Assignment 5: You down with PLN?

     Becoming a successful digital leader will require me to break a few bad habits.  To develop my PLN, I must practice what I preach.  Teachers need to see that I am using technology in multiple ways.  Creating a culture starts with modeling what the digital norm should be.  We all know technology rapidly evolves and NETS A standard 3d. echoes this idea; digital leaders must stay current in the latest trends to ensure teachers and students the benefit of access.  I will dedicate time every day to use social media to develop my PLN; not just tweeting but also collaborating with other digital leaders through social media.  The engine of a PLN is social media. Reaching out through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, forums, and discussion boards. These are the same tools your students use (or aspire to use) to communicate with each other. Staying connected with other innovators is inspiring to me, and the ability to be open to new ideas will help feed this collaboration. 

     Sometimes it is more effective to tell me what I shouldn’t do, than what I should. In 10 Things School Leaders Do to Kill a Teacher's Enthusiasm for Technology, author John Robinson offered a list of ‘don’ts’ for digital leaders.  I particularly connected with the following tips: 1. Mandate the use of technologies or specific programs. Mandating specific devices, technologies, and software will kill an educator's enthusiasm quickly.  7. Fail to be enthusiastic about technology use themselves and 10. Use test scores as the only measure of successful technology implementation. Robinson cautions that this is a real killer of anyone's enthusiasm for technology and that everything we do and do well cannot be connected to a "higher test score." Test scores provide valuable information but they are not the only measure of effectiveness. School leaders who always want to know, "Will it increase test scores" aren't really interested in successful technology infusion and tech implementation anyway.  These reminders help reframe my view of digital leadership; technology is a tool to support, not the catalyst for results.  Facilitating collaborative learning communities, focused on using studying the use of technology will help empower educators to use technology powerfully.

     Part of sustaining a strong digital vision will require me to ensure staff feels supported to use technology to innovate (NETS A 3c.).  This will provide value and ownership for the investment in technology initiatives. In her article 7 Habits of Highly Effective Tech-leading Principals, Jennifer Demski indicates that “…collaboration contributes to a more solid culture that allows the kind of innovation and vision that all of us are really aspiring to. Great ideas are going to bubble up and sometimes the smartest thing a principal can do is provide support for a teacher with a good idea and then get out of their way and let them do it."