Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, SnapChat are just some of the most popular digital platforms used today. But can these programs be used for education and can they help lead teachers in professional development and promote leadership in teachers and students alike? With technology becoming a central component for education, teachers and administration need to recognize the endless opportunities digital leadership brings.
According to research done by the Pew Research Internet Project, 73% of adults belong to at least one social networking sites and 42% belong to two or more sites. Teenagers’ use is higher at 82%, with an average of 102 minutes per day on Facebook (Alquist, 2014). But digital leadership is more than just logging into Facebook
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Now a renowned author, Sheninger has written over six books, all based around digital learning and digital leadership. In his book, Digital Leadership Changing Paradigms for Changing Times, he talks about open Course Ware (OCW) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Sheninger (2014a) says, “the accessibility and quality of OCW holds the promise of providing students and educators with more personalized learning options that can cater to diverse needs” (p. 12). He addresses the difficulties this change of behavior and learning might present, especially for veteran teachers. Disconnects from these characteristics are what students are experiencing in schools:
• Digital learners prefer to access information quickly from multiple-media sources, but many educators prefer slow and controlled release of information from limited sources
• Digital learners prefer parallel processing and multitasking, but may educators prefer linear processing and single tasks or limited multitasking.
• Digital learners prefer random access to hyper-linked multimedia information, but many educators prefer to provide information linearly, logically, and sequentially.
• Digital learners prefer to learn “just in time,” but many educators prefer to teach “just in case.”
• Digital learners prefer instant gratification and immediate rewards, but many educators prefer
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He explains in his beginning chapters what it is like for him as a digital leader. He starts the day by checking his email and sending out his daily email – something that teachers can check for any new information; he does the same thing in a google document for students. Then he updates the schools twitter, Facebook and google+ accounts to keep parents and community members informed on the day’s activities and upcoming events. When the bell rings, he grabs his tablet and heads out to the hallways to work, do observations and engage in students, often stopping to take photos and live-stream student work. During the noon hour, he is present in the cafeteria, making sure to converse with students. He says he often gets tips and tricks from the students and that is just as important. By using technology himself, Sheninger models an environment that allows for collaboration, creativity, and communication to happen and for teachers to follow in
Just spending some time in the modern-day classroom; I have observed several students on their phones. During my high school years we did not have to worry about cell phones or laptops being a constant problem. In Annie Murphy Paul’s “You’ll Never Learn!” she explains the studies of multitasking while students do their homework with the modern-day distraction of the digital age; resulting in a lower quality of learning. I agree with Paul that the digital age is becoming a problem in education, even though educators are leaning towards teaching on a digital spectrum. In this essay, I will explain how a digital age versus a non-digital age is effecting everyone involved in a higher education.
The transparency that social media and today’s technology brings allows the teacher and student to be innovative in how they approach lessons, not only for ourselves, but for kids and adults all across the world. Ultimately, it’s important as a leader and building administrator to remember “what is best for kids” and to allow them to experience growth from everyone around them, even if it’s from the negative side.
Beach, S. (2012). The connected educator: learning and leading in a digital age. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
electronic media to multitask. When grades are involved Jacobsen and forste found that there is a
With the proliferation of social media and technology, people have been spending a significant amount of time with media. New technological developments have resulted in the recent trend of media multitasking as people have been using phones, computers, and other technology to access media while they do other work. In Christine Rosen’s essay, “The Myth of Multitasking,” Rosen points out many negative effects of media multitasking, including the effect it has on learning. Although people use technology and media to multitask, media multitasking hinders people’s ability to learn.
Mullen, R., & Wedwick, L. (2008). Avoiding the digital abyss: Getting started in the classroom
Caruso, C. (2008). Bringing Online Learning to Life. Educational Leadership, 65(8) 70. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
It is common to notice that the internet has rewired our brain into multitasking much more than before. However, it was concluded after numerous studies that this kind of digital multitasking does not make us smarter or more swift in our activities, but quite on the contrary negatively impacts our academic performance. A more scientific aspect of why our brain is affected by the large sea of information that is available to us is touched upon by Eric Jaffe. The writer explains that “the barrage of new media distractions is placing new demands on cognitive processing, and especially on attention allocation […] While cause-and-effect is difficult to parse here, in some sense it doesn’t matter. If all this digital media is causing people to multi-task
...lis believes multitasking can save time because the brain splits in half to work on two different tasks at once. The survey takers who say they multitask on a daily basis even having differing opinions on multitasking. Hayles believes we should change the teaching methods on the basis that most students need to multitask to maintain concentration, however, there are conflicting studies as to whether multitasking is helpful or a burden. With this in mind, it is hard to take any action regarding multitasking until there is more evidence that leans in one direction than the other as to whether or not multitasking can benefit us. Thus, more studies need to occur involving real life situations to determine whether or not multitasking is beneficial, and there also needs to be a more solid definition of what multitasking is in order to determine if it is beneficial or not.
Do you ever think about how much technology has changed the way we work, learn, play, and even think? Technology is a major beneficiary to society; especially in the classroom where we get the opportunity to learn and grow. In recent years, schools have begun implementing tablets and other devices in the classroom to better student’s education. The use of technology in the classroom provides more of a personalized learning experience and gives students a widespread availability to engage in learning. Technology is necessary in today’s modern globe, it is basically “the pen and paper of our time and the lens through which we experience much of our world” (Warlick, 2013). Technology is not just considered the “internet”, it is so much greater than that. Overall, it enhances the quality of education and engages students deeper than ever before. With all the significant gains, why would people argue that technology hinders students more than it helps? Critics may try to repute the use of technology in the classroom but I believe what really matters “is the way we use it, the context that we use it in, and the learners who we use it for” (Chong, 2012).
Exposing students to the power of social media in the classroom is an important part of preparing them to be active and positive digital citizens in a 21st century world. In the last two years, my own students have rapidly been drawn to Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and many other social networking platforms. They upload, share, and connect with others often without any regard to how their digital footprints may reflect them as individuals. Having continuous conversations with students about the choices that they make can lead to positive results. Students don't realize how powerful social media platforms can be in terms of networking, researching, and engaging in academic conversations. It makes me laugh every time I hear them whisper about my colleague Heather's or my Twitter feed. First of all kids, I can hear you. Second of all, yes, social media can be an amazing way to give and exchanged knowledge.
In this day and age, many individuals simply cannot go without some sort of socialization. Specifically speaking, most participate in online social networking sites. The most popular and used one is commonly known as Facebook. Facebook was created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. By 2007, Facebook had over 21 million users, adding up to 1.6 billion page views every single day. The typical user spends over twenty minutes per day on Facebook and two thirds of the users log in every day at least once. It is not questionable as to why many people have a Facebook account. Facebook is generally efficient, easy for socialization, and not difficult to manage. Most organizations are affiliated with Facebook, as “almost 22,000 organizations had Facebook directories,” as of November 2006. A year after that in 2007, Facebook was named the seventh most popular website (Ellison 1). However, with anything well known, many oppose to using Facebook and hold criticism against the popular network. There are many flaws in the website and the relationships it starts online. Facebook is risking dangerous activities, ignoring privacy laws, and demeaning healthy socialization.
Many people associate leadership with a specific job title or form of power within an organization. However, through personal experience, I have concluded that leadership can come in many forms and position as well as from multiple sources of roles and job titles both with and without power. Based on the definition of leadership, anyone can be considered a leader as long as they have the ability to influence people to achieve a particular result or goal which benefits the organization or group as a whole. Individuals with a secure sense of self and understanding, acceptance of diversity within an organization tend to be the strongest leaders that not only make others want to follow, but they also encourage other leaders to gravitate to their
The integration of various computer technologies have pushed designers of curriculums to modify their teaching and instructional design in such a way that they promote the essence of instant, interactive, and transferrable knowledge. There...
Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest. These are only a few of the websites that have become omnipresent in the typical teenager’s life. First launched in 2004, Facebook seemed like the perfect means to connect with old friends and take part in organizations. Eleven years later, the social media industry has snowballed from its original purpose of simply a network for interaction. Most likely launched by the incredible popularity of Facebook, other networks have popped up. According to The Huffington Post, 71% of teenagers engage in more multiple social media networks, 24% of these teenagers admit to checking social media almost constantly. Scrolling, posting, and liking are actions