Tuesday, May 26, 2009

The Will Richardson Project: Administrators Who Blog

For my professional development goals as an instructional specialist and future school administrator, I am reading a few articles by Will Richardson and posting my thoughts here. Feel free to join the conversation in the comments. Administrators who blog: give administrators in your district online voices. District Administration - April 1, 2007

Summary: School administrators, particularly building principals, are faced with a growing number of issues. Blogging can help them process these issues and open their thinking to multiple perspectives. An audience of other administrators as well as students, teachers, and the community can help an administrator see solutions not normally found on one's own. Additionally, blogging can add to an aura of transparency not often found in schools. Despite these benefits and the growing use of blogs, too few administrators are utilizing this tool.

What I Think: As I work in various schools, it worries me that so many administrators are not participating in the learning process aside from running their respective buildings. Students and teachers are blogging, opening their discussions to outside perspectives. Principals should be doing the same.

I understand why this happens. Principals are bombarded with issues concerning building maintenance, personnel, curriculum, etc. Who has time for blogging with so many issues requiring their attention? That is specifically why they should blog. Draw from other administrators' experiences or consider the perspectives of staff, students, and families.

How does this help me with my work? This fits in with my work and professional development in two ways. First, I am always looking for angles in selling administration on the educational benefits of technology and the Internet. Second, my studies in earning an administrative certification fits with this sort of topic well. This idea of administrators blogging bridges my current work with my future work seamlessly.

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