Role+of+Administrators+in+Social+Media

Green font - Sabrina Shaner Purple font - Jessica Faish

=Advocate= Administrators have several roles in social media. One of these is to be an advocate of this technology. Social media has taken root in our society and students need good examples on appropriate uses of this technology. Administrators as the leaders of the schools can provide one of these positive examples. This positive example can also extend to teachers, staff, parents and community members as administrators use social media to communicate the events happening with the school.

Administrators must lead by example. Many teachers are overwhelmed at the thought of using social media in the classroom. We may use social media in our personal lives, but making the switch to using it in our professional lives is one that we need to see in action.

This video gives some statistics on how much social media is being used. Administrators need to be a part of this revolution to help prepare students to become digital citizens. media type="youtube" key="8DDGxBaIm5Q" height="315" width="420"

=Standards= Several organization have developed standards to aide adminstrators inusing social media and technology in schools. I found another resource for standards from TSSA (Technology Standards for School Administrators). Another resource for administrators is the School Administrators' Technology Integration Resource. The current featured topic is Social Networking.
 * NASSP || The National Association of Secondary School Principals have developed recommendations and guidelines for administrations for using social media in schools, ||
 * ISTE-NETS || The International Society for Technology in Education has developed National Education Technolgy Standards has created standards in several areas for administrators including leadership, culture, professionalism, citizenship and systematic improvements. ||
 * NCTE || The National Coucil of Teachers of English's 21st Century Literacies Framework has many references to social media and technology. ||

= Support = Administrators also have a support role for social media in schools. They need to support the environment by obtaining the funds necessary to purchase, upgrade and maintain the physical components need for social media and other technologies. They need to support teachers and staff by providing training on new technologies and help find solutions for issues that come up in the classroom in the day to day use of technology. And they need to support the students by creating and enforcing the social media standards and rules that keep them safe in the online environment.

Not only are there standards to develop a technology plan and advocate for policies, programs, and funding opportunities, but there are also standards for creating and participating in learning communities to support faculty in the use of technology. Students today do not know life without computers. Administrators and teachers must begin embracing technology in the classroom and school system in order to engage our students. It is the administrators role to provide teachers with the technology, district-wide guidelines, support. The support they need to provide teachers with is professional development, technology support, and discipline enforcment if the cyber rules are broken.

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In a technology learning environment, my classroom would consist of a Promethean Board with a slate, laptops on every desk, students with cell phones (for texting an answer to a website), and assignments being completed online. The physical space would look something like the photo I've provided. I would, of course, need a lot from my administrators in order for this to happen.



Similarly my ideal classroom would also include lots of technology. It would include and interactive smartboard and ipads, tablets or tabletop computer desks for students. Additionally students could work on smart phones. I would also like some camera, video and recording equipment. Ideally all these devices would integrate together. Below are a pictures of what this might look like.


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