Listen to a Principal Who Knows Banning is the Easy Way Out

Educators, administrators, and school board members interested in learning how technology, the web and social media can be used to engage both their students and their communities have the opportunity to hear from a public school principal who is doing just that.  On May 19^th New Milford High School Principal Eric Sheninger will explain how to move from banning to embracing technology and social media.  

Sheninger understands that while banning students from technology and social media is certainly easier, his job is not to do what is most convenient, but rather what is right for our students.  As a result, Sheninger publicly embraces the use of social media for himself and for his students.  

Earlier this year when a New Jersey principal advised all parents and students to get off Facebook in the media, Sheninger joined me in fighting back.  His rebuttals were featured in various shows and in his writing like this piece here. I wrote pieces like this one here and created the video rebuttal to that principal which you can watch below.  It is followed by Sheninger's radio interviews.

Sheninger, considered to be one of the most innovative principals in the country, will be joined by several of his teachers, students, board trustees and members of his community to discuss how New Milford High School uses technology as a student, parent, and community engagement tool. Don't miss this opportunity to hear him and his community share their ideas.

Update: Eric did a fabulous job.  You can see what he did at http://bit.ly/lNSoLW

You have read this article eric sheninger / Facebook in education with the title eric sheninger. You can bookmark this page URL https://machining33.blogspot.com/2011/05/listen-to-principal-who-knows-banning.html. Thanks!

Tri State Ed Tech Conference - Post Conference Reading

Today I had the pleasure of sharing ideas with more than 400 passionate educators at the Tri-State Tech Conference (TSETC) about thinking outside the ban and taking the risks our students need for success. During my presentation I shared real-life anecdotes of the risk-taking experiences I felt   were necessary to do what what was in the best interest of 21st century students despite the protests of educational administrators stuck in the past.

This post is where I’m sharing my presentation materials for those who attended or wished they had. Existing readers of The Innovative Educator know that I’m passionate about educator voice and thinking outside the ban. Here at The Innovative Educator I share ideas to do just that in posts that explain the importance of sharing educator voice through blogging, provide ideas and plans for Harnessing the Power of Cells in Education Today, tell why I believe in friending students on Facebook and using Facebook with students beginning in elementary school, and more.

At the conference I shared the risks every educator needs to begin taking today and I shared actual examples from my life that demonstrate ways I continuously worked to think and act outside the ban that often keeps our students    stuck in an outdated, irrelevant and boring (no our students don’t all have A.D.D.) educational system. I also shared a six-step guide any educator can take to get on the path to taking risks for student success in their own school or district.

I was deeply impressed by how well the conference was run. Three cheers for Eric Sheninger who did this work like a professional athlete who makes the extraordinary look easy. Kudos to the passionate, dedicated educators who attended this conference on a Saturday. They are the type of educators who know how to take steps in the right direction to preparing students for success in the 21st century. There were so many wonderful presenters that shared practical strategies and tools to engage learners through professional development sessions, workshops, and virtual learning labs. I had the pleasure of learning about the following topics:

• iTouches in the classroom from Jason Bedell. See what he had to share at http://titanpad.com/ilearn.
• Cell Phones in the classroom from George Engel. See what he had to share at http://blogs.cellularlearning.org/?p=182.
• Effective school leadership for today’s learner from Patrick Higgins, Jr. Materials here.
• Collaborating in the classroom with Mary Beth Hertz. See the cool presentation the class created in 20 minutes about 21st century learners here https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AZeZPiY4RclEZGQ2dGZncF8xMDloYzc0amJoZg&authkey=COy6ts4K&hl=en

Eric Sheninger, Principal of New Milford High School said they were all designed for participants to leave inspired and motivated to pursue innovative practices while becoming agents of change. Sheninger is the man behind the conference and he does more then talk a good game. Though he does that well too. He is a principal who actually used to block, and now offers guidance to those skeptical about social media use. Sheninger, a leader I deeply admire is someone I have covered often here at The Innovative Educator in stories like these:
Principal who used to block, now offers guidance to skeptical admins in social media use
Want to help a principal start a blog? These 5 principals can provide inspiration
Follow the Leader Who’s a Tweeter
Just Say Yes to Publishing! Exposing The Man Behind the Curtain If He’s Still Saying No.
5 Ways to Build Your 1.0 and 2.0 Personal Learning Network

I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to be a part of a conference spearheaded by such a passionate and devoted leader and grateful to the conference host Schoology (a fantastic learning network platform) for supporting Mr. Sheninger in bringing this free opportunity to educators.

To view the materials I presented during my keynote you can visit the following links.

• My presentations
• http://tinyurl.com/6stepplanforstudentsuccess
• http://tinyurl.com/thinkoutsidetheban
• Speaking Points: http://tinyurl.com/TSETCKeynoteHandout
• Audience response at http://tinyurl.com/TOBAudience
• Join my learning network at http://tinyurl.com/ConnectwithInnovativeEdu
• See audience Tweets here.

I look forward to participation next year when rumor on Twitter has it, the conference is going to need to expand way beyond Tri-State. This was an incredible experience that learners everywhere would love to attend!

You have read this article #TSETC / eric sheninger with the title eric sheninger. You can bookmark this page URL https://machining33.blogspot.com/2010/10/tri-state-ed-tech-conference-post.html. Thanks!

Come Hear The Innovative Educator Share Ideas for Thinking Outside the Ban and Taking Risks for Student Success at the Free Tri-State Tech Conference

On October 2nd I will have the opportunity to share ideas at the Tri-State Tech Conference (TSETC) with innovative educators passionate about thinking outside the ban and taking the risks our students need for success. I hope friends, colleagues, and followers of my blog will join me as I share real-life anecdotes of the risk-taking experiences I felt were necessary to do what what was in the best interest of 21st students despite the protests of educational administrators stuck in the past.

Readers of The Innovative Educator know that I’m passionate about educator voice and thinking outside the ban. Here at The Innovative Educator I share ideas to do just that in posts that explain the importance of sharing educator voice through blogging, provide ideas and plans for Harnessing the Power of Cells in Education Today, tell why I believe in friending students on Facebook and using Facebook with students beginning in elementary school, and more.

At the conference I’ll share the risks every educator needs to begin taking today and I’ll provide actual examples from my life that demonstrate ways I continuously worked to think and act outside the ban that often keeps our students stuck in an outdated, irrelevant and boring (no our students don’t all have A.D.D.) educational system. I will also share a six-step guide any educator can take to get on the path to taking risks for student success in their own school or district.

Of course the first step in the right direction is attending the Tri-State Educational Technology Conference (TSETC) where in addition to hearing me present, participants will have the opportunity to learn about practical strategies and tools to engage learners through professional development sessions, workshops, and virtual learning labs. Most importantly, the reason to attend is because “It is our goal that educators leave inspired and motivated to pursue innovative practices while becoming agents of change," states Eric Sheninger, Principal of New Milford High School. Sheninger is the man behind the conference and he does more then talk a good game. Though he does that well too. He is a principal who actually used to block, and now offers guidance to those skeptical about social media use. Sheninger, a leader I deeply admire is someone I have covered often here at The Innovative Educator in stories like these:
Principal who used to block, now offers guidance to skeptical admins in social media use
Want to help a principal start a blog? These 5 principals can provide inspiration
Follow the Leader Who’s a Tweeter
Just Say Yes to Publishing! Exposing The Man Behind the Curtain If He’s Still Saying No.
5 Ways to Build Your 1.0 and 2.0 Personal Learning Network

I am thrilled to be a part of a conference spearheaded by such a passionate and devoted leader and grateful to the conference host Schoology for supporting Mr. Sheninger in bringing this free opportunity to educators.

Conference details:
Please visit the official conference website, check out the prestigious list of presenters, register to attend for FREE, submit a proposal, and if you are able to, consider sponsoring.

When:
Saturday, October 2nd from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. after hour meet up from 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m at Jersey Boys Grill

Location:
The 2010 Tri-State Educational Technology Conference will be held at New Milford High School.
New Milford High School
330 River Road
New Milford, New Jersey 07646

Meals:
Breakfast and lunch provided free of charge

Transportation from New York City:
For those traveling from New York City there is a free shuttle bus is available if you reserve a seat by September 24th. Please email crystal@schoology.com to reserve your spot.

Your bus ticket will grant you round trip passage on a luxury charter bus, from Penn Station, straight to New Milford High School in New Milford, NJ. Buses will begin loading in front of Penn Station at 7:00 am on Saturday, October 2nd. The buses will depart at 7:30 am for New Milford High School, so don’t be late.

Buses will depart from New Milford High School at 5:00 pm following the conference, to bring people back to Penn Station.

You have read this article eric sheninger / TSETC with the title eric sheninger. You can bookmark this page URL https://machining33.blogspot.com/2010/09/come-hear-innovative-educator-share.html. Thanks!

Follow the Leader Who’s a Tweeter

They are few and far between in the Twitosphere, but among all the thousands of educators in my learning network who are tweeting, connecting, interacting, and making meaning, only a handful are principals and a huge BRAVO to them. Whether you’re a tweeting educator trying to convince your principal to tweet or a principal who wonders what it’s all about, the six principals below can help lead the way.

There’s Meat in the Tweet of These 6 Principals
If you are a principal or if you know a principal who wants to start tweeting here are the guys to check out complete with a link to their Twitter account and blog.

Chris Lehmann
Where he leads: Principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, PA (Opened 9/06).
His blog: Practical Theory -A View from the Classroom

Eric Sheninger
Where he leads: Educational administrator responsible for preparing over 650 students in grades 9-12 with essential 21st Century skills that will enable them to be successful, productive members of society.
His blog: A Principal's Reflections

Patrick Larkin (Patrick Larkin)
Where he leads: Patrick Larkin is the Principal at Burlington High School (MA). He is a member of the Commission for Public Secondary Schools at the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). He is also a proud member of the Educator's PLN.
His blog: Burlington H.S. Principal's Blog

Dave Meister
Where he leads: High school director blogs about education, technology, student engagement and things that are happening at Paris Cooperative High School in Illinois.
His blog: PHS Director Blog

George Couros
Where he leads: Principal at a K-12 program in Stony Plain, Alberta.
His blog: The Principal of Change

Deron Durflinger
Where he leads: Where he leads: Secondary Principal, Van Meter Schools Iowa, United States. Passion is for schools to move away from the factory model developed over 100 years ago to a more relevant system for learners of the 21st century.
His blog: #Vanmeter Schools Transforming the Educational System

If you are or know a principal ready to hop on board, here’s how to get started.

5 Steps to Help Leaders Start Tweeting

1. Join twitter
2. Follow each of the following leaders
3. Lurk about and see what they have to say
4. Reply to some of there tweets and let them know you’re a principal too!
5. Make sure you look at your “@” replies and “DMs” (direct messages) to see who’s reaching out to you.

I hope you’ll join these 6 principals who I have no doubt will become inspirational members of your personal learning network. They are leading the way in supporting other pioneering school leaders who believe in moving from old-school leading to preparing our students for the real-world in which they live. If you’d like to join the conversation, they’re out there waiting for you to comment on their personal blogs, connected blog or send them a tweet.

You have read this article chris lehmann / eric sheninger / twitter / Twitter in Education with the title eric sheninger. You can bookmark this page URL https://machining33.blogspot.com/2010/08/follow-leader-whos-tweeter.html. Thanks!

Principal who used to block, now offers guidance to skeptical admins in social media use

With barely a handful of other principals participating in social media environments principal Eric Sheninger feels rather lonely and is extending an offer to lead others into the digital age of interactivity. In his latest post Building Momentum, Mr. Sheninger puts out a call to action to educational leaders to join him in online environments or, as I like to say, become a part of his personal learning network.

Administrators who are skeptical about utilizing social media have a lot to learn from Eric or NMHS_Principal as he’s known in the Twitosphere. He was in the same boat just a little over a year ago, and his ship was sinking. He blocked sites and banned mobile devices to an extreme all in an effort to do what he thought was best for his students and staff. Today he says, “Boy was I wrong!” and realizes the error of his ways.

Sheninger now advocates to empower educators to effectively integrate technology combined with best instructional practices and takes any chance he gets to discuss his transformation with skeptical administrators. His motivation is simple. He says, “I now have the confidence to clearly articulate how social media has enabled me to become a more effective and efficient administrator in many areas.” He adds that, “I stress the fact that this phenomenon is not going away and is a major component in the lives of today’s society.”

Sheninger’s advice to educational leaders is that we should be modeling, supporting, and collaborating with our respective staffs to create a vibrant school culture that fosters risk-taking and innovation. Learning environments that are structured in such a way will not only help students think critically, problem solve, and master the content, but also teach them how to be digitally responsible.

He explains that his motivations are partly selfish too. He needs other administrators to join him saying that he finds it depressing as he looks around his own state of New Jersey as well as the country and globe in general and notices the lack of an administrative presence in the world of social media and other areas of educational technology leadership.

I understand Eric’s frustration. We each have personal learning networks numbering in the thousands, yet there are only a handful of principals participating. We pretty much know the same five guys who I also mentioned recently in my post Want to help a principal start a blog? These 5 principals can provide inspiration. He adds a name new to me Deron Durflinger to the list as well. So there are six guys. As a female, I can’t help but notice they’re all men and add, that not only do we need more school leader voices, but some females would be great too!

In his post Eric cries out to his five principal buds who are all working hard to do their parts to lead in the digital age, but he asks for their help to build momentum pleading, “Can ya help me out with this one?” We need leaders to step up and into these worlds for the sake of our students. As Eric points out, he’s learned a lot, but there is so much more to learn about educational leadership and facilitating sustainable change. He knows from his participation in online networks that the best way for learning to occur is when it happens with other experienced leaders in the trenches that can share their knowledge, strategies, successes, and failures. Like most, this is how he learns best and he confesses that he needs their help, support, ideas, and advice on all aspects of educational leadership, not educational technology. He knows that when educational leaders move together they can all collaborate to grow, lead more effectively, and move towards substantive reform.

To entice his peers, Sheninger offers five facets of social media that truly assist educational leaders to become more effective and efficient. They are 1) Communication, 2) Branding, 3. Professional Development/Growth, 4) Opportunity 5) Collaboration

You can find out how social media plays a part in each of these in his post Building Momentum.

Thank you to Eric Sheninger and the fabulous five George Couros, Patrick Larkin, Chris Lehmann begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting, Deron Durflinger, Dave Meister for being the pioneering voices of school leaders today.

You have read this article 21st century leaders / chris lehmann / eric sheninger / Leadership / Personal Learning Network / PLN / Science Leadership Academy with the title eric sheninger. You can bookmark this page URL https://machining33.blogspot.com/2010/08/principal-who-used-to-block-now-offers.html. Thanks!