Leadership Day 2009

I am possibly the luckiest principal around. You see I work in a school that amazes me in so many ways: the students work hard and learn tons, the staff is incredibly talented and devoted, the parents and town are the most supportive anywhere, and the technology is first class.  

So, what am I writing about on Technology Leadership Day? With so much going on at my school, I want to report on our progress towards integrating technology in a meaningful way.

When I arrived at my school two years ago, we were in the beginning of a major transition in terms of technology. Phase one of the Touched by Technology fundraising and purchasing campaign was complete, and every classroom teacher (not special educators or specialists) had a new laptop. Phase two was underway and will, by September 2009, include a SmartBoard in every regular ed. classroom (again, no special education or specialists. More on this later.) September 2007 also saw the introduction of a real email service for the staff instead of asking teachers to sign up for a yahoo account.

Over the last two years, we have come to rely on email as a way to eliminate paper in many situations; we have introduced a school calendar on Google calendar; I have begun spreading the use of Google Docs to various constituencies around school; at least one teacher created a classroom blog using the website subscription we buy the teachers; many teachers have made the SmartBoard a part of their daily teaching; many teachers have made the laptop mobile carts a regular feature in their rooms. 

So, as of Leadership Day 2009 every professional staff member has a laptop, every homeroom has a SmartBoard, we have well equipped lab, and two mobile carts. Most staff members have had hours of training and mentoring. Most teachers have websites. Things are good.

Where are we going from here? There are two areas that we are going to work on next year. First, we are going to review and reinvigorate our technology skills scope and sequence. Second, I am going to work with a small group of teachers to look into ways that we can integrate our technology and, more importantly, to explore what’s out there that we should be using. 

As principal, I am excited about increasing our use of technology.

Thank you.

http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2009/07/calling-all-bloggers-leadership-day-2009.html

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