As a middle school principal responsible for 825 students and 100 staff, effective organization and accurate documentation are skills that enable me to focus my time on instructional leadership. My Palm IIIc, acquired through a Palm Education Pioneer grant program, has increased both my organizational skills and documentation logs, while decreasing actual work time by eliminating duplication of efforts.

The date book with "To Do" list feature eliminates easily lost or forgotten paper calendars that are stuffed with various notes and decorated with an assortment of sticky notes. Electronic coordination with other computer calendars allows myself, as well as my secretary, to be current and accurate with my ever-changing calendar. The "HotSync" feature accurately and effortlessly exchanges data from my work computer, to my laptop, and to my Palm IIIc in any direction. Without adding additional software, I have elevated the calendar "Date Book" feature to an indispensable tool of instructional leadership.

Effective principals affect student achievement by frequent formal and informal observations of teachers. In educational jargon, informal observations are often called "walk throughs." As I visit classrooms, I enter the last name of the teacher on my Palm IIIc in my Date Book at the exact time that I am in the classroom. I also note after the last name the letters WT to indicate that the time spent was in an informal walk through. While in the classroom, I tap the "Details" button and then the "Note" button. At this time, I type in short notes regarding my visit. For example I may write "lab; active participation; multiple teacher-student interactions." Before I leave the classroom, I again tap the "Details" and then enter the finishing time of my visit.

For formal observations, I again enter the teacher's last name in the Date Book, with the notation of PRE, OBS, or POST to indicate the pre-observation conference, the formal classroom observation, and the post-observation conference. Exact time spent with the teacher is indicated as well as any cursory notes. At this time, I am using a laptop to do the one-hour classroom observation. I am considering the use of a keyboard attached to my Palm to do the observation. This would be much less bulky than carrying my laptop and briefcase throughout the school when I do formal observations.

When I return to my office, I dock my Palm IIIc with my computer and HotSync the data entered during my formal and informal observations. Then on my computer I can access the Palm information by using the find feature, which is symbolized by a pair of binoculars. Because of the codes used in entering (WT, PRE, OBS, POST, teacher last name) I can search for data using each of these codes. When I want to know if I have completed walk throughs in all teachers' classrooms I can search by WT. Through analysis of this information, I know which teachers I have observed informally and the frequency of the observations. As I organize formal observations, I can easily insure that I do the required number of observations by the required date. As I complete formal observation files required by the school district and state law, I search for data by the teacher name to easily access when I was in the teacher's classrooms, why I was there, and any notes taken. I also can copy my notes into a Word file to incorporate into my formal, written appraisal. The compilation of notes also facilitates my ability to identify strengths and weaknesses in individual teachers. In the rare case of litigation resulting from teacher appraisal, my records will be accurate and organized.

My Palm IIIc has improved my focus on instructional leadership by eliminating organizational time spent coordinating various paper records. Through analysis of data I have increased my time in classrooms as well as distributed my time among teachers more equitably. My next project is to incorporate my phone log into my Date Book and export it into a spreadsheet for easy access and documentation.

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Dr. Bess Sullivan Scott is in her 5th year as principal of Goodrich Middle School, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Her technologically progressive 76 year-old father and her technologically immersed children have left her no choice but to love technology!

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