On Technology Leadership and Planning

Gems - something to look for amongst the grains of sand...

Empower Climbers
Inspire Campers
Manage Quitters

Find the moment right after 99 degrees

Cast a vision
Develop a Plan
Improvise based on the cast
Move the herd vaguely North each day (it ain't the Calgary Stampede!)
Take promising practise and move it to NEXT practise

Set a baseline
Assess effectiveness
Plan and document the change process

Lessons from NECC

I spent the majority of my time working with collaborative groups at NECC focused on leadership. It's encouraging to know that the collective "we" that is Foothills is doing a lot right. Our focus on inquiry processes embedded in the work we do in professional development creates a fertile environment for infusing technology within curriculum. The added focus on research informed practise develops growth that is informed and strategic. Meeting with leaders from across the continent validates that we're doing some amazing things.

More on that soon...

There were some interesting Social Networking Sites discussed - there's a bunch that we're already informed about, but there are others that I am not familiar with. I'll leave a list to investigate - but my big question is how do we deal with the benefit / harm question that resides in the use of social networking sites?? Bigger still, there are MASSES of students using these systems at home every day... how is not using them in schools contributing to or negatively impacting student safety? Guided use vs. self-discovery?? As Director of Learning Technologies there is continuous debate with representation from both sides of the argument. Currently these sites are blocked from student use in schools. What to do??

Sites described at NECC

Random:

http://www.facebook.com
http://www.linkedin.com
http://www.secondlife.com
http://handouts.davidwarlick.com - David Warlick's presentations available here
http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger/ - JOHO the Blog - David Weinberger's weblog - oh it'll getcha goin'!
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm - read, enjoy, act....
http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/ - Jenny! An American Librarian looking to make libraries more portable...

Blogs:

https://beta.blogger.com/start
http://classblogmeister.com - Blog for kids for education... worth looking at
http://drupal.org
http://www.gaggle.net

Wikis:
http://www.jotspot.com/learn
www.pbwiki.com
www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers

Bookmarking:
http://www.digg.com
http://del.icio.us

ONE GREAT APPLICATION...

http://www.innocentive.com/servlets/project/ProjectInfo.po - just read it, blew me away, kinda makes being an academic passe? :)