Days often merge into each other. In Knapp and Zerarsky’s Make Time there is a detailed four pronged attack against that trend.

• Focus on one Highlight for your day
• Find ways to focus (Laser)
• Energize your life
• Reflect on the day and make a new plan

One of their ways to focus is to review how you are using the Infinity Pools (the websites that deliver never ending content) and try to use them accordingly. For example, I say that I use Facebook to connect to friends and family. So am I actually doing that, or am I scrolling through and wasting time.

I had a draft if this in an earlier post. But I realized I did not have the verbs in there.

• Facebook is for connection to family and friends
• Instagram is for sharing personal goals
• Twitter is for learning and growth professionally and personally

And then there is Reddit. That is a time suck, and I spend way to much time in the Infinity Pool. I think reddit might be inspiration and research. I’ve been on a weight loss journey and looking at Progress Pics has given me so strength to keep going.

So now the trick is to use it in those ways. I’ll update along the way.

Ifs and arrayformula are something I’ve avoided because it felt overwhelming. Given how useful I’ve found it over the last few months, I’m disappointed in myself for not trying it sooner.

There are many good examples of the mechanics of how ifs works. I don’t think I could add something new to that discussion.

What else have I missed because it felt overwhelming.

“Don’t do something for recognition. Do it out of kindness. Do it because out of giving, it will make you whole and complete”
― Angie karan

Having tech issues? Nerd restart their computers. Real nerds restart twice*.

In my overly large school district people forget to restart their computers. The first restart starts downloading the updates. The second one installs the updates.

Way amounts of stress have been reduced by restarting twice.

• = #Gatekeeping #Sorry

I just had a moment and unfollowed 200+ people on twitter.

This moment came from scrolling through the feed and seeing nothing but posts from two people. I kept scrolling and scrolling and scrolling, and it was nothing but posts from two people. One was live-tweeting comments from American Gods, the other was doing a twitter Q and A on the premiere of their latest TV show.

Twitter is like a cocktail party. At its best, there are multiple conversations that you can dip in and out of. But, I can’t handle one or two voices drowning out all the rest.

So I muted those two (because I both like and respect both those people). Then I went through and unfollowed half of the people on my follow list.

I think part of the problem I have with Social Media is deciding what it is for. Here is what I am thinking so far.

• Facebook is for Family
• Instagram is for personal me
• Twitter is for professional me

So pictures of my son and family comments go to Facebook, because the audience there is mostly family members. My 19 for 2019 list is for Instagram, because that is for me to put stuff that is about just me. Twitter is for my professional development and growth.

This blog? Somewhere between personal me and professional me. I’m still figuring out if it has to be strictly one or the other.

Pear Deck is a fun way to add interactive questions into a Google Slide.  I can imagine using it when trying to do some formative assessment along the way.  

My two favorite parts?

1. Picture Annotations:  My favorite part is the ability to broadcast a pictures and then have each student draw on the picture.  You can then see what every student drew. You could even take a picture of some text and have the students annotate the text on screen. (Underline the strong verbs in this paragraph).
2. Saved Results:  Whenever you have the students do one of these Pear Deck Interactive questions you get a copy of what every student did. You can then have, in a very short amount of time, a copy of every student’s work saved to Google Docs.  

Those two functions are both in the premium version. You start with a free trial to test it out.  At 150 per teacher is it worth it for elementary teachers? I am not sure I can say it is. I do not want my elementary friends focused on making their lectures more interactive, I want them to do less lectures.

If I was a middle / high school teacher who did a lot of lectures would it be worth it?  If I used it with all of my classes once a week, that might work out to 50 cents a class.  Worth it? probably.

In my head I compare it to other premium services. Padlet or Pear Deck?  If I had to pick one, Padlet.

Is it worth playing with for the non-premium version of Pear Deck.  Absolutely!

Next steps for me?  Use it with a teacher PD.

Did you know Premiere Pro CC has an autosave feature?

https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-elements/using/saving-backing-projects.html

#SavingMyBacon

Two question to ask when you reflect on your job.

• Does your job allow you to solve the problems you are interested in?
• Does your job allow you to learn the things that will help you grow?

If the answer is yes to both, congratulations!

If the answer is yes to one of them, you probably have a job that is good for now, but think about the future.

If the answer is no to both, you have some soul searching to do. The first question helps decide how fulfilled you are in your job. The second helps define what your future will be.

Mistakes are mistakes.

Unless they start to happen on a regular basis. Then it is a pattern. Patterns of Mistakes feel worse because they imply that the person making the mistakes are not just responsible for the mistake, but they indicate a larger deficit in their judgement or character.

Except, it usually does not mean that at all.

The Fundamental Attribution Error is the idea that . . .

people tend to (unduly) emphasize the agent’s internal characteristics (character or intention), rather than external factors, in explaining other people’s behavior. This effect has been described as “the tendency to believe that what people do reflects who they are”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_attribution_error

These patterns of mistakes are just that, mistakes. The person who made them are still responsible for them and for fixing them, but it is not worthwhile to try to infer some moral failing.

The real question becomes, how to identify the pattern of mistakes and how to fix them. Not the person. The mistakes.

Fix the mistakes. Create structures that help people be better then they were the time before. But calling mistakes a moral failing is a waste of time and not the way the world works.

I was at a meeting today where we were asked to summarize in six words what was on our minds. The coach to my left said something that blew my mind.

Use the tool, then ask why.

It is a good phrase. Remembering the importance of experimenting with new tech tools, and balancing that with reflecting on why that tool may or may not be the right thing. Using the tool is not enough. And asking why is not enough. You need to think of both.

Then I realized it was something I needed for myself. Use the tool, then ask why.

We are working on self-directed, professional development groups at my school. Each group is supposed to takes notes.

• Use the Tool: Google Apps to Take Notes
• Then Ask Why: Uhhh, because teachers takes notes after meetings?

What else could I have tried? FlipGrid. Maybe reflecting with Flipgrid might have a different impact. How about a WordPress blog? Twitter? I move everyone towards one tool, and gave it really no thought as to why.

I might put it on a poster.