I scrolled through the long list of resources and then decided to minimize my search by selecting key words: elementary. Boom! I clicked on the first blog that I found and it could not have been more perfect if I wrote the blog myself. Jason Bednar's school was piloting the district's 'Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) program. The most recent post discussed his plan behind selecting six teachers to be a part of his pilot team. The most refreshing piece of information in this entry was that he did not want to pick all of his most tech-savvy teachers. I completely agree with this decision, and think that it will lead him to find the most authentic data. Unfortunately, Jason's blog is not very up-to-date and there haven't been any updates on his district's project since 2013. However, I decided to further my research of his district and see how this pilot faired. I was very pleased to find that the school board did approve a district-wide BYOT policy. Although I was unable to continuing reading first-hand accounts of the usage in an elementary school, I felt very positive about the use of a BYOT policy in an elementary school after reading about his positive experience in the beginning of his pilot.
I decided to continue my blog exploration and found another elementary blog written by Curt Rees. Rather than exploring the most recent blogs, I decided I wanted to look for something particular. I remembered our conversation in class last week about how a principal's job involves management and that the term manager is coming back to life. Therefore, I searched "manager" and discovered a great entry from 2013 titled Leadership vs. Management. I really liked his response to a fellow blogger, and especially liked that he explained that leadership and management do not need to be put up against one another. In Rees' words, "Without good management, leadership can't happen." This post is definitely worth a read!
I think that it is so useful for educators to participate in blogging and to read others blogs as well. It is so easy to find first-hand accounts from other professionals that are trying things in their schools that you could be currently discussing as options for your district. Rather than reinventing the wheel, hop online and see how other district's faired in this situation. I think it is comparable to picking up the phone and calling or texting a friend for advice. Reflective blogging provides authentic experiences of events that are occurring in schools across the country.
I can definitely say that I am destined to be a connected leader. I have really enjoyed the use of this blog, and I enjoy participating in many other social media sites as well. I am pleasantly surprised by the number of educational blogs that I have found. I look forward to following these threads and reading about current practices in schools across the country.
BYOT or BYOD, as it is called in my district starts in the 6th grade. The 6th graders are working with iPads and next spring we are moving 1:1 with the new 9th graders. This is going to be a new challenge for me, administration and my other colleagues. The ideas behind BYOD are obvious and for every skill that we master, is another skill that becomes outdated. I believe that every child should have access to technology and bringing it to school is just a reflection on where we are as a school district and society. Our technology and the use of it is so important, that it being incorporated in lower grade levels. It is only a matter of time that this will make its way to the elementary schools, K-5.
ReplyDeleteAs a leader, I will have to negotiate which skills are important to me and also which skills my students will have to develop before moving to the next level either middle school or high school. I just wonder, how quickly are the students using the technology and how well? Also, how much more advanced are they than the adults/teachers? Only time will tell, but in the meantime, I will keep learning, listening and practicing.
It's really great that it seems like you are getting a lot out of this connected leader blog list! It is a bummer that the last post was done in 2013 because we live in a world now where so many changes have been made since then. We can get a piece of technology and the next day it will be obsolete. Great Post!
ReplyDeleteI find BYOT to be an interesting concept. I feel as though the idea of BYOT is a great idea, but the implementation in lower income school districts could be a challenge. I am working in a district where it would be very difficult for the parents to supply the items. Believe it or not,I teach high school students and many do not have cell phones and the ones that do do not have smartphones. The district would also have difficulty supplying the items. Our district furloughed this year and things are being cut. I do like the quote, " Without good management, leadership can't happen."
ReplyDeleteI really think BYOT is the way to go for private and public schools providing there is software in place that can limit students ability to access material that is outside of what they need for class. A private school competitor of ours has software like this but they distribute chrome-books rather than utilize BYOT. BYOT saves money and takes into account that many students today are investing in much better machines than schools can give them anyway.
ReplyDeleteI was unsure of students using their own technology in classrooms too. When I first heard that all students K-12 in my district would be taking an iPad to and from school, I thought it would never work. I thought they were too young for elementary.
ReplyDeleteBesides a few broken screens (which is bound to happen), the students have been taking pretty good care of their tool. Teachers are teaching students to use the technology effectively and emphasizing that it is a school tool. There are still issues of parent usage on it and students not bringing them all the time, but it has enhanced our classrooms in more ways that out way the negative.
I feel that same as you- I'm really enjoying reading blogs and blogging myself. It opens the door for more knowledge and is easier than calling and emailing other professionals. There is something very personal about blogs that you may never get to know through a phone call or an email, as those tend to be more formal.
A leader/manager will guide, support, and encourage you and we need to do that for our students with technology. Reading others blogs and experimenting with new technology will surely help us all be leaders/managers!!
I agree with you in further exploring the BYOD initiative! Being in an elementary school, I wonder how many students this would be relevant to with some of the restrictions on availability of technology - although most do have some form of technology (ipad, ipod, phone, tablet, etc.). It is the way of the world and if we want to connect to students, we need to be present in real time and use what the world is presenting to them in order to keep their interest as well as enriching them to be able to function in the world in which they live.
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