I just spent the morning viewing a livestream from an Education Forum from Education Week. For those who may be unaware a livestream is a live transmission of an event over the Internet. This was a forum that recognized Education Leaders. It was titled Leaders To Learn From 2013. I think what Education Week did was great and I hope not to diminish their contribution. I do have some observations that I would like to share.
My friend and colleague Kyle Pace, @kylepace, was the person who drew me to this forum. Kyle is a connected educator known to tens of thousands of educators as a collaborative, connected educator who engages people with knowledge and information in the realm of technology in education. If any educator deserves an award for collaborative leadership, Kyle would top my list of candidates. It is a well-deserved recognition.
What struck me about the other award winners recognized for their leadership accomplishments that other educators are supposed to learn from was that we as an education community have not heard from them before? I realize that not all educators are connected through social media. It also seems to me as an observer of social media in education that it is often more difficult for Administrators to connect than teachers. There are reasons for that, both real and imagined, and I understand that. It would seem to me however, that if collaboration is part of a reason for recognition, the award winners should demonstrate some proficiency in modern collaboration as educators.
I also attended a Discovery Education forum recently where a number of Superintendents were recognized. When asked about their professional Social media involvement and collaboration, each claimed Twitter accounts and some claimed to have blogs. Of course sitting with Josh Stumpenhorst, @stumpteacher, we were able to quickly fact-check each of their claims to discover that most of them rarely tweeted and few had Blogs.
In a time when mobile devices can vet any speaker in a few seconds, people should not speak out of hand. In addition to education leaders, all leaders should get the fact that they can, and will be held more accountable for what they do compared to what they say. The world and information distribution has changed. Their failure to recognize that fact is testament to their relevance in a technology-driven society.
I have made my views on sharing as a professional responsibility known in many previous posts. A question from Dean Shareski really summed it up for me in regard to professional collaboration. What would we say about a doctor who found a cure for cancer or even a partial pathway to that end, but failed to share it with medical colleagues?
If educators are doing things in a better way, why are they not collaborating using the methods of today? Educators may not have the Journal of the American Medical Association, but we do have Twitter and we do have Blogs. I am tired of educators who espouse technology for everyone else, but fail to employ it for themselves and their profession.
Many Administrators use the Internet to vet out teaching candidates. They get to Google information about individuals that they are legally precluded from asking about in an interview. If that has become the standard then let’s have at it. We should look at everyone’s digital footprint including administrators. What is their educational philosophy as it is stated in the digital world? What does their Professional Learning Network include? What is it they have collaborated on in the Social media world? How effective are they in the very collaboration skills that they claim to have? How reflective are they based on their public blog? Do they hold to their principles in their public reflections?
We are moving forward in the way we access and obtain information. If an administrator has not contributed and that information is not obtainable, then that may be an indication of ability, or relevance, or both. At the very least it should be a red flag. I am not suggesting that any administrator who is not on social media is a Luddite. I am suggesting that the best leaders in an age of technology are those who understand it as a result of effectively using it, as well as modeling it for those who follow. We need to consider relevant collaborative skills as a requisite for administrative positions if we have hope for changing the system in positive ways.
Additionally, I believe it is difficult to lead a 21st century school system without interacting regularly with 21st century tools and media. Thanks for sharing your valuable perspective.
Thanks for this post. I shared similar ideas recently with our district and I believe they will be well-received. In response to a request for “traits” to be included for the interview committee of a prospective Director of Student Learning position, I consulted my PLN on Twitter then sent the ideas below to the Asst. Sup. While not inclusive of everything a great admin could be, this is what I sent:
1. Connectedness. The DSL should have a professional learning network that extends beyond the district (preferably through twitter or other so-called social media).
2. Collaborative. The DSL should view administrators and teachers as professional educators working together for a common goal of creating opportunities for rich, educational experiences. The DSL should work with everyone to continue to make that happen and collaborate with others to find opportunities to improve it.
3. Authentic Learning believer. The DSL should believe in, support, and encourage authentic learning opportunities for students. This works hand in hand with literacy, CCSS, and PBL.
4. Technological. The DSL should not only be a champion of the uses of technology to engage students and improve educational opportunities, but should also be a user of technology and early adopter of innovative technological strategies.
Thoughts?
Thanks again for the post. @jbretzmann
I like that people get recognized. I really do. What is irksome is that the same people keep getting recognized leaving emerging educators using social media without recognition.
If we are to be a world of connected educators encouraging each other to take transformative leaps then more should be recognized for their hard work and dedication even though they do not have thousands of followers on Twitter.
If what you say is true then myself and others should be recognized for authentic blogs, tweets, digital footprints, and more. What matters is the authenticity of the efforts and not the accolades given.
Educators may not have the Journal of the American Medical Association, but we do have other journals full of relevant educational research and success stories. While I am a strong believer in twitter and the use of social media to connect and collaborate, I don’t believe that those are our only answers. There are many ways to share best practices and non-twitter using educators should not automatically be dismissed as being less worthy of recognition.
I agree that administrators should be emerged in the technology of today. However, how can you say that not hearing about a particular person suggests that they are not influential on moving teachers towards the use of technology as either a PLN tool or within the classroom. Those with followers on twitter with less than 200 might, through retweets, shares, etc, be reaching many more educators than their numbers suggest. I also believe that it is the depth of the conversations, not the amount, that is relevant in new learning. Just my morning thoughts before a school walk about.
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