The social media phenomenon continues to bring interactivity to the mainstream and lead more and more people into a connected world.

1. Official Twitter Stream: Follow all the news as it comes through on the Emmy's Official Twitter page
2. Tweet About Presenter to Jimmy Fallon: "Tweet something about the presenter and Jimmy may use your tweet as part of his introduction for those presenters during the show"
3. Backstage Ustream:  8 Camera webcast of various events backstage taking place live
4. Red Carpet Live UStream: Watch all the chaos and fun live on the Red Carpet
5. YFrog: Using #Emmys, the Emmy Awards are aggregating photos and videos taken by fans and celebrities.
6. Ol' School but Still Valuable: Discussion board, Interactive Ballot, and I'm sure official Live Blogging (didn't see this though)

What about Schools?

This leads me right to schools. What are we doing with social media? Put aside the formal learning and teaching for just a moment and focus on the school as a whole. How are schools understanding the social media phenemenon in order to leverage it for events, activities, and athletics? How are we allowing the community to better connect, engage, experience, and support the great work we do?

At no other time that I can recall, we have an opportunity to take ownership of our "brand" within media. For some, opening these doors means perhaps losing control, which has never been there. Through social media, you may not have control BUT you can take ownership. You don't have to wait for the newspaper or radio to write the story, cover an event, or share news. The power is in our hands to promote and engage with others about our message.

The question is how will we help our schools embrace and leverage social media for the school's academics, activities, athletics, celebrations, community, and events? How will our schools cultivate a social network both digitally and physically not just push information? How will we take ownership of our brand, a brand that sees the mainstream media shredding administrators, schools, and teachers on what seems to be a daily basis?

Remove the line that we are standing behind that provides a false sense of security, a false sense of insulation, and a false sense of control.

It is time for schools to rise up, tell their story, and amplify it. Social media provides that stage!

Ryan Bretag
Glenbrook North High School
Coordinator of Instructional Technology
Blog: Metanoia
Twitter: ryanbretag

Image

cc licensed flickr photo by Ryan Bretag: http://flickr.com/photos/educationaltechnologist/4934065929/

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 8:21 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

The 2010-2011 school year is upon us, and with it comes many new teachers who are excited to enlighten the minds of students who will sit before them for the next 10 months. This is also a time where administrators may wonder how successful the teachers will be and if they are going to meet the challenges of becoming an effective expert teacher. Regardless of the time spent interviewing them on several levels, evaluating their demo lessons, and talking to their former colleagues, the question remains, Who are the teachers that are really going to shine?
Potter Stewart, a US Supreme Court Justice, is famous for saying when defining pornography, “I know it, when I see it." The same can be applied to great teaching. Some may say that it has to with caring for your students and your craft. Some may say that it is being passionate about teaching. None of that really captures that top 1% of teachers.
“In most schools, teacher evaluation is a joke,” according to Marshall in her book Is Supervising the Heck out of Teachers the Answer? This thinking has begun to change in our district, since the introduction of Danielson's Framework. Administrators use Danielson's Framework for Teaching to provide a foundation for what is expected from our teachers. New teachers are provided with professional development on the Framework so that they are aware of the expectations of the district in regard to teaching and learning. Prior to a classroom observation, the teacher is involved in a conference with their administrator where they discuss the four domains of teaching, including: planning and preparation (Domain 1), classroom environment (Domain 2), instruction (Domain 3), and professional responsibilities (Domain 4). The administrator shares the Framework rubric and provides an opportunity for the teacher to explain how he or she will show evidence of the chosen components within the framework. After the classroom observation, there is another conference with the teacher and administrator where the teacher plays a significant role in evaluating his or her lesson. The rubric is used to help guide this discussion and create suggestions for improvement.
This is an effective framework; however, there is one fatal flaw whenever you put anything on paper and try to evaluate someone within a framework or rubric. It is difficult to capture that top tier of whatever you are evaluating. The use of Danielson's Framework has reduced this thinking; however, there is always room for improvement. Marzano says, "Beyond a few basics, there isn't one right way to teach. Rather than prowling through classrooms with checklists of “correct” practices, administrators should be looking at interim results with their teachers, identifying the most effective practices, and improving what's not working." This is one reason why it is imperative that administrators make themselves present in classrooms as frequently as possible. What other ways exist to evaluate "that" top tier of teachers? Tell us, how do you plan on tackling this issue?

Teresa Ivey and James Yap

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

School leaders often complain about being judged by their standardized test scores. This is a fair complaint since these scores don't tell the whole picture. But instead of creating their own scorecard for their school, these leaders simply complain. Stop complaining and start keeping score.

What percentage of your district's students attend and complete four year colleges?
What percentage of your students feel safe at your school?
Do you have a parent satisfaction rating? If not, survey them.
What percent of your students are reading at grade level, based on multiple measures?
And that critical thinking common assessment that your teachers created? What percentage of students reached benchmark?

Schools are often lazy since they don't feel any need to 'sell" their school or publicize accomplishments. And when schools do have the data to share they often embed it deep within their websites- five clicks away. Instead of an antiquated local newspaper telling your story- why not tell it yourself?

-Rob Ackerman
school blog

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 1:50 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

It has been a while since my last contribution. If that sounds to some like the opening line of confession.... perhaps it is.

I confess. I was a party to denying our kids.

We received our test scores from the California Standards Test a few weeks ago and we danced for a while because we knew our students had done so well. Sky-high. Record results. We now have an Academic Performance Index of 835 which represents a growth of 320 points over the past ten years. And in California, edging above 800 is the name of the testing game.

So now we are above 800. Now what?

I talked to one of our 5th grade teachers who helped nearly 80% of her students score proficient or above in math. (Not long ago, less than 20% of our students were at grade level in anything!) She was proud and excited and rightly so. She had worked hard at it. She used all of our formative assessments, collaborated with colleagues, designed strategic spiral review sessions, worked before and after school with targeted groups, tightened her instruction, increased math and language arts time, worked closely with parents, conducted home visits, and sought out every possible intervention she could find. And it worked.

And I wondered: how long can our teachers keep up that pace? And now that the AYP bar goes up another 10 points in California... how long can a school keep it up?

We all but eliminated science. And social studies. There was so little music. Hardly any arts. Limited time for physical education (yes I know it is required by Ed Code!). We didn't have dances on the blacktop like the year before. Or teams. Our students were not asked enough to think critically or creatively. They did not ponder the engineering difficulties of the gulf oil crisis let alone the long term impact on the natural ecosystems there. They didn't discuss the politics of unemployment or global warming or the conflicts of culture world-wide. There were no science fair entries or models constructed of the California Missions. They didn't solve "real" problems at all.

But they did plenty of practice problems and sample test items that had been released by the California Department of Education so that kids can prepare for the CST. And it paid off in our API. And I confess. I feel like we robbed them, in many ways, of the joy of learning.

This year, we still intend to prepare our students for the standardized tests. We just aren't going to sacrifice real teaching and learning to do it anymore. We are bringing back the curriculum that matters-- including science and social students and PE and the arts. We want our kids to think again. We want them to have opportunities to apply their learning in authentic ways again. We want them to find their voice again. To dance on the blacktop. To score 860.

Written by Kevin W. Riley, "El Milagro Weblog"

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

When a colleague, Daryll Powell, and I conduct workshops for teacher leaders and school principals, we frequently ask participants, "Why did you go into teaching?" This question led to many serious discussions on the values, goals, and aspirations on their decision to go into teaching. (To be fair, we also ask a second question to school executives, but that is another post).

Now, I admit there is another motive at work here. I hope that as all teachers, teacher assistants, bus drivers, school secretaries, assistant principals, principals, and central office employees get the chance to take a moment during this very hectic time of year as we open school to remember why they went into their chosen field AND to take a moment to remember what are the key points they want to keep in mind as they start the year.

So as we start this new school year, I'm keenly interested in what advice you would give to a beginning teacher. What are the one or two KEY points you want them to consistently remember and act upon? I look forward to reading your advice.

Keep safe,
Chris

Posted by Chris Hitch at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Condense it, consolidate it, and give us principals only what we need...the concepts. Expand it, expound on it, and give the teachers what they need...the training. I am writing this article sitting in AVID training in beautiful San Diego on Thursday, the fourth (and not final) day of the training, during the first week of August. I honestly could have left after Tuesday. I learned the concepts I need to know to recognize effective AVID teaching in my building, and I have received more than enough written material to keep me well informed during the year. And I am in the administrators' strand. What I don't need right now are all the nitty gritty details (and fluff) while my building is not yet fully staffed, I have 15 unopened boxes of stuff from my former school sitting in the middle of my new office, and emails up the wazoo about what I should really be attending to at the building right now. Believe me, I am all for staff development. But please, make it relevant, timely and to the point. Please, think about offering conference strands on a principal's timeline. Being away from the building is costly and inconvenient, yet we need to be up on all the latest initiatives. As a new middle school principal I have a steep learning curve that includes not just AVID, but IB, DL, 5ES, WTL, and PBIS, to name a few acronyms of our middle school initiatives. I can't spend my life in training, but I do need to spend quality time learning the concepts.

By Nancy Flynn

Posted by Nancy Flynn at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

The discussion about web filtering in schools has been going on for quite some time. These powerful conversations have pushed thinking and ignited important dialogue as we consider the level and depth of filtering required and/or necessary to meet the learning needs of our students. 

This week, I received a letter from a young educator that has fueled new questions and concerns with this issue. I hope sharing it with you, will lead me to a better response and understanding of what I fear is a growing trend - Filtering Our Teachers.

She writes:

Dear Angela,

Today commenced my 2010-2011 school year with the first rounds of teacher meetings and professional development before students start next week.  In the first meeting, my principal went through the school district's new policies regarding Social Networking.  It is only because of these new policies that I'm writing you to seek advice. 

Facebook and Twitter are completely forbidden during school hours.  This includes using the network to gain access, which still has Twitter unblocked mind you, and personal phones.  It was explained to us that none of our time throughout the day could be spent accessing these types of social networking sites, including our thirty minute lunch.  It is this last part with which I'm struggling the most.  According to my contract, I am due a thirty minute, duty-free lunch every day.  Therefore, it is my time.  I have the right to leave the building if I need to run an errand or grab lunch.  I should therefore also have the right to check my phone, right?  Not according to this new set of rules.  The words that my principal used were   "serious disciplinary action that could result in something as bad as termination".  I could get in significant trouble for using my phone to check what new things my PLN is discussing during my lunch break?

Many colleagues who know me also know how passionate I am about my own learning through the use of Twitter, my blog, and being involved with various Nings.  They were all quick to condemn my use of Twitter and remind me of how much trouble I could get in if I were to use my phone while at school to access my account.  My administration also knows this and will be monitoring my activity in the coming weeks and months, along with others from the district office.

I can't help but feel trapped.  Not only can I not help prepare my students for their own future as digital learners by responsibly teaching them digital citizenship, I can't even continue my own learning through other educators.  My district is considered somewhat progressive with standards that focus on multiple literacies, including digital literacies.  This simply contradicts any "progressiveness" that this district claims. 

I do not want to play the martyr because I am so desperate to be on Twitter or read useless posts on Facebook.  What I do want to bring attention to is the threat of big brother or dare I say, Gestapo like policies, which I must adhere to in order to maintain employed.  Is that even employment or is that type or threatening considered a breach of certain rights that I'm predisposed to as an American citizen?  I hate to sound so dramatic, but I don't like the idea of being monitored where I must watch everything I say, do, tweet, post, blog, or check on my phone whether I'm at work or at home.

What are my options?  How do you advise me as someone in this position?  All your help would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Frustrated and Afraid

After reading, I have more questions than answers to offer this young educator. These immediately come to mind:

• Is this standard policy?
• Is it required by law? 
• If not, why not give teachers access to the web and make it easy for them to connect with other educators, resources, and powerful tools that could enhance teaching and learning?
• Do we not have enough trust in our teaching staff or respect for the professionalism of educators to make their own decisions with regards to the web? 
• What are we doing here? What is our goal?

It is so frustrating to me. As an advocate for technology as a tool for professional and personal development and more importantly as an advocate for teachers; this makes little sense to me.  We ask teachers to move forward, to embrace new standards, new tools, and technologies, and then bind them by rules and regulations that prevent this change from happening.

Is this good for the kids they lead everyday?
How would you respond?

Please advise!

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 7:33 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

In my last post on my blog I was pondering the opening day that will soon arrive and what it will look like. George Corous posted his thoughts about the first day with teachers and the importance of giving them time. In my response to George, I mentioned that time is precious, like water in the desert.

Teacher first, administrator second

My administrative career has spanned 9 years in 7 different schools where I've been required to teach as well as be an administrator. My first principal position was one where I was principal of two schools - blocks apart - and taught 2 classes. These experiences have influenced my administrative practices and how I use the time I have with staff. My biggest concern as a teacher was that most of the time at a staff meeting was spent on things that, really, were informational items. So, as an administrator, I've used a wiki to organize and disseminate information to staff. Now I use a wiki for several reasons but the biggest reason is because I also want staff to adding information to the site, contributing to what is going on. Another reason is that there is a calendar option where all events linked to the school can be posted and updated. This means that whatever is happening at the school can be accessed by all staff from anywhere not just on a calendar on someone's desk. I try to eliminate the need for time-eating meetings and memos by using the tools to save time.

This is the front page of the wiki I used last year. Meeting notes, staff meeting information, team meetings and other information was posted and accessible for all staff.

Another way I try to help teachers and not take up valuable time is through the creation of a school diigo group where staff can share links to sites and articles and build a resource base for PD and for their own interests.

School Diigo Group

This site can be used in a number of ways from teachers sharing online information about subjects to building a pool of PD resources that are directly related to the PD focus for the school or for individual teachers. I also like the Diigo setup because it allows teachers to create a class site where students can share online information and have discussions about the information that is posted - sharing ideas and collaborating on tasks and building their search skills as they have to explain why a particular link is worth someone's time.

Time - there's no going back - it's not a commercial!

As an educational leader, I have to very conscious of how I impact the time of those people with whom I work. I need to make sure that what I am doing is allowing them to have the maximum impact on students so whether it's time for meetings, individual discussions, PD or other school activities one of my main roles is to ensure that the precious commodity of time isn't wasted in telling people what they could read on their own - or maybe listen to on their own. Next project, audio memos!

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 4:21 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

It was last year around this time that I talked about the start of meeting season. This was my call for all leaders to engage in a little activity to determine whether we are meeting because its a ritual, a long lasting tradition of the hierarchy of schools or whether we are meeting to enhance the learning community.

Unfortunately, the culture of any organization can be too strong to shift such a legacy concept like the dreaded meeting season. So, I have two challenges for the start of this year as we continue to shift our precious time together to meaningful growth in leading, learning, and teaching.

A Vow to Teachers and Students

First, I lay this challenge down to myself along with any other instructional leader: make a vow with your teachers and students not to attend or leave any meeting that could just as easily be covered with a memo. After all, a key reason we leave the classroom for administration is to get closer to more classrooms not deeper in meetings and paperwork.

Stop sitting through a meeting where decisions have already been made, information is being disseminated, and former meetings are being explained. Instead, spend your time observing classroom learning and providing instructional feedback, discussing aspects of your school with students and teachers, enjoying time observing students in activities or athletics, or visiting informal learning spaces to better understand school, students, and educators.

This does not mean to storm out of a meeting and act disrespectful . It is meant to say pay more attention to those agendas and appointments that make it into your email box. It is okay to click "decline". Let me say that again. It is okay to click "decline". Simply click decline and state that you will be using this time to focus on instructional leadership and identify exactly what you will be doing that you would be willing to share at a future meeting.

Meetings are not all bad - quite the opposite. Good ones are focused on organizational progress based upon legitimate dialogue and discussion that enhance instruction and lead to greater student success. However, those meetings that fall outside this scope waste the creative and intellectual capacity of the very people expected to use such strengths as instructional leaders. Those meetings block creativity, brainstorming, wonder, play, risk-taking, and innovation.

Break free from the meaningless meetings in order to leverage your genius for the betterment of the students, educators, and community. Break free from the meaningless meetings to find your "me" again even if others stay in the meeting mindset.

Set the Tone

Second, I challenge those that structure "All Faculty Meetings" to consider these as community learning, celebrating, and growing opportunities. Do not treat these as a time for one person after another to stand in front of a large group sharing information. Instead, I encourage you to consider the following:

1. Create an agenda that does not include any one-way information delivery outside of a motivational/inspirational opening (brief)


2. Establish activities that ignite the interests and passions of faculty, that challenge mindsets and frames of reference, and that spark dialogue and discussion well beyond the time spent together


3. Send an email that includes the agenda, any one-way information, and Ignite Prompts that gets people into a learning frame of mind


4. Utilize the opportunities as a community to push to new levels, to begin breaking the boundaries that are stifling progress.


5. Provide times and opportunities to extend these starting points


6. Seek feedback from faculty on the effectiveness of faculty meetings and what could be done to create stronger learning opportunities

It only takes you to make this happen. Will you? Be Bold and Rethink!

Ryan Bretag
Coordinator of Instructional Technology
Glenbrook North High School
Blog: Metanoia
Twitter: ryanbretag

Image
cc licensed flickr photo by Melvin_Es: http://flickr.com/photos/50521389@N08/4661794332/

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 12:06 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

For five years I have been espousing the importance of embedding the use of technology, and more importantly, 21st century skills into my teachers' lesson planning and instruction. I have incorporated the use of such web 2.0 tools as blogs, wikis, digital storytelling, and Google Docs into my own professional practices, and I have modeled these tools for teachers.

Additionally, I have provided teachers with inservice opportunities, books, articles, and websites in order to educate them on how to move their teaching practices into the new century (although it's not so new anymore). I have been working with teachers in groups and individually to help them change.

So, how far have the teachers come in the last five years? Unfortunately, not nearly far enough.

A few teachers have truly embraced the change. They are the pioneers who are using web 2.0 tools to increase their students' critical thinking, to provide authentic learning experiences in their classrooms, and to develop self-directed learners.

A few others have done the complete opposite - absolutely nothing to change their teaching practices.

Unfortunately, the majority of the teachers in my school have given a lot of lip-service to the need to change their professional practices, explaining how they are so interested in teaching differently, yet I never really see anything different taking place in their classrooms. They talk the talk and that's all.

So what is a principal to do? I passionately believe that we have the responsibility to teach differently than the teachers did when we were in school. This is a very different world in which our students live and will soon be working, and it is our duty and responsibility to prepare them properly to be successful.

As I plan for the upcoming school year, I have come to the realization that the only way for me to foster change in my school is to tie the use of technology and 21st century skills to the teachers' formative and summative evaluations. A teacher will not receive an "Excellent" rating in my school unless he or she can demonstrate an effective use of technology in a 21st century context.

This idea has been percolating in my head for a couple of years, and I feel that the time has come to make this official. This will not be a surprise or a "gotcha" experience for the teachers. I plan on clearly delineating my expectations at the very beginning of the school year, and, if the teachers have been paying attention for the last five years, they will not be surprised.

The message will be loud and clear: An "Excellent" teacher in the 21st century is no longer utilizing 20th century instructional practices.

- Dave Sherman

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend