Is It Deliberate or Deliberate?

After our discussion in class night, I thought about the impending Deliberative Sessions taking place around our state. It occurred to me that there is a distinction between Deliberate (discussing key issues honestly and civilly) and Deliberate in the sense of deliberate action to derail or prevent something from happening. While the Deliberative Session has been designed as an opportunity for open dialogue about the size and scope of school budgets, it is sometimes used as a deliberate and obtuse attempt to derail the budget. It's not that this has anything to do with ED678, but something that I thought of on the way home from class and after having received an email relative to a deliberative session held last night in a neighboring community. The unfortunate part of all of this is that when attendance is low, the likelyhood of an informed citizenry is greatly diminished. Therefore, what happens after the session is as equally or even more important than the meeting itself. The sancity and anonyminity of the voting booth lets ill-informed citizens determine the future of the school system without benefit of deliberation. In this instance the negative connotation of deliberate can be used to confuse the electorate; consequently the school system may be diminished by those intent on using their influence to bring folks to the polling place without benefit of thoughtful discussion and dialogue.

No one asked......just my thought for today!

Dr. Moody

SchoolTube - Learning to Change, Changing to Learn

SchoolTube - Learning to Change, Changing to Learn

SNOW and Technology....Huh!!

On way over to Rivier this morning it occurred to me that technology plays a huge role in how the weather and related school decisions have changed over time. When I first started as a principal, it was my responsibility to make "phone-tree" calls to my teachers. From there I progressed to Assistant Superintendent, where my responsibilities shifted to making telephone calls, not only to staff, but to TV and radio stations passing along our decisions to the public. Oftentimes, the TV lines and radio stations were simply too busy to take the volume of calls and the window of opportunity to notify folks diminished with each busy signal. TV and radio stations then evolved into push-button options, whereby, with a special code could be entered automatically triggering a notice on the radio or TV. From there we have evolved into a technology based system that allows access to all parents via emergency notification systems that can access multiple phone (including cell) numbers notifiying parents, teacher, school board members, and administrators of a closing, delay, emergency, dismissal, lockdown, etc. These technologies, while not universally accepted by parents, who dislike being called early in the AM about a school closing, are slowing becoming THE way to communicate with our various constituencies. Yes, we have evolved from the personal conversation "Hey, John, no school today, go back to bed!" to a voice activated automated message. Clearly, the new technology has provided a more instant access with less stress, and wear and tear on administrators.

In this instance, I would welcome the technology...unfortunately, I was still working with the "This is John calling!" system.

Dr. Moody

Catching up Is Hard to Do....but....keeping up is even more challenging!!!!

It seems that catching up to technology is a challenge for everyone, even the most tech savvy amoungst us. While catching up may be important, it is also challenging to keep up the changing face of technology. A good example is my purchasing an iPad early on and just using it as a communications tool. What I found out is that the iPad is more than just and email, contact, and calendar tool, it is far more than that. Keeping up with the quickly evolving APPS is a challenge. Which ones are productive and what ones are not? Which ones are just for fun and entertainment? Today I am going to purchase The Daily which is a totally electronic newspaper just released yesterday. This tool will be one that I can use personally and one that can enhance my work in education by providing me access to real-time information about not only current events, but technology innovations, sports, world events, etc. I am excited about getting this APP but am mindful that it will present its own challenges. How much of my limited time will I devote to this technology? How will it change the way I veiw world news and other events?

Keeping up only means that we are aware of and understand how technology can influence our personal and professional lives. In our course we will expose you to multiple forms of technology, the challenge for you will be to decide how much your will use that technology in our lives. Don't worrry about catching up.....we'll help you. Don't be afraid to say SLOW DOWN, I need to catch up.

Dr. M