Evan Thomas and Elizabeth Green debate teaching in Newsweek. Worth reading. But per the post below, Elizabeth casually compares two studies of Teach For America teachers. Not to pick on her, but this is a classic example of the problem our field faces. Those two studies she cites are not the same in terms of their [...]...

Big front page story in the WaPo today about a debate over getting rid of congressional "earmarks" for for-profit entities. But is the problem that for-profits can get earmarks or that the earmark process is just not very meritorious in its selection regardless of the tax status of the recipient? Plenty of for-profits will continue to [...]...

Yesterday, Ralph Jean-Paul suggested "5 Powerful Ways to Write Dynamic Content" in the Famous Bloggers site. It's a short read but speaks more broadly to communication than just blog writing. It's about competing for attention, which, in a world that supposedly is doubling its technical information every 72 hours, we're all making decisions on what we're going to read and what we're going to ignore. I would insert one additional recommendation ? Have something to say. I'll append Jean-Paul's list and suggest again that you link over and read his explanations. Be Unique Write for Humans Be Interesting Commit to Quality Have a Call to Action Added a couple of hours later I would also add that the writer (communicator) be open to learning something new in the conversation that your ideas evoke. Powered by Qumana...

Google GroupsA wonderful way to share information with a group of people. We use these behind the scenes to manage all of our flat classroom projects.tags: education, learningShare Documents and Files Online | Create a Free Website | Microsoft Office LiveIF you use office, you should set up the office live add in. It is so useful for sharing and backing up files!tags: education, learning, office, productivity, wordprocessing, workflow_software, edu_newappBlog Smarter | Zemanta Ltd.Great tool to enhance blogging whether you blog on Ning or blogger or wherever. I set up the profile and it helps me put related posts at the end, find matching graphics and suggests links. Just makes it easy.tags: education, blogging, edu_newappLogin to Your Account » SocialOomph.comCool place to schedule tweets and get a lot of productivity out of Twitter.tags: education, learning, twitterTweetDeckTweetdeck is my favorite tool for accessing Twitter. I also highly recommend following the #edchat discussions and participating.tags: education, learningBest content in educators | Diigo - GroupsEducators Group on Diigo - over 1400 educators share in this group which also has standard tags to help us categorize and share.tags: education, edu_news, bestpracticesMy List: Web 2.0 Smackdown ListI love Diigo - including the lists feature. This list is what I'll be using for the session tomorrow.\n\n1) Diigo\n2) Bookmarking - send to blog post - settings\n3) Groups & widgets\n4) Tag dictionariestags: education, learning, web2Smarthistory: a multimedia web-book about art and art historyArt history in a whole new way with Smart History. Conversation and social media come to art education. Just fascinating.Realize that there are some nudes on this site, so it may be appropriate for older kids or college level students.tags: education, learningFour sources for pre-made virtual worlds - Hypergrid BusinessFour places to get Open Archive (OAR) fil...

Plastic Bag By Ramin Bahrani Short film by American director Ramin Bahrani (Goodbye Solo) traces the epic, existential journey of a plastic bag (voiced by Werner Herzog)......

There's something I've hated since the third grade, yet I've found it trailing me like a bloodhound over the past two decades. It's when a teacher hands out a syllabus or assignment and then preceeds to read the entire thing around. This is not teaching. This is not lecturing. It is laziness.This problem has seeped into many of the meetings I attend. Workers prepare reports and then read them alond - word for word. If we are having a meeting, isn't it fair to expect that we will verbally discuss and expand upon the information contained on the paper? These verbatim readers never see the attendees' eyes glazing over because they are too busy reading!Reading aloud might be effective for my wife's second grade class, but in the businessworld, you are embarassing your staff and yourself.Sorry for the rant. If you want to vent about work, leave a comment below and be sure to check out the Jobacle Master Lists of Work Vent Websites....

Unless you earn a living as an emergency responder or snow-plow operator, there's no reason to report to work amidst a winter storm. Or, at least that's what logic and humanity seem to dictate. But who said cooler heads prevail at work?! Unfortunately for middle-of-the-ladder employees, we rarely get to see our bosses' "softer side." In the northeast, we have experienced some the worst snow conditions in 114 years--and even that didn't make employers change their rigid tune.Missing work when it snows is serious business. Read more from Andrew G.R. on "snowjobs" at U.S. News & World Report....

What do your company's talent conversations sound like?If you've spent more than a few minutes managing, succession planning, or doing a performance review, you know that total talent conversations can morph into a bias founded upon a single experience. Here's what I mean. The Halo EffectThe Halo Effect surfaces when someone has an outstanding characteristic and we allow our positive reaction to that singe characteristic to influence our total judgment of the individual. What follows is a high assessment on many traits because we believe the person is a star in one trait. We ascribe a range of related talents that simply may not now, nor ever will, exist. We see this in the realms of celebrity and politics when a physically attractive person is presumed to have a host of other positive traits. We also see it in companies where "the smartest guy in the room" moves up the hierarchy until it's discovered that his "smartness" not only doesn't extend to other fundamental traits e.g., cooperation, teamwork, initiating communication--but the individual may actually get in the way of the flow of work. The Horn EffectThis one, often called the "Devil Effect," is the flip side of the Halo Effect and doesn't get quite as much attention. I don't know why that is. Its organizational impact is equally profound. In this scenario, if a person seems particularly lacking in one key trait, then that person will often be assumed to be deficient in many other traits. A manager who is constantly overdue on project delivery (possibly due to unreasonable work demands and a boss who won't renegotiate what makes realistic sense) is assumed to be uncommitted, perhaps a little lazy, and even negligent in their overall work life.Expectations and Self-Fulfilling PropheciesWe live up to our expectations. People who expect to be successful are more likely to succeed. People who expect failure are more likely to fail. A mana...

The Internet can be a very useful tool when it comes to finding work. However, you may have to search hard and long for quality websites, since, as with most things online, there’s a lot of junk. The following are ten online resources with job search engines and other websites to help you find work fast. 1. Job Search Sites Some of the better job search sites are, in no particular order: Indeed, LinkUp, Simply Hired, and Jobster . Increasingly, employers are posting more and more ads on Craigslist , which is a great resource to find jobs in your immediate area. If you’d like to take advantage of the connections that social networking affords, then check out Twitter Job Search . 2. Help with your resume About.com offers a comprehensive guide to writing effective resumes and cover letters , with additional links to other websites. 3. Interview tips How To Nail an Interview offers twenty solid interview tips, as well as videos that demonstrate effective interviewing techniques. 4. Information about prospective companies Just as much as employers conduct research on potential candidates, through Google Search or other means, the job seeker should become informed about companies for which they’re wanting to work. Researching companies will help you during the interview process, in which interviewers often want to know how much you know about them in order to gauge your interest in the job. But don’t just stop there. You may also want to find out how much you could potentially earn, or what the corporate culture is like in any given company. With GlassDoor , you can find out the average salaries for different positions in different companies, and you can also read company reviews posted by current or former employees. 5. Tips on negotiating salary Whether you’re in the process of getting a job, or you already have one, but feel that you deserve a raise, salaries are always negotiable. The State Department offers some good techniques in tactfully addressi...

People are so wrapped up in finding job opportunities, that they often forget the importance of how to quit a job. If you're not using the final weeks, months, days and hours at a job to reinforce your passion and expertise, you are missing out on a golden personal branding opportunity. The people you work with today, from the newly minted intern to the curmudgeon in clerical, could be the lead to a new job tomorrow. Work hard until the very last secondThe reality is that people WILL talk about you after you leave a job. They'll likely blame you for things that you had nothing to do with. Imagine how nice it would be for someone to come to your aid, defending your honor, even after you're gone. It is possible! Give people very little reason to bad mouth you. Not only do you need to work hard and tie up all loose ends when you come to the end of the road at a gig, but you need to be your own cheerleader too. Make it known that you're giving the job your all until the very end. You'll be amazed at how impressed people will be to find you still there at 5pm on your very last day. Or how thrilled they'll be when you leave them instructions on how to do something that only you handled. Not only will it help you brand yourself in a positive light, but it's also good career karma. Do not bad mouth the employer you are leaving behindIt's no secret that people like to be surrounded by positive and upbeat people. Upon quitting a job people will instantly expect you to bite the hand that is no longer feeding you. It's an easy trap to fall into, but an important one to avoid. Read more of my post at PersonalBrandingBlog.com....

For years, I loved to get a tax refund. In fact, it seemed the only way I could save was by having extra withheld from my paycheck so that I'd get a big refund at the end of the year. Using this method, I was able to buy a new computer, a new bike, and all sorts of other toys. (But, of course, I was never smart enough to use the money to pay down debt.) I'm older and wiser now, and I prefer not to get a tax refund. I'd rather get my money up front so I can tuck it in a high-interest savings account. This gives me an extra boost toward my goals. But let me be clear: I certainly don't begrudge others who do choose to get a refund. Some folks are happy to let the government use their money for a year, and others are like I used to be, [...]...

This article is by staff writer Adam Baker, who recently released an 83-page guide entitled Unautomate Your Finances. Courtney and I are big fans of what we call "mental filters". These are simple little tips and tricks that we can use to increase our financial awareness. (J.D. likes to call these tips and tricks money hacks.) For example, I've talked before about how we taped a picture of our daughter to our credit cards while we were paying down our debt. Many people I know use some sort of 30-day rule to curb their impulse desires, especially those which contribute to clutter. Both of these techniques are examples of deliberately installing a barrier between yourself and a routine action. Many of us do this in various aspects of our lives to help raise consciousness, but this technique can be particularly powerful in our finances. Today, I want to share a mental filter (or money hack, if you prefer) that Courtney [...]...

This post is from new staff writer Sierra Black. Sierra writes about frugality, sustainable living, and getting her kids to eat kale at Childwild.com. Last week, J.D. wrote about Stuff; today, Sierra shares her thoughts on the costs of clutter. Do you have piles of papers lurking on your desk? Mountains of laundry looming beside your bed? Shelves double-stacked with knick-knacks? I have a bit of a clutter problem myself. The other day, I spent an hour looking for the vacuum cleaner, which eventually turned up buried under a pile of laundry almost as tall as I am. All that clutter isn’t just annoying. It’s expensive. That’s right: Excess Stuff can keep costing you money even after it’s been bought and paid for. How expensive is your Stuff? Professional organizer Jen Hunter of Find Your Floor in Boston says clutter can cost us real money in a lot of ways: Buying replacement Stuff: Somewhere in your closet is [...]...

"The Automatic Millionaire" bestseller by author David Bach was quite an inspiration. Although it came out in 2004, I've recently found it hanging out in the library and I've finally gotten around to reading a personal finance book that actually provided sound money management principles. David Bach writes with a convincing voice but it all came [...] Related posts:The Psychological Effects Of An Automatic Savings Plan Last monthStarted An Automatic Savings Plan With HSBC Direct I'veReview: Citi Dividend Platinum Select Card for College Students The Citi D...

I did it! After months of struggling and hours upon hours of typing, I've finally reached that mythical state of Inbox Zero. My inbox is empty ? or nearly so. (I still have a handful of messages about stuff I'm actually working on at this moment, such as publicity for the book.) I do have a stack of 74 guest-post submissions (including many reader stories), but I'm not including those in this tally. I'll process those gradually, sending replies as quickly as I can. (If you've submitted a guest post, please be patient. I have dozens of them to get through, and can't answer you all at once.) While sorting through the last 200 e-mail messages today, I found lots of great stuff you folks had submitted. Here are some of the best bits sent to me over the past few months: Carmen sent me this article from CNN/Money about living on a cash-only diet. The piece [...]...

Here is another neat picture from Morguefile. Morguefile has some of the very best photos you can use for free. All you need to do (and even this is not required... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]...

By Nicholas Fahrenkopf What do math inspired dance moves, a Kanye-esque rap “through the wire”, and a flying elephant have in common? For students graduating from high school this year, it just might be their ticket to Tufts University. While for some colleges and universities an online application might be a recent technological advancement, Tufts this [...]...

So, my job at Wounded Warriors Family Support can be accurately described as "The Social Media Guy". The Colonel prefers to call me "the digital dude". A lot is riding on my success or failure in doing this digital outreach. That's my actual title, "Director Of Digital Outreach". If I succeed? Well I'll have plenty to [...]...

Hard times, yes... but exciting times too. Just think about it. Just a generation or two ago, most people were hard put to figure out how they were going to go... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]...

Nontraditional students can find help and support in Kentucky: I posted this on the Free and Cheap blog, but it is equally apros pos for here: Are you thinking of going to Graduate school,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]...