Dangerously Irrelevant

I didn’t anticipate writing all week about leadership,
technology, and change but I am glad things turned out that way. It caused me to challenge and stretch my own
thinking. I hope it did the same for
you. These types on conversations
between tech educators and administrators don’t occur as often as they
should. I challenge you to continue this
dialogue with school leaders about technology, change, and the learning
experiences our students really need. As
NCLB goes for reauthorization next year, make your voice heard with your state
and federal legislators. It is
paramount.

I came across an exciting example of a digital
superintendent who is still leading on the cutting edge. I think you will find the district structures
and focus compelling. 

Thank you, Scott, for allowing me to blog this week.  It was a pleasure!

A closing thought:

“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”          - Winston
S. Churchill

Posted by Steve Poling.

Yesterday I asked, "How strong and vibrant is the workplace we create for most educators?" As part of that post, I listed twelve questions from First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently that, when answered positively, have been strongly linked to success on organizational goals, organizational productivity, employee satisfaction, and employee retention. I concluded my post with an invitation for a few school districts to maybe survey their employees on these twelve questions. I even offered to host the survey.

I just wanted to note that this doesn’t have to be at the school district level. These twelve questions are equally relevant at the school level, department level, or whatever. Focusing on the needs of employees is smart organizational strategy, however big or small the organization. A survey done within an individual school would tell that principal quite a bit…

If you could speak openly and honestly to a principal or
superintendent, what would you say? What
would you tell him or her about technology, classrooms, and change?

Hopefully, you have multiple opportunities to do this in an
ongoing professional dialogue about what is best for students. This is one of those opportunities.  What
can I learn from you about how to make a difference in my school regarding
these issues? What can I pass on to my
colleagues in my district and around the country? Someday when I am a superintendent, what can
I do to make a difference in a dozen schools?

There are many criticisms out there about public school
administrators, and many of them are fair, but we also need people to come
forward with ideas and solutions. The
comment on yesterday’s post by Scott Floyd is a great place to start. I’d like to hear from others. Please contribute.

Posted by Steve Poling.

Does technology positively impact student learning? Although David Warlick has noted that the question may not really matter that much, educators, citizens, and policymakers still are interested in this issue as they seek to justify current and expanded technology funding in schools.

The Metiri Group has just issued a report commissioned by Cisco Systems that finds that technology can have significant impacts on student learning outcomes when implemented with fidelity. The report, Technology in Schools: What the Research Says, notes that school organizations must pay "serious attention . . . to leadership development, professional development for teachers, school culture, curricular redesign, and teacher preparation" in order to see the learning benefits of their technology investments. The results are no big surprise for technology advocates, but it is nice to see additional research support for our claims.

Guess what? All of these issues (except teacher preparation) are under the control of school leaders. Now, what are we going to do to help administrators ramp up their technology leadership skills?

You can download the full report or read eSchoolNews’ article.

A friend recommended that I read First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently. Since the principalship is a classic middle management position, I thought I would check it out. So far it’s pretty interesting – the authors’ findings are based on interviews and other data collected by the Gallup Organization over the past 25 years from over 1 million employees and over 80,000 managers across a broad range of companies, industries, and countries.

Using factor analysis, regression analysis, concurrent validity studies, focus groups, and follow-up interviews to sift through the incredible mountain of data, the authors note that the strength of a workplace can be narrowed down to twelve questions that measure the core elements needed to attract, focus, and keep the most talented employees.

As I look over this list, I wonder how teachers would respond to these questions? How strong and vibrant is the workplace we create for most educators?

[It would be interesting to have a couple of school districts give this survey to their employees, maybe breaking out the results by school building or job category. If anyone's interested, I would be willing to host the online survey for a few districts and have made an example survey. Contact me if you would maybe like to do this.]

There have been many different conversations recently about
issues and concerns with technology, leadership, and education. See example 1, example 2, example 3, example
4, and example 5. Sorry for the
simplicity of the links to those examples but it is past my bedtime:)

I think the solution to address those issues in school
districts begins with a superintendent who is future thinking, collaborative,
and open to the possibilities that exist. I frequently hear from district and school administrators who are
overburdened with the complexities and demands of NCLB, reduced funding (for
Title programs, among others), and trying to lead learning communities in difficult places. It is easy, and
sometimes understandable, for administrators operate out of a myopic vision of
the here and now. That of course leads
to other problems like the narrowing of the curriculum and throwing the
advancement of technology out the window. On paradigms: you see it because
you believe it means that you have to get people thinking of the possibilities
rather than staying trapped in the problems of today. School districts will not move forward
without people beginning to think of the possibilities. Reeves has a point in saying that action
drives belief (see previous post) (it is certainly reinforcing) but if you are in a place with no action, complete stagnation,  then you have to begin with beliefs (like finding
that hope for the future) or in people’s beliefs that there can be a better
way.  A solution begins with a
superintendent with a broad, deep, compelling vision of what a school district
should be all about including and especially technologically. The next part involves leading from the fine
line of trying to get everyone on board versus telling everyone what to
do. Leading from either extreme will
prove fruitless. You can’t wait for
everyone to get on board in order to create change, but you have to get a
critical mass that is willing and excited to move forward in creating a new
reality. The task of moving an entire
district involves tapping into the passions and ideas of many, many
people. That is where the idea of a
collaborative plan comes into play. It
will take you to systemic reform. That
is the type of plan I talked about yesterday.

I would love to hear from you:

What leadership paradigms do you think it takes to create
change in a school district?  What would
you do if you were the superintendent of a school district that has lost its
relevance?

A final thought (from an earlier post on this site)(I just had to replay this one):

If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance
even less.
                        - US Army Chief
of Staff Eric Shinseki

Posted by Steve Poling.

As a technology leadership guy who also happens to have a law degree, I often get asked legal questions related to school technologies. Today, at the request of Miguel, I’m going to discuss issues related to posting student photos on the Web. I’ll preface this discussion with my usual caveats that 1) I am not offering legal advice, 2) I am not in an attorney-client relationship with anyone, and 3) I always recommend that folks consult their school district’s attorney regarding legal issues.

Pictures taken for school-related purposes

Schools take pictures of students all the time – for yearbooks, at athletic events, in class, at artistic performances, etc. Often they want to post those pictures to the Internet, thus making those photos potentially available to a global audience.

Every school district should have a policy for dealing with student photos. That policy should comply with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) as well as any relevant state statutes (for example, Minnesota has the Government Data Practices Act).

Schools should solicit parents’ permission to post photos of their child on the Web. The permission form should clearly describe the anticipated ways in which the school will use student pictures. When posting photos, schools should try their utmost not to post accompanying names at all – the next best option probably is to post students’ first names but not last names. Sometimes schools need to post students’ full names – for example, an online feature of the star pitcher on the softball team or the lead actress in the school play – but these situations should be carefully thought out beforehand to minimize parental concerns about student privacy and safety. Parents should be informed of all of the various permutations so that they can make informed choices about when to grant or refuse permission for their child’s photo to be used.

Schools have the difficult obligation to somehow monitor which students’ photos can be used online and which can’t. For example, if a photo taken of a class activity has a student in the background whose parents refused permission, that photo likely can’t be used online, even if the focus of the picture was on other students.

Another dilemma for schools is what to do with parents who don’t return the permission form. Schools basically have two options when this occurs:

• assume they have permission to publish unless parents turn in the form and opt out; or
• assume they do not have permission to publish unless parents turn in the form and opt in.

The latter option is more protective of students and is generally the one I recommend to educators.

Here are some example policies, forms, and other resources related to school use of student pictures:

• Fairfax County (VA) Public Schools
• Beverly Hills (CA) Unified School District
• Columbia (MO) Public Schools

Pictures taken by parents or other guests

In an interesting twist, Miguel and I recently had an exchange about an e-mail he received from a technology coordinator:

A parent has taken photos at school events, primarily athletic events, then posted them on her own personal web site (without permission of the students or parents involved) with prices for purchasing. I know there could be a problem if the students were identified by name but they are not. There are no captions at all.

Our superintendent is out of town. I’m sure someone has encountered this situation. Does anyone know if this is legal?

Here’s my take on the situation: if the pictures were taken in a public place, or in a place where parents / guests had permission to take pictures (e.g., inside school or on school grounds), I believe that parents or guests are legally entitled to take the photos and/or sell them. If a school district wanted, I think it could have a policy prohibiting anyone taking photographs within school buildings or on school grounds, but the enforcement and/or public relations issues would be difficult.

I found some excellent resources on this issue:

• http://tinyurl.com/93e9x
• http://www.krages.com/ThePhotographersRight.pdf

Of course a school district can always request that photographers exhibit some sensitivity to folks’ concerns about privacy and safety, particularly since most of the subjects of the photos are minor children.

Conclusion

Obviously the issues surrounding photographs of students on the Web are numerous and complex. The challenge for schools is to balance their (and parents’) desires to publicize the great things that are happening in their organizations with their responsibilities to protect children and to satisfy parental concerns about student privacy and safety. The guidelines described here also would pertain to videos of students, not just photographs.

How does your school organization handle issues related to online publishing of student photos?

This post is also available at the TechLearning blog.

David Warlick’s recent comments about rural Internet access got me thinking again about an issue I’ve discussed with my students.

I think we need some kind of national rural Internet initiative, similar to the creation of the Rural Electrification Administration during the New Deal era. I also think we need to start thinking about high-speed Internet access as something that’s as essential to communities as water, electricity, and sewer service. I don’t think there’s much disagreement that universal access to information and services on the Internet is going to become increasingly important in the future.

WiMax, EVDO, or other wireless broadband technologies that have long reach seem particularly promising.

Yesterday, I talked a little about how visionary leadership is essential in leading the way to the schools we need with technology, teaching, and learning being comprehensive and cohesive.  The daunting question is: how do you take a school district and move them from where they are to where they need to be?  In addition to vision, it takes collaboration and planning.  School districts need to partner with all stakeholders including, and especially, the local business community.  One such collaboration and plan has been unfolding in our school district.  It is one model that I think will continue to be very successful.  We want to be world class.  Our superintendent will give you a feel for the type of collaboration and planning that we have had. It is called our Roadmap to Renewed Excellence.  Do you notice how technology is woven throughout the plan meaning that it will be what we do not just in addition to what we do?  That is an important distinction. 

I would like to hear from you.  What types of planning processes have you been through on this scale?  What were your results?

A final thought: 

Do you believe it when you see it?  Or do you see it because you believe it?  Those two viewpoints are worlds apart.

Posted by .

I have the pleasure of being the second guest blogger.  Thank you, Scott, for this opportunity.  I am the principal at DeGrazia Elementary School as well as a doctoral student in educational leadership at the University of Arizona.  I have my own blog, which focuses on DeGrazia and school leadership.  I write from the perspective of a school administrator who not only loves technology but is deeply concerned about technology getting lost in the shuffle as K-12 education marches toward the year 2014.

What is the superintendent’s role in ensuring that schools are utilizing cutting edge technologies and preparing students for a technology-rich society?  I would argue that the superintendent’s role is to lead the charge.  The role is pivotal so I originally named this post ‘Superintendent as Tech Leader’, and then it occurred to me that it isn’t just about technology.  If technology in schools is about a stand-alone concept or department, then we will miss the mark in educating students and preparing them for a world that was unimaginable just a short time ago.  It is about the superintendent having a vision of what is possible despite the critics, tight budgets, and external pressures.  It is about technology being woven into the very fabric of our school districts in such a way that it impacts the foundation of what we are here for, which is teaching and learning.  It is about a superintendent engaging the school district community in a vision of what the students need for the future.  It is about a collective dream that is turned into a reality for our schools.  I will write tomorrow about one such plan that I think gives hope for the future.

A superintendent and a school district community had a vision of what could be produced when old models were set aside.  This example of visionary leadership can be found at Empire High School.  They are charting new territory.  What other examples are out there?  Are there other school districts on the forefront of innovation and risk taking in educating students for the world we live in and the world we know is coming?

A final thought:

Visionaries have paradigms that allow for the possible to be dreamed and created out of the seemingly impossible.

“In times of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves beautifully equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.”  Eric Hoffer

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