VANGUARD+Spring+2014

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Twitter: Joining the Educational Revolution TWITTER By Tim Dawkins There is a revolution happening in education, and if you aren’t a part of it, you’re truly missing out. This particular revolution begins, as many do, with people connecting around a common belief in order to enact change. We have the ability to instantly communicate and connect with professional peers from all over the world through social media. These connections may begin at surface level, but the more we engage, the more the relationships gain depth. 19
PRACTICES: EDUCATIONAL REVOLUTION Our need to connect centers around the belief that in the 21st century we are surrounded by opportunities to become better educators. Sure, it’s easy to dismiss social media as distractions for our students or ways for individuals in the spotlight to further their own agenda. However, by dismissing such powerful technology you are truly missing a unique opportunity to engage in professional development at any free moment. The role of the assistant principal, I have learned as I move through my second year in this position, is a complicated one. We are pulled in many different directions during the day, and through the nature of our presence in the building we are often called to be a jack-of-all-trades. While this is surely a great opportunity for developing skills that will hopefully take us into a principalship one day, it’s rough on time management. On any given day I could be in a meeting regarding an at-risk student, making attempts to restore harmed relationships after a disciplinary issue, observing a lesson, conferencing with a teacher regarding an observation, developing next year’s master schedule, all while assisting with any impromptu issues that may arise throughout the building. Traditionally, connecting with my fellow APs would not be something that I could place at the top of my priority list. Enter Twitter. While I had already been very familiar with Twitter as a powerful tool of personal connection for a couple of years, I had never really looked at it as a way to reclaim my own form of personal professional development. Twitter as an educational tool has truly changed my life. No longer do I have to feel disconnected from my educational peers because I don’t have time during the school day. For example: • On any given evening there are multiple hashtag (#) chats occurring that open tremendous doors of communication across state and international borders. I have had the pleasure of following people working in the field from across the country as well as in Canada, Great Britain, and Australia among others, and we share resources as if they were sitting in the office next to me. Dis- 20
Page 1: SPRING 2014 Vol. 43 No. 2 Exploring
Page 7: PUBLISHER’S PAGE Digital Leadersh
Page 10 and 11: VANGUARDCOVERSTORY Over the years,
Page 12 and 13: Time is often the element that lead
Page 14 and 15: and Beyond COMING SOON! SEPTEMBER 1
Page 16 and 17: Move to a math class in the Montice
Page 18 and 19: VANGUARDFEATURESTORY licenses have
Page 21 and 22: BOOKREVIEW The Data Teams Experienc
Page 23: Share your ideas and successful pra
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Page 29 and 30: They had a perception of me that sp
Page 32 and 33: Moving from Administrator to Connec
Page 34: • Modeling collaboration using va
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Page 39 and 40: PRACTICES: CHANGING PARADIGMS These
Page 42 and 43: The Secret Life of Change: The Powe
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Page 50 and 51: Student Learning Objectives: Challe
Page 52 and 53: PRACTICES: SLOs - CHALLENGES AND TR
Page 54 and 55: TRADE MEASUREMENT INCORPORATED Thom

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