Weekend 1 Reflections, New Learnings

I took away three new skills from this weekend, the use of twitter, blogger, and Google docs by administrators.  Inviting others to view and participate, Twitter provides a professional learning community for anyone, anywhere.     School administrators stationed in remote areas can plug in and get advice from thinkers everywhere.  I can follow Robert Marzano and Daniel Pink without attending a conference and read the materials they link to the tweets.  Prior to class, my mental model of Twitter had been formed by spoiled athletes and celebrities in the news because of their Twitter use, so I avoided the application.

The blogger site contributed to my crummy attitude regarding technology use, but just before I could give up on it, my classmates came to my rescue.  Jeremy, Nicole, Michelle and others made me a priority, coming to my aid until my blog displayed on everyone's computer in the cohort.  Had we been working on this in isolation, I'm not sure I could have fixed it.  A strong team, willing to collaborate and stray outside their job descriptions is critical to a healthy, vibrant school culture, a salient point in each Drake Education Leadership course.

Finally, Kristen set up two Google docs, a powerpoint and document, and we used it to begin planning and coordinating our Distinguished Speakers presentation.  Kristen provided Carlene and me support as we learned about Google docs.  In addition, we worked on management principals which included organizing questions, delegating tasks and setting due dates to ensure our presentation is completed on time.  As a leader of a school, I will have to rely on others; I cannot do it myself.