I have been blessed to work with such an open IT department within our school division for the last six years. When many complain about lack of access to things such as YouTube and Twitter, we can access them and we have filters that block out sites that are inappropriate (pornography and gambling obviously). I think...
I wanted to share this post here because it’s important to share examples of how the simple use of a collaborative tool such as Google docs can lead to more meaningful learning experiences for teams! Originally posted on The Principal’s Posts. Today a team of my school’s teachers attended a workshop at our...
Nothing says, “I trust you”, less than blocking websites in organizations and schools. I recently read how Rhode Island has now outlawed social media in schools (at last glance their legislative assembly currently has 11 likes on their Facebook page they must have a total understanding of social media) and it is just...
“How do we get reluctant administrators on board with utilizing technologies to communicate, connect, and collaborate?” This is one of the most prevalent questions I encounter when chatting with educators on Twitter, through informal conversations, and in presentations I’ve shared. It came through loud and clear in the Connected Principals ISTE session that teachers...
Right now there is a conversation that is going on in #EDChat about the impact that social media has on education. As many posts in the last little while have talked about the urgency to adopt social media and technology into our schools (including mine), the “why” of this needs to be apparent. Now...
Spending the last four days at a national leadership conference (CASA 11) in Niagara Falls on 21st Century Learning and Innovation (which had no Twitter hashtag until a few of us got together to start one), and then spending the week prior at ISTE, the conversation about technology in schools is a major theme....
Parents and schools (teachers, administrators, staff, etc.) are members of the same team – partners – striving together for the same goal. The goal, I hope and trust, is to collaboratively guide and support our children/student-learners as they grow, develop, learn, fail, rise after failure, succeed, question, figure out life (as we do, too),...
Standing in the back, I watched the screens. The students had seen me come in, and a few clearly clicked away from the screen they had open as I entered. I am, after all, their principal. Our excellent teacher was lecturing. Our excellent students were note-taking, almost all of them typing notes into...
Social media is something that has become so prevalent in our culture that I have seen everything from large companies to churches having their own Facebook accounts. When I first was presented with the idea that using Twitter, Facebook, or blogging as something in education I was wary of its application. As I have...
Ten days ago I had the extraordinary good fortune to see and hear Salman Khan speak to an audience of 3000; I will say it was genuinely a “heartthrob” moments in the field of education, as if seeing the Beatles at the Ed Sullivan show. I think Khan is a true transformer, a visionary,...
I had the opportunity to attend the eTech Ohio Conference (#oetch11) on Monday, January 31, 2011. It’s a three day event, but with budget and time constraints, I was only able to attend one day. I am excited to attend each year, hoping to take away at least one new idea I can share...
“Revolution doesn’t happen when society adopts new technologies—it happens when society adopts new behaviors.” Clay Shirky, Here Comes Everybody This week for me, started off with attending an Royal Canadian Mounted Police presentation discussing “Internet Safety”. A majority of the presentation discussed the “threats” of technology and mostly social media, which is understandable since...
Perhaps my greatest professional passion these days is promoting innovative schools cultures, and particularly ones which facilitate our students in becoming innovators. So I am especially taken with a new article in Wired Magazine (January 2011), by TED curator Chris Anderson, on “How Crowd Accelerated Innovation Can Change the World.” (Or see Anderson’s...
How many times have you heard that our students are nothing like we used to be? Well, I am here to echo that sentiment. They aren’t. Do students need the same caring and love that we had as children? Absolutely. But what our kids are exposed to now is something that we never had...
The more I have been involved using social media helping to create incredible opportunities for myself and our students, the more I have seen the value. Many comments however regard the amount of time it takes to do this and that it is not possible to fit something into their day. As an educator,...
Relationships are the key foundation to the success of students in our schools. The more we connect with them, the more likely they are to succeed. This is not only true with our students, but also essential with our staff. If we know those we serve, the more likely we are to all be...
This was originally posted on my own blog on June 23, 2010 in preparation for the 2010-2011 school year. As we begin the school year, this plan is becoming a reality. This year at my school, we have done a lot of work with technology integration in our own professional development. We have started...
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