Chris Lehmann - We need more principals like him

Just the snippet you need after working in the digital divide! I survived the digital divide in the military, transitioning from analog to digital and digital to IP. I live in a miniscule digital divide with a parent and a child, one who discovered a love for technology later in life and one who continues to grow with technology. Both embrace technology, are willing to learn, try, ask questions, and share experiences. Lifelong learning is a part of everyday life in this household.

My mother encourages me to "Bloom where I am planted" when I become discouraged with the divide in the city that hosts the Masters Golf Tournament. The mayor has a Facebook page, yet we still have educators that do not check email and call a cell phone "just a cell phone".

Chris Lehmann's blog Practical Theory contains his blog entries as a principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadephia, PA. Mr. Lehmann's recent appearance at IgnitePhilly should be viewed by everyone, whether you are an educator, a parent, a community partner, a tax payer, students and saved as a favorite for anyone who works within the digital divide and has one of those days, weeks, or months, where you just want to run away and join the forward moving techies.

I also came across this shared presentation through Dr. Mcleod's blog, Dangerously Irrelevant and Darren Draper's blog, Drape's Takes. Through my RSS reader, I am sure I will see more links as Mr. Lehmann's video and presentation goes viral.

Thanks Chris for sharing this snippet and thanks to everyone who continues to share through their blog posts. Your posts, shared knowledge, and experiences provide the light at the end of the tunnel when one thinks about throwing in the towel and just sticking with the forward thinking techies.

Ultimate Parent Guide

Click to open The Ultimate Parent Guide Building a Lasting Relationship with your Teen. (pdf)

Sean Covey's site The 6 Most Important Decisions You will even make is designed for teens and has links for School, Friends, Parents, Dating and Sex, Addictions, and Self Worth.

Trying to bridge the connections between parents, our young adult students, and teachers is a work in progress. The students today are the replacements in our communities, the good and the bad.

With everything going on in the world, sometimes we lose focus on the family connections. How well do we know our young adults who are growing up in the information age? How well do they understand the adults that they will soon be working for or replacing in the communities?

Can you and your teen answer these questions from The Ultimate Parent Guide by Sean Covery?

Parents, How Well Do You Know Your Teen?
1. What are your teen’s favorite subject and teacher in school?
2. What would your teen consider to be the nicest thing you could do for them?
3. What would your teen like to become when they grow up?
4. What is your teen’s favorite kind of music?
5. What is your teen’s hot button, the thing that really makes them mad?
6. What is your teen’s favorite Internet site?
7. What is the one thing your teen wishes they could change about him - or herself?
8. What would your teen really like to talk about with you, but is afraid to?
9. What pet would your teen prefer to have: a dog, a cat, a hamster, a horse, a bird, a turtle, a snake, no pet at all, or all of the above?
10. Who is your teen’s best friend?
11. If your teen could travel anywhere in the world, where would they go?
12. What would your teen rather do: go to a movie with friends, read a good book, play games on the computer, or play their favorite sport?
13. Does your teen have a boyfriend or girlfriend right now? If so, who is it?
14. What has been one of the high points of your teen’s life so far?
15. What was your teen’s favorite vacation ever?

Teens, How Well Do You Know Your Mom/Dad?
1. What color are your mom’s/dad’s eyes?
2. What is your mom’s/dad’s favorite thing to do?
3. What would your mom/dad consider to be the nicest thing you could do for her/him?
4. If your mom/dad had all the time and money in the world, what would they spend their time doing?
5. What are your mom’s/dad’s views on marriage?
6. What is your mom’s/dad’s greatest unfulfilled dream?
7. What was your mom’s/dad’s first full-time job?
8. Who is your mom’s/dad’s closest friend?
9. How did your parents first meet?
10. What is your mom’s/dad’s favorite kind of music?
11. What is your mom’s/dad’s favorite TV show?
12. Who did your mom/dad vote for in the last election?
13. Does your mom/dad gas up the car when the tank is half-empty or wait until it is nearly empty?
14. Where is your mom’s/dad’s favorite vacation spot?
15. What would your mom/dad rather do: watch a good TV show, go out to the movies, go to dinner with some friends, or read a book?

Google's Translate Tool

Google products are part of my playground. During Google's recent birthday I wondered how different my life would be if I grew up with Google. My daughter who attends college could not believe that Google was only 10 years old...she grew up with Google.

With our military experience foreign travel was the nature of the beast. How cool learning the new languages in Germany, Spain, Korea, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq would have been if I had Google translate tools on an Android?

As the participative parent, I worked with my daughter in a variety of subjects. She took Spanish, I didn't. I took French and haven't used it since college. We did learn the value of being bilingual as she began her job searches as a teenager. Most jobs even for teens offered a higher hourly wage for being bilingual.

Many parents, do not speak or know anything about the county of origin of the language their student may be taking in school. Google has the tools for us to check our student's homework, projects, or if we have enough self discipline to learn a new language. Google's Translate tool allows users to translate text, web sites, and even add the translate button to your websites.

Google Translate offers translations between the following languages:

Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Portuguese.

Dictionary translation is currently available between English and French, German, Italian, Korean, Russian, and Spanish.

Today's Google's tip of the day is Search for Translation:

If you are in need of a quick translation, Google is here to help. Just search for the word you want in the language you're interested in, and you'll have your translation in a snap.

Try out these translation tasks:
translate ketchup to russian
translate senf to english
translate relish to korean

Why not learn a new phrase or two by translating one of your favorite websites, pasting text into the translate box, or translate words instantly from English with no clicks at all by adding the one click translate button to your browser?

While some schools are adding American Sign Language and select computer programming languages to the foreign language category for credit, learning a new language can support your journey of becoming a life long learner. Continue to work your brain like you work your body!