Spring Clean Your Computer

It is that time of year when we clean out, get rid of, or at least notice that we have extra stuff we could do without. Your computer needs attention as well. Living in the high desert can be hard on a computer so here are some ways you can take care of it.

• Computer: Get a can of compressed air and blow the dust out of the fan on your computer. This is especially important if you have a pet.*


• Keyboard: While you've go the canned air out, blow out your keyboard. Clean in between the keys with a cotton swab moistened with alcohol.


• Monitor: Clean you monitor with a moist paper towel. Don't use glass cleaner, as it will leave residue.


• Mouse: You can clean your mouse with an alcohol swab.

*Do not take the can of compressed air into a place where it could be considered a weapon/bomb, such as a school.

Three Ways to Make the Student Feel Welcome*

Make students feel welcome in your classroom by making the effort to learn about their backgrounds and interests. This will help you build a sense of community and also can improve instruction. When you know your students, you have a better understanding of their special needs, learning preferences and styles, relevant prior experience, and practical issues that will play a role in the class.

1. One way to get to know your students is to find out their prior-to-current work experiences. This gives you a chance to acknowledge what students already know and to emphasize topics of particular interest. An initial effort to get to know your students also pays rich dividends when you are grouping students into teams.

2. Starting the first class, ask students to talk about themselves and their educational goals. Ask students to fill out index cards with their hopes or concerns for the class. Ask students how they learn best.

3. Encourage students in your class to share their backgrounds with each other. Invite older students to share experiences that may help younger students appreciate working with those who are different. Try to help older students understand what skills or abilities younger students bring to the classroom as well. In the technological workplace, you never know whose talent, skills, knowledge, or unique attribute will be just what is needed to address the next challenge and lead to success.

*League for Innovation, 2008.

Burnout and How to Avoid It

Inside the School Update of February 15, 2010 offers a look at teacher burnout. It suggests three traits of burnout.

• Emotional exhaustion: Teachers feel that they can no longer give of themselves to students as they did earlier in their careers.
• Depersonalization: Teachers develop negative, cynical, and sometimes callous attitudes towards students, parents, and/or colleagues.
• Diminished Personal Accomplishment: Teachers perceive themselves as ineffective in helping students learn, and unmotivated in fulfilling their other school responsibilities.

Next, it provides ten steps to avoid burnout. Read the article by clicking here.

Four More Classroom Management Startegies

Giving praise to your students can be a great way to have the students feel good about themselves and reduce classroom management issues. Following are four tried-and-true strategies that are easy to implement.

1. Praise should be specific and linked to behaviors that you want to encourage.
2. Praise needs to be tailored the individual.
3. Praise can be meaningless if you have no other positive, personal interactions with a student.
4. Some students need praise for small acts that others might take for granted.