Timely

I found this on Google Reader:

What are educators' professional obligations to learn from social media channels?

from Dangerously Irrelevant | Big Think by dr.scott.mcleod@gmail.com (Scott McLeod)

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Paul Bogush pushed back (in a nice way) on my recently-popular post, If you were on Twitter. First he wrote about how most educators are too busy to be involved in social media. Then he wrote about all of the wonderful things that happened during the time when he wasn't on Twitter. Because he's a good writer, Paul evoked all the right feelings in my heart and head. Of course I want to spend time with my wife and kids instead of being on Twitter. Of course I want to read books and take walks in the woods and get my job done, all instead of being in front of a screen. But even though there are only so many hours in a day, it's still a false dichotomy. As I said in my comment to Paul's first post,

there are countless educators who are finding ways to tap into the connective and learning power of social media while simultaneously having healthy, balanced personal and professional lives. In other words, you do not have to be superhuman to do this stuff. We find time for what we think is important...

All of this time balance stuff aside, I believe that there's a bigger issue worth considering. Let me explain...
Although there is a lot of noise out there on the Web, it's hard to argue that there is little learning value in social media. There are numerous ways in which teachers and administrators could be using blogs, Twitter, Facebook, online videos, podcasts, online slideshows, and other social media tools to advance their own practice. Whether it's subscribing to other innovative educators' feeds, interacting and sharing resources with global colleagues, or consuming and using high-quality peer-created resources, there are myriad teaching ideas, lesson plans, Web resources, conversation spaces, technology tools, reflections on practice, and other pedagogical fruits that are ripe for the picking by online-savvy educators. Peer-to-peer online learning networks can help educators sort the wheat from the chaff and curate what's relevant and powerful.
The barriers to using social media as learning tools usually are more mental, emotional, or logistical than technological. Most of the time we can teach people how to use these tools (or they can pick up the basics themselves) in just a few hours of focused learning.
In an era in which the possibilities for ongoing professional learning are numerous and significant, I wonder how long will it take us for us to start expecting educators to use these social media tools. It's been 30 years since the advent of the personal computer and we're still struggling to get teachers and administrators to integrate digital technologies into their daily work in ways that are substantive and meaningful. Meanwhile, we now have a bevy of powerful learning tools available to us that can advance our own professional learning (and, of course, make our technology integration and implementation efforts more efficient and effective).

• When will we start incorporating the use of social media learning channels into the broader definition of what it means to be an education professional?
• When will we renorm the education profession to include the expectation that teachers and administrators will use these tools to advance their own practice? 
• When will we view educators that opt out of the use of social media for professional learning as an aberration rather than the norm?

In other words, will we ever stop saying that whatever print publications we may subscribe to, a few professional development days spread across the year, and occasional and sporadic attendance at conferences sufficiently satisfy our obligations to be learners of our craft?

School Board Retreats

The Mobile County School Board is holding it's annual retreat at Point Clear this year. All meetings will be open to the public, by law, but attendance is usually sparse. They won't be voting on anything, they said it's more of a chance to discuss issues in depth.
One good thing is they are paying for the food and rooms out their own pockets. I imagine it is tax deductible.
I would like to see them spend their money in Mobile, but other than that I think there's nothing wrong with it.

State Superintendent?

The news paper had an article the other day stating that Bradley Byrne was considering the position as Superintendent of Education for the state. I wonder what that would  mean to teachers and their rights and benefits?

Pay Raise?

Rep. Jay Love of Montgomery was quoted in the Alabama School Journal as saying: "I think asking (educators) to contribute a little more toward their retirement is certainly economically doable. The most important thing we want to do is meet education needs of students, and we felt like a 2.5 percent increase after the past nine years of raises is a reasonable request."

Ok, where do I go, who do I see about getting all my back pay because I haven't seen a raise since... well, I can't remember the last raise!

Computer problems

When you want to blog and your computer breaks, guess what? You can't blog. As I now have my computer  back we can resume the process. If there is another lengthy break it's because I am tending to my new grand child.

Appointed vs Elected Superintendents

I saw an interesting piece last night on the local news. They discussed the pros and cons of elected vs appointed superintendents. Appointed superintendents are at the whim of the school board and that may affect the way they approach their job. They are usually higher paid and receive perks like automobiles for their use. One superintendent they talked about received three months of free housing while he looked for a job. Moving expenses are also often covered. They also receive the same benefits the teachers receive like health insurance, etc.
Elected superintendents are not usually paid as much as their appointed counterparts, and they are not liable to be as influenced as by the desires of the school board. Their benefits are not usually as good. They receive the benefits that the state workers get, and they won't be given a car.
So, which is the best?

From the Illinios Education Association

Those who can, teach,


those who cannot pass laws about teaching.