Today's Digital Leader

Digital leadership is a necessity in today's world because digital learning is the future. All magazines and newspapers are online. My phone can do what my desktop can do. So the question remains- as a school leader what am I going to do about it? I use Twitter, Remind, Blogger, Instagram, Facebook, all things Google, etc. but am I encouraging my teachers and students too? Good question. Now some of these I use to promote our school. I believe it's important to flatten the walls of our school and let the community know what we are doing and how we are learning. Most teachers and students are on these social media sites. But I want my teachers and students on more than"social" media. I want them learning. I have learned so much in the last year and I want them to learn from it too. Here are some things I want my teachers to be working on.

Twitter-  I want my teachers on Twitter chats. A list of chats and some great information can be found on www.cybraryman.com. Jerry Blumengarten has compiled a list of Twitter chats and "how to's".  Twitter helps me stay abreast of all the new and important things happening in education. Coming from a small town we sometimes get comfortable and do not attempt to grow. Twitter keeps me growing. I have also had the amazing opportunity to "meet" some wonderful authors such as Eric Sheninger (Digital Leadership), Todd Whitaker (What Great teachers Do Differently), and Dave Burgess (Teach like a Pirate). I have also been able to chat with great principals such as Daisy Dyer Duerr and Beth Houf. 

* Google Hangouts/ Docs/ Sheets - I am obsessed with Google right now. I can work on documents and spreadsheets from home or from my phone. That's awesome. I can then send to my teachers and they can edit them or share them. I want my teachers to start using this with students. They can email them to the students and no copies are being made. Students can use them to answer questions, research, or do make-up work. Hangouts are also great to help students who have missed school and need some tutoring. Teachers can work together and help every student without having to go anywhere. The ideas are endless.

* Blogging- I love to put my thoughts into a blog. Sometimes I want to teach something, but sometimes I just want to vent. I want my teachers to use blogging in the classroom. Every student should have a blog. There are many free student blog sites such as Edublog, Kidblog, Weebly, and 21classes, plus many others. Information on these can be found easily.

March 13 is Digital Learning Day. We will be on Spring Break that day so I have asked my teachers to come up with plans for April, and we will do our own Digital Learning Day. I cannot wait to see what they have come up with. The only rule is no paper and pencils. It should be a wonderful day. I hope it will motivate my teachers to step outside their comfort zone and do some new amazing things. I will share our day with you next month.