MarsEdit---Functional Blog Editor for Mac Users Looking for a Live Writer Option

One thing I obviously discovered immediately in my Mac conversion this weekend was my loss of Windows Live Writer, the free blogging software. I used Live Writer quite often, especially when scratching out the earliest drafts of a blog post. What I discovered this weekend is that it isn’t available for Mac and there’s really no equivalent solution available of my MacBook Pro.

I searched the web and stumbled across this article, “A Blogging Tool for the Mac That Is Close to the Windows Live Writer.” It describes an application called MarsEdit, an blog editor for Mac users. I immediately found the application in the App Store, and saw that it wasn’t free; it was $39.99.  After obviously getting Live Writer free all these years, I was reluctant to pay that price. Still, I wanted some kind of blogging software that allowed me to compose blog posts offline. I continued to search, but I found nothing else. Being able to compose blog posts offline is important for me. Many of those posts stay forever doomed to spend their days in my local draft folder, but my writing processes means I have to often slog through those posts to get to the ones I want to post. There are also times I sit and compose drafts without an Internet connection, so being able to find a blogging editor that allows me to compose offline was important.

I finally relented and downloaded MarsEdit, even at the $39.99 price. While its interface obviously isn’t the same as Live Writer, it does provide me with the same functionality. I can, for example:

• Compose blog posts while offline.
• I can format text and posts easily, though the formatting tools in MarsEdit are located in a drop-down menu and not as buttons within the interface.
• I can preview posts before posting, though not with my true blog theme in the background.
• I can easily select categories for my posts or tags.
• I can post either as a draft or as a live post with the click of a button.

My overall assessment of MarsEdit? It is a functional blog editor for those Mac users who, like me, are looking for a way to compose posts offline and don’t particularly care for the online Blogger interface. Obviously, I could compose those posts in a word processor or other text processing tool, but as you know, when you copy and paste that text into the Blogger editor online, sometime very quirky things happen. All in all, I am satisfied with MarsEdit. It is a completely functional blog editor.

MarsEdit Interface

Experiences with My Newly Purchased MacBook Pro

I’ve been pondering for some time about making a switch to a Mac laptop. I’ve been a Windows user all the way back to 3.1 and DOS. There was a time when I adamantly defended PC’s, but in recent years, I’ve found Apple products much more satisfying. I started out with an Android tablet, which proved to be satisfying in some ways, but when the device repeatedly failed to update resulting in countless phone calls to cell phone providers and device tech support, I had enough. I’ve been using iPads since the First Generation and have always been pleased with the reliability of those devices. Besides an app crashing on occasion, which was usually due to the app maker and not the device, I have grown to treasure my iPad and iPad mini. This weekend I purchased my first Mac in the form of a MacBook Pro, and besides learning about some of the unique ways of navigating through software, installation of software, I’ve successfully made the transition. I hope to be sharing some of the apps I’ve quickly come to know.

The model of MacBook Pro I selected was the 13 inch screen with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5 processor. It has the built-in Retina Display which has so far amazed me with its resolution and graphics. It also has the flash storage and 4 GB of memory. All in all a pleasant experience since I removed it from its packaging. One thing I will say regarding the Apple set-up experience compared to the Windows PC experience, and I’ve set up many PC’s, is setting up this MacBook Pro was much, much simpler. It appears Apple still takes the user experience seriously, because I’ve never had a computer set up run more smoothly.

There is one major issue I am struggling with my Mac transition. There are several Windows programs that were my favorites, and these aren’t available in Mac versions. For example, KeePass password safe was one of my personal favorites. It isn’t available in a comparable Mac version. There are a few similar password options but nothing like I’m used to. Also, I had the simplest Checkbook management program available on my Windows PC, but that software also does not have a Mac version. I did end up finding a comparable Mac version, but again, not exactly what I had. Then there was my need to purchase Microsoft Office’s Word, Powerpoint and Excel. I pondered whether I needed to purchase these, then I found out my Endnote program I am using for my dissertation work requires it in the Mac version, so I had no choice.

The bottom line from this former PC user is; I’ve made the right choice for me. I just wasn’t fond of Windows 8 and did not see myself ever making that upgrade. I really don’t need my laptop to have a touch screen. I’ve converted to Mac and I am glad to have done so. Perhaps some of you experienced Mac users can suggest other apps I need to get.

Top Five Posts on the 21st Century Principal for Week

Looking through the week's stats, here's what everyone seems to be reading this week.

How to Stop Those Unwanted Audio and Video Ads From Playing While Web Browsing

Apparently, quite a few fellow web browsers have found themselves annoyed by those infernal auto-playing audio and video ads that play while accessing web sites. This post provides instructions on how to stop those ads from playing.

Authentic Leaders Are Open-Minded

Post on the importance of leaders remembering that their views are simply that. Leaders don't necessarily have the "truth."

Macally iKeyLT: Full-Size Keyboard for Your iPad or iPhone

The Macally iKetLT is a much less expensive keyboard that connects to your iOS device through a Thunderbolt connection. It works very well with both your iPad or iPhone. This is my review of that device.

New Evernote Feature: Turn Your Notes into a Presentation

My review of Evernote's latest feature added to the desktop app for premium users. You can turn your notes into a presentation.

Merit Pay in Education: An Exercise in Both Manipulation and Futility

My post on why merit pay schemes are a waste of time and resources and why it will never work in education.

Can Non-Teaching Administrators Effectively Evaluate Teachers?

The arguments about whether school administrators who haven't been classroom teachers can effectively evaluate teachers is never-ending. At the heart of that argument is actually whether teaching is a professional skill requiring great expertise, or whether, as some business-minded people seem to think, it's a skill that anyone can do, with as little training as possible. But can an administrator who has never faced the day-to-day management of a classroom full of students adequately pass judgment on the quality of a teacher? I would say probably not. Before the barrage of emails start, let me clarify my reasoning for using the word "probably."

To teachers who think I should have used the words "definitely not" instead of "probably not," let me say that I don't think there are absolutes here. There are certainly administrators out there who have enough intuitive understanding of what "good teaching" looks like that they might be able to do an adequate job of evaluating teachers. But, and this is important, I think that is by far the exception. 

In the United States, there is a prevalent belief that somehow a successful businessman is capable of "super-heroic" feats and should be respected as capable of doing anything---from being a great leader to a politician. This is evident in how many times political advertisements display proudly the title "Successful Businessman" as if that somehow automatically qualifies them for office. As an offshoot of this belief is the idea that a person who's managed a thousand-plus employee corporation can somehow step into a school and manage it just as well. The same thinking seems to apply to those who are military leaders. They also are somehow revered by some and seen as fully capable of managing schools and districts simply due to their established leadership abilities, and this includes the evaluation of educators. But I submit to you that neither business leaders nor military leaders are always capable of managing educational organizations. They are definitely not always capable of judging the effectiveness of classroom teachers simply because when they do judge teaching, they automatically see teaching as a simple task of "imparting knowledge" to students and not a complex set of experiences and activity that are designed to make the deeper learning of critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, etc. possible. Sure, these business leaders quite often are creative and experienced people when it comes to solving problems. But their experiences lie within organizations where employees are easily dispensed with, and if products are defective, they can be simply discarded. In the educational enterprise, we can't dispense with students when they are somehow not measuring up like so man defective parts; we have to teach them from where they are. Also, while we could easily fire teachers not quite measuring up, we then have to face the issue of trying to find another teacher in a climate of fewer teachers and fewer young people becoming teachers. In fact, most teachers, and I would add principals, don't fall into the black and white categories of "good" and "bad." Most fall in the middle where evaluation is incapable to making those extreme categorizations. Instead, good administrators are often in positions of working with all teachers to move and improve to the "good" category.

Classrooms are very complex places. After having spent 16 years of my 25 years in them, every single time I enter one to evaluate a teacher, I always remember that. It does not translate into a sympathetic lack of will to honestly complete the evaluation; it simply means I view classroom teaching through a lens of complexity that allows me to see many more of the subtle things that happen as a teacher engages students. It took time for me to develop that lens. I think it fair to say, that lens allows me to better understand teaching and learning, and it makes me a better evaluator. 

Often, when an administrator has never been in the classroom lacks having this lens, he must resort to the only lens he has, which is often tinted with a superficial understanding of teaching and learning. That means he grasps for simple evidences of good teaching like test scores, attendance, and graduation rates, which are numerical in nature and easily placed on a yardstick. He doesn't see teaching through a lens of complexity and understanding. It is for that reason, I would say that administrators who have taught for a period of time themselves understand "good teaching" better. Those at the extremes of good teacher and bad teacher are certainly easier to recognize, so the non-teaching administrator could easily recognize their expertise or lack of skill. It's all those in the middle that need the coaching and support that escape the black and white categorization of a superficial understanding of teaching and learning. A non-teaching administrator is often simply incapable of seeing the complexity of teaching.

Merit Pay in Education: An Exercise in Both Manipulation and Futility

"In the workplace, there is no getting around the fact that "the basic purpose of merit pay is manipulative." Alfie Kohn, Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes

Merit pay is one of those ideas in education that just won't die. When budgets get tight, policymakers and politicians both look at the money being spent on educator salaries and the idea of paying educators based on performance starts looking attractive. "If only we identify the best teachers and pay them more, all will be well," they think. Then, the task of trying to identify and operationalize what a "best teacher" looks like begins, and it immediately falls apart. There's never been any agreement on what characterizes a "good teacher," and there probably never will. The current reform and accountability craze would have us believe "test scores a good teacher makes," but those of us who've been in classrooms for sometime know that tests don't always tell us what a good student is much less a good teacher. The pursuit of trying to find a specific, clear definition of good teaching and a good teacher is impossible, because teaching and learning, for that matter, are way too complex to reduce to a simple operationalized definition.

As Kohn points out, the problem with merit pay is that it is manipulative. It is simply an attempt to control educators and elicit a behavior, and in most cases, the desired behavior is the production of higher test scores. The problem is, many of us educators know "getting higher test scores" is a superficial goal. Getting a high score on a North Carolina Final Exam or End of Grade Test means very little in the lives of our students. We can't say to our students, for example, "If you get a high grade on this reading End of Grade Test, you'll be successful in life." If we do say that, we're trivializing education. So the idea of manipulating teachers to get them to raise test scores by merit pay is doomed to fail for those of us who see education's purpose as more universal and global. Educating good bubble-sheet bubblers is quite different than educating solid citizens who can take their place in the world and perhaps change things for the better.

In the end, merit pay will always fail in education, because the enterprise in which we engage is much too complex to be subject to its manipulative effects. Merit pay has been tried and it failed every time. Unfortunately, those who still have the faith in manipulation by reward just can't seem to let go of an anachronistic view of human motivation.

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Leading to Make It Safe for Creativity

"If we as leaders can talk about our mistakes and our part in them, then we make it safe for others." Ed Catmull, Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unknown Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Leaders are sometimes very stubborn people. They make mistakes, but then they spend an inordinate amount of time trying to conceal those mistakes. To some school leaders, showing that you are capable of making mistakes is revealing weakness. But, if you want to foster a culture of creativity and exploration in your school or district, you have to embrace your mistakes and display them. We display them by being open with candor with those we lead. By that very action, we demonstrate that trying and failing isn't the "unpardonable sin." As authentic leaders we must strive to make our mistakes public. We admit them; we learn from them. Creativity thrives within a culture that embraces failure as a product of experimentation.

A few years ago, when teaching my students writing, I emphasized repeatedly to them, that writing is about experimenting. It is about trying new combinations of words and ideas. I told them that means sometimes we write "drivel" and sometimes we pen words that inspire. But then I told them that "drivel" is a necesary part of writing. Just the same, mistakes are a part of leadership, and the wise leaders make them public. Authentic leaders that strive for creativity accept, acknowledge, and use failure, not hide it. We should always strive to make our mistakes public to those we lead. By doing so, we make it safe for others to be creative. Do you want your staff to approach problems and come up with creative solutions? Then perhaps you need to celebrate mistakes and failure through disclosure to make it safe.

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Authentic Leaders Are Open-Minded

"Keep in mind that viewpoints are only viewpoints and that on an absolute level the whole world, including ourselves, is not what it appears to be." Ayya Kema, Be an Island: The Buddhist Practice of Inner Peace

Sometimes one of the hardest things for me to accept as a school leader is recognizing that no matter what I think, no matter what my opinion is on an issue, that viewpoint is simply "my viewpoint." It isn't the law. It isn't "research-based." It isn't the gospel. It is simply my belief. It simply isn't exactly what it appears to be; it is how the captial "I" or "me" views the situation. I have no monopoly on truth. This means that when I express my views as a leader, I must also humbly acknowledge when what I am saying is simply "my views."

In American culture there are no shortages of people who believe that they themselves are imparted with the "truth." Sometimes I find myself lapsing into that frame of mind. But, if I am going to be an authentic educational leader, I must always be mindful that how I see things isn't necessarily how things are. I must humbly accept that I perhaps do not know as much as I thought. The reason our culture is so polarized is because everyone is too busy protecting "their truth" and not listening to each other. Being open to other viewpoints is not a negative. It is a step to being an authentic leader.

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