Think Beyond

The rise of the nomad

2009-09-10T02:04:00.000-07:00

New post on my website blog
http://thinkbeyond.co.nz/2009/09/the-rise-of-the-nomad/
Check it out

National Curriculum

2009-08-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

New blog post is on my website http://thinkbeyond.co.nz/2009/08/killing-the-golden-goose/

New blog set up

2009-07-31T22:18:00.000-07:00

Most of my blog postings will now be housed on my new website, so go to the new blog and share with me. My latest posting is related to the frustrations of sticky labels on fruit. Is it just me or do other people find this silly? Check out my blog at http://thinkbeyond.co.nz/blog/

Reconciliation

2009-07-19T01:17:00.000-07:00

Robben Island Prison

The word reconciliation pops up a lot in South Africa. When we were at Robben Island yesterday there was a clear message that many people have moved on and want to learn from the past injustices of apartheid rather than dwell on it. I continue to be in awe of those who believed that people should be treated fairly and who stood firm, yet peacefully (mostly) for the cause. Robben Island is where Nelson Mandela and others were imprisoned. Conditions were harsh and they were treated differently according to race.

In the evening we were treated to wonderful hospitality from my NZ friend Tim Barnett, who is now running the World Aids Foundation, based in Cape Town. He introduced our group to Father Mike Lapsley, a New Zealander who stood firm against apartheid. As a result he was sent a parcel bomb, which blew off his hands and removed sight in one eye. He now runs the Institute for Healing Memories in Cape Town and is the NZ Consul there.

I am a firm believer in the power of leadership to make a difference. There is something persistent about these men and women who knew that something was deeply wrong with the apartheid system and found ways to deliver that message. Leadership is courageous, persistent and forgiving. Each of these people had a strong sense of who they were and how we should function as a humane society.

No hope no reason to be here

2009-07-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

View from Table Mountain

I came to Cape Town full of hope that there were things I could do to support teachers here. At times it is easy to be despondent and then others where you know the work you do is relevant. This was demonstrated to me when I went to a meeting of national speakers here in Cape Town. I went along to one of their meetings with my friend Anney. As a member of the National Speakers' Association of New Zealand I wanted to see what they did at their meetings here. I am not going to go into the details of the meeting, except to say there were two interesting speakers who gave us a different perspective on Cape Town! What was special was the conversation we were able to have with people in the breaks and the insight we were able to gain from others.

David Grier was one of these special people. He gave me a copy of his book, which is just about to be launched. "Hope in Thyme" is the story of his journey to run around the coast of South Africa, approx 3500 km in 80 days. The money raised was to provide operations to fix cleft palettes. He is one example of people who care about their country and want to make a difference to others. His book is truly magnificent - amazing photos and journey. I would like to share a quote from the forward of his book:

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

The people I work with stretch my capacities and at the same time are generous in their time and commitment. This afternoon I had a cup of tea in the women teachers' quarters at The Ark. Each teacher has their own small space and has made this into their home. Our welcome was warm and we sat around and chatted as we would do with any other friends. While the environment was very different from our own, the interactions were comfortable and warm. They shared what they had, even giving us sun glasses to wear tomorrow on our visit to Robben Island.

This is a place of hope and the teachers we work with are committed. Otherwise there would be no point in us being here. While the way forward can sometimes be unclear I believe that strong relationships are key. These cross cultures and countries. They are the principles of life that make a difference.

The face of Cape Town people

2009-07-16T09:26:00.001-07:00

Over the last week I have been privileged to meet a wide range of people from all sorts of backgrounds and experiences. Their stories of growing up in Cape Town have had a profound effect on me. Most of them just get on with life and are not bitter about any negative things that happened to them in the past. There are lessons to be learnt from this.

Earlier in the week we gave out food in a squatter camp. My heart went out to the children and the difficult conditions that they live in. Many of them in the camp we visited do not go to school, have no books or toys, no electricity and no sanitation. There is much to be done. Yet relationships are key, just as anywhere. You can see a wonderful example of this in the photo below. The family we gave the food to immediately started cutting it up and sharing it with others in the community. They had an abundance mentality and considered others as well as themselves.

These people had little, but they worked together. In another part of the camp it was all in for self. Two different reactions. This is no different from what I think might happen in my own community. There are some people that are willing to share and others who consider only themselves. This is the same (if not more so) for the wealthy in this world. All I can do is reflect on what I can do to help others and realise that I am not able to make a difference to many people. However, if I let this be a barrier, nothing changes. One small ripple can have profound effects, even if it is only in the lives of one or two people. What can I do to get to the root cause, to help people at a significant level? I have few answers. South Africa is teaching me many things and giving me many lessons in life. I treasure the opportunity and value the many extraordinary people I am meeting from many walks of life.

The African Experience

2009-07-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

Next week I am off to South Africa to do some voluntary work in The Ark Christian School. I am going as part of a team from the Rata Teachers' Support. Several months ago we got together in Cambridge to plan what we would do over there. We have a team going to Cape Town and a new group going to Ghana.

We will be working with teachers and leaders to build their teaching skills. This will include working with the teachers from The Ark and running a conference for local teachers. Developing an understanding of needs for learners in the 21st century is as important in South Africa as anywhere. How can we support teachers to build student skills in literacy and numeracy while also building their ability to think critically and creatively?

Why am I going?
We all have a role in supporting others. Organisational psychologist Wilf Jarvis, describes one level above self actualisation in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. He talks about the importance of self transcendence - the willingness to think beyond your own needs and to help others. This is something I want to get better at - to practice empathic leadership. I am very conscious on this trip that my main role will be listening to what The Ark teachers want, how they view the world and how they see us supporting them. I know so little of their world so it is a good chance to practice active listening and ask inquiring questions!

In a past life I was a teacher and principal. I was (and still am) constantly talking about the needs of learning for the future and what competencies students might need in order to thrive. In particular, risk taking stands out as important in this journey. Teachers talk about the need for their students to take risks but very rarely take any risks themselves, let alone expect it of their students. Teaching is a risk averse profession, so I guess when I left it I took a risk! This trip to South Africa is about me giving to others and growing from the experience. Stepping out of your comfort zone is the best way to grow so that is what I am going to do and if it encourages even one other person to get uncomfortable - that's great too!

Initial Thinking
In preparation for my trip I have been reading many books, exploring the internet, talking to those who have been to the Ark previously and thinking a lot about how I may be able to contribute. The following TED Talk by Patrick Awuah provided me with some insight. Although Patrick is from Ghana I believe there are many common ideas for South Africa and indeed for the world. Check it out for yourself.

Patrick says. "We must believe that these kids are smart...If we give them skills to engage the real world that magic will happen." This requires strong leadership that is based in sound ethical behaviour and a vision for the future.

If one small pebble makes a ripple in the water, doesn't that make a difference? I believe so. I don't think that is niave - I think that is hope.

So over the next three weeks join me on the journey.

Toughen up

2009-05-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a framework for educational leaders and it has really reinforced for me the importance of self leadership. If we don't build our internal understandings of self it is extraordinarily difficult to understand others. The development of self awareness and self management can be grown in a number of ways. One of the most important ways is through receiving feedback. I'm not talking about a one off approach, but a regular way of listening to what others have to say and changing based on this feedback (or at least contemplating the feedback and choosing not to change!) Feedback should feed forward to next steps in learning otherwise why bother getting feedback. Never have the skills of dialogue and listening been so important.

In talking to a group of school leaders recently the scenario was posed of a teacher who was underperforming. They moved the students forward in terms of test results but they did so through fear. The school leader had given feedback to the teacher on several occasions but nothing had changed. Some students thrived, others survived. My question in these circumstances is always "So would you be happy if your child or grandchild was in that class?" I'm not talking about it necessarily being a first choice, but that you would be satisfied, at the very least. When leaders think about this question they often have an 'aha' moment and in many cases they come back with the answer 'No.' If no is the answer then leaders must be proactive in dealing with the issue, not skirt around the concern. This is about the future of a group of students year after year. If it ain't good enough for your child or grandchild it ain't good enough - full stop.

Yes, this can create industrial issues and it does get tricky. It is the leader's job to confront inadequate performance; to follow the rules, but to move things forward - consistently, rigorously and relentlessy. This may involve further development of the teacher in more explicit ways, and it may result in the teacher ultimately leaving the school. Working through such issues is really hard work and some school leaders do not feel they have the skills to confront them. In some cases, through not dealing with the issues when they first arose, and not investing in the development of high quality professional learning - they have exacerbated the problem.

Leaders must be proactive. They must first look to their own behaviour and explore what needs to be changed. What have I been doing (or not doing) that has led to this problem? What do I need to do to build my skills? Personal courage is needed as a school leader. Self aware leaders will understand that empathic and ethical behaviour is crucial at such times and they will act accordingly. A self aware school leader knows that they personally impact on students through their own behaviour and the way they model to the adults in the organisation. An unrelenting focus on doing the best for all students and developing a school community that lives and breathes this too - that's the challenge. So if the question is "Would you be happy to have your child or grandchild in that class?" and the answer is "No" take action.

Build Others - Stay Sane

2009-04-15T05:02:00.000-07:00

People are overwhelmed with the sheer complexity of things to do and torn between the various commitments in their life, both at work and at home. Some of this is caused by the pace of change, the expectations of others and the nature of our work environments. Workload is killing us. The Japanese have a word for this phenomenon - Koroshi - literally death by overwork. Stress in low doses is good for you - this is called eustress. Stress in high doses is bad for you - this is called distress and in its worse form - death. I am more in favour of eustress than distress, personally.

Today I have friends visiting. We have had a wonderful time together and I haven't had so many belly laughs for a long time. Liz and I walked up the hills of Sumner admiring the views and talking about anything that entered our heads at the time. I don't do enough of this, do you? And yet exercise, laughter and friends are a winning combination.

I reminded me of the survey I asked educators to fill in towards the end of 2008. This survey asked some key questions about their competency in relating to others. It was a self rating survey and the results were very interesting. It was no surprise that the following question was rated lowest by respondents:

There are two main problems with lack of delegation. The first is that it can led to distress because we try to do everything ourselves. It will be quicker after all, we won't have to fix others' mistakes and we know how it should be done. Koroshi here we come!

The second issue is important too. By not delegating we are stealing from others who have the ability to perform. Our role as leaders is to build the capacity of others so that they can grow their own abilities, and in doing so succession is more likely to be assured. In order to delegate it is important to understand a person's strengths and build on these. What are the person's productive skills for that particular task? Do they have the constructive energy for the task? Consider these elements in order to delegate appropriately. Build the skills of others on purpose, for if you do everything yourself they will never learn. Your employees, colleagues and family will be trapped in a dependency model and may very well resent their lack of power. Develop their abilities to be resilient and to cope with stress positively. This implies building strong relationships and knowing the needs and capabilities of those around you.

I'm not going to rush off and shed my workload, or abdicate my responsibilities. But maybe there are some things that others want to learn and to take control of. Maybe I should start by asking them what I am doing that they could be doing. Maybe I could identify others' strengths to build on and support them to have a go. Maybe I could live for a few more years in a non-koroshi state...now that's appealing...

Perturbation

2009-04-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

I am getting perturbed. For a while I have been pondering where we are heading with educational leadership. I have read the latest books by Michael Fullan and I think he makes some good points. Trouble is there is a little voice nattering in my right ear... "but is that going to be enough in the future?" My worry is that we keep talking about leadership of schools from a past paradigm and I have a sneaking suspicion we need to move on... In fact it's more than sneaking...it's perturbing.

When I read the blogpost from Singapore Education Consultants, Education in Singapore - TIMMS and the "New Stupid" it confirmed my thinking. The blog quotes Mike Schmoker as raising the question whether the data that that has been collected by schools promotes 21st-century teaching and learning? Those schools that are achieving high test scores in the model of today's education say why would we change - we are successful. Schmoker's argument is that you can increase test scores without offering students tasks that are intellectually stimulating.

So if we are saying that students need to be multiliterate, to think for themselves, problem solve, think critically, be self aware, be flexible and relate to others why are we measuring learning in the same old ways. Can't we have 'and-both'? As leaders, what are we doing to drive education forward for new times? Measurement using educational standards have been tried in a number if countries with dubious success. Unintended results include teaching to the test, and the narrowing of the curriculum to be mainly focused on literacy (from a narrow perspective) and numeracy. Is that enough to create leaders for the future? I don't think so.

So here are some key questions to think about for principals and administrators:
What do we consider the essential competencies or dispositions for the 21st century to be?
Does the data we collect enhance learning for the 21st century?
Are we looking out to other schools, or beyond schools to other educational learning centres, beyond educational frames to look at global trends, busines, web 2.0...
What literacies do we need for the 21st century - just reading and writing?
What are we going to do about it?

Information that counts

2009-03-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

At the airport yesterday I was talking to a colleague who works for a very successful large organisation. The conversation turned to planning for the future and the use of typical strategic planning tools such as the SWOT and the PEST. His frustration was that the company saw these tools as 'an annual event', completing their strategic development for that year. They even had templates for all of the steps so that it was seamless and basically ended up the same as the previous year. We couldn't help but agree that something seemed wrong here. So here are several observations:

1) As soon as you lose the ability to be flexible and nimble you are in danger of moving backwards. You don't see the outward signs of change, don't have a chance to prepare or to consider a range of possible scenarios. Businesses need to focus on building creativity into their strategy. Some would say that the age of strategic planning is over.
2) Scanning the environment is an ongoing process not an annual event. In today's economic climate businesses can't afford to miss the weak signals. Things change - fast! Miss it and it may have a profound effect on your organisation.
3) Data can choke an organisation. It can create it's own life and before you know it the technicians and data gatherers are running your organisation. And slowly freedoms disappear, new ideas have to be run through the system and are suddenly too hard to implement. Meanwhile the data gathers momentum. It ceases to have relevance, becomes overwhelming and the collected for the sake of it. If only half the data is used in an organisation think of the hours that have been wasted...
4) The PEST analysis can be a bit of a pest and here's why. It can fail to keep the focus on the values of the organisation and the fundamental moral and ethical ideas that underpin who we are. This is why many of our organisations lose direction. The STEEPV (Social, Technological, Economic, Ecological, Political, Values) is a better tool for environemental scanning. It maintains an outward focus while also holding true to the core beliefs and non-negotiable moral imperatives of the organisation.

Let's focus on developing systems that encourage us to continually look both inside and outside our organisations, that value useful information and that provide flexible knowledge development based on the needs of the future.

Beyond Linear Leadership

2009-03-04T19:03:00.000-08:00

When you add people into the mix things get messy. Isn't it a darn shame that 'those others' ruin our well designed plans, forget to follow policies and don't tow the line?

One of the things that worries me is that we have become so obsessed with measuring things, that we narrow down what we do into small chunks of 'manageboxes'. These boxes allow us to measure something, whether it will have a significant positive impact or not. This mechanistic view holds us back at the very time in the history of the world when different thinking is needed.

In his latest presentation, Sir Ken Robinson talks about 'The Element', which he describes as when natural talent meets a passion. This is made up of ability, aptititude and attitude.

Linear leadership does not develop 'The Element.' It simply shuts people down without considering the many talents they may bring to their organisation. We should instead work on an organic or ecological metaphor, one which understands that things evolve over time, take complex roads, weave back on each other...in other words they get messy.

When I wrote Keeping the Fleas Motivated several years ago I suggested that organisations must have those who think differently, who challenge the status quo, who are what Seth Godin refers to as heretics. I love his quote, in Tribes: " Life's too short to hate what you do all day. Life's way too short to make mediocre stuff. And almost everything that is standard is now viewed as mediocre."

In difficult economic times it is easy to pull back to linear thinking, when what is needed is systems thinking. We are all responsible for moving our organisations forward. To do this we need thinkers of all types, working together and being prepared to make mistakes. Look for the possibilities and ways of producing an environment which is personal rather than standardised. Otherwise mediocrity will prevail.

Great Teachers need great leadership

2009-02-05T12:00:00.000-08:00

My last entry mentioned building teacher excellence. And this week a TEDTalk by Bill Gates talked exactly about that! You can check out what he says through the TED Fellows 2009 blog

What Bill Gates is talking about is how important great teachers are. As he says in his Annual Letter on US Education 2009 "it is actually more important to get him [the student] assigned to a great teacher than to a great school." It is the role of schools and school leaders to develop good teachers and that is why we should be focussing on really supporting schools - financially and through strong professional learning. He emphasises the importance of building a strong school culture, of having high expectations of staff and students and providing challenging work. The schools that are making the biggest difference are those that focus on supporting teachers to be effective in the classroom. And that is the role of leadership. He comments:

...we believe improving education is the key to retaining our position of world leadership in all areas, including starting great businesses and doing innovative research.

In other words education is fundamentally important, especially as we move through difficult times. We must replicate what works best (which implies a need to analyse what does work best first!), and find innovative ways of leading staff in their own learning. Bureaucratic rules that get in the way of effective teaching need to be removed. Compliance deadens creativity. Even unions can get in the way of change. And poor principal development can stymy the growth of powerful learning communities.

Technology, the easy access of information and the greater ability to collaborate have helped leaders and teachers to learn from each other and to teach in creative ways. This networked environment is crucial in moving schools forward...in order to move teachers forward. It is interesting to note, in the NZ context, that the Ministry of Education seem to be placing less emphasis on the use of technology or the future focus of student needs. Currently teachers are provided with laptops and free license agreements to use key software. If the NZ Ministry of Education, as is rumoured, withdraws these supports we will be taking a step into the dark ages and the whole idea of preparing students for the future will have another barrier put in its way. What does that say about building our position in world leadership?

And if you want to see Bill Gates TEDTalk - here it is hot off the press!

How should high performing teachers be recognised?

2009-02-03T10:30:00.000-08:00

We have some great teachers in schools, but let's face it we also have some mediocre ones. So how should teachers be 'rewarded' for excellence and what would 'excellence' look like?

Many companies have a component of their salary that is 'at risk', depending on performance. My experience with this is that it doesn't necessarily make a difference to performance and indicators are often inexact and based on linear thinking. Even companies that focus on a quadruple bottom line fdo not always identify what makes a difference. Internationally, organisations have typically bowed to CEOs by supporting large bonuses for dubious success. This has led to a breed of business executives who are greedy, self serving and sometimes dishonest. Is this the model we would want in our schools? Do we want individuals to focus on the team or on themselves? It is an interesting debate and one that I do not have an answer for.

There is no doubt however, that we need to manage talent more powerfully in order to maintain the great teacher leaders in the profession. I recently conducted a survey on twtpoll asking how great teachers should be recognised. Although the sample is small it makes for interesting reading.

People do want recognition. They do need to feel valued by the organisation and to feel that they are listened to. With an increasingly diverse workforce employers do need to be more flexible, be open to different work combinations and provide for the ongoing learning of staff. If principals, and other organisational leaders, don't get this right they may find themselves with disengaged staff or those whose performance is questionable. In difficult times it is even more important that we keep our staff growing and building their skills.

Some schools would say they need to focus on the development of the team more than the individual and I do support the need to build a strong professional learning community. As well though (not instead of), schools need to think differently about growing staff. Maybe there is more opportunity for staff to be individual contractors and being paid accordingly. Or is it time to work hard to support all teachers to be of an exceptional standard? And to suggest that some teachers might be better suited to other occupations? In my book teachers are role models who make a difference to students - either positively or negatively - and all teachers need to be competent leaders of themselves and others. Principals must provide strong professional learning opportunities, confront poor performance and develop leadership in others. Or get out of the way of the future.

Anarchic thoughts

2009-01-17T21:11:00.000-08:00

Everybody has a viewpoint on schooling and each viewpoint comes from a position of experience in one form or another. For many, it is based upon the fact that at some time in their lives they went to school. The experience might have been joyous or destructive; meaningful or meaningless. Each experience depended on the school and its fit for the particular student. It depended on the values and beliefs that the student and his or her parents had about schooling. And it depended on the unique interaction between each individual student and the people they interacted with at school and in the community.

In his latest book
Weapons of Mass Destruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling John Taylor Gatto reflects on schooling from one point of view. His view comes from that of an informed educator and leader, but it is still one person's opinion. Gatto has had many years pondering the state of compulsory schooling and so perhaps his opinions hold more sway.

Like many, I believe Gatto's viewpoints have a great deal of merit, although they relate particularly to the systems of education in the USA. Even though other countries may say that's not what education is like in our country, there are many 'dark worlds' for students in every education system. Is it time to move forward in our whole definition of a school and maybe to even ponder if we need to look for a whole new metaphor of learning? New times need new ways.

But let's hang on here. There are some good things that happen in 'traditional schooling' and some not-so-good things happening with new approaches to learning. Do we have to have an either-or? With the increasing diversity in the world, within countries and even within small geographical areas we must move to an and-but understanding. Don't try and ram one type of education down the throats of all. Let models of education be more flexible in approach. Concentrate on developing great relationships that build knowledge, skills, values and attitudes from the needs of the students.

My next few postings will be dedicated to how leaders can be more flexible - from the Ministry of Education, to principals and to teacher training establishments. Rigidity prevents innovation and right now we need lots of innovation...

Networked Leaders

2009-01-05T18:24:00.000-08:00

Educators often say to me that they don't have time to read, research or keep up to date with new ideas. They are too busy doing stuff!!

I recently came across this video on connectivism, created by Wendy Drexler. The video shows the power of connections and how the development of networks can help find information more quickly and effectively. This is not just needed for teachers but also for educational leaders. As leaders it is worth taking the time to develop these skills in ourselves, knowing that by doing so we will save time in the long run. It is a bit like the story of the person so busy pulling people out of the river that he doesn't have time to go upstream and see why people are falling in the river in the first place.

Leaders must be knowledgeable - in research as well as practice. Michael Fullan talks of the need for school principals to move back to instructional (pedagogical) leadership, spending less time on the bricks and mortar and more on student learning. For this to happen leaders need time. Some would argue that the system works against having this time and to some extent this is true. However, there are principals who do find the time - because they realise the vital importance of preparing the learning beds - getting the soil right and planting the most important crops. Just as, in the video, a good teacher makes connections to help students develop skills, so do educational leaders.

In his latest book Visible Learning, John Hattie synthesises over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Educational leaders can use this summary to determine what they may need to work on next in their school. If school leaders are to spend time on instructional matters they should focus on what matters. Some of the key ideas from the article include the importance of feedback, challenge and relationships. His model of Visible Teaching-Visible Learning is this:

When teachers SEE learning through the eyes of the student
When students SEE themselves as their own teachers
(Hattie, 2009:238)

So to bring it back to connectivism and using networks to find out information quickly, here are some links to Hattie's new ideas:
Sunday News article on Hattie's thinking, including his thoughts on rewarding excellent teachers
Twitter Poll asking the question How should great teachers be recognised? What do you think?

As a leader, what connections will you make? How will you get more information, share and connect with others?

John Hattie's book can be purchased through fishpond (see the link on this blog)

You don't need to be an expert...

2008-12-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

Have you heard leaders say "I never ask others to do something that I wouldn't do myself"? This presumes they are the font of all knowledge. Good leaders realise that they do not know it all, cannot do it all, and should not do it all. Great leaders realise that they need to delegate and build capacity in others. Here is an example. The video below illustrates how teachers can help students by developing their own skills in the use of web 2.0 tools. They don't need to be experts!

JustOneThing

Great leaders realise that they need to continue to develop their own skills, seeking feedback and feeling a little uncomfortable sometimes. They seek to understand their colleagues through developing strong relationships and realise that all are leaders in their own areas of knowledge and skills. There is a greater chance of developing expertise in others when a leader knows when to control, coach, partner or consult. As a keen advocate of the Four Quadrant Leadership programme, developed by Wilf Jarvis, I have pondered on this whole issue of leading others over many years. Great leaders know how to delegate and do so on purpose. Using the video as an example, consider these questions to help determine whether to delegate:

How well can they manage the task (job efficiency)?
In the case of students with web 2.0 tools many would be able to manage the technologies better than many teachers (the 'leaders' in this scenario).

What is their level of energy to complete the task? Are they highly motivated? Ambivalent? Defensive?
In using web 2.0 tools many students would be motivated.

So if those you lead are highly capable of doing the task and are highly motivated to do so - don't stand in their way. Be there - but let them be! If they need skill development then help them develop the skills. In doing so look to others - of all ages - to build capacity. Great leaders knowingly develop the efficiency of others, they do not seize control or pretend they are the expert in all things.

Thinking of giving to others at Christmas

2008-12-15T13:00:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about how we could support others at Christmas, rather than having yet another year of focusing on ourselves. I was wondering if anyone out there has been involved in the One Laptop per Child programme and whether it is a worthwhile cause. Does it make a difference? If you haven't yet seen the work of the programme check it out by clicking on the link and also looking at the YouTube video of Nicholas Negroponte discussing the One Laptop per child programme two years on. Let me know what you think.

Silly processes to eliminate from schools

2008-12-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

Silliness 1
Reporting to parents in written format once or twice a year.
Instead - online, ongoing conversations and co-creations.

Silliness 2
Trying to assess key competencies in traditional ways.
Instead - use a focus on managing self, relating to others, thinking, participating and contributing, multiliteracies to develop new ways of weaving curriculum together.

Silliness 3
School bells
Instead - flexible learning times, going with the 'flow' and music and laughter.

Silliness 4
Teachers in charge
Instead - the future is in collaboration. It's messy and complex. Accept it. This isn't the abdication of the teacher. There may still need to be direct teaching its just that it's focussed on learning needs of individuals and build their capacity to become interdependent.

Silliness 5
Expecting Principals to focus on learning while being distracted by property, compliance...
Instead - resource schools appropriately. Actively encourage other models such as networks of schools with shared administrative staff; a manager to run the school and a principal to lead the learning; or build superhuman robots which can do the job.

Student Voice in Education

2008-12-07T21:30:00.000-08:00

Many schools would say they really engage students in their own learning and in influencing the direction of the school. It is certainly harder to do than it sounds. One example I do have is from a Year 3 class at Fendalton School led by teachers Rob Clarke and Claire Howison. Check out T eam 18 and explore their podcasts and online learning. This learning is done in real time by the children - an every day part of their life at home as well as school. They co-create material, develop their own resources and give and get feedback (from home as well as school). Look on their blog at the Book Sell Feedback as one example of a googledoc survey to get feedback from colleagues.

It just seems so authentic to me... So I am trying to relate it to a five levels of engagement shown below.

I have adapted this model to meet the education environment. It identifies the difference between merely informing students (doing to) and empowering them to do things for themselves. Under what circumstances can you see that the collaboration and empowering levels would be used and how? Check out the following movie You have a message, undertaken by students in Te Awamutu. Think about their messages and get back to me... or check out some other ideas on Community Engagement.

How leaders should behave in web 2.0

2008-11-28T15:11:00.000-08:00

Social networking is pervasive and leading a change in the way we do things...have you noticed? Each morning I check my twitters to see what new ideas I can use in my leadership and connect up with my various social networking sites to see who is doing what. I am able to build loose/tight networks as never before. And with this go a number of responsibilities:

to be ethical in what I share about and with people;
to only share what I want to have known about myself;
to avoid spamming others with advertising and ongoing campaigns; and
to be honest and authentic in what I say.

As a leadership thinker, I spend my days working with leaders who want to build their capabilities and this is often in a face to face setting. It is much easier to hide behind online tools, than it is in a face to face situation. There are a whole new set of skills and behaviours to lay on the foundations of web 2.0 leadership. Leaders for tomorrow need to embrace web 2.0 technologies, at least in understanding how they change the nature of communication and create new networks of learning. As an example, schools and organisations that block staff and student access may be doing more harm than good. Time spent developing a team charter for use of web 2.0 may be more useful in building skills and expectations. Saying 'no' to technology usage does not help create a culture of trust. Yes, I know there are arising issues but in developing your people to explore ideas you are more likely to produce people who think for themselves. Don;t we need that?

I am online often and I have to be able to control myself!! I need to be able to manage my time, explore and research, decide what is appropriate, and make sense of the world. If I can do it so can you. So can students in our schools. So can government departments. Blockers, knockers and mockers - make way for the rest of us!

You're a Leader - Lead!

2008-11-24T02:22:00.000-08:00

Several months ago I spoke at the ULearn Conference on the importance of leadership. This was in response to some thinking about the nature of leadership and the ways in which we model managing ourselves and relating to others. I asked the audience to consider which of the following they thought were 'good' - that is at least average - parliamentarians, early childhood centres, schools and teachers' colleges. It came as no surprise that parliamentarians averaged 40%. Teachers' colleges fared slightly better, then schools, then early childhood centres. The next question was if x% of these schools are good...what percentage are great? The figure was not great!! If we look at this in terms of within school variance we can see that there can be significant differences in the education received by students in the same school. As a leader I want every teacher to be great for every child. It may sound impossible but why would leaders strive for anything less. If it was your child or grandchild in a class with a mediocre teacher would you think that was okay?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming teachers. Leaders have a responsibility for creating strong relationships that build capacity of staff and students. One of my mentors, Wilf Jarvis, puts it like this, "Leaders are distinguished by their skills in transforming hidden potential in children, pupils and colleagues in demonstrated capacities." - Wilf Jarvis, 4QL program, 1998.

If you want to listen to the podcast of my presentation, to hear some ways in which you can develop your leadership click on the link below.

Cheryl Doig's Spotlight at Ulearn08

AND-BOTH

2008-11-06T15:08:00.000-08:00

The whole notion of 'and - both' is one which I find intriguing. So many people worry about there being a right answer and trying to solve problems as if there is always a solution. Organisations, and people, are complex. We need to become comfortable with paradox and with polarity. Recently I came across a Teacher Tube summary of Daniel Pink's "A Whole New Mind". I have read this book a number of times and I like what it has to say. Pink understands that we need 'and-both'. It is not a move from one thing to another, but a realisation that holonomy is important - parts AND wholes. As a leader I ponder on this...

Here are some of the things I ponder:
Why do we still structure so many businesses in a linear fashion rather than as networks?
How can we support educators to be flexible, fast moving and 'whole-minded'?
Do leaders need to be designers? If so, of what? How?
What is emotionally compelling to different individuals and groups?
How could we develop leaders to be whole minded?
What parts of our education systems should we outsource to focus on what is really important?

Have a look at the Teacher Tube summary and see what you think. What do you think we need in order to thrive?

Daniel Pink's a whole new mind

Forecast for the future

2008-11-05T18:06:00.000-08:00

Today I have been pondering future trends for our planet - the exciting possibilities and the growing negative impact of mankind on the planet. I was looking at the Futurist Magazine's forecast for 2008 and beyond, and it all seemed pretty grim stuff. Yet the outcome can be altered by us - one person at a time. Tony Ryan refers to this as the ripple effect. This ripple can alter the course of history. In terms of leadership, each of us has an important role to play. Educators can explore some of these issues in more depth with their students eg the water wars of the future... As leaders, whatever our role, we need to be constantly scanning the future, discussing our preferred futures and working towards those futures. We need to be leaders who take a stand, who get on with things, who are not happy with the status quo, who take risks....as Seth Godin suggests, become a heretic.

The OECD Book Trends Shaping Education 2008 is one useful reference for thinking about where we are headed. It poses some interesting questions at the end of each section. For example, in the section Towards Web 2.0? it talks of the following: "With the increase of user-created content, the Internet is no longer just about down-loading - up-loading is becoming important too." It then poses the questions: "Is this undermining the status of schools and established curriculum knowledge or is it reinforcing the quality of education? Or instead is it not especially relevant to the core business of education?" What do you think?

If the trends indicate that there is a steady increase in self expression you can bet that students, colleagues, employees and society in general are going to want an increased say, and to tailor their environments to meet their needs. At the same time we need to look at this in the context of the social world and be aware of the intricate interdependencies of our planet. This is not an either/or approach - rather an and/both approach. We need to manage these polarities - and understanding ourselves and others will never be more important.

Self Management of Students

2008-11-02T10:31:00.000-08:00

Over the last few weeks I have been thinking a great deal about the way schools let go...and let students take greater control of their own learning. I am not saying the role of the teacher is dead, just changing. It takes teachers who know their craft to support learners to grow their own learning, and it takes time. If you want to find out more about my thoughts in this area, read my latest article on Student Self Management: Letting Go... My particular interest is in leadership so I am thinking about what school leaders need to do to enable student self management to happen...and they need to let go too!

What I want to specifically blog about in this post is the use of cellphones as one example of how schools could encourage self management. Wesley Fryer's Guidelines and instructional applications for cellphone use at school provides many resources and links to get you thinking about this. Toni Twiss has also undertaken some interesting research into the use of mobile phones.

Mobile technologies are pervasive and a wonderful tool to enhance school learning. While I understand why leaders might try to limit their use in schools, I don't agree with it. It's the same old issue of removing 'toys' because there are one or two problems...the card collections, the marbles...whatever the latest craze is. Schools that react by imposing blanket bans are not supporting self management, they are dealing with a symptom and hoping that if the temptation is removed the 'problem' will go away. Yet if we want to encourage self management, aren't we better to take part in real dialogue with students, to use the tools to enhance learning, and to help students use the technologies safely and powerfully? And because my work is with leaders, I would encourage them to explore the possibilities and...let go...

Twitter not fritter

2008-10-31T15:14:00.000-07:00

In terms of trends for the future I do believe that web 2.0 and 3 and 4.... will continue to have a huge impact on our lives and our businesses. Yet with the vast array of resources available it is easy to be swamped with the choice in things which are supposed to make our lives easier.

Twitter is one tool that I thought I could do without. All I could see is twitter as fritter. Who cares what someone is doing right now? If someone, even if I know them well, is about to go to the bathroom or is having curry for dinner, do I really need to know? That's when I started thinking about what might be more powerful usage of Twitter and I started 'playing'. What I have discovered is that twitter can be a great way to extend your networks and to share really useful ideas. Now I check it out when I fire up my computer and link into some amazing people from around the world. They help keep me up to date by referring me to links in areas that I may never have discovered for myself - I have learnt heaps! Twitters that are of the higher order thinking variety are much more useful to me. They can be used really powerfully in an organisation and across networks, to share and develop thinking. So let's all lift our game and tweet intelligently. Otherwise we are wasting an awful lot of time! (Yes I do know that some people want to know the intimate details of every motion...I'm not one of them).

And if you want a good example of how twitter can be used as an effective educational tool (and even possibly help break down traditional silos of learning) the read the blog article on Using Twitter as an Educational Tool. This blog has good ideas whether you are in education or in business so check it out. Then twitter me with some great thoughts that will extend us both...

Using Wordle for Survey Themes

2008-10-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

One school I work with undertook a community survey in order to prepare for their strategic visioning. They used SurveyMonkey for their online survey and produced a wealth of information, much of it qualitative. One of the ways to identify trends from this survey was to put results into wordle. One of the questions that was asked was: When you think of our school what is the first word that comes to mind? Here is the wordle showing what common words appeared:

All the students in the school were asked questions too. Here is an example of what the Year 6 students said in response to the question: What was special about your school?

On the same question of "What makes your school special?" here is what the Year One students (five year olds) thought was special:

Fascinating isn't it?
I think wordle has lots of potential for quickly identifying themes, so thanks to Matt Tippen for sewing the idea in my head. I can see it's use for personal evaluations and for quick client feedback. What do you think?

Ethics for survival

2008-10-27T00:42:00.000-07:00

This morning I was reading about a woman who murdered her husband...only the couple had never met face to face. Their avatars were married - yes it was in an online environment. However the perpetrator is being investigated in the real world because it is alleged she gained illegal access to a computer and manipulated data so that her 'husband's' online character was eliminated.

This highlights to me the ongoing need to work in 'all worlds' to develop ethical ways of behaving. And it is supported by recent world wide financial events and by the behaviour of politicians... Leadership for the future must bring ethical behaviour back into focus. Mentor and colleague, Wilf Jarvis, suggests that while many businesses claim that "Our People are our greatest resource" they do little to build skills in leadership before throwing them in the deep end. The ability to understand our own values, emotions and motivations; and to reflect on the effect we have on other people must become a greater part of leadership development. And we must all understand that ethics is not just a 'real world' phenomenon, but also something that is important glue for online communities. In the context of schooling, there is an ever increasing need to develop high levels of digital literacy and information literacy with ethics and safety being important throughlines in learning.

The shrinking world

2008-10-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

The use of web 2.0 tools has flattened the landscape as people begin to blog, twitter and skype etc more often. Many of the online environments I explore are still populated by many examples from the USA (eg You Tube videos) yet this has started to change, and with it a greater understanding that it's a whole new world. One of the websites I came across today, through twitter contact Angela Maiers was dotsub The thing I liked about this site was its ability to for you to translate videos into any language. The subtitles then appear when the video is played. As a New Zealander, I was thinking it would be great to read some of these in Maori. Or for students learning another language to add translations.

One of the examples is below. This video is an updated version of Karl Fisch's and Scott McLeod's 'Shift Happens'. It is called 'Did You Know?' It contains updated statistics and questions, and a new layout. You will see that you can add language subtexts at the bottom. Check it out...

Beyond 20th Century Education

2008-10-17T01:11:00.000-07:00

Voicethread is a really useful web 2.0 tool. One of the voicethreads I came across today was a provocative question posed by Professor Stephen Heppell - "It simply isn't the 20th Century Any More, Is It? So Why Would We Teach As Though It Was?" The three questions posed in this voicethread are answered by educators from a number of different countries. It is worth listening to their comments and reading their thoughts.
Voicethread is a useful tool to use in all fields - business and education.

Leaders for Future Schooling

2008-10-15T19:54:00.000-07:00

The ULearn conference highlighted the need for our schools to change and showcased many schools and clusters that are using information communication technologies to progress this.The following short video describes how school leaders need to develop the adult learners in their communities. This is the challenge for 21st century leaders. How can we be effective leaders of change through others rather than as the expert in all things...

This video is one of many appearing on EdTalks - a new site featuring short video clips for educators. Check it out at http://edtalks.org/ You can subscribe to these via itunes too!

Leadership for the Future

2008-10-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

This week is the ULearn conference in Christchurch, New Zealand. I will be presenting a spotlight called "You're a leader -lead!" We need strong leaders in education - ones who have to courage to move forward while still having the wisdom to take others with them, and indeed develop collective intelligence. Leaders need to understand themselves as learners and to think about the impact they have on other people. They also need to relate to others - leadership is not an individual pursuit! Below this post you have the opportunity to undertake a short survey on Relating to Others. The survey has been developed in Google Docs and is based on the 'Relating to Others' key competency from the NZ Curriculum. If we are serious about the need for students to develop in each of the five key competencies (Managing Self; Relating to Others; Participating and Contributing; Thinking; and Using Language, Symbols & Texts) don't we have to lead by example? More than ever, ethical and moral leadership are critical to growing humanity. Yet we seem to be struggling to develop alignment between our espoused values and what we actually do in practice. Take time to reflect on yourself as a leader and who you are as a person.

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The 21st century learner

2008-09-14T01:54:00.000-07:00

Today I came across this wiki. It provides a good example of resources that are being shared across an ICT cluster in the North Island of New Zealand. There are a number of movies embedded on this site. It is definitely worth monitoring for those of you who are trying to push education forward for the future.

I am currently writing a newsletter for educators on the the topic of student self management. I remain convinced that educators need to let go, to involve students in their own learning. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter go to Think Beyond and subscribe to receive the newsletter. It should be available in the next fortnight.

Portfolio Careers

2008-09-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

In the last week I have had the opportunity to work with some wonderful educational leaders, to listen to some experienced speakers, to read words of wisdom from some of the worlds greatest leaders, and to interview prospective applicants for a CEO position. My life is diverse and full on - I have a portfolio of interests and jobs and it is simply splendid.

I reflected on this as I read the latest Leader to Leader newsletter, where Charles Handy talked about his life, and questioned of "the viability and the desirability of the lifetime contracts then offered by most large corporations and, ultimately, to my advocacy of what I was to call portfolio or spliced careers." In the future many will be mixing and matching aspects of their lives, weaving in and out of opportunities; considering profit with social justice; and balancing business with recreation.

Amongst other competencies, a portfolio career requires flexibility in thinking, and the ability to take risks. What a shame that teaching professions around the world are often so risk averse. In New Zealand the latest move is to give teachers more 'units', payments to encourage them to stay in teaching and provide a career path. Will this preserve status quo thinking? What about the opportunity for teachers to have portfolio careers? Do all those who work with students need to be teachers? How can we reward teachers to take risks and think outside the square? What about the opportunity for teachers to be self employed, contracting their skills to schools? What about the opportunity for principals to job share - for this to be easy rather than virtually impossible? Let's start thinking creatively.

Portfolio careers are on the rise. As one who has such a career all I can say is...I'm loving it.

Looking to the future

2008-08-23T22:36:00.000-07:00

DOne of the thoughts that really got me thinking today was the following provocative comment I found on The DaVinci Institute's website:
"People who live to be 65 today in the United States live an average of an additional 18 years. Over the first two decades of the 21st Century, because of advances in health care, nutrition, exercise, wealth, and biotechnologies of various kinds, this average will increase toward 30 years, then 40 years after age 65. How will we reinvent the third phase of life now called retirement?" - Glen Hiemstra -Futurist.Com
What a fascinating question for us all to ponder. We can already see the trend that many people are working well after their 65th birthday. Soon governments will not be giving retirement pensions to anyone younger than seventy - we will all still be working at this age. For some this may be working part time, or having a portfolio of jobs to keep us interested, and to give back to society. Even the wealthy will not retire, but choose to occupy their time in a range of different ways. Will retirement exist? Maybe we should remove the word from our vocabulary all together.

The Importance of Trust

2008-07-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

One of the ways to develop dialogue about the future is through the use of Knowledge Cafes. One of the most prolific writers in this area is Gurteen. His site contains a wealth of information and resources to help you get started in this area.

Recently a conference KM Australia explored the whole idea of Knowledge Management in more depth. I wish I had been able to go to the conference...but maybe next year. One of the discussions there was regarding the whole notion of Trust. Following the conference the main Trust Creating Behaviours were explored. This has no surprises but it links in well with the work of Stephen Covey "The Speed of Change" and Kouzes & Posner's "Credibility." A key idea is doing what you say you will, being honest and giving credit where credit is due. This is what credibility is all about!

One of the tools used for voting was a "Dotmocracy", which I found a very useful idea. It is a facilitation tool that I will explore in more depth.

The Anecdote website was the initial source of this information. This Australian Company uses business narratives to build leadership and change. I am bookmarking their site to go back to as they seem to have lots of great ideas to ponder.

Education Innovation and PLCs

2008-07-02T01:22:00.000-07:00

Today I discovered a blog caled Education Innovation. This blog is a useful one to look at education from a different angle. The latest posting has an article called Group Flow- Characteristics of Creative and Innovative PLCs. What I particularly like about it is that it includes ideas from outside the education sector. Looking outward is an important way of continuing to develop. Check out the catalytic questions at the end of the posting.

I came across this link because I have subscribed to Google Links, so receive latest information from the web on several key ideas that are important to me. It keeps me ahead without having to do much searching!

Collaboration in Education

2008-06-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

Next week is the NZPF Conference in Christchurch, New Zealand. Principals and other educational leaders will gather for three days to focus on Learning Leaders, Leading Learning.
I will be challenging leaders to look more widely than their own schools, their own locality and the education sector. More than ever before, educators need to be able to scan the horizon, thinking about the needs of their students for the future. Those of you who are attending this conference are invited to check out the list of websites on the right hand side of this blog for some information to keep abreast of trends.

My first keynote presentation at this conference will be on the theme of developing Powerful Professional Learning Communities. Collaboration is the way of the future and the development of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 tools are a catalyst for deep changes in society. At no time since the invention of the printing press, has there been such fundamental change. This will make education different and we need to prepare for this.

One of the examples of this change can be seen on the website of Laura, just finished 5th grade in the USA. She has a wonderful blog, which she started as a result of her learning at school. It has now developed into an ongoing discussion with the world - this student realises that learning isn't a school event - it is lifelong and it can impact on others. Check out her her blog Twenty Five Days to Make a Difference.

Another way in which collaboration is occurring, and which can be used in the development of professional learning communities, is the development of Knowledge Cafes. These are events developed to enhance dialogue and share knowledge.

I guess my provocative question is: How do you develop powerful professional learning communities that are future focused, and make use of collaborative technologies to grow synergies with others?

The Future of Education

2008-06-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

This week I have been talking with educators about the role of key competencies in developing citizens for the future. The web holds many possibilities for learning in new ways - collaboration is key in relating to others, and in participating and contributing.

Many educators seem unaware of the power of the internet and web 2.0 in changing the face of education for the future. One powerful presentation that may help to stretch thinking in this area has been developed by Anthony Williams. Wikinomics and the Future of Education explains some of the trends in ICTs (especially wikis) and some of the powerful ways in which these will affect the future of learning.

I was particularly interested in the development of Curriki - the development of an open source curriculum, "where all of us -- our community of educators, parents and students -- can work together to develop interesting, creative and effective educational materials that the global educational community can use for free." The ability of this wiki to deliver curriculum globally and involve everyone freely in the process - collaborating and sharing across networks - is just one way of thinking beyond your own back yard. What are you doing to broaden out your own understandings?

Community Engagement in Education

2008-05-22T03:01:00.000-07:00

Over the last week I have started developing a new wiki on Community Engagement in Education. While this initially arose from discussion at a workshop I presented I hope that people will contribute to it and share ideas.
People become more engaged when they are involved in co-constructing process. In our schools, where is the power held? Which are the voices that are heard? Often it is the teacher and the principal who take action, often without consulting, let alone involving others. The reality is that it is easier to do so and the complexities of the job can be wearying. No blame...but let's move forward.
There are benefits in giving away power and in involving others. This isn't a cop out. It isn't soft. It isn't a new liberal approach. When ownership is built there is more likely to be sustained change. If it is well planned it can share the load. It can also build leadership capacity in others.
In particular, it is timely for schools to be involving student voices in the dialogue. This is fundamental to the personalised learning process. As we identify and push towards meeting the needs of 21st century learners we need to consider what new technologies are being used, what engages students and how we can better listen to what students are saying. Contribute to the conversation.

ReadWriteWeb

2008-05-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

I came across this blog today and I think it is a useful one for keeping abreast of trends to do with technology.
ReadWriteWeb is a popular weblog that provides Web Technology news, reviews and analysis. There were several entries that took my fancy. One of these was an indepth look at Gen Y - how they think, what they do, what needs to be considered in meeting their needs and how they use technologies. This excellent article Why Gen Y is going to Change the Web also connects to a range of other Gen Y blogs.

Another article of interest was Do Mobile Games Have a Place in the Classroom. This poses many questions that teachers need to consider in order to use mobile technologies in the classroom.

This blog is one to watch. It is high quality, informative and future-focussed.

Earth Hour

2008-04-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

I think Earth Hour is a really good concept. In Christchurch the hour without power was successful and certainly got people thinking. However, is it a case of 'now we've done it we can forget about it?" What would happen if we had an earth hour every week? Or even better, if we changed our habits to reduce the amount of energy we waste full stop. If you don't know how to do this just google "Power saving" and you will find many sites to help you. You can narrow the search to your own country or particular types of power saving. For example, in New Zealand there are many sites, including http://www.nzs.com/new-zealand-articles/lifestyle/power-saving.html
http://www.energyonline.co.nz/Default.aspx?tabid=90
My goal for this week is to be much more vigilant about turning my computer off at the end of the day. What will yours be?

Climate Change

2007-12-17T10:33:00.002-08:00

If you haven't yet explored the Celsias website you really need to do so. It contains a raft of information about climate change and global warming. The site contains articles and podcasts reflecting a diverse range of ideas. You can see what projects are being undertaken, contribute ideas or start up your own project. If we all make changes, no matter how small, that's a start...

Diversity

2007-12-16T13:21:00.001-08:00

Yes - diversity is a buzz word right now. But it is also of major significance as we move forward to become global leader. In his blog, Jim Kouzes talks about global leadership in terms of thinking beyond your culture and being open to many ways of doing things. "In brief, it's getting out of yourself!"

Recently, I had the opportunity to travel overseas for three months. That time certainly helped me reflect on my role as a global citizen and to think widely, see others' viewpoints and reflect before acting. A friend of mine talks about considering all the possibilities before even beginning to narrow down ideas. This is not only about understanding other people's viewpoints but actively visualising diverse stakeholders as real people - giving them a name and an avatar and getting into their way of thinking.

Not everyone is able to travel but there are other ways of getting out of yourself. One way is to spend time in your own town or city, observing what is around you. Take time to meet people from all walks of life...talk to taxi drivers....try some different activities...act as a tourist for a day. Spend time in your clients' environments to see what it is really like for them.

Another example of thinking beyond is using the internet to keep up to date with trends and ideas. Find some blogs or websites you really enjoy and visit them regularly, or sign up to an rss feed if they have one. The web 2.0 environment expects you to be an active participant so go to it! Challenge yourself to find diverse material, including that which really challenges your thinking or provides a different viewpoint from your own.

Making Trips easier

2007-12-13T10:51:00.000-08:00

Today I read about this service, which can provide you with all the information you need about the places you are going to. Once you gave booked your travel you just send them your confirmation email and they will provide google maps, local restaurants etc. Let them do the work for you - it even syncs with outlook and ical. Check out all the features by going to their website.

Eyes to the future

2007-12-13T00:18:00.000-08:00

One of the most important things to do when considering the future is to scan the environment constantly for new trends. A distant speck on the horizon may suddenly turn into a tornado that hits you straight between the eyes. This doesn't mean that you need to react to every new idea, simply be aware and prepare to be flexible. Check out some of the links on this blog to keep yourself up to date. Find the ones that meet your needs and visit them regularly. If you find a link that has valuable information on trends let me know and I will add it to the list.