Personal Productivity in the Education Sector
April 19, 2008
The topic of personal productivity is something that I am passionate about.
I have developed my own personal productivity style after extensively reading the following sources:
For those of you who are not aware, GTD (Getting Things Done) is the “bible” in productivity circles. The GTD tag on del.icio.us is a good place to start learning about the topic. I was also happy to catch this post on GTD in Education.
Believe it or not, personal productivity can be broken down into a core set of principles:
- Keep things simple
- Do one thing at a time
- Outsource everything possible
- Remove distractions from your life
- Work in terms of action steps
- Follow the Inbox Zero principle for your e-mail
- Have a weekly review to go over your projects, and clear your inbox, action steps, and follow ups
What is Web 2.0?
April 12, 2008
Last week, I met with a Columbia Business School professor to discuss the broad issue: what is web 2.0?
My standard answer: Web 2.0 is a marketing buzzword used to describe a large class of next-generation web applications.
I categorize Web 2.0 into the following sections:
- Personal productivity
- Syndication
- Tagging / Organization
- Online Collaboration
I also believe that Web 2.0 generally emphasizes the following themes:
- Creating and Consuming Information
- Global conversation
- Empowering the individual
- Knowledge sharing / discover
Web 2.0 is intimately tied to the concept of 21st Century Learning.
This PDF briefly describes the framework from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
- Creativity and innovation
- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
- Communication and Collaboration
- Information Literacy
- Communication Literacy
- Technology Literacy
- Flexibility and Adaptability
- Initiative and Self-Direction
- Social and Cross-Cultural Skills
- Productivity and Accountability
- Leadership and Responsibility
It is amazing how fluency in Web 2.0 collaborative tools correlates with the same skill sets required to achieve success in 21st century learning environments.
Using twitter is engaging in a global conversation. Teaching oneself to use ning is the same “initiative and self direction” discussed in 21st century skills. Tools such as Google Docs or Sharepoint are primary platforms for online collaboration. (FYI – A division of Smart Solutions, Collaborative Technology Solutions, specializes in integrating online collaborative tools in the professional services arena.)
At Smart Solutions K-12, we are excited to bring practical solutions to integrating collaborative technologies into the classroom. Technology cannot exist in a vacuum. It must be accompanied by professional development, change management plans, technical leadership, and curricular support.
Our approach posits that educational institutions need a strong technology partner to help usher schools into the 21st Century.
Cleveland Technology Town Hall Meeting with Senator Sherrod Brown
April 1, 2008
I had the pleasure of attending a Technology Town Hall Meeting with Senator Sherrod Brown a few days ago.
There were at least 20 individuals from the technology sector in Cleveland, Ohio including leaders from Nortech, WVIZ Ideastream, and OneCommunity.
The round table started with a discussion of stimulus packages that could help revitalize the region.
We also talked about technocratic topics such as tax credits and rent subsidization. Another theme of the round table was the region’s hunger for talent. This is similar to an interesting observation in a Plain Dealer article:
Despite an unemployment rate hovering above the national aver age, Ohio still has thousands of jobs in manufacturing, information technology and other fields that go unfilled for lack of skilled workers, officials say.
While the meeting went fairly well, Cleveland’s weak economic conditions is not something to celebrate.
Cleveland business leaders seem open to discussing ways to transform the region’s economy. Unfortunately, slim operating margins makes it challenging for businesses to invest in forward-looking initiatives that could bring about that kind of economic revival.
Many business leaders probably feel caught between wanting to invest in long-term workforce training and fearing that making those kinds of investments in a tough economic climate could force them into bankruptcy before those investments paid off.
Cleveland has the homegrown talent to succeed. But it is up to Cleveland business leaders to balance the short term interests of their companies with long-term investments in coaching, on the job training, and developing their existing employees.