My 5 Most Read Blogs of 2021
2021 was a year where I started to become more comfortable with putting my writing out there. Here are my most read blogs of the past year.
6 Warning Signs of a Toxic School Culture
School administrators play a pivotal role in school culture. They are often the first to know that things aren’t going well and need some attention, but they’re also responsible for communicating school policies and procedures clearly to school staff members.
To prevent school environments from becoming toxic — and thus affecting students as well — school administration should do their best to communicate with school staff on a regular basis, provide them with resources needed for success, maintain consistency in school policy changes, give teachers clear expectations of what is expected of them each day without being unclear or vague about it.
5 Ways to Encourage Students to Be More Creative
In order to be creative, students must have the courage to try new things and experiment with different ideas. Creativity requires research, bravery, risk-taking, and perseverance. Students should not fear mistakes or criticism but see these as opportunities for growth. Encourage them to take risks in their work by giving them time to explore their thoughts and come up with innovative solutions on a wide range of projects they are working on so that they can show you what’s possible when they apply themselves creatively.
4 Tips For Becoming An EdTech Leader
Educational technology leaders should be open-minded and flexible. They need to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies, but not let them dictate a course of action without weighing other factors such as cost or practicality.
Being too rigid in your view can lead you down the wrong path — this is risky for any organization leading innovation efforts, especially when it comes to education.
The best educational technology leaders are those who recognize that there’s no one true solution; they constantly experiment and implement new ideas while maintaining flexibility about what works for their school or district at different points in time.
Feedback: An Essential Tool for Self-Reflection
Providing feedback to students is an opportunity to help them improve their work. As well as identifying what teachers are doing well, it also allows them to improve their teaching. Feedback allows students to reflect on their own progress and success in a class, which will help them become better learners over time.
Feedback should be given often so that students have enough time to process the information and make any improvements that need to be made. In order for students to understand how they can improve, teachers should give specific feedback.
Qualities of An Effective Administrator
School administrators must be able to think critically, creatively, and strategically in order to be successful. But what are the qualities that make up an excellent leader?
The system of effective leadership boils down into two main parts: the ability to motivate people and the habit of paying attention. And these two qualities are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to being an exceptional leader!
Alfonso Mendoza Jr., M.Ed. is an Instructional Technologist, Instructional Designer, Doctoral Student, Podcaster, and Google Innovator that is passionate about education.
Visit My EdTech Life at www.myedtech.life to listen or watch all our podcast episodes.