Bourne Again

I am pretty stoked to hear someone so passionate about education

What do you reckon?

check out this awesome reply from Damon when questioned after the speech

Lion 10.7 should You ?

So uncle Steve says we have to work with a different workflow, we have to use gestures and we will invent a few new names and yee all shall follow.

So what is OK and what is just plain stupid, and what is just brilliant.

No question they want to get the iOS and OSX similar, so they made a few changes.

Stupids

So some smarty pants decided that when you quit something next time you open it the last 50 things you had open will still be there. Example: I had 20 PDFs open and were printing them, I quit preview and the next time I opened preview the 20 PDFs appeared again, QUIT means QUIT apple, I am in charge, not some smarmy exec in cupertino. Safari : if you have ten tabs open it used to annoyingly say "are you sure you want to close all them tabs when you quit", and you knew that quitting meant just that,. Now when you open safrai all ten tabs are still open, just like all 20 PDFs - so now you have to slow your workflow and use the bloody mouse to get rid of tabs or windows by clicking endless x's or red dots in the corner ITS LIKE A BAD WINDOWS dream. Turn this off real fast in system prefs/general.

Scrolling in the same direction the new thing is, to move down a page you move two fingers up (that just doesnt feel right, very un-apple like). I never found it an issue changing between two fingered scrolling on the air and using the finger on ipad/iphone, however Steve found it an issue. Turn that off immediately.

Mission Control: maybe this was launched (excuse the pun Barb) so that people who never used hot corners now get an app to clog up their dock and do exactly what hot corners did, but we do have a gesture for it now. My suggestion, learn the gesture, keep your hot corners and send mission control out of your dock FOREVER.

The four fingered swipe used to bring up the floating opaque window with all the apps that are open, command/tab still works for that, but i loved showing that off during presentations especially when you had hidden the app and brought it forward when needed. Steve felt that wasnt used much and basically put spaces into the swipe process and gave apple apps a full screen mode. Not bad, but how about a gesture for the command/tab thing.

Some absolute egg at apple decided that the four fingered swipe takes you to a page that has dashboard/widgets WTF... Turn that off immediately (disable dashboard) or you will be banished to a place when MC Hammer plays endlessly and you will be told that you cant touch this or any other mac again.

The last clanger is auto correct in typing. I'm an average typist but i automatically hit the space bar after every word i type. It is just not going to work, check out these clangers on the iphone and tell me you want this on your laptop when you are in workflow mode. Dumb IDEA.

OK

So the full screen mode is pretty handy and i reckon it will be brilliant for the attached monitor, will have a crack at that next week when back at work. Its really spaces but with a 4 fingered swipe, OK steve I will give it a go. I wouldnt mind finding out how to keep my favourites bar in safari when in full screen without having to scroll up. and i'm not sold on losing my menu bar at the top of the mac it is only millimeters wide.. the jury is still out.

I was happy with the buy and download and install thing, but how do we install a mac thats had a hard drive meltdown without a dvd. I know you have a plan but bloody hell, its a fidget, my air shipped with a usb drive with the system on it, sell them as an extra option, would keep a few muppets happy.

Notes in mail. I know you are trying and it's cute but notes in mail, really! (it's so 10.3.9) thanks but i was able to quickly get rid of that notes icon and i'm feeling good about that. The world uses evernote now Steve, in fact you should have put a send to evernote tab in mail/everything.

Launchpad- i dont get this one, why have an app in the dock for it, learn the gesture if you want this or get quicksilver and open apps you hardly ever use in seconds - this one is for beginners and although i still have the gestures activated its a never use unless you have forgotten what apps you have or you are looking for something to delete to get more space.

Brilliant

Safari the back to previous page is awesome (three fingered swipe), shame you have to scroll in an unnatural direction but its awesome. The downloads window is tidied up, nice steve.

Mail, the changes are great particularly the threaded mail with the messages all in one, smart and very cool.

Its a solid upgrade, runs at good speed and is a nice interface. Apple didn't get to where its at with one giant leap, great things evolve, look at Manchester United. look at the first ipod with the huge firewire cable and compare it to the ipad2. Its another small step for man, and thats all.

What can we glean from this OS to get some predictions for the future?

Steve wants us to scroll in the same directions as a book: Hint - the touch screen laptop thingie will be the predominant navigator. ie the touch screen laptop is close.

Steve said no DVD with Lion: Hint - why do we need the CD drive anyway? nobody wants to see slim shady no more the CD/DVD is chopped liver.

Please tell me the features you like/love/don't get....

ipads ipods androids and Orewa

The Orewa College scenario (all kids get ipads, its a stationery item) happened at a slow news time in the NZ school holidays but it certainly highlighted a few different issues within education. Paying for our own technology seems very anti “free education” however we seem to be increasingly paying for everything, and if this has benefits for our childrens education then can we afford not to. Some schools have creatively solved this issue by making the device and the internet affordable and children are able to work to pay for there own technology. Factors might be how long will your iPad/netbook last? Imagine asking parents to pay between $400 & $1000 and you need a new one in 24 months. How about all this purchase/investment in technology only to discover that your school has no idea how or what to do with the hardware. Imagine schools wasting kids time with digital portfolios of kids that teachers spend hours on, only to discover they made no impact on learning. Or doing electronic worksheets because you can. The worry could also be schools just wanting to keep up with their neighbours by jumping on the band wagon.

So we need to know what actually does make a difference and then make a plan for how. Nearly every school I talk to have an ipad trial, I'm wondering how they sync, what apps they use and importantly what is at the center of their decisions schoolwide and in classrooms, no question its piecemeal.

I have been lucky enough to get an opportunity to actually do some research into mobile learning. I have been granted the Auckland Primary Schools Association Traveling Fellowship Award. This means that in 2012 I have been granted two terms leave to travel the world to look at mobile learning. My goal is to shake aside the rhetoric and schools wanting to buy gear without making good decisions, replacing them with decisions that put learning in the center.

I will be asking my twitter, Principal and ADE networks for help with finding time to talk and share with me. It will mean lots of NZ travel as well as looking across the pond (Cadel country) the USA and beyond. It should be exciting and probably about three years too late in terms of 1 to 1 mobile devices but regular schools will be taking a bit of time. The early adopters are already over the line, and I hope they are starting to provide the evidence later adopters need.

A few years back I had a friend ring me asking if I wanted to be a millionaire, I said yeah mate, turns out he was selling Amway and wanted me to join him in the money. I said I would wait three years and when he was millionaire he could ring me and I would start then, I was happy to wait. So if you are waiting a bit to see what happens with these ipads then a few months more wouldn't be too long (he never rang back, some mate).

If you are a school or district or cluster who have the mobile devices rampant and are making connections beyond the classroom then I'd love to hear from you. I'm interested in sync, infrastructure, apps, research and more importantly learning/teaching/kids.

I wouldn't mind hearing from people about their thoughts on having a device on their stationery list.

Make the right call

I had a meeting with this guy from the council about sporting facilities for our school. I want a massive 300,000 dollar multi purpose arena and no-one is wanting to fund any part of it. I was trying to explain why the simple things are easy to do and that schools cant sit back and do nothing. So take this as an example of why we cant sit there and do nothing.

Several years ago we bought 6 outdoor basketball hoops and backboards (10k) for school. We made sure the hoops were low, so that 5 year olds can throw a hoop. As we only go to year six we didn't need to go to ten foot hoops, but we made sure they were removable so that the vandals wouldn't ruin our gear. Here we are 8 years later with about 5 teams playing regularly and hundreds of kids have put in thousands of hours of games/fun/practice over the years. My son and his mates are all still playing basketball regularly for their high schools. I go watch his games and kids from all sorts of schools and backgrounds are all over basketball.

Six years ago a young guy who arrived at school saw the older boys hooping and decided that he wanted to play. This young boy is on the short side and when he started it was quite cute to see someone even holding a ball that seemed so big. Obviously with the low hoops and smaller balls the game became achievable. Now six years on Tauhir is a very very good player, he isn't the tallest about but he can play. So much so that he is going to a worldwide basketball training camp in Florida sponsored by IMG. His family are digging into their pockets, raising cash and helping their young fella chase a dream. If he went to a different school would he even be playing basketball?

I'm not patting our school on the back here, i'm saying that without opportunity kids wont play or participate.

Ever wondered why NZ doesn't produce tennis players, it's a dead sport in NZ because the kids don't play it. Softball is dead. Cricket is dying. Hockey, partially dead. The list goes on, don't get me wrong your school may be going great at hockey, seems everyone in Palmerston North has hockey (insert weird here) but Tennis, it's all over, you once were brilliant but now you are custard.

So get the facilities and let the kids decide what gets kicked for touch.

So answer this: why don't the sports do something? Soccer NZ had a team at the world cup, the all whites were famous for 6 weeks. Now 1 year later what have they done to promote soccer, to deliver the knockout punch. Here is what they did. Play two crap games against Mexico and Australia and lose 3-0 twice, then moan about why the shouldn't have played.

Why didn't they set up a mini soccer field at every school, put in posts with nets, kids crave facilities, they want to put the ball in the back of the net (who doesn't). Lets get this straight, i can't stand soccer but i do love sport and i recognise the importance of all sport, so I built two mini soccer fields with post and nets, because kids come first.

Maybe my next Tauhir will play at a world cup.

Will yours kids play anything without opportunity?

Stop spending your money on admin blocks!

The value of sport

Sport : It keeps you healthy, having fun, learning skills, building co-ordination, creating teamwork and lots of other educational winners. Ask any old timer for the memories sport has given them and it always ends up with friendships. I remember some great games, and amazing moments but more than that I remember what people said, what they did, how they reacted, and the stories that followed those games. I remember the people, the laughs, giving your mate a bit of stick, stories of who scored the best try, and even who didn't pass me the ball in the final at Okara Park when I was certain to score and you dummied and got snotted (insert Lee Tamaki here). My friends, Lo, Ace, Dana, Pops, Smokey, Fili, J, Nail, Baldie, Smelly, Raenuts, Mew, all the Sionies the list is endless, they are the reason we play sport. The thing is that sport, even from a very young age builds these moments, these events, things that stay with you for a lifetime. A few years back there was a brilliant team, the Otahuhu College 1stXV, they were absolute underdogs, they played an entire season undefeated and went on to win the Auckland Championship for the first time in many many years, it was amazing to see this small school do the damage. They had a world class player, Orene Aii he was sublime, sensational, and has gone on to be a terrific player with a successful career all over the world. Ask Orene if he ever got a match winning drop goal and he will smile, not for the fact that they won the final with a miracle drop goal those many years ago, but for the boys who played in his team, his schoolmates.

This week at school I have been following the rivalry that two lads have been talking about, Saturday will be a step in a friendship that might be blogged about in 40 years or more, talked about between mates for yonks. The two of them aren't interested in anything but this game, guarantee the teacher will be getting the post-mortem next week on how the game went, god knows shes heard all the banter this week.

Waitakere White vs Waitemata Black Under 8's, 9.15 Saturday, tickets available on tiketek.

This is one I wont miss!

Thats the value of sport.

Oh and Lee Tamaki you owe me bro, 2 crayfish and a few woodies and we are all square, but I probably (definitely) wont forget. My idol Sid Going scored tonnes of tries at Okara and I was denied my first one by you cuz, damn right I'm still spewing, even though we won the final.

Latest pictures in the Waitakere win 12 tries to 8.

Who motivates the motivator?

Aren’t leaders supposed to motivate the team, have the staff firing? Who motivates the motivator? As a principal, you are it, so who or what gets your juices flowing?

I reckon its important to think this one through.

I have a few theories, some ideas and possible answers but I wouldn’t mind your 50c worth, please contribute.

So before you can answer who or what motivates you, you may have to understand where your staff are coming from. The lowest level for staff could be survival mode, they have a job but lots of things are going on, stress comes from every side, they worry about everything, the kids are hard work, they aren’t well organised, the rent is hard to pay, negative mind set, “leadership is doing things to me”. Next comes safety mode, you are a solid teacher, you have job security, no risks, the boss is ok - a bit fickle but ok, mindset steady, leadership is mixed, things are steady. Then you have belonging mode, teamwork, mostly motivated but needing someone to motivate you, enjoying being at school and appreciative but on their own terms, part of a team but sometimes a click, sometimes even teaming up against the boss, but usually this mode is a very positive environment. Probably strolling. After this is achievement mode, I reckon this is the time when you move out of that stoll and fink “strolling” mode, people are motivated to move past and really achieve, teamwork and self motivation, ownership and belonging are inherent, staff are celebrating achievement, genuinely happy for others, collaborative.

You can be achieving at survival mode, and indeed in all of them, but if you want to get results back you must get to achievement mode.

You may ask what this has to do with the motivating the motivator, but it is actually the staff that motivates you. They are the people who get you rocking, they are the ones who boost those around them. I know that I feed off staff who get on a roll, staff who go that extra mile. I pick up their vibe, I love it when they achieve. I love it when they celebrate kids learning, celebrate discoveries they have made. Those stories of kids achieving just keep you bouncing. Yes I am motivated by wanting to do things really well, to turn out the best possible performance. I love working things out and doing a great job of it, seeing it through, but these things pale in comparison to when a staff member nails it. When a staff member gets it, when a staff member makes everyone proud.

So the key for me is to make sure you know what mode your staff are at, and help them get to achieving mode, there may have to be some challenges, some awkward conversations and some uphill battles but if you aren’t motivated then it all goes flat.

So it seems that if you want to be motivated you have to do the motivating, and get staff through those modes and over to achieving.

Most good leaders who stay in their schools are motivated from within their school.

The other muppets who stay (too long) have staff in safety mode, they are in safety mode.

15 Reasons Why Leadership Works

Looking back always helps looking forward. Last November we attended the ACEL conference in Sydney. Apart from the odd laugh and ale the focus was on leadership. I hung out for something decent and Hargreaves delivered at the last minute. I was a little disappointed in the conf up until then, but our redemption was gr8.

He has now published the whole presentation "Performing Beyond Expectations"and you guys can read, so click on the link above for the facts and stuff like that. Its important that you read from the source at some stage. It's a real goodie. If you want the executive summary with the half truths thrown in for free then i've attached my very boring notes, they have attached audio files which you wont get (pay for the conference you slackers), you just get the scribbled notes:

What was great was, he followed what made good leadership change looked like and then gave this gem.

THE FALLACY OF LEADERSHIP CHANGE

1 Speed

2 Replacement

3 Data / Numbers

4 Prescription / Standardisation

5 Competition