At our first full faculty meeting of the calendar year I invited everyone to pledge to do try something new in educational technology.

Here's mine. I showed it to everyone at our meeting:

Email is a nightmare here so taking a cue from Altos CEO, Thierry Breton, I'm going to try to cut my internal email completely. I'm going to make every possible effort to find some other way of answering other than hitting "Reply." I don't think it will work in the long run without building an laternative communication too, like Altos did. But this is the start and from here I'll find out what our real communciation needs are (Altos' research showed only 10% of internal email was useful or actionable.) I'd love to see something like my fantasy communucations app.

Now, after I read through my inbox I draw up a list of people I need to repsond to then get out of my chair and walk around the school to meet face to face. Sometimes I phone, but as most of those I talk to in my day are teachers, they're not usually at their desks.

To be sure, I'm not asking anyone to stop emailing me--that's just not fair as we don't have any alternative set up yet. But an interesting thing has started to happen. A few staff have also decided to walk to my office and chat with me, instead of sending me an email.

And if feels good to talk!