Management Style

What kind of leader are you?  I think that this is a very important question we all have to ask of ourselves before taking a leadership role.  What moves us to become successful, does not translate to everyone else.

Quality leadership comes in different ways.  Is a good leader someone who can motivate others to rally behind them for the common good?  Or is a good leader someone who gets results on standardized tests?  We have all had a boss at some time during our lives, whether it is the manager of a store, a coach, principal, etc., what did you like about them?  What didn't you like?

I had my first leadership role as a JV soccer head coach of my high school alma mater.  I tried to base my style upon what I felt worked with me as a player.  I also pictured in my head the different soccer coaches I had, and pieced together what I liked and didn't like about each of them.  From that simple list I began making progress towards the coach I aspired to become.

Below is a video from YouTube on leaders, please let me know what you think.

Digital Citizenship

I was curious at what is meant by digital citizenship, and I wanted to know more about it.  From looking at different websites, I found that it is a virtual "Bill of Rights" a set of rules that we are to live by in order to be positive contributors to the world wide web.

It came to no surprise that when students were interviewed by other students at the collegiate level, almost all of them bring their computers with them to class.  I don't know if the professors were aware, but most of the students would spend time on Facebook or twitter instead of being on task.  I mention this because most school districts in the area are looking into ways to fuse technology into the classrooms.  Teachers need to be proactive in terms of making sure that students are still working on the task at hand.  We are going to have to get used to a little social behavior, much like those teachers who have students work in groups.  You will have to be comfortable with a little chaos (social behavior not related to the task, "comfortable with chaos" sounded better).

As an administrator, it will be my responsibility to make sure that my staff has the resources they need as we transition to the one to one system.  Below is a video that could be shared at a faculty meeting to introduce the topic of digital citizenship.  Please let me know your thoughts on the idea of digital citizenship.

Friends in High Places

For this post, I wanted to find media personalities that support the efforts of educators.  For the past couple of months education has come under attack.  Unions that protect poor teachers to charter schools that wear superhero costumes for disadvantaged children in impoverish parts of the country have had their time in the media spotlight.  I think that it is funny that people who have never set foot in a classroom as a teacher are making such big decisions about its future.

A friend at work showed me some clips from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  It was refreshing to see that someone from the media can analyze government practices objectively.  Below are the links to a couple of clips.  Please feel free to share them with other educators.  I would like to start a list of others in the media who support our efforts, if you know of anyone, please let me know.

Daily Show: Crisis in the Dairyland-for richer or poorer-teachers and wall street

Daily Show: Crisis in the Dairyland-Message for teachers

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.