Role+Administrators+Play

** ( From: Robert Brasko)

As a veteran and as a geography teacher, I really enjoyed Jeannemarie's and Tracy's use of hierarchy charts. What a concept.....the role administrators play in the use of social media! Duh...they should be out in front leading the charge. I agree that they should lead by example. There should be daily blogs and ipodcasts just as Jeannemarie recommends. There is an expression that knowledge is power, so true. Is this why administrations fail to keep us informed? It really upsets me when students know about things going on in our school before me or I never am informed. Teachers should know everything going on in the school and it is possible with the technology of today. I really resent not being informed by the administration of what is going on in my school on a day-to-day basis. This is a collaboration, not a dictatorship. Schools will only be able to function if everyone is involved in the workings of the school and that particularly means the administration sharing with us by using the very technology that they want us to use in the classroom! What role do administrators (building-level and district-level) play in the use of social media? **  Jeannemarie Wallnau

"Administrators play a crucial role and are the decisive factor in how well technology is used in our schools." International Society for Technology in Education, ISTE  Administrators should be making the case for using social media in the classroom to parents and other community stakeholders, insisting that faculty become technologically literate, and ensuring reliable tech resources and support, and safe and responsible usage. I think schools should be progressive in using all the technology available to them, such as [|cell phones in class], with rules, monitoring, and discipline. Administrators can make this happen. They should be visionaries creating a culture for digital age learning. The Web is changing, and so must education.

Administrators should be leading teachers by example in the use of social media for communication and collaboration. Instead of a one-way memo from the administration, administrators and teachers can communicate through weekly podcasts and daily blogs. Perhaps an administrator will share a link to a [|talk on motivation by Daniel Pink] and participants will discuss what's important to them, their needs and how to help each other, and benefit from shared references and archives. Imagine starting a school day checking for news on the latest educational trends through an [|RSS feed] and looking at how schools are using [|iPods for learning] and planning to discuss that in the [|online learning community] your principal encouraged everyone on the faculty to join. Imagine learning about and then planning to use cell phones in class for polling. Can you? You don't have to wait for the polling technology that costs thousands. Your students already have cell phones. Permission must be granted. Administrators can make this happen. Give the polling a try. Text and then watch your reply entered on the graph!

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Educators who create and actively participate in the world of digital technology and social media will embrace it for their students. They will move away from finding reasons //not// to use it. They //have// to. The [|ISTE standards for administrators] and[| teachers] demand it. Just as it took me time and working through mistakes to make my first wiki page, other teachers will find a way to enter this brave new world...

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Tracy Valenty “Administrators have to facilitate change. ……Administrators have to decide this is valued for the whole school community, and they have to give teachers time and freedom to learn, experiment, and play. Lots of teachers are doing it on their own, but it can be exhausting. That's classroom 2.0, not school 2.0.” ** - ** Fran Smith, “How to Use Social-Networking Technology for Learning”, [] =Administrators’ responsibilities do not end once the decision that meaningful technology use is a valued part of the educational process is made. Administrators need to model the use of social media for both teachers and students. In addition, they need to provide time for and varying levels of professional development to help teachers learn about Web2.0 tools and how to use them. Time for collaboration between teachers would also be helpful. = Administrators themselves have to be willing to learn, understand and use the new technology. Not only should they understand the technology itself, they should be aware of possible problems with the technology and how the technology is being used in class. Administrators need to be willing to explain the rationale for using these tools in the classroom to parents and other stakeholders. Indeed, they should be invested enough in the value of social media as an educational tool that they are willing to defend the use of social media when necessary as controversy may arise at some point.

Finally, administrators should evaluate various social media tools for their use and value in the educational process rather than automatically banning them. Administrators should learn about the spectrum of options that exist so that they can determine the appropriate use of these technologies at various age levels. Administrators have a responsibility to learn about alternatives, such as educational networking sites, that may be a safer alternative to commercial sites. *See related article: “Lifting the Limits on Social Networking Sites” at [] =Additional resources used: = [] []

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