Before choosing the best web tool, one must decide what they want to gain from using such a tool. Do they simply want to share ideas or have others to contribute to their post? Developing your Personal Learning Network (PLN) will help as you start your journey using web 2.0 tools. Many leaders use PLN's to collaborate with lessons, gain knowledge about topics they teach, conduct research, or help to solve problems. (Schrum, 2015).
Once the PLN has been created, the source for the web tool needs to be chosen. Some options that are popular among school leaders include websites, wikis, podcasts, social media, and blogs. Deciding on the best tool is often a hard decision. In my journey, I have created a website, expanded my social media outlet to include twitter and created a blog (which you are reading now:). I will soon be creating a podcast and hope to look more into wikis in the near future. All have their own pros and cons. I feel it is important to try out all options to see which you feel meets your needs and style best.
Most school administrators expect school leaders to include the 21st century tools in their classroom. If a school administrator is not comfortable with these tools, they may not see them as an important component of our instruction and student learning. In the article Becoming a 21st Century Administrator (2017), the author states that the "21st century administrators should expect teachers to demonstrate how tools like blogs, wikis, Google apps, Twitter, and other social networking and Web 2.0 technologies can be used to support students in meeting the expectations that have been set forth for a 21st century classroom." I argue, they should use them as well.
For the first time in the history of education, new teachers have grown-up as web 2.0 users. Stephanie Pinkin writes that she has grown up as a teacher in this era. Her career has developed to include online learning programs, update emails for parents, online monitoring programs/apps for parents, etc. She states, " As an educator, one of my favorite ways the web has impacted my professional development is by always encouraging me to innovate my practice." That is a beautiful thought for a 21st century learner, to have a continuous professional development at your fingertip.
I mentioned several tools earlier and here is a brief description of them. Websites allow the user to provide a wide variety of information and organize it in a manner they see necessary. A website is easy to access and manage. Blogs are a great way to express thoughts and ideas while passing along valuable information. For busy parents, the blogs may be a little more effort that just reading a summary of facts. Most adults in their 20's or older have a social media account of some sort. I have found this to be a great way to showcase or provide information about my classroom/school for stakeholders. Podcasts provide a way for school leaders to record and share thoughts through audio. This is a great resource for audio learners. Wikis allow groups of people the opportunity to work together and share the findings with others. This would be a great outlet when trying to create different plans for a school year. As stated earlier, choosing the best web tool is going to be the most difficult challenge. Once the decision has been made, the school leader needs to use the tool on a regular basis to determine its fullest potential.
References:
"Becoming a 21st Century Administrator" (2017). Retrieved from http://creativeeducator.tech4learning.com/v08/articles/Becoming_a_21st_Century_Administrator
Pinkin, S. (2016). Growing Up as a Teacher in the 'Web 2.0' Era. Education Week Teacher. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2016/09/09/growing-up-as-a-teacher-in-the.html
Schrum, L., & Levin, B.B. (2015). Leading 21st century schools (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
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