EDU 5506 Final Project

EDU 5506 Final Project

Discussion Question

Parents are also important stakeholders in the discussions regarding how and when to incorporate social networking tools into the classroom. Describe how you plan to educate parents about the

concept of a personal learning network and share your initial strategies and ideas for how you might involve parents in the discussions regarding how to safely and effectively incorporate networking tools into the school community.

As a school leader we have to be the first to embrace change. In order to be an effective leader, I should be one to the first users to model various modes of technology that will empower educators, parents, and students. In order to begin incorporating various networking tools into my system, it is of utmost importance that my staff, students, and parents understand what a professional learning networks are and how to use them. I have decided that for the first year of introducing PLN's, I will only use Twitter and Facebook. This will allow educators, parents, and students the opportunity to become more familiar with the concept of a PLN and learn to use them safely and effectively before moving to other platforms such as blogging and podcasting. I have outlined below the steps that I will take to begin educating parents about my schools PLN's of choice and beginning discussions with them about how to safely and effectively incorporate networking tools in the school community. I have decided to educate the parents in the beginning through the use of our Family Meeting Nights and once most parents are familiar with this setup, I will then transition to posting more and more information into the PLN's. 

Objective: Parents will be able to identify LCHS's PLN's of choice and understand how to safely and effectively incorporate these tools into the school community.

Step 1

Family Meeting Night # 1

1. Goal # 1 - 75% of all LCHS parents will be able to identify a PLN and explain why they are important
1. Action Step 1 - share with parents the definition of a PLN
2. Action Step 2 - share with parents examples of PLN's and discuss how they are used in other districts
3. Action Step 3- explain to parents why PLN's are important and how they can help deliver pertinent information in a more timely manner
2. Goal # 2 - The number of followers for the school Twitter and Facebook accounts will increase by at least 50%
1. Action Step 1 - Show parents the 2 main PLN's that will be used for LCHS
2. Actions Step 2 - Ask parents to like/follow the school Twitter and Facebook accounts while in the meeting

Step 2

Family Meeting Night # 2

1. Goal # 1 - 75% of all parents will understand how to safely and effectively incorporate networking tools within the school community
1. Action Step 1 - parents will be engaged in a discussion regarding internet safety and what information should be placed into a PLN
2. Action Step 2 - parents will identify situations in which it would be a hazard to post identifying information in a PLN
2. Goal # 2 - all students will have a social media release form signed and on file in the school office
1. Action Step 1 - students will take home the form and bring it back to school once it is signed
2. Action Step 2 - the school registrar will create a list of students whose image and/or name can't be listed on any social media sites.
3. Action Step 3 - the school registrar will submit the list to the Principal to be checked and the Principal will inform all staff of the list

First Blog

Were your more drawn to those posts with personal reflections or did you prefer to read blogs in which the author focused on the issues important to school leaders?

Personally, I am more drawn to blog posts with personal reflections. I believe that by reading post that are more personalized, I am better able to relate. They seem to help me gain ideas and knowledge about how to best help in certain situations. However, I feel that blogs that are more focused on issues important to school leaders can still have a personal touch to them.