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It's time again to submit nominations for the annual Edublog Awards.
I'd like to nominate the TBLOGICAL (http://www.portical.org/blog/) blog in the Best School Administrator Blog category. Written by a dedicated group of current and former school administrators, this blog covers a wide variety of topics relevant to school leaders. Check it out!
Originally posted on T-Blogical.
It began with a casual remark about Mattel Inc.’s plans to release a limited edition Computer Engineer doll as part of its Barbie® I Can Be…TM series. Julia Fallon, Technology Integration Program Manager for the Office of the Superintendent of Public Education for the state of Washington, and Kiki Prottsman, Chair of the Women in Computer Science program at the University of Oregon met for the first time at the recent NCWIT (National Center for Women in IT) conference in Portland, OR. Both are strong advocates of the belief that technology fields need more women working as scientists, engineers, programmers, software designers and similar positions. They were intrigued with the idea of how the doll could be used to promote this interest. Before the conference had ended, the idea was hatched for Picture Me in Computing, a way to get women who work in IT to stand up and say, “Join us!”In almost no time, Picture Me in Computing went from concept to actual planned event. On Wednesday, November 10, 2010, hundreds of people working in technology-based professions will participate in a virtual flash mob by uploading on-the-job pictures that illustrate to women and girls all over the world how it is possible for them to realize a highly rewarding career in computing. The virtual flash mob will use social networking sites including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Picasa to spread the word and share images. IT specialists who work in educational institutions are encouraged to participate by sharing photos, blog or other posts, even short videos all tagged #picmecomp. But the main point of the event is to reach out to girls and women who might not have considered a career in the field of technology. Educators who want to share these resources with students can search social networking sites using the #picmecomp tag; however, first they need to know that Picture Me in Computing is happening. Please tell your staff members about this event. Encourage them to participate, either as contributors or as consumers of the information posted. To learn more, visit Picture Me in Computing.
I attended ISTE 2010 last week. Overall, it was a great experience for me both personally and professionally. However, the main conference got off to a rocky start when a feeding frenzy hit Twitter and other social networks during the opening keynote.
The behavior of many of the backchannel participants was appalling. I have no issue with constructive criticism, but many of the comments were way over the top. What I'm finding interesting now is that some of these folks are on the defensive, justifying their behavior by basically saying the speaker 'made' them behave that way...for example, if he had done more research on his audience or if his slides were better, people wouldn't have bashed him.
I cannot fathom this type of thinking and suspect that most of these educators would be on the warpath if their students used a backchannel in this same way.
I was going to write more, but have found some thoughtful discussion about what happened in other blog posts. So, rather than reinvent the wheel, I'm adding links here. Bottom line, the speaker deserves many apologies!
How a Bad Presentation Can Help You
Cross posted on TBlogICAL
A ruling by the U.S. Supreme on June 17, 2010 may impact school districts and other education institutions that provide cell phones to employees. The court agreed unanimously that governmental agencies may access and read an employee’s text messages under certain circumstances.
The case that was brought to the Supreme Court involved a police officer in Ontario, CA whose text messages were reviewed when department officials became concerned that SWAT team officers were using department-issued pagers for too many personal text messages. And sure enough, in one month alone, of the 456 text messages sent or received by the officer in question, 400 were personal.
The city does have a policy stating that employees have no guaranteed right of privacy when using communication devices provided by the department, but officers had been told informally that their messages would not be audited as long as they paid for additional charges. So the officer and three others sued the department for violating their constitutional right to privacy. A lower court ruled in the officer’s favor, but the Supreme Court has now reversed that decision on the premise that the search itself was reasonable.
The decision is the court’s first related to Digital Age technologies and 4th amendment guards against unreasonable search and seizure. And while the court did not provide broad guidance on employees’ privacy, the decision did identify conditions that must be met before government agency may review an employee’s personal texts. They are:
As increasing numbers of education agencies provide cell phones to some employees, it is critical that policies be created that outline acceptable use and privacy expectations. It is equally important that these policies be enforced in an even-handed, consistent way. How does your agency handle this issue?
Cross-posted on TBLOGICAL
Last October, Barak Obama promised that if he were elected, he would create a new cabinet-level position. Saying that the United States has not done nearly enough to tap into technology and its potential for creating new jobs, Obama proposed creating the position of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the U.S. Now, six months later, this promise has come to fruition. During his weekly address on April 18, President Obama announced that Aneesh Chopra will be the nation’s first CTO.
Currently serving as Secretary of Technology for the state of Virginia, Chopra’s new position comes with three goals that support the new administration’s top priorities. First, he is charged with promoting use of technology to support job creation. Second, Chopra is to explore ways technology use can be leveraged to reduce health care costs. Finally, he is to focus on use of technology to increase national security.
The business world sees this as a welcome step toward updating and expanding a national infrastructure that recently has received little attention. This sector also views this appointment as a commitment to returning the U.S. to a leadership role in technology-related advances worldwide. But what do educators think about this new position and the impact Mr. Chopra might have on bring education into the digital age?
Whether it happens in K-12 grades, post-secondary programs, or on-the-job training courses, every one of the three goals listed above must include an education component in order to be successfully implemented. How will education leaders take advantage of this fact to leverage resources and launch innovative programs designed to help the new CTO meet his goals? What related conversations are taking place in your school, district, or region?
Technorati Tags: Chief Technology Officer, education, school administrators, Susan Brooks-Young
References to this article have popped up on Twitter, even ASCD's SmartBrief.
Apparently a reporter in Charlotte, NC turned up a number of Facebook pages maintained by people who identified themselves as being employees of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Nothing wrong with that, but these teachers used the Facebook pages to post derogatory remarks about their students and to discuss personal activities that were completely unprofessional.
How do we help educators and other adult members of the school community understand that Facebook, MySpace, and other social network sites are not private? How can we expect students to treat adults respectfully online when teachers post remarks like, “I'm feeling p---ed because I hate my students!”
I'd love to hear your ideas and specific strategies you've used to deal with this issue. It isn't going to go away...
BTW, one teacher has been recommended for firing and several others for disciplinary action as a result of the shenanigans in Charlotte.
Strong American Schools has just released a new report, A Stagnant Nation: Why American Students are Still at Risk. The executive summary and full report can be access here.
A Nation at Risk was published 25 years ago. Since that time relatively few-- some would say virtually none--of the reforms recommended in that report have been implemented. For example, the original report suggested a 7 hour school day and between 200 and 220 school days per year. Nationally, the average school week has increased by just 36 minutes.
See this new report for additional examples and discussion.
Karen Fasimpaur has posted a question asking whether or not all student blogging should be moderated. I think she's asking about use of private blogs that are hosted in house and not available for public viewing.
I'm going to respond to that and then ask another question. But first, private blogs...
I do believe that educators can make productive use of private blogs when they are being used as a sort of 'sandbox' to help students learn about blogging in public. I'm not sure that I can get too worked up about whether or not these are 'real' blogs because if anyone else is reading the posts (including teachers, fellow students, parents) there is an audience beyond the individual writer. That's the point, right? And, most 'real' blogs have a very limited reading audience.
Educators should not stop there, however. At some point (I don't know if this is an age or grade level issue), kids should have the opportunity to post their ideas in public blogs. For example, look at the benefits reaped by Eric Langhorst's students during the Guerilla Season blog project each year. That wouldn't happen in a walled off environment.
Now for the next unasked question. Should student posts be moderated before being made public? I think so, but I know a lot of educators who believe this is an infringement of students' free speech rights. What do you think?
If you've read The World Is Flat, you know how good it is and may be interested in a quick review. If you haven't read the book, now's the time. Between now and August 11, you can download a free audio copy of the book. Click on this link.
This is a book that every school administrator needs to read and share with staff, parents, and the community.
Technorati Tags: Thomas Friedman, World Is Flat, school administrators, Susan Brooks-Young
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