Administrator 2.0 Academy

Web 2.0 Tools: $0. One-on-one Professional Development: $0. Open-minded and creative Administrators: Priceless.

Chris Stengel and I finished our third full day of the "Administrator 2.0 Academy" today. Over the course of these trainings, we took our traveling "show" to the desks of about half of the Mt. Lebo administrators--with the next half expecting us within the next few weeks. Armed with diet ginger ale and Red Bull (uh, the ginger ale for me, Red Bull for Chris--The thought of that mixture is an interesting one...), we gathered around each fearless leader's computer to examine and discuss the 2.0 wiki.

We travel with 2 goals in mind: 1. To give each administrator a common understanding of the 2.0 tools that are easily accessible and currently usable in Mt. Lebanon 2. To plant the seedlings of ideas about how administrators can utilize these tools within departments and buildings with the expectation it will trickle to the teachers for proper implementation with students. We target blogs, wikis, the widgets on our Mtlsd home pages, and customizable forms. I think it is fair to say that each administrator has found at least one practical tool they will implement this year.

Even though Chris and I are halfway through the sessions, I can't help but feel optimistic that that these leaders will be open to these tools in order to make our district a model of communication and collaboration. From the Superintendent to building principals, from the Facilities Director to Human Resources, I expect to see some changes this year. Ultimately, each decision we make is toward the same goal: student achievement and preparing these students for their flat, digital future.

Photo from Veryweb.it via Mathew Ingram