Getting administrators connected

Editor's Notes

• #2: Greetings:Personal Information to
• #3: Been a principal for 3 years, assistant principal for 2 years, instructional technologist for 1 year, classroom English and language arts teacher for 16 yearsBegan using technology when I started teaching in 1989, used the old Macintosh computer stations with students in media center computer labWas the first teacher in my school building to use the Internet, had a laptop with an old dial-up connection, at the time was able to tap into some audio equipment we had and display the Internet over video retrieval systemWas one of the first teachers in our school system to teach a class over the Old Information Highway system to two remote sitesAlways been a bit of a tinkerer and experimenter when it comes to technologyBegan engaging in using social media professionally just about three years ago
• #4: Rationale for Having a PLNPersonal Experiences with Social MediaI use a framework for understanding PLN provided by David Warlick in his “Art & Technique of Personal Learning Networks”Talk about establishing a dynamic PLN that is growing & expanding rather than static.
• #5: Pennsylvania Teacher Blogger: An English teacher at Central Bucks High School in Pennsylvania posted comments about her students on her personal blog. She called some of her students: “rude, lazy, disengaged whiners” and she included a list of personal comments she would like to include on report cards that included comments like: “rat-like, dresses like a streetwalker, frightfully dim, and whiny, simpering grade-grubber with an unrealistically, high perception of own ability level.” http://blogs.courier-journal.com/education/2011/02/16/pennsylvania-teacher-in-trouble-over-her-blog/Massachusetts School Administrator Quits: In August 2010, a Massachusetts school administrator posted on her Facebook page comments calling the residents of her town “arrogant & snobby.” She also posted that she was not looking forward to coming back to school. She claimed she thought the page was not a public one. She resigned from her position. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/08/20/mass-teacher-quits-saying-parents-snobby-facebook/Facebook Photos & the Assistant Principal: South Glen Falls High School assistant principal posted photos of a recent trip to Vegas on his Facebook page. In the photos, the assistant principal seems to be groping a wax figure of Jessica Simpson, and there was also a photo of him standing next to a wax figure of a topless Jenna Jameson, the porn star. http://wnyt.com/article/stories/S1489734.shtml?cat=3007 Students Suspended: 7 students in Anacortes, Washtington, posted defamatory content toward assistant principal in May 2010. They were subsequently suspended from school. http://www.goskagit.com/home/article/seven_suspended_for_facebook_page_smearing_ahs_assistant_principal/Brownsville Teacher: A Spanish teacher held a bachelorette party for a fellow teacher at her home. Someone took a photo of her with the stripper and posted it on Facebook. She was subsequently suspended then reinstated. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10230/1080713-55.stmPlant City, Florida: 41 year old teacher sent inappropriate messages to students and changed his grade, the messages she sent were said to be “sexually-charged”, she resigned after being an English teacher for 17 years, and cheerleading coach. http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_hillsborough/plant-city-teacher-resigns-over-inappropriate-facebook-behavior
• #6: Fostering National & International Connections: I have connected with educators-teachers, administrators, technologists, professional organizations, higher education institutions, famous writers, politicians, etc. I have connected specifically with individuals in Australia, India, Thailand, New Zealand, Germany, Turkey, France, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, across the United States. Because of my PLN, I was invited to go to Albany, NY this past summer to present at the New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education. While there, I was able to connect with Technology leaders from all over the state of New York, including some key individuals I have connected with on Twitter.The resources-links-provided by those on Twitter, Diigo, and through the blogs I follow regularly provides me with an ever-growing list of technology options that I can share with my staff. For example, this past summer, someone pointed out Edmodo as a social media environment. I played around with it, then introduced it to two of my key technologically innovative teachers on staff. Now, every single one of my teachers are engaging students through the use of Edmodo. Social media introduced me to that product.There’s no denying the prominent place that social media has in our lives now. There is a strong tendency among administrators to deny that there is any educationally useful quality of social media products like Twitter, Facebook, or blogs. Administrators must engage in the use of social media too. It has too prominent a place in our society to be ignored or cast aside.There is an on-going global conversation about education that exists in cyberspace. This conversation is influencing education reform and education policy. Social media allows me to cast off the role of a passive consumer in this conversation and become an active contributor.
• #7: David Warlick in his post entitled “The Art & Technique of Personal Learning Networks” uses the terms conversation connectors, mining the conversation, and mapping the conversation to capture the components of his PLN. I use them here to provide both a framework for understanding PLN components, and for understanding their place in a PLN.These are the tools that connect one person to anotherThey make conversation possible even across vast distancesThese are the tools for sharingThey connect us to the sources that can help us do our jobs
• #8: These are the tools that allow an individual to track the information flowUsing these tools one is able to dig for the significant informationTools use to find the hard to findThese are the tools & strategies for searching the blogosphere for content, in my case, education related content.
• #9: David Warlick uses the term Mapping the Conversation, I like to thing of these tools as the ones used to make sense out of the information collected.These tools are used for collecting and gathering the “talk” that’s out there on the Internet.These tools also allow the user to pull together the information on one place
• #10: This represents my current PLN.I have currently do not include Plurk or Facebook, but I have been experimenting with them. Some people include Facebook as a part of their PLN, I currently do not because what I have found is that it has mainly connected me with old friends and acquaintenances like those individuals I graduated with.I have currently incorporated 6 tools in that network, but I have begun to use Plurk and Facebook as a part of those growing toolsI once experimented with Netvibes, but it did not make it into my toolbox.
• #11: The first component of my PLN I want to talk about is Blogging.As a former English Teacher, blogging is a great interest to me. It is a centerpiece in my PLN right now.I want to talk specifically about why administrators & educators should blog.
• #12: Continual learningSharing ideasInfluencing othersConnecting with othersExpressing opinionsSharpen writing skillsIncrease recognition in education community
• #15: Opportunity to Collaborate with Other Teachers and EducatorsSharing of Educational ResourcesBuilding and Maintaining Professional NetworksOpportunity for Ongoing Professional Development
• #17: Learn to Follow. Following someone means just clicking the follow button on their profile. Twitter notifies that person you are following them. Generally, they will check out your profile to see if they want to follow you.Use Twitter Lists. Use lists other people create to find great people to follow. Choose people from their lists to follow.Watch and Listen. You can follow people and simply not say a word. Just click on links provided in the Tweets to Learn The level of participation is up to you.Give Generously.Retweet Tweets that Are Interesting to You The more you retweet. the more new people will follow you.Expose yourself. Let others know what you are thinking Begin by tweeting linksTag Your Tweets Use hashtag in your tweet for more exposure The hashtag allows those interested in that area to follow that hashtagParticipate in Online Conferences
• #19: What Are Google Alerts? emails sent to you containing results Google finds results are web pages, articles, blogs, Google Alerts can be used to monitor any topicWhat Are Google Alerts? emails sent to you containing results Google finds results are web pages, articles, blogs, Google Alerts can be used to monitor any topic
• #20: 21st century version of having a paper thrown into your yard each morning, except that you get to determine the content to be delivered.User gets to control the content. You decide the topic for the information.You can determine the frequency of delivery: once a day, as-it-happens, or once a week.You can determine the sources: news, blogs, videos, or discussionsYou can determine the volume level: the best (as determined by Google) or all of it.You can determine how it’s delivered: as email or as RSS feedYou can have it delivered to your smart phone.
• #23: Let me say up-front, that there are other RSS feed readers available and they are just as functional. The reason I advocate for Google Reader is because our district uses Google Apps & email already so it’s easy to set up.Advantages of Google Reader Web-BasedEasy Access Features Ability to Set Up Different Folders Star Items You Would Like to Look at Further List View Option Ability to View Old Items Ability to Search Simple to Add RSS Subscription
• #26: An easy web collection tool. Collect articles and web items for later use.Adds another dimension for sharing my findings with fellow educators.By adding the browser controls such as Chromes extension, I can bookmark, highlight, make notes, or share with the click of a button.