Favorite Apps for Education

I don't know about you but I'm always looking for new apps. Because it's easy to be overwhelmed with the sheer number that are available I'm always looking for suggestions that can help guide my decisions.  One of my favorite online publications is e-School News. Recently I found a story from last April where they recommended some apps. I've created a link to their article so that you can see what they recommend.

As always we'd enjoy hearing from you about your favorite apps. 

New Tools and Strategies Help Prevent School Bullying and Violence

"Is it possible to identify and address bullying and other negative behavior at schools before it erupts into violence?

School bullying is now at crisis levels in the U.S., and it’s one of the primary challenges that school leaders face in managing the learning environment and ensuring that students feel safe and ready to learn. As school leaders look for ways to deal with this problem, some are turning to a promising new technology platform for help.

Before high-quality curriculum or pedagogy can foster student achievement, schools must establish a positive climate where staff, students, and parents all feel accepted and respected and where learning—not safety—is the main focus, experts say. Feeling safe and respected can be critical to students’ motivation to learn. It’s not hard to imagine how a student’s academic goals would come second to making it through the day without being bullied." 

The quote above is from an outstanding report that promises to help principals, school staff and communties not only prevent bullying and other forms of cyber-violence in their schools, but actually use the technology as an intevention in the prevention and mitigation of cyber-bullying and related forms of intimidation. The secret is to maintain a comprehensive school climate that promotes safety and learning rather than power and intimidation.

A new platform from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt helps track important information about school climate and the ways it either promotes or mediates violence.  The report not only describes this new tool and how to use it, but also provides solid resources on bullying and other forms of school violence that can be managed effectively with digital tools. 

You can see the entire report on the eSchoolNews website: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/05/01/creating-a-safe-and-positive-learning-environment/

Social Media for School Communication

It’s easy to dismiss social media as a fascination of young people but to do so minimizes one of the fastest growing trends in technology. The Pew Internet and American Life Project recently found that over 71% of teens have a Facebook profile and 75% of adults have one too. Social media tools have become the way for a school or business to quickly and efficiently disseminate information. Because of the almost universal access to social media across all demographic groups it often reaches people that traditional forms of communication miss.

The online presence for many schools has moved beyond the school website. It now includes a Facebook page (www.facebook.com), a Twitter account (www.twitter.com), blogs by teachers, principals or the superintendent, and YouTube (www.youtube.com) and Flickr (www.flickr.com) for sharing videos and photos about school events.

Seven Reasons to Pay Attention to Social Media

1. It Builds Relationships – Creating relationships is important for leaders and social media is a new, and very effective, way to build support among your stakeholders.
2. It’s About Customers – Parents and employees often come from a different generation, one that wants to work differently and to be involved in the educational process. Social media is a way to engage them in the life of your school.
3. They’re Already Talking – Check out the Internet and other online sites. People are already commenting about your school and about your leadership.
4. Listen as Well as Share – The principal is responsible for maintaining the school’s image. Use social media to interact with parents and community. Use it to both hear from them and to share information. It can provide a way to detect rumors and allow you to respond quickly.
5. You’ll Be Well Received – Almost everyone we’ve talked with reports the positive reception they get from having a blog, a Twitter feed or a school Facebook page.
6. It Builds Community – People commit to things they care about. As we described earlier, the public is less trustful of schools. Social media promotes community by inviting people to be part of the conversation.
7. It’s Here to Stay – While the forms of social media continue to change the evidence is that our use of the tools will only accelerate. Increasingly the expectation is that schools stay connected to their families and their community. Social media is the tool. (Adapted from: Porterfield & Carnes (2010), AASA Online)

Fake e-Identities

Recently there have been several cases where teens created fake Facebook or Twitter accounts as a way to bully peers or to make it appear that the principal was sending offensive comments. These false accounts are forcing schools to deal with the behavior. In many states these false identities would violate the law and are a form of identity theft or cyber-impersonation. Thirty-eight states have laws against "electronic harassment" and fourteen ban "cyberbullying."

In most cases, the victim is unaware that the false identity has been created and in some cases must deal with the negative response to the posts.

There is murky legal guidance about the extent to which schools can police off-site social media accounts and fake social media profiles. In two separate cases, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled punishments of students unconstitutional (J.S. v. Blue Mountain School District; Layshock v. Hermitage School District). The most prudent approach may be simply to refer the case to local law enforcement agencies who have far clearer opportunities for enforcing state law in this area.

Social Media: School Leadership in the Digital Age

Our presentation on "School Leadership in the Digital Age" takes place on Saturday March 10 at 7:30 am in Room 5 of the Tampa Convention Center. We'll share tips that principals can immediately use to use social media to improve their schools. Topics include social media and school safety, social media and school management, and social media and enhanced learning. The presentation can be downloaded HERE.

A School Wide Plan for Student Achievement: the J. Lloyd Trump Lecture, NASSP Annual Convention

Howard Johnston is presenting the J. Lloyd Trump Lecture at NASSP's Annual Conference in Tampa on March 9, 2012.  The topic is on creating a school wide model and plan for boosting student achievement and test performance. From here, you can download Howard's Power Point Presentation and access the other resources he uses in his presentation:
(1) Powerpoint -- Raising Student Achievement: A School Wide Model and Plan.  The J. Lloyd Trump Lecture. (2) School Wide Culture Assessment Guide.
(3) Timeline for Principals -- Promoting Culture of Achievement and College-Going

Unfriending---a New Trend?

A new study (Madden, 2012) from the Pew Internet and American Life Project found a growing trend among social media users---unfriending. Managing your online profile comes at a time of greater concern for privacy, concern about how one is portrayed online, and concern that "oversharing" can negatively impact business and social contacts.

While social media sites continue their exponential growth, a growing concern about privacy has resulted in 63% of users reporting that they have deleted people from their friends list, an increase since the last study in 2009. The study also reported that 58% of users share their profile with only a close group of friends or relatives while only 20% make their profiles public.

This trend reflects concern with privacy and the amount of information easily available about an individual through their online profiles. As sites like Facebook launch new features such as Timeline, that put historic data "front and center" on the profile, people are concerned about what they've posted and how they may have been "tagged" in the postings of others. Privacy concerns were greater among women. Men were more likely to report that they regretted something they posted on a social media site. Thirty-seven percent of people regularly scan other sites and "untag" themselves on those sites.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project is one of the most respected research centers on use of social media technology. Their study suggests that people have begun to simplify their online identity management and increasingly recognize the costs associated with personal content that may be available online.

We'd enjoy hearing from you about the issue of social media and privacy. What do you do to monitor your online profile?