is all about - making connections, finding (and sharing) resources, and developing collegiality that extends far beyond the physical boundaries of geographical location. There is so much value in reading and writing blogs - it's a shame that more teachers don't take advantage.

Below is the video post created by Tim Holt. Watch it, enjoy it, then feel free to take a look around his blog too. And to everyone who wilfully listens to my ideas and tolerates my ramblings - thank you.

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It Must Be Nice

Tonight after dinner, I sat on a lawn chair in the garage and watched the kids color the driveway with chalk. They were quite absorbed in the activity, so I decided to use the time to catch up on some work. Here's a quick summary:

First I emailed the school secretary regarding a lost textbook. I received a call earlier today from an embarrassed parent who had accidentally donated it to Goodwill.

I followed that up with a reply email to the parent. Since I had my contacts up, I emailed a few other parents to give a heads up on final averages and the upcoming report cards being mailed home.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am using Edmodo to facilitate online book clubs over the summer. I logged into my account, replied to a few kids' questions, then posted links to book excerpts courtesy of Google Books. I also did a few quick comparisons and posted links to sites where the books were most affordable should they wish to purchase a copy.

Next, I realized supply orders were due today. I headed over to Staples.com, ordered pens, pencils, folders, and other supplies for my students, and sent out another email confirming the order.

I still had more to do - a parent letter to be sent home regarding Edmodo, final averages to be entered into the school data software and a mix cd I had promised to a student who had bonded with me through our shared interested in punk rock music - but at this point, our neighbor interrupted my progress. She called out a greeting from across the street and asked if I was done yet with school. I told her this was my last week but there was still a lot to do before wrapping up. She shouted back, "it must be nice only working nine months out of the year."

It would be nice. But don't ask me about it. I wouldn't know.

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A Typical Teacher Workday

I'm writing this on my iPod touch while waiting to get my oil changed. I'm sitting in a claustrophobic room with eight other people who are also waiting for work to be done on their vehicles.

**********

I figured it was going to be a bit of a wait (it always is) so I brought one of my school books to keep me company. I was pretty absorbed in my reading when a woman came in and sat down in the seat next to mine. I hardly noticed when she flipped open her laptop and started padding away. But when I looked up, I saw she had also pulled out a book - and it bore the unmistakable resemblance of a teacher's edition textbook. Sitting next to me was another teacher, and much like myself, she was trying to make good use of her time by writing lesson plans while at the automotive repair shop.

Ten minutes later another woman joined us. She carried a green canvas tote filled with wrinkled, dogged-eared papers that I immediately recognized as a formidable stack of homework. Without glancing in my direction, she took a seat in the opposite corner of the room and pulled out her red pen.

So here you have it. Three teachers, all waiting for their cars to be worked on, all doing schoolwork.

Did I mention it was 5:00pm?

There has been a lot of criticism regarding teacher salaries and one of the most enraging comments is that we practically work a part time job for full time pay.

I woke up at 5:30 this morning, and other than the 20 minutes spent driving got the car dealer, I haven't stopped yet.

Does that sound like a part time job to you?

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How do we Teach Future Teachers?

I remember the words of wisdom my supervising professor bestowed upon me shortly before I began student teaching as an undergraduate. He said, “you will learn more on the first day of teaching than you have during four years of college.” And you know what? He was absolutely correct.

The article, How Should we Teach our Future Teachers, released in July by the Associated Press addresses the sentiment my professor was trying to convey. New teachers are entering schools unprepared to face the job that lay before them.

The article begins by following the experiences of first year math teacher, Hemant Mehta. He explains that despite courses in pedagogy and education history, he struggled with basics like classroom management and was forced to find help on his own by means of web message boards, colleagues, and social networking sites like Twitter.

Mehta's story is not uncommon. This is because college programs focus largely on formal education and less on the “nuts and bolts” of the classroom. The article explains that this problem is difficult to solve because there is no national standard – every state is free to determine what is required of a teaching certification candidate. Fortunately, the government is beginning to get involved, and this may better align the states.

President Obama's budget includes a proposed expansion of the government's role in teacher training programs, which could infuse more than $400 million into preparing teachers for the classroom. This could be the push that could cahnge the focus from teaching education theory to teaching education craft.

This article addresses issues with teachers entering the workforce without adaquate training. This is only one part of the problem. From a district perspective, the real concern is what to do with new or newly hired teachers who have the gaps. Like my former professor explained, the best way to learn is by doing, but districts cannot afford to wait out the 2-3 year learning curve that most teachers experience. Districts need to consider this lack of skills and strategies with developing new teacher orientations and professional development.

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8 Suggestions for a Successful Open House

Exactly one year ago, I shared this brief anecdote explaining why I was intimidated by presenting at Open House.

For reasons not glaringly apparent, I went into this year's Open House without these reservations, and -belief it or not – even a little excited to speak with my students' parents. After, I got to thinking about what makes for a good Open House experience. Here's my list of suggestions.

Remember your audience
Some days when I come home from work and start a conversation with my wife, she'll interrupt me to remind me that I'm not at school and the teacher voice can be put away for the night. All teachers have this voice, although it's difficult to describe – it's somehow a combination of volume, speed, emphasis, and diction. During Open House, don't forget that you are talking to adults, not the kids that are usually sitting in front of you. Speak professionally, but save the teacher voice for their children.

Don't try to prove yourself
I had a first year colleague one year begin her Open House speech by explaining to parents that she had a master's degree in mathematics so her teaching should not be questioned since she was considered an expert on the subject. While her intentions may have been good – to establish herself as a competent and intelligent teacher – the result was a room full of parents thinking she was a pompous ass. Don't go out of your way to try and prove you are an exceptional teacher. If that really is the case, parents will realize it when their children are successful in your classroom.

Establish contact

Use Open House as an opportunity to establish some form of contact between yourself and parents. Make sure your phone/email is available. Parents who are dedicated enough to come to Open House will be the ones who are willing to contact you with a problem before it inflates to a major issue. You may also want to collect their contact info as well by using a sign in sheet with columns for an email address and phone number.

Classroom Feng Shui
I remember a conversation I had years ago with my own mother as I prepared for my first Open House as a teacher. I asked her what she wanted to get out of open houses back when she attended them for me and my brothers. She said simply that she wanted to see what a day in our shoes was like – where our lockers were, how long it took to get from one class to the next, and of course, what each room looked like. I try to keep this in mind when preparing for Open House. Make your room look nice – straighten up your desk and shelves, and maybe hang up some exemplary work. Remember that your room on Open House will be the mental image in parents' heads whenever your class in brought up at the dinner table.

Handouts
Make a handout for parents, but keep it brief. Contact information, teacher website address (if applicable), general curriculum outline, etc. I knew of a teacher who made sure one of the points addressed on her Open House pamphlet was the importance of remembering to bring a writing utensil. Open House is not really the time or place for this, and it certainly does not need to to printed somewhere for parents. If you aren't sure about a handout, write an outline of what you'd like to talk about on the front board and parents can jot down whatever they think is important.

Brevity is the key

Keep the recitation to a minimum. Parents are looking for a generalized understanding of your classroom experience for their child. You don't need to be very specific to do this sufficiently.

Time to Explore
If my school's Open House schedule gives me 15 minutes with each group of parents, I make sure that I wrap up my presentation with at least 5 minutes to spare. I then encourage parents to walk around the room and look at some student work, or I put out textbooks or novels that we will be using during the year, or I call up the class website/blog on a few of the computers. This gives the parents a few minutes to explore the classroom on their own.

Avoid conferences
Open House is intended to be a time for parents to get general information about their child's classes, however, some parents try and use it as a opportunity to sneak in a quick parent-teacher conference. This is an all around terrible idea, and should be avoided at all costs. If little Jimmy's mom starts discussing his poor test grades, two things will happen. You will be stuck talking with Jimmy's mom for far longer than you'd like, and you actually run the risk of possible legal trouble because it is unethical to be discussing one child when other parents are milling about within earshot. If a parent wants to talk specifics, encourage them to schedule a conference at a later time.

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How to Try Ubuntu Linux for Teachers

The conversation of open source software in education came up the other day while I was talking to our school tech integrator. Always happy to further the cause, I burned a copy of the most recent Ubuntu Linux release, and left it on his desk. I figured he would pop it in, see how incredible it is, and resolve to never boot up a Windows machine again. Instead, the next day when I asked him what he thought, he looked at me blankly and said that he didn’t even know what to do with the present I had left for him.

About a year ago, I wrote this post in the hopes of sharing my love of Linux operating systems with other teachers. Notice that exactly zero people commented? Me too.

Maybe I was being too assumptive about comfort level.

Let’s start over. Instead of agreeing to take the red pill and step out of the Windows Matrix forever, will you take a few minutes to just peek into what could be? This is absolutely hassle free – you lose nothing and make no changes to your computer. Here is how to get a glimpse into the world of Linux.

Part I – Download and prepare the operating system

Linux comes in a variety of flavors (just like there are different versions of Windows) with each having specific strengths, advantages, and features. Feel free to explore many of the popular distributions at distrowatch.com, but for this tutorial we’ll be focusing on one of the most popular, Ubuntu.

1. Go to http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu and download the most recent release, Ubuntu 10.04. This is a fairly large file so it may take a few minutes depending on your transfer speed.

2. In order for the computer to read this as an operating system and not just a folder containing a series of files, you will need to burn it onto a cd/dvd as an image. To do so, you will need a free program called InfraRecorder. Download this and install it.

3. Insert a blank cd/dvd into your burner and then run InfraRecorder. You will see a menu option that says “Write Image.” Click on this. If you are using a dvd, you can then click on the ok button to start burning. If you are using a cd, you will need to first click on the advanced tab at the top and select “allow overburning.”


4. When burning is complete you will have an entire operating system ready to use on a single disc! So far, so good!

Part II – Taking Ubuntu for a test drive

1. The beauty of Ubuntu is that you have the ability to boot and run the operating system from the cd. This means nothing will be saved, changed, or deleted from your computer. Testing out the operating system does nothing to your current computer configuration.

2. Restart your computer. You will need to tell the computer that you want to boot the contents of the cd rather than the operating system that is stored on the hard drive. To do so, you will have to access what is called the boot menu. When your computer first reboots, you probably see a splash screen that shows the brand of the computer (Dell, HP, ect). Somewhere on that screen there is a command that, when pressed, will let you change the boot options. It is usually either the Esc key or one of the function keys (I’m using a Dell right now, and the boot menu is accessed by pressing F12). Whatever key it may be on your computer, press it as soon as the computer restarts. If you see the Windows start up screen, you’re too late. Try it again.


3. Once in the boot menu, select the option the says CD-ROM. This will begin loading the contents of your freshly burned disc.

4. At this point your computer will start to flash commands that are reminiscent of The Matrix, however there is no need to be alarmed. Just sit tight and enjoy the show. When the start screen appears, choose Try Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. Do not choose the install option unless you want to permanently change the contents of your hard drive. Choosing the Try option will run Ubuntu off of the cd.


A Quick Note: You may notice that your computer may appear to be running slowly. This is not a fault of Ubuntu – in fact I actually find it to be as fast if not faster than Windows XP; however you need to keep in mind that you are demoing an operating system from a cd/dvd.

5. It’s time to explore! You will notice that the desktop is similar to that of a PC/Mac so it should be fairly intuitive to navigate. There are plenty of software packages that come pre-installed with Ubuntu – they are located in the Applications menu at the top right.

6. Ubuntu also has a handy feature called the Download Center. Rather than scouring the Internet for applications, the Download Center acts as a database for everything that will run hassle-free in this operating environment. Feel free to “install” anything you’d like. Again, because this is a demo, those applications will not be saved either to the cd or to your hard drive.

Conclusion

The whole purpose of this tutorial is to remove some of the intimidation and mystique behind Linux operating systems. Once the footwork is complete and you have a chance to explore Ubuntu as a user environment, hopefully you’ll realize that it’s not all that different from what you are currently using. Therein lays the advantage – why pay for Windows when you can have Linux for free?

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Is it Acceptable to Teach to the Test?

Today, my students finished the dreaded New York State 8th Grade English Language Arts exam.

We don’t score their work until late next week, but I took note of their behaviors as they took the test, and I'm hopeful as to their scores. I saw kids highlighting as they read, and the constant rustling of papers suggested that they all remembered to pre-read the multiple choice questions before reading the passages. On the extended response sections, kids were able to take the essay prompt and echo it in their introduction paragraphs. I even saw kids using my tip of going back and crossing out words to replace them with higher-level vocab. All of this leads me to one overwhelming conclusion:

I have done a very good job of teaching students how to take a state exam. I’m not sure how to feel about that, so I thought I’d weigh out my opposing views on the topic of preparing for generalized tests.

Argument Against Teaching to the Test
I remember one of my college professors standing stoically in front of the lecture hall announcing that good teachers, those who teach content and skills, will never need to resort to teaching to a test. I doubt many teachers will willingly step forward to dispute the need to focus on teaching content and skills, so this seems like a strong argument. Most district mission statements carry the underlying intent of preparing students to become productive contributors to society, and this can only be achieved with a strong foundation of knowledge and understanding.

Argument in Favor of Teaching to the Test
Much like communism, my former professor’s words of wisdom make sense in theory, but don’t apply smoothly in practice. For example, just because I have the skills to drive an automobile doesn’t exactly assure that I’m prepared to drive a tractor trailer. Skills change depending how they are applied. It’s the teacher’s job to not only teach the skills, but to prepare students for situations where those skills will be needed. The “test-taking tips” I witnessed my students using are all things that should be put into good practice when reading/writing anything – so what if they were taught in the context of a standardized test?

My Own Conclusion
A few hours before posting this I created this poll asking my 1200 Twitter followers to weigh in on the subject. So far, only 1 person has voted. Either this means I have fewer friends than I realize, or perhaps teaching to the test is something that teachers are a bit uncomfortable discussing. Do we all do it? As educators, is test prep or dirty little secret?

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3 Reasons Why Teachers Deserve Adequate Pay

Money and taxes are always topics of hot debate, but in light of the recent financial meltdown conversations surrounding these topics have become highly volatile. Take, for instance, Teachers are learning Economic Reality 101, an article that appeared yesterday in the Sunday edition of The Buffalo News. The comments on the online version were suspended less than 8 hours after the article ran due to "a high volume of submissions that violate The News’ guidelines."

If I can’t post comments on their website, I’ll do it on mine instead.

Reason #1 – Permanently or Professionally certified teachers in New York State have at least two degrees, one of which being a Master’s. It’s a simple equation – if you want highly qualified teachers, then you have to pay the going rate for a highly qualified professional. Some states (most, to be honest) only require a bachelor’s degree.

Reason #2 - New York State has extremely high expectations when it comes to standardized tests and the rigorous curriculum that it encompasses. I don’t expect gourmet when I order something off of the McDonald’s value menu (and I certainly know Curtis Stone isn’t the one preparing it). If you want a high quality product, it’s going to be reflected in the bill.

Reason #3 – While some may argue that this last point is a broad over-generalization, the sad truth is it is often too true – Teachers spend more time with your child than you do. We do more than teach the 3 Rs. It is in us that your child learns social skills, consequence, discipline, self-esteem, leadership, and a myriad of other skills that are needed to be a successful human being.

Teachers are worth Every Penny.

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The Fine Line Between Acceptable and Inappropriate Behavior With Students

In my school, teachers are allowed to celebrate the weekend early by dressing down on Fridays. I choose to do so by wearing jeans instead of my usual dress pants, and to compliment the casual look, I also lace up my favorite pair of Converse All-Stars. This has come to be known among my students as “Cool Shoes Friday.”

I don’t feel like this is inappropriate – my role in the classroom doesn’t get disrupted, I don’t look ridiculous, and my students don’t see me as any less of an authority figure because of it. If anything, my coveted pair of low tops actually helps me. My Friday attire humanizes me in the eyes of my students; those shoes serve as a gentle reminder that I’m not a robot that gets plugged in next to the laptop cart after the dismissal bell rings. Plus, my choice in footwear comes across as pretty hip. They don’t call it Cool Shoes Friday for nothing.

But there is a fine line to be walked between casual and unprofessional.

Take, for example, the recent incident involving North Carolina Social Studies teacher Rex Roland. His name hit mass media outlets Yahoo, AOL, and the Telegraph (to name just a few) this past weekend after repeatedly calling students “losers” both verbally and in written comments on homework assignments. His argument was that his informal banter was just part of his laidback teaching style, but this certainly seems like a thin excuse for such unprofessional behavior.

I sort of understand what he’s trying to get at though – relate to students by using their language. Perhaps he watched Dangerous Minds or The Principal a few too many times. Regardless of motives, you just don’t call your student a loser no matter how “real” you’re trying to be.

Much of what I wrote is assumptive – I don’t know what goes on in Mr. Roland’s classroom on a daily basis, and I certainly don’t know what was going on in Mr. Roland’s head when he wrote “minus 20% for being a loser” on a student’s homework. I actually emailed him requesting an informal interview for my blog so that he would have an outlet to explain some of his actions, but it was not been returned. My guess is that his silence is the result of a gag order imposed by the school district. Perhaps they should have suggested he keep his mouth shut before this incident took place.

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3 Reasons Why Teachers Should Blog

A blog is better than a resume


I’ve been chosen several times to sit on a hiring committee for my school. After each applicant leaves the formal interview, the informal one begins. I Google his/her name, email address, former place of employment – anything that may bring up something that will help us make the best possible decision for our students. Most times I find a password-protected Facebook account (at least they know how to stay discreet), but occasionally I find some comments on a message board, or even a blog.

These things give us a better picture of who the candidate is. The formal interview shows us that they know how to dress nicely and can (hopefully) proofread their resume, but a blog tells the whole story. You want to know a teacher’s educational philosophy? Have them write a dozen or so posts, and it will naturally emerge. The results will be more insightful than any pre-practiced interview question response.

Practice what you preach

Teachers not writing regularly is the same as a child being scolded to eat his vegetables while his mother dumps hers into the garbage disposal.

But there’s more to it than just the obligation to write.

Ideally, every student graduating from high school with have the ability to write. They learn how to write opinion pieces, compare/contrast expositions, research papers. We teach them the skills, but we don’t make them enjoy using them. They learn writing, but rarely feel writing. Shouldn’t teachers model the idea of writing for personal enjoyment rather than how to write to a rubric or complete a graphic organizer?

Reflection

Much of the teaching experience happens after the lesson. For most, it’s during the car ride home from work when we think about what went on in our classes – what went well, what flopped, what can be done better next time, how we can build on the experience. Putting these ideas into a blog makes them more substantial.

Take, for example, this blog post right now. I’m sitting here sifting through all the reasons why I enjoy keeping a blog. By doing so, I’m getting more out of the experience than if I were to just be thinking about it to myself. Meta-reflecting, I suppose. By putting it into my blog, I am responsible for it – and responsible for holding myself to whatever conclusion I arrive at.

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Introduction to Podcasting for Teachers

A colleague and friend of mine pulls double duty as both a literacy specialist in my building and a professor for Niagara University, which is located a few miles down the road. Every semester she convinces me to come in to give a guest presentation on something related to technology integration.

I've flirted with the idea of teaching at the college level, so I take it as good practice. It's a good opportunity for me to pass on some of my own experiences to folks that can hopefully benefit from my trials and tribulations. What can I say? I also love being the center of attention.

I'm planning on presenting early next month on Web 2.0 tools that promote literacy across all content areas (if you have some good ideas, please leave them in the comments!), but while hunting through my old presentation files, I stumbled upon this one. Several years ago I presented on how to use podcasts in the classroom. Before getting into the why, I wanted to make sure everyone understood the what and the how. I made this handout as a resource for teachers looking to explore the possibilities of podcasts.

Hopefully it's valuable to you.

Introduction to Podcasting for Teachers

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Are Schools Safe From Swine Flu?

Last night I had the unfortunate duty of attending a wake service for a distant relative. Crammed with myself in the funeral parlor was about 70 other mourners, and despite the grief and the sadness that always accompanies these occasions, I couldn’t help but think about all the potential germs being shared in the form of condolences. For a minute there, I felt myself getting sucked into Swine Flu hysteria.

In general, every American is feeling this same nagging concern. If not at a funeral, in restaurants, out shopping, while traveling, or anywhere else that requires some form of physical proximity to another human beings. Schools in particular seem to be, by many reports, the epicenter of the Swine Flu epidemic.

The Iroquois Central School District announced yesterday evening that they had reached an 18% absence rate due to ill faculty and students. According to NY state law, 20% absenteeism warrants closing school. (Here's the letter sent home to parents by the superintendent.) Other schools are attempting to curb the spread of germs by installing hand sanitizing stations in every room and hallway.  Considering I spend most of my waking life in a school, should I be concerned?

Nah.

Is it surprising that schools are germ-ridden places? Kids, by nature, are germy creatures. Somehow the classic depiction of boys with dirty fingernails and toads in their pockets has gone from innocent adolescence to the cause of all the world’s ills. Kids and schools haven’t gotten any dirtier – just our perception of them.

Anyone working in a school quickly learns how to stay healthy, just like any firefighter is quick to figure out how to avoid being burned on the job. I learned two important lessons after getting deathly ill during my first year teaching: Never eat and grade papers at the same time, and take all necessary precaution to touch your food as little as possible (regardless of how clean you think your hands may be). In fact, I still eat my sandwich everyday by using the Ziploc bag as a makeshift plastic glove. This has nothing to do with Swine Flu – it’s just what teachers do.

The same hysteria surrounding Swine Flu was what panicked parents and school personnel during the 2004 SARS outbreak, and again during 2007 with MERSA. Did people get sick? Yes – life threatening for some. But does that mean we need to use this outbreak as a reason to redefine how schools are operated? Probably not. If your school’s custodial staff is doing what they’re supposed to, and you are taking reasonable health precautions, things should be just fine.

Last night after leaving the claustrophobic funeral home, I found myself doing a mental examination of my body. Was my stomach feeling upset, or was it just hunger pains from a light dinner? Was that a sore throat coming on? All psychosomatic symptoms of nothing at all.

I have to wonder how many of those 18% absent in Iroquois were going through the same mental checklist as they called in sick. The sooner we push past this Swine Flu hysteria, the better we’ll all feel.

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One-To-One Computing

When it comes to technology in education, we often get caught up in the hype and dazzle of the newest gadget, and as a result we focus on the what and omit the how. It's like buying the fanciest watch without knowing how to tell time.

I was thinking about this Monday night during a meeting for my district's one-to-one computing initiative. Providing a safe and effective environment for more than 3,000 students is certainly an incredible undertaking, so understandably much of our discussion has been on the physical components. What netbook to choose? How will machines be rolled out? What will be protocol for damaged equipment?

The committee is well-managed and is on its way to ironing out the wrinkles in the what end of things. Now for the how.

Training on the actual machines and training on how to incorporate into daily lessons needs to be synchronous. If teachers don't know the capabilities of the hardware then the whole initiative fails. If teachers don't know how to effectively exploit those capabilities then the whole initiative fails. But how do you show one teacher how to foster collaborative work environments, for example, while simultaneously teaching another how to plug in and recharge a laptop battery?

Maybe the question can be summed up as "What should come first - the hardware training or the pedagogy for technology integration?" The answer is yes.

Our building technology integrator made an interesting observation about my habits with technology. He told me that I tend to find something and jump in head first. Completely true. Luckily though, my ratio of perfect swan dives to terrible head injuries is in my favor. And when I do jump in head first only to find the water too shallow, what's the worst that can happen? I pick up the pieces of a shattered lesson, and learn from my mistakes.

On the small scale of my daily lessons this is a risk worth taking, but on the grand scale of a district looking to implement one-to-one computing, we need to be more assertive in addressing the needs of the teachers. Teach the teachers, and one-to-one has the opportunity to become a revolution.

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10 Things New Teachers Need to Know

1. You will get sick during the first month of school. Starting a teaching career is like sucking on a roll of nickels. Eventually your body becomes immune, but until then it is going to make you very, very sick.

2. When your administrator says he/she has something "cool" for you try, you are about to be suckered into volunteering for something no other teacher was willing to commit to (but you'll do it because you're nontenured).

3. Secretaries and custodians run the school. Be very nice to them.

4. Inspirational posters don't inspire you or the kids. Don't waste your money. Other than the iconic-because-it's-so-stupid Never Give Up poster, do you remember any of the posters hanging around you during your k-12 experience? Exactly.

5. If your students ask if it is your first year teaching, lie. Admitting that you have no experience standing in front of a group of kids will incite a feeding frenzy worthy of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.

6. No matter how great your lesson is, if it involves something on page 69 of the textbook, your students are going spend the period giggling and whispering. To make it worse, if you teach a grade lower than high school, they probably won't know why they're laughing. It's just something American culture seems to breed into them. Kind of like standing for the pledge.

7. You will spend hours each night carefully marking homework and student work with comments, feedback, and well-intentioned notes of encouragement. After handing them back, your students will throw them away immediately without reading a single word of your carefully crafted response.

8. Your coworkers have been working together for a long time, without you there. Be prepared for awkward moments when they reflect on the "good old days" which, incidentally, were from a time before you worked there. Don't take it personally. Similarly, if you filled a position vacated by a retiree, be ready for people to spend the first 10 weeks or so telling you how much they miss seeing your predecessor.

9. If you wake to find some fresh acne on your face, don't worry that kids might notice. Rest assured that they will absolutely notice - and they'll call you out on it in the middle of class.

10. You will learn to hold it. Teachers tend to drink lots of coffee, and bathroom breaks are never as often as they need to be.

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Is it Possible for Teachers to Have an Anonymous Online Life?

A colleague came to me this morning asking if some of our students had tried friending me on Facebook; she had three requests last night.

Earlier this year, a few giggling kids approached me to ask about something I had posted on my Twitter account. They had found it while Googling the names of their teachers.

Even this blog has been discovered by inquisitive students who spotted its title in my list of favorites.

Is the concept of online anonymity gone? Is it a myth – something people claim to have, but can’t confirm (like spotting a Sasquatch, Chupacabra, or the Loch Ness monster)? Are we experiencing the 21st century equivalent of looking up a teacher’s phone number in the white pages and pranking the daylights out of him/her?

The optimist would say that this issue can be resolved by becoming completely transparent. Share everything; show you have nothing to hide. This does have some merits, like sharing your blog with students so they can see firsthand the rewards of writing for pleasure. But all it takes is one comment, taken out of context, and there’s a problem.

But shutting everything down and denying the existence of a web footprint is just as incriminating for a teacher. If you don’t want kids to know something, it’s probably bad, right? Maybe, maybe not – but that’s how the adolescent mind works.

So how do teachers deal with a loss of online anonymity?

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