21st Century Principal

For this week’s post, I wanted to think about what will the role of principal look like during the next 20 years.   What will be some of the challenges principals will face, and how the position of principal will evolve.

Today’s instability both locally (Wisconsin, New Jersey) and abroad (Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, etc) are ultimately going to lead to dramatic changes in education.  We are still in the midst of an economy that has the strength of a newborn foal struggling to stand up.  Every state government is going to figure out the best way possible to survive, and everything is up on the chopping block.  

Education is always an easy scapegoat in troubled times.  All educators are given the stigma that:  “Those who can do, those who can’t teach.”  The general public is jealous of our “summers off” and “snow days,” despite the fact that they could easily teach if they wanted to.  Depending on who you talk to, people believe that teachers are underworked and overpaid, and therefore hate to see their taxes increase for a mediocre performer.  That being said, school districts are going to be given less money by the governments, but still maintain the level of service they currently provide.  The 21st century administrator is going to have to be a fiscally sound individual.  They are going to need make wise decisions when it comes to how funds are to be allocated.  

The principal is going to have to lead by example.  He or she will need to practice what they preach in order to get the staff to support them.  Principals will have to find efficient ways of communicating with both staff and the community.  Whether they use email more than copying hundreds of pages that will either be trashed or recycled immediately.  Create a website that anyone can go to for updates or possibly use twitter to update people on changes in the schedule.

I would also like to see that principals teach one class per year.  I know that this idea is utopian, and one that has many hurdles to overcome before being implemented.  However, I feel that this would help keep administrators relevant on best teaching practices.  Furthermore, by teaching a class, students will think about them in a different light.  Principals will also have a better understanding about what changes could be effective.  More importantly, they will be considered lead teachers, someone who could mentor younger, inexperienced educators.  

Below is a video I found on YouTube featuring Joel Klein, Chancellor of New York City Public Schools, discussing what makes a good principal.

YouTube and Education

For this week’s post, I wanted to explore the idea of youtube as a tool in education.  We were asked to look at a video “An anthropological introduction to YouTube,"  the video Is the first one posted.   One of the ideas discussed by Professor Wecsh was the way in which videos are viewed, and how people have become attached to the videos.  


From that idea, I wanted to took up 21st century education to see what I could find.  After spending several hours watching videos, I decided that the others shown below were interesting to watch.  One was from a group of high school students and their thoughts of what a school will look like in the future.  Others are short videos that could be used by administrators to motivate their respective staffs to be comfortable with using technology.  With the exception of the first video, all of the others are less than five minutes in length.

Let me know what you think.

Administrator Software and Programs

I wanted to use this post to take a look at what is available to school districts to help make them more effective.  Some of what I found are software based programs that will provide the necessary tools to organize daily schedules for both students and teachers, provide teachers with an online gradebook that can be published on the web so that parents can have access to their child’s grades,etc.  I also found web-based resources that will offer the same supports.  Below are the links to the websites with a brief description of each.  If you are aware of any other programs that I should take a look at please let me know.

Administrator’s Plus

www.rediker.com

A one-stop shop for daily school management.  Can be used to evaluate teacher’s by way of a smartphone or PDA, maintain a teacher’s grade book and post it online for parent’s to monitor, scheduling, etc.  The goal of the program is to streamline education and make everyone’s life easier.  Does not have the capabilities to make phone calls like global connect.  For private schools, there is a version that will enable the application process to be online, and administrators can track an applicant’s progress.

Orbund

www.orbund.com/k12_education.html

Another software company that provides multiple resources for school administrators and educators.  Principals can use it to set schedules, teachers can use it as their grade book.  Parents can view their child’s progress.  Web based software that requires no maintenance by the school district.  Unlike Administrator’s Plus, this program cannot be used for evaluating staff.

EDline

www.edline.com

A web-based program that will allow for communication between parents and teachers.  Information about student performance as well as providing educators websites that enables them to provide up to the minute information about the happenings in class (Homework, projects, tests, quizzes, etc.).  Edline offers a wide variety of products and each school district can tailor it to meet their specific needs.

PowerSchool

www.pearsonschoolsystems.com/products/powerschool/

Another web-based program that enables parents to keep track of their child’s progress.  Parents have the ability to view their child’s performance in class, and have access to a student’s discipline records. My current employer is in the process of switching over to this system, so overall my knowledge of it is very basic.  On the surface, it appears to be very user friendly which makes it easy to navigate. 

Technology in Schools: To Use or Not to Use

The answer to this question at first seems like a simple and straight forward one.  Right off the bat, without thinking further about the question, the majority of us would say yes, use technology.  Almost every home has a computer, every television provider (cable or satellite) has some form of internet browsing through there service that can be delivered to the television.  Cellphones do more than just simply connect individual voices anywhere around the world.  They too have become mini-computers, information  available any time you need it, anywhere you want it.

I don’t want to debate how schools can keep up with the changing times when we don’t even know what will be available next month let alone the next five years.  However, I would like to talk the use of technology in education.  In Southeastern Pennsylvania, school districts in the counties outside of Philadelphia, are investigating the feasibility of going one to one.  This means that each student at the school will have some level of technology on their person (i.e. laptop, tablet, etc.).  Unfortunately, in 2009, the state legislature passed HB 363 which could possibly have caused more harm than good (Click on the link below).

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&sessYr=2009&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=0363&pn=0410

In this law, it prohibits students attending Pennsylvania schools from using “cellphones and other electronic devices” that have recording capabilities both audio and video.  Technically speaking, the school districts could be breaking the law if they distribute an “electronic device that can record pictures or sound.  Rumors are that the iPad 2 will have a camera to record video, other tablets that are being introduced to the market will also have a camera (Xoom, Galaxy, etc).  Even if the student does not use the camera, it is still part of the electronic device.

I believe that we are at a major crossroads with the explosion of technology that has hit the market within the past 5 years.  Students are already comfortable with their use and we as educators need to be more flexible in learning how to use the tools and incorporate them in lessons.  Teachers can create webquests that will enable students to search for information online.  Students can share information and collaborate with one another on their discoveries.  It doesn’t have to be a cumbersome issue, teachers can work within their comfort zone and learn just as much from the students as they are from them.  With enough practice an repetition, even the strongest luddite will let their guard down.   

Instead of this hardline stance, we can use this as an opportunity for everyone to develop social norms for the use of technology.  Educators can educate children on cellphone etiquette.  That even though you can use these items almost anywhere, there are still places where you should be more observant and aware of people’s reaction towards you.   I know children can still distinguish right from wrong, and as long as we as teachers and educational leaders show them through example first, they will follow.  

The bottom line is we need to be flexible in terms of the use of technology and how it can support student learning.  Its incorporation cannot be haphazard, it needs to be thought out and carefully implemented.  Feedback is necessary in order to fine tune the program to make it effective.  This is going to require work on several levels in order to be successful, and we need to be alright with mistakes.  We have to learn from our mistakes, and give our students the best possible education that they deserve.

What Motivates Us?

The other day I was looking at one of the videos we were to watch for this week's class on YouTube.  I found it to be a very interesting look at what motivates us and what one software company does for its employees.  Atlassian, an australian software company, will allow its employees four days a year (once every three months) to work on whatever they want.  The company noticed that the employees would work on fixes for current programs or software or they would create ideas for software and programs.

I began to wonder that what if schools could do something like this.  Give the students one day out of the marking period, to work on anything that they choose.  If a student wants to spend all day in the art room working on a portrait, that's ok.  A group of students can work on creating a song or a musical composition.  It could be possible for students to explore law, mathematics, writing poetry/short stories, etc.  I think that this idea could work at the high school level.  At the middle school level, something like this could be done on a smaller scale.  I am not sure how this would work at an elementary school level.

If students are as truly creative as the attached video claims, and we as educators are trying to control them, then this possibility could be an idea can change all mentality.  I know that we live in a day of standardized tests, and finding ways to squeeze in the cirriculum, and that this might just be another thing to add to a teacher's plate.  I understand that this idea might come off as utopian or far-fetched, but I am curious to see what would happen.  Teachers can work as mentors or better yet partners with students.  Maybe this combination could come up with something extraordinary during this time.  This is definitely going to be an idea that I would like to explore.

Phone Messaging Services

With the storms that hit the Philadelphia area this past week, I wanted to take a look at some of the phone messaging programs that are available to school districts to get the word out to the various stakeholders (Parents, Students, Staff, etc.).  Below are the links to three websites of company's that provide this service, this is not an endorsement of any kind,  just simply a place to start your search if you are looking for such a system.  The nice thing about using a service, is the fact that you no longer have to make the phone tree to get word out to staff, and every household in the district will be contacted so no more time spent listening to the radio for those magical numbers.  Please let me know if you know of other providers so that I can add them to this list.

If you are unable to open the link, please copy and paste the link into your browser.


School Messenger
http://www.schoolmessenger.com

Global Connect

http://www.gc1.com/industries/education.jsp

Database Systems Corp.

http://www.databasesystemscorp.com/psschool.htm

My first post

Welcome to my blog.  Over the course of this semester, I plan to use this blog as a resource to others who are looking for ways to incorporate technology into education.  I know that right now there is not much to look at, but please check back and see what I can find.