The Power of Infographics

Has anyone else embraced how powerful infographics are?  Am I the only one out there?  I LOVE infographics!  I use infographics as often as possible with my students and I have students use programs/websites like Easel.Ly to share ideas.  They are great to convey ideas quickly, effectively, and they are often motivating.  Prior to taking this course, I saw school administrators as being there for the students.  The very first thing that we discussed in this course is how important it is for principals to be there for the staff.  I feel like my focus has shifted.  I'm eager to continue my courses in this program and grow as a leader.  This graphic motivates me:

The Importance of Social Media

Social Media has received a stigma from many who have not learned to embrace it.  I am at a new school this year and one of the things that I love about my principal is how much she supports me as a media coordinator and embraces technology.  Our principal has done a wonderful job of increasing community and parental involvement at at school where there was very little support.  She's done this primarily by using Facebook and Twitter as a means to connect with the principals.  I come from a generation where I can barely remember not having a computer in the home.  I use social media for everything (event planning, communicating, researching, surveys, etc.) We have to face it - parents are almost as connected as our students!  This dissertation really sums up how beneficial it is to use social media as a tool to connect with parents.  Click Here

Technology in a Thai Classroom

Picture retrieved from this site: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_citizenship_asia_pacific/archive/2014/05/27/thai-teacher-brings-technology-into-the-classroom.aspx

This picture shows technology being used to increase English Proficiency in a classroom in Thailand. This picture and article really hit close to home.  My mother is from Thailand.  I grew up speaking Thai.  My love for education and teaching came from my mother.  In Thailand, only the priveleged attend school and make it out with a high school education.  You have to pay to go to school there. There is no such thing as public education.  My mom only has a 4th grade education but has always instilled respect for learning in me and she has always told me how lucky I am to have grown up in the United States.   

A Visionary Leader

Inspiring a technology enriched culture in a school building requires that the administrators are "practicing what they preach."  The idea of stepping into a new building as an administrator, where cultures and norms have already been established is terrifying.  The faculty and staff are not going to take you seriously if you can't articulate or model your vision.  ISTE Standard 1 for Administrators states that, "Educational Administrators inspire and lead development and implementation of a shared vision for comprehensive technology integration..."

To me, this is the first and most important step in the process of being a technology leader.  How do you start? Where does the vision come from?  I found two resources to be extremely helpful in creating my technology vision.  "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Tech-Leading Principals" was a great place to start.  I followed this up with reading over the following book, "The Digital Principal" by Anne Michelle Burke and Natalie Hughes.  The first chapter of this book discusses establishing a vision and how to follow through with it.  

I firmly believe that without a vision, there will be no buy in.

Staying Connected

I often try to find parallels between what I do now as a media specialist to what it's going to be like when I am an Assistant Principal or Principal.  Sometimes being in a school where you are the only person in your position, it can be difficult.  There is not another person who understands the pressures of your specific position, the deadlines that you have, etc.  My saving grace as a school librarian is social media.  I have connected with many other librarians via Edmodo, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.  I also love reading blogs.  These are great platforms to gain ideas and really feel like you aren't the only one going through similar problems.  I found a great blog called Connected Principals  .  This blog shares thoughts and best practices from a variety of school principals from around the country.  I think that my years leading up to becoming a principal and when I finally obtain my degree this is going to be a blog that I visit often.  You can even subscribe for email feeds.

Student Centered Learning

I started my position as a media specialist during a weird time in our department.  The Information Technology and Media Services department in Cumberland County is very tight knit.  Many of us share ideas, attend system wide professional developments together, and stay connected via social media.  We recently gained a new director in our department.  Our director has really started to shift the focus and culture of the school libraries from books to digital.  Many of the librarians felt as though they were going to be shifted out and replaced by technology (eBooks, devices, etc.)  As "fresh blood" on the scene - I saw things very differently.  It's really important to be flexible.  Education is a science.  Science is constantly changing and involving.

It's important for a school administrator or a department chair to be able to help their teachers understand that they are not being replaced.  Technology has really changed the way our students think, learn, and create. I had a conversation with a veteran librarian the other day.  She was telling me that students now are just so noisy and have no respect for the library when they come in.  She believes that this has a lot to do with how education has changed.  I told her that my personal philosophy is that the school library is an extension of the classroom and there is a difference between talking and being disruptive and talking to collaborate.  Educators need to get on board to understand that our students are different now.  "Sit and Get" is out and Creating, Collaborating, Communication, and Critical Thinking are in!  Our students need student centered instruction!  

A great Educational Technology Blog that I have begun to follow is called "Emerging EdTech".  The blogger is Kelly Walsh who is the Chief Information Officer at The College of Worchester in New York.  He also teaches at this college.  I like the format of this blog for many reasons.  The topics that he blogs about changes weekly.  He also blogs about a lot of topics that are relevant to what I am currently working with in my Department (Information Technology and Media Services).  Walsh does a wonderful job of coming up with topics that are meaningful to teachers, media specialists, and educational leaders. He blogs about many topics on his own but also finds meaningful blogs and shares them through his site.

The link to Walsh's Blog is: Emerging EdTech

He will be hosting a Flipped Classroom Online Workshop in February and this is something that I am really interested in and is very relevant to what our professional developments are focused around in Cumberland County this school year.

My favorite blog topic that he has shared is "Ten Reasons a School Library/Librarians is Vital to Schools.  This topic hits close to home.  I am currently a media specialist (school librarian).  One of my driving motivators to become a principal or to gain leadership experience so that I can work at the central office level is that school library media specialists are often over looked or discounted.  It is still a sad and common misconception that librarians do nothing but check books in and out.  I have only worked for 2 principals that supported the library and really understood how vital their position is.  I have worked for several other principals that fail to realize the difficulties of running a library facility within the school, keep up with technology demands, teach classes, support teachers, etc.  This failure on the part of leadership creates a culture within the school that doesn't support the librarian or appreciate what they have to offer.  I have often told teachers that it doesn't take a Masters Degree to check books in and out.  A librarian has a lot to offer.  I cannot wait to be one of those principals that supports the library/librarian and changes the culture within in the county level.  This blog lists reasons that include quality control (for resources), vetting information, teaching research, etc.  This is the link to the blog that Walsh Shares: Top 10 Reasons

Another blog that Walsh personally wrote is about Teacher Curated Creation Applications.   This is his most recent blog (written/posted today November 17th!)   This is a list of great web apps for teachers to use.  A school administrator that supports technology should share this with their teachers and encourage them to use it with their students.  Student created content allows students to take a hold of their own learning!  Student centered learning is also a big thing this year in Cumberland County and will be the topic of my next blog!