Blue Picasso

Before enrolling in the MSIDT program at Walden University, I had already completed a masters in educational leadership and a doctorate in educational leadership. A little redundant? Yeah, I know. But the compulsion for lifelong learning is a little more than a cliché for me. It is, well, a compulsion. But a worthy compulsion. A needed compulsion for educators. So…..

The design of doctoral…

Christianity (and by extension, religion) has become extremely politicized over the last century. In doing so, I fear that a great slight of political hand has distracted Christians from the tenets of their true faith. We have been made to focus on issues of morality. I am dreadfully sorry but morality cannot be legislated–it is an issue of the heart, of the spirit, between an individual and…

I.

My view of “political” is rooted in a purist (at least linguistically speaking) way of thinking. I like to think the word “political” still holds to the Greek idea of polītikós which means “civic,” a derivative form of the word, polītēs, “citizen.” We’ve almost forgotten in our society that politics in a democracy is a civic responsibility of the citizens. We’ve allowed the “partisan” aspect…

In my last post I gave some consideration to how principals and educational leaders are project managers. In this post I examine the importance in realizing that principals are also program evaluators.

Almost on a daily basis principals are expected to examine, collect data on, analyze, even design and develop, and at the least give thought to the value of programs on their campuses and in the…

According to wikipedia.com, scope creep “in project management refers to uncontrolled changes or continuous growth in a project’s scope. This can occur when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled. It is generally considered harmful.” Examples of scope creep are:

poor change control

lack of proper initial identification of what is required to bring about the…

This posting deviates from my usual postings in that it moves away from contemplations that deal specifically with educational leadership and principal preparation. Instead this attempts to meet the requirements for an assignment in a project management course in a program for instructional design and technology.

The assignment requirement states, To prepare for this assignment, conduct a web…

Responding to the Art of Effective Communication

According to a survey by The Ken Blanchard Companies (n.d.), inappropriate use of communication or listening is the number one “biggest mistake leaders make when working with others (www.kenblanchard.com). Eight-two percent (82%) of survey respondents chose this as the biggest mistake. This “big mistake” ranked in the survey ahead of “failing to use a leadership style that is appropriate to the…

Developing a Comprehensive Improvement Plan for school (what is sometimes called a Campus Improvement Plan or CIP) can often become a mindless and cliché act of routine or ritual. Throughout my career as an educational leader I have heard of campus principals simply taking last year’s CIP and changing the dates so that it becomes this year’s CIP. This is unfortunate since this document is…

Over the next 5-10 years, 10-20 years with advances in technological tools and comfort levels with online environments and digital cultures increasing I believe we will see a change in the stigma that still currently exists regarding online degrees and online learning. Growing comfort and emerging positive attitudes will obviously impact perception and acceptance. As Siemens (Laureate, n.d.)…

Free Open Course Review

This is a brief and basic analysis of a free Open Course site I chose to review, the Open Yale Courses, from the consideration of instructional design for distance learning. The specific course I chose to reflect on was PHIL 181: THE PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE OF HUMAN NATURE. This was one of only two philosophy courses offered as open courses at Yale, the other entitled, PHIL 176: DEATH. According…