Top LYS Tweets From the Week of September 9, 2012

Two things happened on the bootleg technology front thispast week that makes me optimistic. The first is a study by Dell (do consider the source) that found that63% of teachers surveyed reported that students know how to use technologybetter than they do.  Why does thatmake me optimistic?  Because itseems that teachers are honestly assessing their skills.  With that honest assessment, the nextstep is to empower students to use their personal tech skills in the classroom.
And then I watched that in action on a campus I was visiting.  At this traditionalhigh school, students (in multiple classrooms) had their smart phones out,taking notes, responding to queries, and using education apps.  In a science class that was using acelestial mapping app, the teacher was having difficulty making the app work.Without missing a beat, he let a student take over the bootleg technologycomponent of the lesson so he could focus on explaining what the class wasobserving.  It was beautiful towatch.  And for the “bootlegtechnology is a distraction” crowd, as I looked over the shoulders of studentsas they worked (in multiple classrooms), not one was off task. 
A number of you in the LYS Nation are now using your ownbootleg technology devices to follow Twitter.  If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us.  To let you see what you are missing,here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of September 9, 2012.
1. If you are yelling at kids to hurry up andget to class, and then get mad because they start to run, you have a poor graspof stimulus and response.
2. If principals are instructional leaders, whydon't we discuss instruction with greater frequency at Principals' meetings?
3. Finding a principal who talks about instructionat all is rare, much less in faculty meetings. (By @txschoolsupe)
4. Of course, I do have to wonder if the perceivedneed for teacher unions would be necessary if politicians stopped usingeducation as a pawn. (By @txschoolsupe)
5. 132 PowerWalks in the last 10 instructionaldays. Getting great insight and data from this tool. Fundamental 5 is drivinginstruction. (By @blitzkrieg607)
6. Hey, when every person in the room is thesmartest person in the room, who is the smartest person in the room? Ego killsinvention. (By @tlonganecker)
7. All administrators / teachers need a system toensure they check on delegated action items, because often you delegate andforget. (By @TroyMooney)
8. America. Where millionaires are jealous ofteachers trying to earn a decent salary. (By @LOLGOP)
9. Why do some argue that the best way toprepare students for poor instruction is to purposefully teach poorly?
10. I have never used twitter but signed up tofollow you. Read and implementing The Fundamental 5 at our school. Greatbook! (By @jenaadan)
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832)477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copiesavailable on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832)477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary SchoolLeadership Tale” Individual copies available onAmazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Nowat the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite(Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote),Advancing Improvement in Education Conference (Multiple Presentations), TASSPAssistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), North Dakota Association ofSecondary School Principals (Keynote), American Association of SchoolAdministrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association ofSecondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• FollowSean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation