Still around...

Been busy lately, and no time to blog. I'll be back soon, I promise!
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Club Two-Oh

I'm in!
Classroom visits are, without a doubt, one of the key responsibilities of a school site administrator. Why, then, is it that we make them so infrequently?
Yeah, it's easy to say, "Oh, I had to do [trivial BS-du-jour], and didn't have time!" but let's face it: if you're not in classrooms, you're not doing your job. Simple as that.
I'm as guilty as any other busy AP of relegating this critical, but easily postponed, aspect of my job to the bottom of my to-do list, but no longer. I am, here before God and the Blogosphere, committing myself to visiting 20 classrooms per week, thanks to Scott Elias' example.
I'll post updates here and via Tweets as the school year progresses. I make no promises of success, but certainly promise to try!

iPhone?

I have recently learned that my new school district has iPhone 3Gs for issue to administrators. Cool, no?
When the iPhone first came out last year, and with all the hype of the 3G's release in July, my initial reaction was, "Nah, I'm happy with my Palm and my current cell provider." Yeah, the iPhone did a lot of really cool things, and its "WOW!" factor is undeniable, but I really didn't feel the need for one. I even took pride that my usual "Gotta-have-the-bitchin'-new-toy" reaction was supressed. After all, my Palm was still new and functioning just fine, I didn't need access to the 'Net while out-and-about all the time, and I had no problems with Verizon, so I really couldn't justify to myself (let alone the Mrs.!) spending $400 on a new cell phone.
Then, last week, I heard about the iPhones from the district. Other administrators had already received theirs, and took great pleasure in flashing them around at a meeting we attended. My covetous urges started to emerge, and, all of a sudden, I WANTED ONE! My fellow AP and I felt left out, excluded from the party all the cool kids got to go to, and we wanted in.
That particular feeling hasn't gone away yet, and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on one of these things, but I'm starting to ask myself, "What's the big deal? How is this going to change my day-to-day existence as a middle school administrator?" I realize that potential exists with this tool, but I need some guidance and direction. How do I use the iPhone to make my life easier? Why do I need this, above and beyond wanting it?