10 Ways to Use Social Media

We live in the age of social media. It keeps us connected to our friends and families, our communities, and even the world. As educators, we need to take advantage of everything this tool has to offer, using educational connections and resources to better not only ourselves, but our students as well. So how can we best use this mighty tool?

Add These to Your Reading List
It’s not just student learning that’s going digital. More and more professional learning resources for teachers are moving online. In fact, many popular print publications for educators, such as District Administration and Tech & Learning, now have digital versions. But other professional development periodicals are only available online, which means some may be overshadowed by flagship publications or just lost in the massive wave of information that the Internet offers.

Don’t let good resources go to waste! Take a look at the following list of online publications you should be reading – some for administrators and some for teachers.

“Another day, another educational policy that changes how we do things ... again.” That’s the way it feels at times, doesn’t it? And sometimes, past negative experiences can cause educators to ignore potential opportunities because it’s just such a relief not to have to make another change. Well, brace yourself. Here is a quick overview of how four very recent federal policies are significantly changing (or may have the potential to change) what and how students learn.

Much like many of the decisions that principals face every day, the world of “resources” isn’t as cut and dried as it used to be. A website offers a blog, a book has a hashtag, and some providers offer a little bit of everything: blogs, books, articles, conferences, twitter chats...you get the picture.

To cut to the chase, we offer the following list of 25 great resources for school administrators at all levels, in no particular order:

Education Twitter Accounts You Should Be Following
Twitter has proven itself to be a crucial tool for educators around the globe. Whatever skill level you may be at, Twitter is out-and-out fun and worth your time. It can educate you, help enlighten you, make you laugh, and pretty much just keep you in-the-know. But you have to follow the right people/accounts. Otherwise, your Twitter feed can easily fill up with boring, useless tweets – and then, before you know it, you’ll stop checking Twitter and taking advantage of its power.

If you’re searching for something to pack in your bag for some lunchtime or after-school inspiration, check out these must-reads! Whether you’re a teacher, administrator, or just a lover of good books, these texts will engage you and help you power through the school year:

As the educational technology industry has grown over the past 15 years, certain investors have become well-known for their contributions to ed-tech startups. We’ve compiled a list of the most notable investors active in this sector right now. The first three on the list, NewSchools Venture Fund, 500 Startups, and LearnCapital, are known as the biggest investors in ed-tech entrepreneurs, but all seven are worth watching. As the leading venture capitalists and investors in education, their current decisions set future trends and help to drive development across the educational technology landscape. What they invest in today will shape the classrooms for schools, teachers, and students tomorrow. Take a look at this quick overview of the financial giants behind much of the tech in schools today, and learn why they do what they do.

Have you noticed how fast the K-12 educational landscape is changing? There are new laws, new research, and new approaches (derived from the new laws and research). And then there are the new tools to support those new approaches. It can all be a lot to stay on top of. The good news is that professional associations can help you to keep up. In our last post, we looked at five interesting professional associations for teachers. This time around, we look at five options for administrators.

Have you noticed how rapidly the K-12 educational landscape is changing? There are new laws, new research, and new approaches (derived from the new laws and research). And then there are the new tools to support those new approaches. It can all be a little overwhelming.

The good news is that professional associations can help you to keep up, move further along your career path, and even influence those laws. Sometimes just reading an association’s blog post or other available material can give you the information you need. With other organizations, you may want to become a full-fledged member to gain the maximum benefit.

Our list of the 10 most interesting educational associations out there is divided into two categories: one for teachers and one for administrators. In this post, Part I, we’ll tackle associations for teachers. Check out the list below and see which ones are right for you!

Simon Sinek once said, “Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge.” As we thought about trying to articulate what attributes comprise a dynamo school leader, it began to feel a little like trying to eat bouillabaisse with a fork. Education is not an exact science: the qualities that are needed in teaching personnel will vary somewhat, depending on the specific objectives and needs of a school. But after hearing from some leading educators and doing some research into the topic, we came up with the following top characteristics of a strong school leader. These characteristics are generally the ones that diligent administrators will seek when looking for new teachers, and the ones that they will try to develop and improve in the veteran teaching force.