Technology in and_beyond_the classroom

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2175 Lemoine Avenue, 6th Floor Fort Lee, NJ 07024 P: 201.585.4612 / EngravaS@fortlee-boe.net

Becoming a 21st Century School Leader

Twitter.com/iSchoolLeader

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it…

“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age I always did it for half-an-hour a day.

Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

~ Lewis Carroll

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

• Like Alice, many educators, policy makers, and even the general public, respond with "That's impossible!" when challenged to adopt a new paradigm of education for the 21st century.

• Most people today adhere to a paradigm of education that is strictly 19th century. But, like the Queen, a growing number of educators are believing in, and accomplishing, "the impossible.”

• Technically it is the 21st century, but our schools are not there

• Our challenge as school leaders is to reinvent

schools for the 21st century for the sake of our children…and the welfare of our world

• Making a paradigm shift is not easy. After all, when we think of education, we usually think of what we knew as “school”

• Today's kindergarteners will be retiring in the year 2074 (hopefully)

• We have no idea of what the world will look like in five years, much less 60 years, yet we are charged with preparing our students for life in that world

• 21st Century Skills: • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving • Collaboration across Networks and Leading

by Influence • Agility and Adaptability • Initiative and Entrepreneurialism • Effective Oral and Written Communication • Accessing and Analyzing Information • Curiosity and Imagination

Inspire & Lead

Do you often share the vision for 21st Century change and improvement at your school and explain technology's role in supporting this?

Have you explained how specific school programs and initiatives relate to that vision?

Have you invited members of your school community to help in creation and periodic evaluation of school technology strategic plans?

Inspire & Lead

Have you invited members of the school community to be on a technology team?

Have you examined and publicly advocated for local and federal funding and policy support for technology programs?

Do you ask for school community support and funding support?

Create, Promote & Sustain

Do you highlight technology trends and their impact on the school, teachers and students?

Do you point out emerging trends and encourage discussion on how they may be incorporated in to the school program as needed?

Are you piloting any new technologies and sharing the results?

Create, Promote & Sustain

Do you promote best uses of technology at your school/organization?

Do you regularly celebrate examples of enriched student learning supported by new technologies?

Are students and teachers routinely encouraged to use collaborative and creative tools?

Lead by Example

Are professional development goals and offerings well communicated? Do teachers know how to access best resources for technology enriched lesson planning and learning?

Are you distributing an electronic newsletter, blog, or podcast on a regularly scheduled basis?

Do you encourage collaboration using cloud-based tools and resources such as Google Documents?

Lead by Example

Are you using social media to communicate? Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Google+?

Are you using social media to learn and expand professional practice? Is this also taught to and expected of teachers? Do they know how to create their own learning network?

Do you take advantage of video chat such as Skype or online webcasts when needed?

Does the school website employ social media resources and

widgets allowing website visitors to share content?

Provide digital age leadership and management

Do you share goals and give project updates on technology related projects? Tech support personnel can provide updates and necessary steps for special upgrades. If there are problems, planned solutions can be explained so that staff feels supported.

Are teachers and students given clear instructions how to get tech support and technology applications support?

Provide digital age leadership and management

Are infrastructure improvements and related goals communicated regularly? Are their ties to school academic programs communicated?

Do leaders communicate your support for digital age learning?

Is the Responsible/Acceptable Use Policy for Technology clearly communicated? Is it available on the school website and handbook?

Are resources for online safety and digital citizenship shared frequently with parents and teachers? Are they part of the student curriculum?

Are resources readily available and shared on the school website?

Do students understand how to have a good online footprint? Are resources shared often with them?

Google Chrome:

It's efficient…and fast! • Faster than any other browser I've tried on the PC or Mac.

Google Chrome Extensions in the App Marketplace which is a fantastic bonus. • A ton of free apps that are great for productivity and

education.

You can access it from anywhere!

1. Screen Capture (by Google) - Capture visible content of a tab, a region of a web page, or the whole page as a PNG image. Support horizontal and vertical scroll when capturing whole page, with an all new autosave capability.

2. Scratchpad - Scratchpad lets you take notes while you browse, and syncs notes to Google Docs. Notes are found in your "Scratchpad" folder in Google Docs. Works fully offline, so you can take notes even when you aren't connected.

3. Google Dictionary - Double-click any word to view its definition in a small pop-up bubble. View the complete definition of any word or phrase using the toolbar dictionary.

4. LastPass – Secure single sign on for all websites; stores passwords and automatically logs into website upon navigating to them

5. goo.gl URL Shortener – Easily share long URLs via goo.gl links and QR codes

6. Read it Later - Save web pages to read later with one click! Adds pages to the Read it Later online service

7. Evernote Web Clipper - Use the Evernote extension to save things you see on the web into your Evernote account. It even lets you search through your notes.

8. Diigo: Bookmark, Archive, Highlight & Sticky-Note – Highlighter & post-it notes, bookmark & archive. All-in-one research tool

9. Email this page (by Google) - This extension adds an email button to the toolbar which allows you to email the page link using your default mail client or Gmail.

10. Google Related (by Google) - Find useful content while you browse – including videos, news, images and more – all relevant to the page you’re viewing.

11. Google Mail Checker – Displays the number of unread messages in your Google Mail inbox. You can also click the button to open your inbox.

12. Print Using Google Cloud Print - Now you can print any doc/pdf/txt/jpg/jpeg file, Gmail email, attachment or Google Docs document using Google Cloud Print.

13. Google Voice (by Google) - Make calls, send SMS, preview Inbox, and get notified of new messages. (US only)

14. Dropbox - A free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere.

• Dropbox is a very useful tool to store online files, sync your computers and mobile devices, and share files. With all those capabilities it makes it a natural tool for educators!

• Sign up for a free 2 GB Dropbox account at http://goo.gl/PQ11x or by scanning below

• Google Docs is an easy-to-use, online word processor, spreadsheet and presentation editor that enables you and your students to create, store and share instantly and securely, and collaborate online in real time.

• You can create new documents from scratch or upload existing

documents, spreadsheets and presentations. There's no software to download, and all your work is stored safely online and can be accessed from any computer.

• Twitter is easy to use. Registration is quick and you can create as many accounts as you want. Followers are considered friends. Once they follow you through your tweets, you can follow them back and they immediately consider you as a friend.

• Twitter is mobile. Very easy to use on your mobile devices.

• Twitter allows you to network. Following colleagues on Twitter means you can share information about the latest trends, practices and news. Many school leaders use Twitter to network with colleagues and praise the tool as a professional development gold mine—they learn from each other’s tweets.

• Twitter lets you connect to your community in real time. You can use Twitter to provide parents and community with school news, including emergency updates. As you get more experience on Twitter, you can learn to use it effectively as a two-way communication device.

• Go to Twitter.com and sign up for a free account; yes, it’s all free. All that’s required to get a Twitter account is to provide name, an email address, a password and a username. These are all familiar requests with the exception of the username.

Here’s what any new Twitter user needs to consider: • Usernames are how people are identified on Twitter, and no two usernames are

alike. The goal is to create a name that will easily identify you to others. Don’t be afraid to use your real name. If you want to hide, Twitter isn’t for you. ,

• Here are some examples of usernames: • @colonelb - David Britten, a superintendent in Michigan who is a retired army officer • @DrJoeClark - Joe Clark, a superintendent in Ohio • @pammoran - Pam Moran, a superintendent in Virginia • @iSchoolLeader - Steven Engravalle, a superintendent in New Jersey • @kmmcphee - Karen McPhee, a superintendent in Ottawa, Ontario • @Central_Supt - Dan Peterson, a superintendent in Iowa

Technology in and_beyond_the classroom

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