August 15 is the 7th anniversary of my blog. So, once again, I’m inviting everyone who’s interested to help me celebrate by participating in Leadership Day 2013!

Over the past 6 years, we’ve had over 400 Leadership Day posts. That’s awesome because, to paraphrase what I said six years ago,

many of our school leaders (principals, superintendents, central office administrators) need help when it comes to digital technologies. A lot of help, to be honest. As I’ve noted again and again on this blog, most school administrators don’t know

• what it means to prepare students for the digital, global world in which we now live;
• how to recognize, evaluate, and facilitate effective technology usage by students and teachers;
• what appropriate technology support structures (e.g., budget, staffing, infrastructure, training) look like or how to implement them;
• how to utilize modern technologies to facilitate communication with internal and external stakeholders;
• the ways in which learning technologies can improve student learning outcomes;
• how to utilize technology systems to make their organizations more efficient and effective;
• and so on…

Administrators’ lack of knowledge is not entirely their fault. Many of them didn’t grow up with computers. Other than basic management or data analysis technologies, many are not using digital tools or online systems on a regular basis. Few have received training from their employers or their university preparation programs on how to use, think about, or be a leader regarding digital technologies.

So let’s help.

How to participate

1. On Thursday, August 15, 2013, blog about whatever you like related to effective school technology leadership: successes, challenges, reflections, needs, wants, resources, ideas, etc. Write a letter to the administrators in your area. Post a top ten list. Make a podcast or a video or a voice-narrated presentation. Highlight a local success or challenge. Recommend some readings. Create an app, game, or simulation. Draw a cartoon. Do an interview of a successful technology leader. Respond to some of the questions below or make up your own. If you participated in years past, post a follow-up reflection. Whatever strikes you.
2. The official hashtag is #leadershipday13
3. TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN FIND YOUR POST, please complete the online submission form AFTER you post, including a short teaser that will drive traffic to your post. Everyone then will be able to see your post in the complete list of submissions. If you want to link back to this post or leave a link to yours in the comment area, that’s okay too!

Some prompts to spark your thinking

• What do effective P-12 technology leaders do? What actions and behaviors can you point to that make them effective leaders in the area of technology?
• Do administrators have to be technology-savvy themselves in order to be effective technology leaders in their organizations?
• What are some tangible, concrete, realistic steps that administrators can take to move their school organizations forward?
• What are some tangible, concrete, realistic steps that can be taken to move administrators themselves forward? Given the unrelenting pressures that they face and their ever-increasing time demands, what are some things that administrators can do to become more knowledgeable and skilled in the area of technology leadership?
• Perhaps using the National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators (NETS-A) as a starting point, what are the absolutely critical skills or abilities that administrators need to be effective technology leaders?
• What strengths and deficiencies are present in the NETS-A?
• What are some of the biggest challenges and barriers to administrators being better technology leaders (and how do we address them)?
• What is a technology tool that would be extremely useful for a busy administrator (i.e., one he or she probably isn’t using now)?
• What should busy administrators be reading (or watching) that would help them be better technology leaders? What are some other resources that would help them be better technology leaders?
• How can administrators best structure necessary conversations with internal or external stakeholders regarding technology?
• How should administrators balance enablement with safety, risk with reward, fear with empowerment?
• When it comes to P-12 technology leadership, where do we need new knowledge, understanding, training, or research?
• What are (or might be) some successful models of technology leadership training for school administrators?
• How might preservice preparation programs for administrators better incorporate elements of technology leadership?
• When you think of (in)effective P-12 technology leadership, what comes to mind?

Here are the 405 ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT posts from the past six years (405!)

• Leadership Day 2007 – Summary (22 posts)
• Leadership Day 2008 – Summary (30 posts)
• Leadership Day 2009 – Summary spreadsheet (104 posts)
• Leadership Day 2010 – Final list, some highlights, summary spreadsheet (114 posts)
• Leadership Day 2011 – Summary spreadsheet (83 posts)
• Leadership Day 2012 – Summary spreadsheet (72 posts)

A badge for your blog or web site

I hope you will join us for this important day because, I promise you, if the leaders don’t get it, it’s not going to happen.

Participant checklist

• Post on Thursday, August 15, 2013 about effective P-12 school technology leadership.
• Use the online form to submit your post.
• See others’ posts.
• Publicize as desired using the #leadershipday13 hashtag.