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Why be a connected admin?

I'm at #NETA15, on Twitter at @yourNETA. Or as the morning keynote said, "We are with our fellow nerds."

I am excited today to have the opportunity later this morning  to speak with @Mandery, @dougkittle, @bmowinkel, @mrbadura, @catlett11 and @chlor13 on being a connected administrator. (For the uninitiated, these are their Twitter handles.)

Why connect, anyway?
1. It is where are our kids live.
2. It is where our parents have gone.
3. It is important for administrators to model tech use, not merely give lip service to it. We must project what we expect.
4. When we model tech use, we demonstrate the fundamentally important learner behavior of risk taking and we ensure our teachers know they are in a supportive tech environment that encourages pedagogical risk-taking to enhance learner engagement.
5. The less you use digital communication tools and the more you continue an over reliance on traditional communication platforms like hard copy mailings to parents, the more market share you surrender to other voices that are out there. If you want to manage your message, you must get connected, and utilize multiple platforms both for your professional development as well as your district's profile.

How do I connect as an administrator? Where can I leverage the greatest impact as a school administrator in connecting?

1. Use connected presentation modes like MoveNote. Incorporate YouTube content in meaningful ways in your own professional development presentations to staff.
3. Get your admin team on Google Hangouts. Start meeting periodically via Hangouts and scrap the monotony of a traditional sit down meeting for this video conference mode.
4. Do your part to build digital infrastructure! Drive wider and more accessible wi-fi in your district.
5. Get on Twitter for fast and easily accessible content through a personal learning network of connected educators. You don't have to take my word for it, though. Just get on Twitter and start by searching the Twitter feeds (above) of the amazing connected Ed Leaders on the panel I am joining this morning. You'll find there's an abundant wealth of great learning being shared by these folks and their connected colleagues.

Let's do this!

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