Reflection 2: Why Social Media Matters

Be an Agent of Change

 

“It is more than foolish for school leaders to pretend that education is somehow untouched by new media; it is negligent, and it reinforces the image that many Americans have of schools and school leaders – that leaders keep their eyes on the rear-view mirror as they run our schools, and that our schools are just not in step with the times” (7).  I do not want to be this type of leader.  I want to be an agent of change because with change comes great things. 

One of the greatest things that can come from changing the tools that we use in our schools is the way that we interact and communicate with students, staff, parents and the community.  “Communication – made easier by technology – builds partnership both inside and outside the classroom” (34).  We will develop relationships that foster trust with the very people who have an incomplete understanding of our vision.  Our successes (and failures) will become transparent, on our own terms, because we are controlling the stories told. 

As I’ve mentioned before, as a leader, I will focus on using the internet and social media to “practice good communication to link school to students’ families and communities” (33) because “a good deal of evidence supports the popular view that parent involvement has a strong bearing on student achievement” (33).  And as an educator, my first responsibility is to achieve success for my students while bring my school into the 21^st century.  To ensure that this happens, I will use Facebook, Blogs and Twitter to get information across to my stakeholders in real time. In the continued development of my leadership brand, I will set aside 20 minutes a week to practice and grow my abilities in these tools.  In addition to this, I will share a prep period with two math teachers, so I will be able to introduce and teach them how to use these tech tools to engage students; and to communicate with parents.

One important aspect to consider before beginning to use social media as my main, but not only, communication tool is to create a media policy that establishes guidelines for appropriate use.  I won’t be reinventing the wheel, though.  There are many schools and associations that have already crafted these types of guidelines, and I can use theirs as a template to craft one for us.

Taking a risk and embracing technological change will lead to success for our students and “create a place where people will find it worth their time to join in conversation” (64).  I look forward to having my school community join in communication with me.

How will you encourage your community to foster change and join in communication with you?

Let's Make a Change

These last two weeks have been a whirlwind of learning.  Learning that is fast paced, interactive, engaging and fun!  I am collaborating with incredible educators, who are as enthusiastic about change as I am.  I am learning from a leader who models the “7 Habits of a highly effective tech-leading Principal.”  Glenn creates an atmosphere that inspires innovation and fosters collaboration.  He is open to new ideas, is a connected learner and introduces us to a wealth of resources while challenging us to take risks.  He also encourages us to have a technological vision.  I want to be like him.  I want to be a digital principal.

To take my school into the 21^st century, I have to use the same types of technology that are being used in the community by our very own students.  “Technology can more easily be implemented in schools where the Principal is a technology leader and models its use” (Demski).  Modeling the use of tech tools will demonstrate to staff the power of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and Blogging, in the classroom to promote engagement, independence and the want to learn.  To motivate teachers to implement technology into their repertoire of lesson, they need to be given opportunities to interact with the tech tools themselves.

There are several things that I need to do in order to ensure the success of staff.    The first step is to make sure that the school network can support the large number of tech devices running at one time and that social media sites are not blocked for use.  The next, most important, step, is to provide staff with professional development opportunities to acquire the skills needed to be proficient at using tech tools.  If given the appropriate training and the time to learn, teachers can become digital experts. (NETS-A 3a, b, c)

I want to be a leader who encourages my staff to share ideas, try new things and take risks.  (NETS-A 3d)  I want us to work together to change the climate and culture of learning at our school.  What is your plan to encourage that change?

Today, we have a very special PLN Guest Post by Kathi Renn of Be the Change!  I’m so excited to have her visit and post on my Blog, she’s an amazing Education Leadership blogger who is incredibly creative, talented and super nice, too!  Welcome, Kathi!

 

Reflection #5: Road Trip

 

Thanks for inviting me to your blog Juhi.  I am happy to be your guest blogger this week!

This last couple of weeks has been huge for me, with regard to my own personal digital leadership journey.  The path has had some steep drop offs that led to lessons in storage of information (My advice… always back-up your system.), winding side streets that have led to hidden digital treasures, insightful vista pullouts with tremendous views into student engagement and a lot of newly paved roadways leading to a strong foundation for true digital leadership.

Being a strong digital leader involves many elements, but for me the most important ones are time to learn and prepare, as well as time to management and maintain.  The priceless exposure and support, which I have received from Dr. Malone this week, has proven to be the first step in this exciting road trip.  

As a digital leader it is my job to ensure the same time and support to my teachers and staff.  I also believe that in order for teachers and staff to embrace recommended social media and digital tools, I need to model the very items I am asking them to participate and use.  I would start with collaborative items like Twitter, Facebook and blogging.  I believe that most teachers are naturally collaborative and they would find immediate value in using these sites and tools to improve instruction, share ideas and celebrate success.

As I end this post, I find myself needing to stop and “re-fuel”.  Although the journey has been fantastic and I have learned much more than I ever expected to learn, my vehicle (brain) will need time to explore these tools to make them most effective as part of my digital leadership plan.

Do you have an explanatory figurative anecdote (sorry, I used to teach 7th grade) you could share that explains your digital leadership journey?



1:1 Initiative

As I was reading today’s articles, and focusing on the question ‘what can we learn from the failures of others as we implement 1:1 and BYOD initiative in our own schools,’ a statement by Alan November really resonated with me.  He says that administrators need to “ensure that technology is seen not as another initiative, but as integral to curriculum.”  And, herein, lies the problem.  Many of the tech tools that are purchased for our students use, are bought for the wrong reasons.  Districts are spending money, which they sometimes do not even have, to “buy high-tech devices because they want to be seen as technologically innovative and ahead of other districts and garner public support because they are being competitive” (Cuban).  

In order for these initiatives to be successful, the mindset of educators must change, and November states that the one way to do that is to change the name from 1:1 initiative to 1:world initiative.  Doing so will change the focus of technology use from making sure that each child has a computer to how can we change the way we teach and learn.  More importantly, administrators need to be given the proper training, such as we are getting, on how to use tech tools, be able to model the use for their staff and then give them the freedom to take risks and make mistakes, from which they can learn.

The two schools discussed in A Culture of Innovation, Baltimore County’s Halstead Academy and Chase Elementary School, are being successful at the 1:1 computing initiative for some of the very reasons that I describe in the previous paragraph.  In addition to that, the leaders of both schools understand “the importance of bringing their communities together around a clear vision, based on prior change efforts” (Pautz). (NETS-A 1a)  They want to promote a culture of learning for staff and students, so encourage professional learning communities so teachers can work collaboratively, professional development opportunities whenever possible and even suspend staff meetings so that staff can spend time learning new ways to implement the technology more effectively into their lessons and curriculum, all to ensure the success of students.

As a future leader, I want to be able to use many of the ideas shared in today’s readings.  Of course, the most important factor is for me to focus on learning how to use the tools myself, with confidence, so that I can model their use more effectively.  I also like the idea of having teachers share practices that work and collaborate to create more effective tools during staff meetings, whenever information can be given on the school blog, which is an important way to model how information can be disseminated. (NETS-A 1b)  I still have a lot to learn about technology implementation, but I am on my way. (NETS-A 1c)

Reflection 1:  How Technology can be implemented at Walker

Today’s schools need to reflect real life by integrating technology in ways that train students to be competitors in today’s global economy.   Most of the technology used in schools do not include the tools that people, including kids, are already using in their everyday lives, so we are not preparing them for the jobs of tomorrow.  In order to best prepare students, we must move away from the style of education that grooms them for obsolete jobs, let go of control and get them ready for the high-tech future.   Unfortunately, many educators are nervous about using certain types of tech tools, such as cell phones and social media, in their lessons because they do not know how, and because they are afraid that students will not use their phones appropriately.  In order to eliminate this problem, educators will need to help students “to understand that they are tools for learning and should be referred to as mobile learning devices (Sheninger, 2014, p. 153) to keep the focus on acquiring knowledge and not on socializing.

As I stated in my earlier posts, I am very excited about introducing different types of technology resources to staff and students at Walker.  As an alternative high school, that is responsible for educating students that need a little extra care and encouragement, Walker would be the perfect type of environment to implement some of the digital learning explained by Sheninger in Digital Leadership:  Changing Paradigms for Changing Times.  I honestly believe that our students will thrive when immersed into technological education.   The first step, though, would be to create both a professional and school brand.  Brands that showcase the staff and school in positive ways to the community of, and around, Puyallup, WA.
 

Since there has been such a variety of resources introduced to us, I would like to focus on a few, to begin with, to insure that they are implemented with fidelity.  I would like to take charge of the Walker Facebook and work with the Journalism and Digital Photography teachers to maintain the page.  There are so many wonderful and exciting things happening at the school and need to be made transparent to the community.  Creating and using a Walker Blog would be another way in which technology can be used to communicate with staff while, at the same time, teaching them how it can be applied into their own lessons.  I would also like to utilize Twitter in different ways; such as a communication tool with staff at meetings, parents to inform, and as an educational tool in the classroom to engage, check for understanding and for formative assessments. 

 

Many of the students who attend Walker are credit deficient.  Some of them are so behind that they need to take Odyssey computer classes to catch up.  Many of the students whiz through the courses and feel that they are not challenged by them.  For this reason, I am curious about the possibility of introducing OpenCourseWare (OCS), a free digital publication created by prestigious universities, such as MIT, that offer challenging courses of study, to the staff as an alternative or in addition to Odyssey.  This may be something that needs to be taken to the District office for discussion.
 

There is just so much that I would like to do create a technological footprint at Walker, but I am going to take one step at a time, be the “lead learner” (Sheninger, 2014, p. 191) and teacher of teachers to get us there.  That first step has to focus on teaching in ways that students are familiar with and connect to their everyday lives.  Not in the way things are always done because teachers feel more comfortable doing it that way.  We need to take risks, challenge ourselves and put ourselves into uncomfortable situations.  Only then will change occur.  #changeisgood #technology #techtools #thefuture

Formative Assessment

Need some fresh and innovative formative assessment ideas?

Here is blog about going beyond just the regularly used ticket out the door.  Angela Stockman has come up with some terrific ideas for formative assessment that encourage student engagement.  They even get to use their cell phones before they exit the class!

 

What are some of the different types of formative assessments that you see being used in the classrooms at your school?

Brands

When we first discussed creating a Brand in class, I really wasn’t sure about what that really meant in regards to education.  After the Forbes & Fast Company readings in Sheninger it makes so much more sense.  “Brands are based on building relationships, and Educators are always building, brokering and sustaining relationships” (Shenninger, 2014, p. 107).  By using social media to promote the school and communicate with community members, we are creating a brand for our school.

 What was really interesting to me was the concept of creating a professional brand for myself, as a leader/educator, and a school brand.  As I was reading the examples of professional brands, I began to think about how I could brand myself for the next school year.  It needs to be something that relates to who I am, an educator who strives to ensure that my students are successful, and how the staff and students see me as a person, kind and caring; and that encompasses my personality, scintillating.  Am I asking for too much?! I am not sure what it may be, but I will continue to ponder over it.

 The School brand needs to be much more than what we already brand our school with; it needs to “Go beyond a logo, mascot and typical educator mission statement” (Sheninger, 2014, p. 112).  We need to include members of the staff, students, former students and community to choose a brand that really fits the goal of the school and its image in the community.  It needs to make a statement that showcases the school, highlights the achievements and successes that occur there and inspires trust.  What an easy thing or us to do at Walker to create a positive image.  As Sheninger states, "If we do not tell our story, someone else will" (Sheninger, 2014, p. 98). And, unfortunately, they already have.