Reflective Essay #2

The main point I was able to take away from this book was that it is more of a guide or tool rather than just a book. This book does a great job with showing educational leaders multiple ways to connect to other leaders, staff members, parents/guardians, media, and community representatives. Within the pages of the book, they give you multiple tools to use to effectively communicate with all of the aforementioned stakeholders. The book examines social media tools such as Facebook, twitter, and blogs. Along with providing these useful insights, the book also offers suggestions and instructions on how to utilize these tools in a positive and safe environment. By showing readers how to use these types of technology they set readers up to be successful from the onset and they also provide some problem solving strategies and potential roadblocks that one may encounter along the way while trying to implement these new technologies into the school and the community as well. One of the biggest takeaways I have from this book was the utilization of how to successfully use social media in the event of a crises situation. I truly believe that so many in education today view social media as a large distraction of the daily sit and get, but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. In a situation where the school may be in lock down or without power, cell phones and social media may be the only way to keep the district office, parents, community members, and staff in the loop. Being able to communicate with emergency services or the district office during such a crises could potentially be the difference between a horrible outcome, and an outcome that is much less tragic. The biggest challenge with technology in education that I still see on a daily basis is the reluctance of teachers to change what they are comfortable with. Don't we as educators want our students to think outside of the box and push out of their comfort zone from time to time? How can we ask this of our students, yet not be willing to take the leap ourselves? Again, I believe that with the proper introduction and training, the amount of reluctance toward introducing this technology into the schools would be exponentially less. As a future leader in education, I plan on pushing the use of technology within whatever building I am in, and not let any excuses block the way. From teacher complaints to fiscal deficiencies, I will tackle each situation head on know that my decision is always going to be based on what is best for kids. I would probably use this book as a staff development or try to get a book study approved from the district for my teachers to use to receive clock hours. Doing this would easily bridge the gap between some veteran teachers who are reluctant to try new things and hopefully open their eyes to the benefits of implementing this technology into our classrooms. The ultimate thing that I need to remember is that I can not just tell my staff to implement technology or use building money to buy something because it is the latest and greatest, but to be very purposeful in what I choose to incorporate into my school and then track any necessary data to ensure that the technology is actually paying off with student learning.