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The 12 Best Tech Blogs to Stay Informed about Technology News, Products, and Culture

by Loknath Das April 28, 2022

written by Loknath Das

Here are 20 of the Top Tech Blogs You Should be Following in 2021

The world of technology is vast. Every second, it seems, we see a new product release, research breakthrough, or other development that will change the way we live, work, and play. Keeping up with this deluge of information is the challenge, as anyone who works in tech knows.
Luckily, there are a host of blogs out there to help you stay informed about tech news, which products are worth buying, and how technology affects our society. The world of tech bloggers, however, is as extensive as technology itself, making it difficult to know whom you should read and follow.
To help you cut through the confusion, we’ve put together this list of the best technology blogs on the internet. Whether you’re searching tech information related to your work, trying to decide which phone you should buy, or looking for inspiration to start your own tech blog, you’ll find it on one of the sites below.

1. CNET

If you want a great place for tech news coverage, tutorials, and product reviews, CNET is your go-to. The site reports on a vast array of topics, giving you the latest news in everything from tech culture to cybersecurity.
They also have an entire section of their site devoted to smart home tech, making it a valuable resource if you want to set up a smart home or tweak your current setup. And they can offer you guidance when buying a car, helping you find the right mix of fuel-efficiency, safety, and performance.
In addition to written blog content, CNET also has podcasts and videos about tech topics ranging from Microsoft to Apple and smartphones to wearables.

2. TechCrunch

Looking for a blog that focuses on a variety of technology industry news, ranging from social media to apps to the hottest new tech startups? Then you’ll love TechCrunch. As you can see from some of the headlines in the image above, TechCrunch focuses especially on the business side of tech, including IPOs to watch and notable tech company acquisitions or mergers. The site also has a clean layout that makes it a pleasure to read.

3. ZDNet

If you’re a business tech professional who wants to stay updated on the latest trends, issues, and events in IT, then ZDNet is a site you should follow. The site does cover mainstream topics such as reviews of phones and PCs, but it focuses mainly on more technical issues (such as how to upgrade to the latest build of Ubuntu, for instance). Think of it as CNET’s nerdier cousin (their similarity isn’t a coincidence, as both are subsidiaries of CBS Interactive).

4. MIT Technology Review

“MIT Technology Review” is the world’s longest-running tech magazine, with its first issue published in 1899. On their site, they cover topics such as the business and political impact of technology, sustainable energy, and AI.
Given that it’s also a print magazine, the editorial standards for “MIT Technology Review” tend to be higher than for other sites that are publishing exclusively online at the pace of the news cycle. Therefore, it’s a source to turn to when you want longer, deeper examinations of how technology is shaping the present and future. On the other hand, it’s not the best place for tech reviews or tutorials.

5. Gizmodo

Gizmodo is a site that covers design, technology, science, and science fiction. In a notable difference from some other tech websites, it also covers politics. It’s a site worth visiting if you want a break from the industry-focused tech reporting of other sites (though you’ll find a healthy dose of that type of content if you want it).

6. Engadget

Engadget is a blog that features content related to gadgets, consumer electronics, gaming, and entertainment. You’ll find detailed product reviews, as well as buyer’s guides to phones, laptops, headphones, home theater, and gaming systems. In addition to the English-language version, the site is also available in Japanese and Mandarin Chinese.

7. Wired

Wired is a tech site with articles on business, culture, science, security, transportation, and gear, as well as the ideas shaping the future. News is certainly the focus above all else, along with plenty of cultural commentary and analysis. The articles tend to be casual and accessible, making it a good site to read if you just want to stay updated in the broad strokes of tech without getting into the digital weeds.

8. The Next Web

Known as TNW for short, The Next Web covers tech news, internet trends, and gadget reviews. They also put on a conference each year that explores how technology is shaping business innovation (this year’s topics included AI and blockchain tech).
As you can see from the screenshot above, the site focuses on breaking news, constantly updating its homepage feed with the latest stories. If you like to be up to the minute on all tech developments, this is the blog you should follow.

9. The Verge

The Verge is a site that covers the intersection of technology, science, art, and culture. Indeed, tech coverage is just a small fraction of what the site discusses, though you’ll find no shortage of info on the latest trends relating to devices, apps, and the impact of digital media on politics.
The Verge also tends to be a bit slower-paced in its content than some other strictly news sites, even including a dedicated “longform” section that examines stories in greater detail than your typical listicle or clickbait news article.

10. TechSpot

If you want a tech take that’s focused on IT pros, power users, and PC gamers, you should read TechSpot. You won’t find as much cultural commentary as some other tech blogs. Rather, the focus is on the technology itself, as the selection of headlines above shows. The blog isn’t afraid to get technical, either, giving you hardware buying guides, software development tutorials, and advice on how to make your PC perform at its optimum level.

11. Mashable

Mashable is a technology website that also examines entertainment and culture. In some aspects, it verges into the pop territory of sites such as BuzzFeed, including quizzes with titles like “Are You an Apple Expert? Test Your Knowledge.” Still, the site includes interesting expositions of many tech innovations, especially in its video content.

12. SlashGear

SlashGear is a personal technology review site, covering everything from cars to wearables to the latest Apple and Android operating systems. They have buyer’s guides to any gadget you could ever dream of purchasing, and they even have columns devoted to science and health. If you want to be on the cutting edge of the latest tech trends, you should subscribe to this site.

Get All the Tech Info You Need

We hope this post has given you a better idea of where to go for tech information, as well as some models to follow when creating your own tech blog. Whether you want to blog about news, culture, product reviews, or app tutorials, you’ll find an example to emulate in the blogs above.
If you’re in the process of launching your tech blog, be sure to check out our guides to starting a blog in 2018, as well as our exclusive discount on web hosting. For even more blogging tips, sign up for our weekly newsletter.

[“source=bloggingtips”]

April 28, 2022 0 comment

Gadgets News

Sheryl Sandberg reportedly used Facebook resources to help embattled Activision CEO

by Loknath Das April 21, 2022

written by Loknath Das

Meta is reportedly investigating whether Sheryl Sandberg broke company rules in her dealings with a publication that was reporting on Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, who she was dating at the time. According to a new report in The Wall Street Journal, the Meta COO used company resources to help kill negative reporting about Kotick. Meta is now reportedly conducting a “review” of her actions and “whether she violated the company’s rules.”

According to the report, the British tabloid MailOnline was pursuing a story based on allegations made by a former girlfriend of Kotick’s, and a temporary restraining order she had received against him. But Sandberg and Kotick worked together on two separate occasions, in 2016 and in 2019, to strategize on how to “persuade the Daily Mail not to report on the restraining order.”

The report states that Facebook and Activision staff were both directly involved in the effort, and that there was concern internally at Facebook that the story would “reflect negatively on her reputation as an advocate for women.”

The Wall Street Journal report also questions whether Sandberg inappropriately wielded her influence as Facebook COO in her dealings with the MailOnline management. One of the paper’s unnamed sources states that Kotick “told people that Ms. Sandberg threatened the Mail in 2016 by saying that such an article, if published, could damage the news organization’s business relationship with Facebook.”

In a statement, a Meta spokesperson denied Sandberg had “threatened” MailOnline. “Sheryl Sandberg never threatened the MailOnline’s business relationship with Facebook in order to influence an editorial decision,” the spokesperson said. “This story attempts to make connections that don’t exist.” Kotick told The Journal he “never said anything like that.”

The MailOnline never published its story on Kotick, who has recently faced scrutiny over his handling of allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct at Activision. The company was acquired by Microsoft for $68.7 billion in January.

In a statement, Activision’s board of directors said that it had done a “thorough investigation” into “an incident in 2014,” and that they have “full confidence in Mr. Kotick’s leadership.”

“The Board has been aware of the circumstances reported involving an incident in 2014. Around the time of the incident in 2014 , Mr. Kotick notified the senior Independent Director of the Board, has subsequently updated the full Board and has been fully transparent with the Board. The Board, through its counsel Skadden Arps, has done a thorough examination of the facts and circumstances of the events, satisfied itself that there was no merit to the allegations, and notes that they concern a personal relationship that has nothing to do with the business of the Company. The Board continues to have full confidence in Mr. Kotick’s leadership and his ability to run the Company.”

[“source=engadget”]

April 21, 2022 0 comment

Gadgets News

Max Payne 1 and 2 Remakes Are Coming to PC and Consoles

by Loknath Das April 9, 2022

written by Loknath Das

It’s easy to be dismissive of the increasing popularity of classic game remasters — after all, why create something new when you can sell something that already exists? That said, some of the most beloved games from previous generations deserve to be updated for modern hardware, and Max Payne is one of them. Rockstar Games and Remedy Entertainment have announced remakes of the first two games in the series: Max Payne and Max Payne: The Fall of Max Payne.

We’ve seen numerous older titles reemerge in the last few years, including but not even remotely limited to Warcraft III, Command and Conquer, Mass Effect, and Diablo II. Some of these projects have been more successful than others, but starting with content people like is a safer bet than launching a new franchise. And that brings us to Max Payne, which I and many others played obsessively in the early 2000s.

The writing is a little overly dramatic, especially by today’s standards, but that’s what you’d expect from a hard-boiled detective story. The Max Payne games were third-person shooters with a bullet-time mechanic, allowing players to dive through the air in slow motion as they fired round after round at enemies. The first game came out just two years after the original Matrix film, and it no doubt benefitted from a similar combat style. There was even a mod you could install to replicate the famous lobby scene from the movie.

Remedy will develop the remakes in the Northlight engine, which has been used most famously in 2019’s Control. This “physically based render system” seems like a great match for Max Payne, which had elaborate physics for a game of its era. I remember being floored by the way bullets from different guns actually looked different as they floated past the camera in slow motion. Targets that were struck by shotgun blasts behaved differently than those you only managed to wing with a low-caliber pistol. Hopefully the new engine will let them fix Max’s permanently constipated expression.

The remake will include both of the original titles. While there was a third installment, developed and published by Rockstar, it didn’t launch until 2012 and had only limited connections to the first and second. It’s too early to assign the remake a launch date, but it will be available on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

[“source=extremetech”]

April 9, 2022 0 comment

Gadgets News

Our Environmental Commitment to Conservation and Sustainability

by Loknath Das February 11, 2022

written by Loknath Das

Rackspace Technology Environmental Commitment

Our environmental strategy is simple: We aspire to give more than we take from our planet, and we support innovative technologies that change the energy industry for the better. We do this through renewable energy, conservation, and advocacy.

“For over 20 years, Rackspace and Rackers have dedicated time to improving the communities where we both live and work,” said Jason Bowling, Vice President of Business Operations. “And our goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2045 make me proud to be a Racker.”

Achieving that goal puts us five years ahead of the U.N. Paris Agreement on Climate Change ambition to limit the planet’s global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels of net zero by 2050.

To solidify our commitment to conserving the environment while building sustainable business operations, we recently released our first Environmental, Social, and Governance Report detailing some of the ways we’re striving to make this planet a better place.

Minimizing our Waste

We’ve found creative ways to minimize waste on our campuses, such as composting coffee grounds and shipping pallets, refurbishing retired IT equipment for aftermarket use, and collecting HVAC condensation to maintain landscaping and operate cooling towers.

We’ve also implemented water reduction and waste recycling initiatives, including working with technology equipment suppliers to ship specific equipment or components in reusable crates rather than standard throwaway cardboard packaging.

Measuring Our Emissions

We have prepared a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory (scope 1, 2, and partial 3) every year since 2008 for all our operations worldwide. Our participation in the annual CDP survey provides customers and investors with a transparent and streamlined view of both our emissions data and our environmental sustainability standards.

A better understanding of our footprint allows us to identify high-impact efficiency projects that help us conserve resources and benchmark outcomes. For example, we use specialized air filters in our London office to reduce carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) by 2,000 kilograms per year.

Partnering for Sustainability

In the spirit of doing our part to preserve the environment, our suppliers are encouraged to incorporate environmental responsibility into their operational decision-making processes, to perform above the minimum standard of the law, and continually revisit their sustainability performance to ensure efforts are being made to improve results.

We expect our suppliers to take a holistic view and consider social, environmental, and governance aspects in decisions regarding responsible sourcing, managing wastewater, pollution prevention, and handling hazardous materials.

Solving Together

Through the delivery of cloud services to our customers, Rackspace Technology® is contributing to an overall reduction of energy consumption. In addition, by moving companies to shared resources and facilities, cloud adoption helps to reduce the number of duplicate, energy-hungry data centers across an enterprise.

Customers who decide to move their data to the cloud with Rackspace Technology have a variety of options to help them further reduce their carbon footprint. The sustainability and financial benefits from cloud migration vary, depending on which cloud a customer selects, the level of cloud optimization, and whether the customer uses any sustainability innovations powered by the cloud.

We invite you to learn more about how we’re investing in our customers, our global community, and how you can partner with us to build a multicloud strategy that’s innovative and sustainable.

[“source=rackspace”]

February 11, 2022 0 comment

Gadgets News

Apple to offer paid parental leave and more sick days to retail employees

by Loknath Das February 8, 2022

written by Loknath Das

Workers staff a new Apple retail store during a media preview in San Francisco, California, U.S., May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Noah Berger

Apple will expand benefits for all of its retail employees in the US, beginning April 4th. Bloomberg reports the new benefits include increased vacation and sick days, paid parental leave and more. It will impact both full-time and part-time employees across all 270 Apple Stores nationwide.

The tech giant’s offer of more generous benefits didn’t come out of the blue. Apple, like many corporations, is having a tough time recruiting and retaining hourly workers in a tight labor market. A number of media outlets, including The Verge, Gizmodo, 9to5Mac and others have reported on the grim realities of Apple’s retail operations, which include low pay, stressful workloads and low employee morale. Staffing shortages due to Covid-19 led to many stores operating on reduced hours or closing altogether. Dozens of Apple employees staged a Christmas Eve walkout in order to protest their working conditions. The testimony of these workers presents a stark contrast to Apple’s financial standing during the pandemic, which has produced several consecutive record-breaking quarters.

Apple will double the number of paid sick days for both full-time and part-time employees. Full-time retail employees will receive 12 sick days instead of six. The company will also be more lenient in granting sick leave, allowing workers to use sick leave for mental health days or in order to take family members to the doctor. Part-time workers will also receive paid vacation days and paid parental leave for up to six weeks.

The company’s benefits expansion follows similar moves by Amazon, Walmart and Fedex to retain hourly and front-line employees. Thousands of frontline workers have since quit or retired due to stressful and dangerous working conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic. But labor rights advocates point out that many of these improvements, such as bonuses or hazard pay, are either temporary or have since been rolled back.

[“source=engadget”]

February 8, 2022 0 comment

Education

Epic Outages of Edtech Tools Show K-12 Schools Are Vulnerable to Cyberattacks

by Loknath Das February 1, 2022

written by Loknath Das

Epic Outages of Edtech Tools Show K-12 Schools Are Vulnerable to Cyberattacks

A recent cyberattack that affected the biggest school district in the country is a reminder of an increase in cybersecurity incidents at schools across the U.S. As such attacks become more common, schools may need to do more to build their ability to prevent attacks and to hold private vendors to high standards, experts say.

An “attempted security incident” this month knocked out many of Illuminate Education’s digital services, including an online gradebook, Skedula, and a related parent-focused platform, PupilPath, which are used by New York’s public school system. Service was out for several weeks, disrupting learning as the schools returned from the holiday break. And even now, some of the company’s other services appear to still be down, according to updates from the company.

Cyberattacks on schools are on the rise, according to the latest available report from the K-12 Security Information Exchange, a national nonprofit focused on cybersecurity and K-12 schools. There’s been a five-fold increase in incidents since 2016, with 1,180 reported incidents connected to U.S. public schools in that time. At least 128 school districts have seen repeat attacks.

The uptick is happening at a time of record spending on U.S. edtech: K-12 public schools in America spent somewhere between $26 billion and $41 billion annually before the pandemic, according to figures from the nonprofit EdTech Evidence Exchange.

The issue isn’t just a matter of inconvenience, but a potential threat to student privacy, especially in the case of digital gradebooks and other student information systems, experts point out.

“Cyber attacks are a growing problem in schools, and the harms to students and their families are not theoretical,” says Elizabeth Laird, director of Equity in Technology at the Center for Democracy and Technology.

Low-Hanging Fruit

Although school districts are doing a decent job with what they have, they don’t have as many resources to throw at cybersecurity as private corporations do, which can make them look like low-hanging fruit to would-be attackers, says Tim Harper, a former chief technology officer for Seminole Public Schools in Sanford, Florida, and the current administrator-in-residence for Clever, a K-12 digital platform.

For many schools across the country, which require edtech to function, third-party vendors would be better equipped to handle cybersecurity, argues Jim Siegl, senior technologist at the Future of Privacy Forum. Many districts are small, and may only have a handful of staff for all of their technology operations.

So far, schools have responded by increasing training for teachers, though that training has focused more on student security than on how teachers themselves can prevent online intrusions. According to one Center for Democracy and Technology report, many teachers have received training on student privacy, fewer have received training on how to avoid phishing or ransomware scams meant to hoodwink them into giving up their personal information.

These days, any online system comes with tradeoffs, and risks, notes Doug Levin, the national director of the K-12 Security Information Exchange.

“When school districts adopt technology solutions for their operations, they are accepting cybersecurity risk—it faces every organization that relies on technology,” he says.

Not all the risk comes from computers within a school. The many outside systems that schools contract with aren’t immune from attacks, and are outside of a school’s control.

Even when schools outsource their cybersecurity to an outside firm, Levin adds, “it is merely shifting their risk to a third-party.”

For example, an attack against Finalsite, a software company used by schools across the country, affected around 5,000 school websites earlier this month. Levin notes that while Finalsite appears to have been forthright about the attack and its response, there are still questions about whether it could have done more to prevent it.

And companies have not always been candid when they’ve experienced a significant attack. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, for instance, announced last year that it had fined Pearson, the London-based publishing company known for its textbooks, $1 million to settle charges that it had “misled investors about a 2018 cyber intrusion involving the theft of millions of student records, including dates of births and email addresses, and had inadequate disclosure controls and procedures.”

What schools can do, experts say, is to diligently vet the edtech they use. Specifically, schools should insist on contractual commitments to safety audits and prompt disclosures of security issues that may arise, Levin says.

Lack of National Consensus

The U.S. lacks a national consensus around what sort of protections parents, teachers and students should expect in terms of data privacy from school districts, experts including Levin and Harper say. In contrast, the European Union put in place the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, in 2018 which spells out the expectations around data protection and personal information.

U.S. states have begun to address the issue, however, and more than 100 student-privacy laws have been passed since 2013, many of which ban targeted advertising or data-selling—though fewer of those laws tackle training or meaningful security requirements. And the measures rarely provide extra funding to schools for security or privacy resources, experts point out.

[“source=edsurge”]

February 1, 2022 0 comment

Gadgets News

In Morocco, digital skills bring new hope to challenged young people

by Loknath Das January 31, 2022

written by Loknath Das

Cisco Networking Academy and SOS Children’s Villages partner to build skills for technology and life.

As the child of a single mother in Morocco, Abderrahmane Mouzoun was denied many opportunities. But Cisco Networking Academy helped him further his dream: to develop the technology skills that would empower him to create a new life.

“I have always been passionate about computers,” said Mouzoun, who is now 22. “And I was very fortunate to discover the Cisco Networking Academy program. They gave me the best in everything, not just in technology but in life.”

Mouzoun’s opportunity stemmed from a partnership between Cisco and SOS Children’s Villages, which has a long history of supporting orphans and other challenged young people in Morocco and many other places around the world.

In the Casablanca area, the nonprofit operates five orphanages, known as villages, all of which make great efforts to create a family environment. That includes emotional, educational, and career support for children without parents, as well as those from other challenged backgrounds — including teen-aged mothers and kids from single-parent or poor families.

“Many of these children have suffered severe trauma due to mistreatment and abandonment,” said Samya Elmousti, national director of SOS Children’s Villages in Morocco. “They still bear the scars from their past, and we help restore a sense of wellbeing and self-esteem in order for them to have faith in life and face it with more serenity and confidence.”

Developing the professional skills that will enable them to lead independent lives is a big part of building that confidence. That’s where Cisco entered the picture.

In 2019, Margarete Mourao, a Lisbon-based planning and strategy manager for Cisco’s customer experience group, traveled to Morocco to see how Cisco could contribute.

“In Morocco, literacy levels are quite low, especially for girls and young women,” Mourao said. “We were looking for a way to help. And we were impressed with the way that SOS Children supported kids and families.”

Mourao led efforts that resulted in Cisco donating $181,000 in technology upgrades for the villages. Webex, in particular, kept learning and emotional connections alive through the pandemic.

As important as those donations were, Mourao knew that Cisco Networking Academy could go further, to truly transform lives. So, Mourao connected some local Cisco employees in Casablanca with the SOS Villages. And despite delays caused by the pandemic, virtual Networking Academy sessions began last year, with hopes for more in 2022.

Cisco Networking Academy offers curriculum in IT, cybersecurity, and other in-demand technology skills. The Networking Academy program is available through 12,000 learning institutions across 180 countries, and has reached 15.1 million learners since 1997.

“The goal of SOS Children is to help people become independent and start working,” Mourao explained. “And Networking Academy has experts with the digital skills, who can mentor them to join this digital world.”

Omar Rhoulami is one such Cisco expert. A business development manager with a passion for helping those in need, he was inspired by Mourao to lend his time and expertise to the cause, while encouraging his colleagues to do the same.

“The Cisco systems engineers and other technical guys volunteered on weekends,” Rhoulami said, “just to share their experience. Because digital literacy is important to them. These kids are the future and developing their IT skills could play a major role in transforming their lives. Digital transformation impacts everything and everyone.”

Skills for technology, skills for life

Not all of the kids expect to have a career in IT, like Abderrahmane Mouzoun. But regardless of where life leads them, the skills they learned will be invaluable.

“The Cisco volunteers provided IT and cybersecurity sessions with proper certification to be used for future job references,” Elmousti said. “But they also delivered virtual sessions and best practices on how to build an engaging CV, nail a job interview, communicate effectively, and use social media for job hunting.”

Last year’s sessions were deemed a great success, with a high engagement level among the 26 students, who ranged in age from 16 to 22. And more sessions are anticipated for 2022.

“The community that we work with, they could be orphans, they could be children from families with no fathers, they could be teenage mothers,” Mourao said. “But when you are with them, you really feel the energy. They are committed to improving their lives.”

Between the Cisco mentors and another partner, Toastmasters International, which provided additional help with public speaking, Mouzoun said he developed conversational and interview skills that he never imagined having.

“In the beginning, I was very shy to give my opinion,” said Mouzoun. “But with the practice, I feel I can talk with anyone. All the Cisco members I worked were so nice and encouraged me.”

Building such one-on-one relationships was crucial to gaining trust and giving students a sense of their own potential.

“The Cisco volunteers didn’t just deliver a technical session,” Rhoulami stressed. “They were really close and open with the students, which is key.”

Mouzoun said his new life skills will support him in his dream of becoming a software engineer and traveling abroad.

“When I started to learn about software engineering in the Networking Academy,” he said, “I felt a solid love for it. Now, I want to travel to the U.S.A. or Canada. And live there, and help my family get better.”

Rhoulami was so encouraged by the response to the first round of Networking Academy sessions that he looks forward to expanding the offerings in the future.

“We have some good candidates for more advanced topics,” he said, “like cybersecurity.”

Elmousti, too, is excited about the future. She looks forward to building on her team’s relationship with Cisco and offering even better services in the future.

“I am very grateful to be able to rely on the support of companies like Cisco who are willing to provide their knowledge and expertise to help our organization be more innovative in the programs we offer,” she said. “And I believe Cisco will continue to play a central role in the digitalization of our villages.”

Mouzoun meanwhile, is currently between jobs. But with newfound confidence he’s excited about his next steps.

“All the members of Cisco and the SOS Villages care about us,” he said. “And they just want us to be the best versions of ourselves.”

[“source=newsroom”]

January 31, 2022 0 comment

Education

How to improve staff wellbeing and achieve the best for your school and pupils

by Loknath Das January 30, 2022

written by Loknath Das

Staff wellbeing

How can we improve staff wellbeing to achieve the best for schools and pupils? Here are my eight top tips, created in association with three inspirational school leaders.

1) Focus on your own wellbeing before anything else

This is a ‘must’! Look after your own wellbeing and everyone around you benefits.

It’s important to lead by example and practise what you preach if you are to truly enhance staff wellbeing, and as a result, the outcomes for your pupils.

Start by booking some thinking and reflection time each week and to focus on what you need to do for you, as well as those you lead. The quality of your thinking underpins your success – so make time for it.

2) Put a focus on what is going well

If you are like many leaders, teachers and staff I know, you probably end each day thinking about what you haven’t done and the things that have gone wrong.

Yet what about the many things you have done and your successes? We are either our own biggest cheerleader or critic.

So how can you flip this?

In her book ‘Positivity’, Barbara Frederickson a US psychologist revealed that we need a 3:1 positive to negative ratio to be emotionally well. Create a trigger – for example a phone alarm or post-it note on your steering wheel – to make sure when you ask yourself at the end of each day, “What did I do well?” or “What were my three biggest achievements.”

Repeat until it becomes your habit and share this with colleagues to help them too.

3) Make praise part of every day

Recognition improves engagement and performance. Schools are often great at shout-outs and staff messages. Yet they miss out on ‘in the moment’ praise. It is hard because so many staff are spread across classrooms, yet when done well, the impact can be better than a pay rise!

Set a goal to catch people doing things right and share this with other leaders. This means being in the present and spotting all those brilliant things that happen each day. Imagine the impact if you and other leaders all caught three people every day!

This is one of the fastest ways to build staff wellbeing into the school culture – people copy and it is contagious.

4) Measure staff wellbeing

If you want to make a difference to staff wellbeing, you must first understand where you are now and what needs to change.

Track staff data and run an evidence-based anonymous staff survey to provide scores, benchmarks and feedback. You can see how well you are doing in building a workplace environment where your staff can do their best work.

Share strengths and focus on recommended actions.

5) Focus on behaviours

Review your school values and agree with all staff what behaviours you would see if they were being lived. Start with the senior leadership team, make sure they are role models, then move to middle leaders, providing coaching and training to ensure everyone is fully engaged. Make them part of everything you do, including performance management and appraisals, and reinforce them through praise and holding staff to account.

6) View any changes through the lens of staff wellbeing

Before changing or implementing any new policies, procedures, or practices, consider them through the lens of staff wellbeing by asking the question: ‘What impact will this have on the wellbeing of colleagues and the outcomes for pupils?’

Remove anything that needs high energy or commitment and even where it delivers strong outcomes, make sure it is worth it!

Apply the ‘in/out’ rule. If you are going to add something new then you need to remove something too.

7) Train colleagues in efficient approaches

There will always be too much to do, so we have to quit trying to do it all and focus only on what is important!

The more efficient your staff are, the more time they will have to invest in the things that matter to the school and to themselves. Teach people how to prioritise, delegate, better manage themselves, their email, technology, their workload, and that perfection is over-rated.

Challenge them to set their hours and fit the work to these, rather than letting the work dictate the hours they work.

8) Ensure all meetings are necessary and effective

We have all attended meetings that start late, finish late, cover too much, cover agenda items not relevant to them, have unprepared attendees, or do not achieve a satisfactory outcome. Ask yourself:

Getting this right can have a big impact on the degree to which staff feel valued. They are giving up time, which they could use to better manage their own life balance.

[“source=gesseducation”]

January 30, 2022 0 comment

Education

World Read Aloud Day: 4 tips to promote fluency, connection, and joy

by Loknath Das January 26, 2022

written by Loknath Das

Ten years ago, in a second-grade classroom on a cold, wintry day, the LitWorld team gathered students for a read aloud. One student exclaimed: “This is so much fun! We should do this more often!” And when the team explained that people sometimes don’t realize the power of the read aloud to teach children how to read well, the child said: “Why don’t we have a party for the read aloud? Because when it’s my birthday everyone pays attention to me!” The LitWorld team thought this was a wonderful idea and invited our community to the “world’s largest party for the power of stories.” And a miracle happened: notes, emails, letters, and social messages came pouring in from around the world. “We are doing it!” From Raghurajpur, India to Kibera, Nairobi to Omaha, Nebraska, the world shone with the pure love and delight for the shared experience of stories.

What began as a love letter to the read aloud has since become an international movement engaging millions of people in over 100 countries each year, bringing people together in joyous times and hard times. During each year of the pandemic, for example, World Read Aloud Day (WRAD) has been a touchstone for creating a respite from isolation and a doable way of connecting people across time and space, albeit virtually.

On February 2, 2022, LitWorld and Microsoft invite you to come together for this year’s WRAD. Join us as we honor the joy and power of reading and sharing stories. From hosting intimate classroom gatherings and organizing community wide parades, to broadcasting radio programs across countries and trying a new technology to celebrate WRAD, everyone can participate. Whether someone is a grandmother, teacher, country leader, executive, or child, they can encourage literacy access and promote joyful and empowering practices for their communities in one special day.

Did you know that reading aloud is a literacy best practice? Studies show that daily reading aloud to children puts them almost a full year ahead of children who do not receive daily read alouds regardless of income, education level, or cultural background. Reading aloud offers opportunities for individuals and communities to share ideas and learn about the world. As such, it is also a powerful tool for amplifying underrepresented voices and paving new pathways for global citizenship and participation for all people.

Fluency, the ability to read with accuracy, speed, and expression, is a critical reading skill fostered by the read aloud. On WRAD, we celebrate all the ways that innovation is making teaching reading feel vibrant and meaningful for the new era. For example, with Reading Progress, a new app available in Microsoft Teams, teachers can measure fluency while students build it—all at the same time. On WRAD, keep an eye out for affirmations for those who use Reading Progress to measure and promote fluency building. At home, school, and all year long, we can promote the development of fluency in all our children by sharing the read aloud, as mentors and as champions, and by listening to our children’s read alouds. These are simple ways in school and at home to value the role that reading with accuracy, speed, and expression can have on our children’s lifelong learning.

Here are four tips to help you make the most of this year’s WRAD:

Tip 1: Read or share what you love. Read or share a story that matters to you with a loved one or even someone you are meeting for the first time. Perhaps it’s a family story, a story you have created, or a beloved text from your culture or family. Value reading aloud in your home language. WRAD is a great way to illuminate what is powerful about cultural and linguistic diversity.

Tip 2: Practice and celebrate fluency. Practice using your voice, and your expressions, to make a story come alive. Videotape yourself to share on social media, inspiring others.

Tip 3: Be a deep listener. Make space for all listeners share their thoughts and opinions. Ask questions like, “What are you wondering about?” Or ask, “What surprises you?” These kinds of questions further a child’s sense of ownership and give you a lot of information about what they are thinking.

Tip 4: Empower children’s and teens’ voices. Invite children and teens to select their own favorite stories. With their voices soaring, spirits shining, and stories shimmering, they show the way to a new world of belonging, of connection, and of achievement.

o add to the fun, Flipgrid has partnered with Scholastic and Litworld for a free live event with bestselling author and former educator Tami Charles. Classrooms and families are invited to join us on February 2, 2022, at 10:00 AM PT to meet Tami who will be sharing and reading aloud her book “All Because You Matter” reminding students that they matter, and they always will.

Here are some more creative ways your class can join in this celebration:

1. Join the Build a Story Challenge from LitWorld team and share your story with the world.

2. Register for our free Flipgrid Live Event with Tami Charles.

3. Hablas espanol? Check out our Live Event with author Elisa Guerra at 7:00 AM PT.

4. Explore ready-made Topics from the Scholastic team to spark conversations in your classroom.

The read aloud is one of humanity’s most foundational practices for connecting and sharing. Shared stories allow us to tap into our emotions and collective memories, giving us a chance to relive and reimagine what the world, and our place in it, could and should be. Sharing stories, whether they are our own or written by others, allows us to be creative and expressive and be in a shared human experience. We hope you will join us for this year’s World Read Aloud Day!

[“source=educationblog”]

January 26, 2022 0 comment

News Update

Arun Jaitley asks Congress to respond to facts after Randeep Surjewala slams Union minister for writing scathing FB posts

by Loknath Das January 20, 2022

written by Loknath Das

Arun Jaitley asks Congress to respond to facts after Randeep Surjewala slams Union minister for writing scathing FB posts

The state of the economy was the focus of the verbal slugfest between Arun Jaitley and the Congress on Thursday with the union minister saying that abuse is not the answer in political discourse and the opposition party accusing the government of “economic mismanagement”.

The barbs flew thick and fast as Jaitley, who attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi yesterday saying that wisdom has to be acquired through learning and cannot be inherited, telling Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala that he should respond on facts.

Surjewala accused the union minister of “economic mismanagement” in the country after Jaitley claimed that India had emerged as the fastest growing economy from being among the ‘fragile five’ during UPA. The Congress leader again hit back, saying exports are in a free fall, the promise of two crore jobs a ‘jumla‘, NPAs had soared to Rs 10 lakh crore and loots and scams a norm under this government.

“This is a political discourse. Abuse is not the answer. Please respond to the facts,” Jaitley told Surjewala on Twitter, a response to Wednesday’s attack in which the Congress leader said the union minister was writing “hollow and wasteful” blogs to regain political relevance.

“When you abuse and berate the Congress leadership, even Supreme Court and many others by distorting facts, it is ‘political discourse’ for you, but when you are shown the ‘mirror of truth’ with hard facts, you get ‘unnerved’ and call it ‘abuse’? Politics of Convenience?” Surjewala asked on Thursday in response to Jaitley’s comments on the Congress chief.

Jaitley hit back, saying, “… surely the journey from India being part of the ‘fragile five’ and ‘policy paralysis’ to the world’s fastest-growing economy could not be a result of economic mismanagement — Another case of ignorance.” Surjewala responded by saying that growth under Modi government was at a four-year low. “Exports are in free fall, the promise of 2 crore jobs is a ‘Jumla‘, NPA’s are soaring to Rs 10 lakh crore, investment is down, banks are paralysed and ‘loot scams’ a norm, GST flawed, schemes failing! Isn’t this Economic Mismanagement?”

Jaitley had started the verbal duel by taking a jibe at Gandhi for his “anti-Narendra Modi tirade” on Wednesday.
“In dynastic parties political positions are heritable. Unfortunately, wisdom is not heritable. It has to be acquired through learning,” he said in a post titled “Is Congress Becoming Ideology-less? Is Anti-Modism its only ideology?” he had said on his Facebook page.

[“source=firstpost”]

January 20, 2022 0 comment