Right vs. Right
Topic: Leadership Issues

This is what I originally planned to write about yesterday. With a few exceptions, use of Web 2.0 tools and other communication technologies in schools almost always leads to a showdown somewhere along the line. The players vary, depending upon the situation or even local culture-- it might be IT staff vs. teachers or parents vs. administrators, etc. For example, a teacher wants to use a classroom blog to increase home/school communication only to encounter resistance from IT staff whose primary concern is to protect the integrity of the network. Or, school officials and parents clash over whether student cell phones on campus are a distruption or a safety measure.

Often, when I listen to any of the parties involved explain the situation, it's clear that they perceive the problem as an either-or situation. Someone's right and someone's wrong (usually the other party!), making it a win-lose proposition that can't be resolved without someone giving in or losing face.

I've known that this position of right-and-wrong is...well...wrong, but couldn't put my finger on exactly why until I read an article in Sunday's Seattle Times. The topic of the article was a request the FBI made to Seattle's two major newspapers, the Times and the Post-Intelligencer.

Two men (apparently of Middle Eastern descent) had raised the suspicions of ferry staff because they rode at least 6 different routes within a few weeks, asked questions about ferry operations, and took photographs of odd things like ferry doorways. One employee became so suspicious, he took a photo of the two men. The concerns and photo were brought to the attention of the FBI.

The FBI asked both newspapers to print the photo to ask the public's help in identifying the men and both papers refused, saying there was not enough information to justify tying these men to terrorism. A day later, after additional investigation, one paper printed the photo, while the other still refused. Both papers heard loud and clear from readers who thought each decision was dead wrong. This is where the ephinany happens for me.

Apparently, one reader identified this as a right vs. right decision. It wasn't a matter of someone being wrong. Instead, it was a matter of trying to make the best decision between two correct courses of action. This idea comes from a book called "How Good People Make Tough Decisions," by Rushworth Kidder.

The author of the article relates this idea to what he calls the "shrill, mean-spirited and absolutist" posts appearing in a variety of online venues these days. This is what led me to think about the conflicts I see in schools and districts related to technology and also helped me begin to get a glimmer of why it's so tough for the people involved to work toward resolution that's good for everyone involved.

Anyway, the book's on it's way. Once I've had a chance to dig into it, I'm sure I'll have more thoughts to share here. 

 Technorati Tags: Seattle Times, school administrators, Susan Brooks-Young, decision making, Web 2.0

Excel Tutorials for School Administrators
Topic: Leadership Issues

Okay, this is really not a Web 2.0 thing (unless you upload your Excel files to a Google or Zoho Spreadsheet) and I was intending to write about something completely different today, but then I checked my Bloglines subscriptions and found that Scott McLeod just posted a valuable link on his blog that I want to share with you. So, I'm scrapping my original plan and choosing to ignore the deviation from a Web 2.0 topic.

Educators are awash in data today. We collect it like maniacs. But then, what do you do with it? Sometimes you can get by if your IT department has the staff and time to generate reports for you. But what if that's not the case, or if you need to do some analysis quickly? That's when school administrators need to have some basic Excel skills under their belts. And, Scott has developed and posted a series of basic tutorials specifically for educators at School Data Tutorials. I highly recommend that you check it out and share with other administrators and teachers.

 

 Technorati Tags: Excel, school administrators, Susan Brooks-Young, Scott McLeod, D3M

Social Networking and Education
Topic: Leadership Issues

The NSBA released a report today on social networking and schools. Entitled Creating and Connecting//Research and Guidelines on Online Social--and Educational--Networking, the report does a nice job of comparing student use of social networking outside schools to their experiences while on campus. The report ends with six recommendations:

1. Consider using social networking for staff communications and
   professional development.
   
2. Find ways to harness the educational value of social networking.
3. Ensure equitable access.
4. Pay attention to the nonconformists. (Students who are actively engaged in social networking, but disconnected from school.)
5. Reexamine social networking policies.
6. Encourage social networking companies to increase educational
   value.

It's very encouraging to see an organization like NSBA suggesting that we abandon the head-buried-in-the-sand approach many districts have taken to emerging technologies like social networks and start facing the issue head on. With that attitude we can begin to figure out ways to use these tools to our advantage!

 Technorati Tags: social networking, school administrators, Susan Brooks-Young, NSBA

Social Bookmarking Video
Topic: Emerging Technologies

Lee LeFever at CommonCraft has just posted a new video, Social Bookmarking in Plain English. If you haven't seen Lee's earlier videos, now's the time to start viewing. If you have, you know the very next thing you need to do is download this to add to your collection!

This video focuses on Del.icio.us, but the principles hold true for other social bookmarking sites. 

I frequently use these videos in PD workshops because Lee has a real gift for making these concepts comprehensible to digital immigrants!

 

 Technorati Tags: social bookmarking, school administrators, Susan Brooks-Young, CommonCraft

General Public Wants More Tech in Schools
Topic: Leadership Issues

Cisco recently commissioned a survey of Americans to get their take on whether or not technology belongs in schools. Not surprisingly, the results mirror the conflicts we face in education every day. While the majority of respondents agree that technology skills are necessary if the U.S. wants to hang on to its competetive edge in the business world, they were also reluctant to shift assessment from individual achievement to team work.

I think this contradiction is one of the primary reasons that western countries are having such a difficult time making the plunge into real reform. Yes, we recognize that things are changing, but we can't wrap our heads around how to evaluate student performance in this new learning environment because for so long we've put our faith in individualism, not teamwork.

Anyone else have any thoughts about this? I'll actually be discussing this very issue tomorrow with a group of district superintendents in Portland, OR.

 Technorati Tags: Cisco, school administrators, Susan Brooks-Young

Social Network Fatigue
Topic: Emerging Technologies

I confess that recently I have not been an even semi-active contributor to any of the Ning networks I belong to, nor have I posted here as regularly as I would like to. I am even behind with email at this point- something I rarely allow to happen.

I was feeling a bit guilty until I stumbled across a post on Web Worker Daily. Hurrah! I'm not alone in feeling social network fatigue!

Why write about this on a blog for school administrators? I think that educators are currently among the most stressed members of the U.S. workforce. As they look to Web 2.0 apps to relieve some of the workload, they need to recognize the fact that, if they're not careful, they'll be swapping the devil for the witch.

Does that mean I think they should maintain the status quo? Absolutely not! It means that as educators continue to transition to greater use of technology, they also need to recognize that they will need to leave something behind. Also, that they will need to select new tools carefully. Just because something's there and can be used, doesn't mean it has to be. 

 

 

Technorati Tags: social network fatigue, school administrators, Susan Brooks-Young, WebWorkerDaily

New Online Knowledge Sharing Community
Topic: E-Communication
ePals recently launched a new site for K-12 educators called Ask ePals. This free online community is open to educators around the world and provides a place for members to find resources, content, advice, and more by posting questions and sharing information. Might be a good introduction to online communities for administrators and teachers who are interested, but not ready to tackle a full-blown social network.

 

 

Technorati Tags: AskePals, school administrators, Susan Brooks-Young, online communities

Business Stepping Up to the Plate: Are We Ready?
Topic: Leadership Issues

It's no secret that business leaders are increasing disenchanted with the quality and calibre of new entrants into the work force. The last time we needed major reform in public education came when we were shifting from an agrarian to industrial nation. Andrew Carnegie led the Group of Ten, which took the bull by the horns and helped craft the education system we still have today.

Now another shift is necessary. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have stepped up nationally, but I've been waiting for a wave of businesses to come forward. I ran across a site today that may herald this. Called Business Tools for Better Schools, the site offers a toolkit for businesses who are interested in working for education reform.

Check it out! 

Technorati Tags: business and education, school administrators, Susan Brooks-Young, education reform

Take No Prisoners!
Topic: Leadership Issues

Here's another scenario you can hash out with colleagues.

A Connecticut mom just filed a lawsuit on behalf of her 16-year-old daughter, who will be a senior in the fall. You can read about it here: Free Speech Suit Filed. 

According to news accounts, the student was barred from running for any school office after calling site administrators a derogatory term on her personal blog in April of this year. She had been class Secretary her Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior years and was planning to run again (unopposed) for her Senior year. However, after the blog post came to light (it was written when school officials canceled a popular on-campus event), the student was told that she had to apologize, resign her class office, and was barred from running again.

She did apologize and has publicly said that what she wrote was inappropriate. She refused to voluntarily resign her office so school officials removed her administratively and prohibited her participation in the election for next year saying that holding a student body office is a privilege, not a right.

So, let's assume that the facts stated in the article are correct. Did the administrators over react? Was an apology and removal of the post enough? Would there have been another, more fitting consequence?

How could they have made their point and helped the student learn to make better decisions in the future without appearing to be vindictive? I'm thinking it's one of those situations where the adults needed to think a bit more carefully before taking action.

Anyone out there have any thoughts? 

 

Technorati Tags: student blogs, school administrators, Susan Brooks-Young, free speech lawsuit

The Cult of the Amateur
Topic: Leadership Issues

While at NECC, someone recommended that I read The Cult of the Amateur by Andrew Keen. So I did.

Most of the book was a disappointment. Although he raised some interesting point, like so many other folks these days, Keen chose to use the language of fear throughout the bulk of the book as he expounded on his belief that the internet is destroying modern culture. I also suspect that many of his statistics were exaggerated.

However, the final chapter included some good stuff (leaving out his viewpoint on DOPA). In this chapter he discussed ways that print media (e.g., newspapers) and the entertainment industry are trying to reinvent themselves to take advantage on the internet. As he finally admits, this technology isn't going to go away, so we might as well figure out how to make it work. I wish he'd stuck to ideas like this throughout the whole book--he might have gotten more buy-in from this reader! 

 

Technorati Tags: NECC07, school administrators, Susan Brooks-Young, schooltechleadership