The Hottest Posts Everyone's Tweeting About

For another week, the post that continues to take the lead is one that ‎@iamDrWill refers to as a “beat down.” It responds to a story explaining why an uninformed school headmaster is wrong when he mistakenly attributes his school’s success to the fact that he banned laptops.

This is a beat down. Read @InnovativeEdu's takedown of an admin who thinks technology in the classroom is a waste https://t.co/DvzBFuJ6jA

— Dr. Will (@iamDrWill) April 28, 2016

Next up @AngelaMaiers reminds us that students have voices and choices that we can finally honor now that testing season is over. Check it out to discover 20 lessons you can implement to get started.

YES YES!!!! We have voices and choices. #Choose2Matter https://t.co/DM9oWCDUqh

— Angela Maiers (@AngelaMaiers) April 19, 2016

For the first time at the top is a post that was also at the top of my Twitter feed. It gives tips on how to create a killer school website and shares mistakes to avoid.

How to create a killer school website + 7 mistakes to avoid https://t.co/x1JYD9rkC8 #edchat #edtech pic.twitter.com/LejNNQHpIH

— Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) April 24, 2016

Rounding out the top is about post explaining how to determine the life purpose of you and your students with a few simple questions. I tweeted my life’s purpose and asked others to share theirs as well.

My life’s purpose: Help others connect to people/resources that foster learning. Yours? https://t.co/2G2MCcyXTY pic.twitter.com/iNvm6DVbi3

— Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) April 15, 2016

You can check out each of the posts below. If you like what you read, share with a friend via social media, and if you are so inspired, leave a comment too.

Entry	Pageviews
Is #EdTech Really A Waste? 8 Lessons for The Uninformed Apr 3, 2016,	6752
Testing Is Over: Time to Liberate Genius! Apr 17, 2016,	5064
How to Create a Killer School Website Apr 24, 2016,	4636
5 Questions to Figure Out Life Purpose of You + Yo... Apr 14, 2016,	3219

3 Largest Barriers to Learning for Students Today

Our nation spends a lot on educating its youth, yet it fails to allocate adequate resources to remove the three largest barriers to learning that innovative educators have to face day in and day out.  These three barriers are responsible for the inability of teachers to update their practice and cause today’s students to remain stuck in the past once they enter school doors.

These three barriers prohibit teachers from supporting students in doing real and relevant work.

How to Create a Killer School Website

I've shared how to write a killer Tweet, how to create a killer blog post, how to host a killer ed chat, and how to give a killer presentation. Today I will share how to create a killer school website.

You can start by knowing what your site should include. Here is a checklist for evaluating school websites from the free “School Website Planning Guide.”

It’s important to point out that these days, it’s no longer okay to ignore social media. You can’t have a killer school website unless you provide visitors with many opportunities to engage via your popular social media channels. Some additional elements you will find in a killer website are exceptional brand/design consistency, sliders containing the most current priorities, and featured videos.

The Hottest Posts Everyone's Reading

For the second week, the top story is a post that responds to a story about an uninformed school headmaster who mistakenly attributes his school’s success to the fact that he banned laptops. Read this story to find out why he was wrong.  Next up is an oldie from 2011 makes its way to the top.  Read it to discover some incredible assistive technologies for students. After that is a post that debunks several myths about the negative effects of social media on our brains.  Making it to the top for the first time is a post that explains how we can liberate genius with 20 lessons.  The perfect post-testing season activity. Rounding out the top is about post explaining how to use LinkedIn to support college and career readiness. If any of these look of interest, check em out below and share with others.  

Entry	Pageviews
Is #EdTech Really A Waste? 8 Lessons for The Uninformed... Apr 3, 2016,	5414
25 Incredible Assistive Technologies Sep 5, 2011,	4794
Everybody Panic! 5 Ways Social Media is Changing O... Mar 30, 2016,	4044
Testing Is Over: Time to Liberate Genius! #GeniusHour... Apr 17, 2016,	3741
Use @LinkedIn for College + Career Readiness Mar 27, 2016,	3023

Testing Is Over: Time to Liberate Genius! #GeniusHour

Innovative educators and students alike understand that genius can’t be measured by a bubble test or a writing exercise that has no audience or purpose. Now that the standardized tests are over for the year, students no longer are confined to hours of reading and answering questions about stuff others find important. Out with the test prep and in with experience. Invite your students to get out of their chairs, break their silence and liberate their genius.

Not sure how to get started? No worries. Educator, author, and speaker, Angela Maiers has a book available called Liberating Genius.

The Hottest Posts Everyone's Reading

The top story this week is a post that responds to a story about an uninformed school headmaster who mistakenly attributes his school’s success to the fact that he banned laptops. Read this story to find out why he was wrong.  After that is a post that debunks several myths about the negative effects of social media on our brains.  After that is an oldie from 2011 makes its way to the top.  Read it to discover some incredible assistive technologies for students. Rounding out the top is about post explaining how to use LinkedIn to support college and career readiness. If any of these look of interest, check em out below and share with others.  

Entry	Pageviews
Is #EdTech Really A Waste? 8 Lessons for The Uninformed... Apr 3, 2016,	5206
Everybody Panic! 5 Ways Social Media is Changing Our Brains... Mar 30, 2016,	4731
25 Incredible Assistive Technologies Sep 5, 2011,	3602
Use @LinkedIn for College + Career Readiness Mar 27, 2016,	2423

5 Questions to Figure Out Life Purpose of You + Your Students in 5 Minutes

“What do you do?” If you’re an innovative educator, the answer, “Teacher” doesn’t come close to giving others insight into your work or life’s purpose. As educators we also need to start speaking about our work in a way that brings respect back to the profession. That calls for a more complex answer than “teacher.” Fortunately, movie producer Adam Leipzig tells us during this TED Talk how anyone can explain what they do by sharing their life’s purpose and he gives five questions to figure it out.  

Here are the five questions to figure out your life’s purpose.

Host A Killer Twitter #EdChat - 1 Tip for Success fr @Eileen_Lennon

I've covered how to write a killer Tweet, how to create a killer blog post, and how to give a killer presentation. I’ve also shared how to host a Twitter chat. Today I will tell you how to take that Twitter chat and make it a “killer” chat.   

That’s exactly what happened this week when #NYCSchoolsTech partnered with @CommonSenseEdu to host our very first Twitter chat. Tech teacher and all around nerd, @Eileen_Lennon was the moderator and she rocked the HOUSE with 1.2 million impressions. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the analytics below (or click this link if it's too hard to read) then scroll on down to read the one tip behind her success.

This is one tip (you can read others from @Eileen_Lennon here) is the one that all the cool moderator Tweeps will be using from here on out. This one tip will make you look like a rock star if you want to bring a chat to where you work.

The one tip is this...

The Hottest Posts Everyone's Reading

For the second week, the post that helps you determine if you're an innovative educator is at the top. Just one question will help you figure out if you are and how to move more in that direction if you’re not. Next up is a post that responds to a story about an uninformed school headmaster who mistakenly attributes his school’s success to the fact that he banned laptops.  Tsk. Tsk. After that we have a post that shows how technology can help improve student writing.  There are a few more to round out the top. Check em out below.

Entry	Pageviews
Are You An Innovative Educator? Here's How to Find... Mar 13, 2016,	4143
Is #EdTech Really A Waste? 8 Lessons for The Uninf... Apr 3, 2016,	3888
Collaboration, Tools, and Add-Ons. Oh My. Using G-... Mar 16, 2016,	2904
Everybody Panic! 5 Ways Social Media is Changing O... Mar 30, 2016,	2656
25 Incredible Assistive Technologies Sep 5, 2011,	2400
Use @LinkedIn for College + Career Readiness Mar 27, 2016,	1938

I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does and you’re inspired I hope you’ll share it with others and/or leave a comment.

Twitter Makeover with Before + After Pictures!

A few months ago, I deconstructed the five elements of a killer Tweet which you can read about here. Here’s an update on how it’s going with some comparisons of Tweets and killer Tweets.  

Killer Tweet	Regular Tweet
4905 Impressions	627 Impressions
Killer Tweet is about 8 times more popular.
Killer Tweet	Regular Tweet
4757 Impressions	1157 Impressions
Killer Tweet is about 4 times more popular

Not every tweet will have these five elements of a killer tweet:

However shoot for one or two killer tweets a week.  That is what I did and I noticed a significant spike in my number of Tweet impressions, profile visits, mentions, and new followers.  

Here is a summary of my Twitter success before and after killer Tweeting:

Killer Tweet Summary	Regular Tweet Summary

So, what are you waiting for? Start killer Tweeting now.  Not sure what to Tweet about? Share this post.  If you do, I’ll be sure to like it!

Is #EdTech Really A Waste? 8 Lessons for The Uninformed

Do innovative educators have it all wrong? According to one head of school we do. In a post that is making its rounds in education circles, John Vallance, headmaster of Sydney Grammar School told “The Australian” that computers in schools are a “scandalous waste of money.”

Vallance is right.

Under his tutelage they are.

Like other arrogant Luddites in power, he is responsible for negligent technology spending because he is clueless about how to use it effectively ... and he never bothered learning.

Vallance is on the lowest rung (substitution) of the SAMR model. (If you don’t know about SAMR read this). Because he failed to understand how technology can “redefine” learning he wasted money and deprived students of quality learning.  

If you work with an out-of-touch administrator like Vallance, these are the concepts you can help them understand.