A thought technology is loosely analogous to a philosophy; however, it is more situational. Like you would switch from your phone to your computer to do a specific task.

Surprisingly, no one I have ever worked with has canceled a meeting unless there was a significant attendance issue. Meetings have inertia that people seem afraid to impede as if the default position of the working universe is to have meetings.

I argue that the opposite is true.

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An illustrated scene of a serene morning view from a window. The window frames a landscape with lush greenery and distant hills under a soft sunrise sky, in hues of orange, yellow, and blue. On the wooden window sill, there's an open notebook with a pen resting on it and a white cup of coffee, inviting a peaceful moment of reflection or journaling.

I like magic tricks as much as the next person, but I usually find effective magic tricks to be frustrating.

I know there is a trick; some secret, technique, or special tool that lets the magician perform the trick. The trick is effective because I don’t know how it works, and it frustrates me that I can’t figure it out.

Sometime over the past two years, I figured out how to perform a magic trick on myself; and I am frustrated because I don’t know how it works, just that it does.

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A stylized 3D illustration of a cozy living room in warm beige tones. Two figures made of paper, an adult and a child, are tidying up the room. The adult is standing and cleaning a coffee table with a cloth, while the child is kneeling on the floor, picking up paper stars. The room is filled with paper furniture and decor, including a sofa, shelves, plants, and a lamp, creating a serene and orderly scene.

Maybe everything old is new again, or perhaps I am becoming an old man, but I think chores get a bad rap. A few years ago, I started building myself a list of weekly chores, and I believe it has been a huge success! I hope you think about doing the same for yourself by the end of this post.

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As powerful and fun as video content can be, written communication is the most reliable, accessible, and editable format that you can use to communicate with your students. Take it from a person who grew up hating writing assignments because I was so bad at them, the written word is powerful and deserves your effort. Improving your writing improves your lessons, emails, assessments, handouts, and more.

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In my opinion, my school system was slow to adapt to instructional changes related to coronavirus shut down.

I don’t mention this as a slight against my school system. However, I do think this has given some teachers a sense of being behind in their instruction and having to catch up. This recovery mentality has resulted in students being overwhelmed by the amount of work they’re getting from some of their teachers.

I took a different approach.

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