This is the first in a series of blog posts about harnessing the internal talent of a school district. When a school system decides that they really want to affect change and systemic improvement, it’s important to tap into the most valuable resource they have: each other.
If we are going to translate high standards into effective instruction and outstanding student performance across all grade levels in a district, wouldn’t it be great to see an intrinsic motivation to do so? What’s going to be more valuable to a teacher—an outside consultant with no frame of reference for their district or their peers that they work with daily? (I’m not saying ditch outside consultation, as that is my bread and butter—but perhaps districts could create turnkey trainers, or create models of PD in their districts that represent sustainability and ongoing support beyond the initial workshop.)
I realize I may be shooting myself in the foot a bit with this, but sustainability and empowerment are key to building second order changes, or changes that are going have a lasting effect. While I enjoy going into a district and working with teachers, there is always a concern about sustainability. Especially when dealing with instructional technology. I like my job, and my frame for doing what I do has always been doing what’s best for my students. In my current capacity, “students” is more far reaching than ever before. Doing what is best is not about facts, or show and tell, or drive by “wow” sessions. It’s about shifting the thinking of those you are teaching. That means I’m talking about intentional transformations from what once was to what will be with an eye that is more deeply fixed in process than product, and ultimately how those transformations are going to impact student performance.
Over the course of the next few blog posts, I’ll be writing about the importance of what Janet Hale calls “servant leaders.” I’ll be discussing the collegiality that is necessary to create a vibrant and sustainable Professional Learning Network at both the school level and then expanding globally with Digital Learning Networks. Additionally, I’ll be discussing these transformative events in terms of Angela Maier’s Habitudes, as attitude is everything when shifting paradigms. I’ll also be sharing the seven steps to building capacity in a school district and making the most of a district’s varied (and surprising) talents!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
DELICIOUS Field Trips!
When you use the tagging features of the major bookmarking sites, you can easily create a list of relevant links for anyone to surf. For instance, if you are wanting to learn about VOLCANOES, you could find and add sites to your bookmarks that deal with volcanoes, but adding an additional tag of "classvolcanoes" or "period1volcanoes." This way, you can click on the unique tag and have one page with a unique web address that you can use in classes, to give your students to explore for homework, or just as an online resource for their research.
Many teachers in the past have spent hours creating "Virtual Field Trips" which not only involve finding relevant links, but also the creation of a web page and directions for using the different sites. With Social Bookmarking, you can save notes along with your tags and label websites with specific information that your students can see, whether it's a description, a direction, or just your reasoning for choosing a particular website. In this way, you can very easily build a specific web listing of the sites you want to visit without the rigomarole of going through the entire Virtual Field Trip process!
Many teachers in the past have spent hours creating "Virtual Field Trips" which not only involve finding relevant links, but also the creation of a web page and directions for using the different sites. With Social Bookmarking, you can save notes along with your tags and label websites with specific information that your students can see, whether it's a description, a direction, or just your reasoning for choosing a particular website. In this way, you can very easily build a specific web listing of the sites you want to visit without the rigomarole of going through the entire Virtual Field Trip process!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Farrah, Michael, Social Media, and Educational Implications…
By now, you most likely know of the unfortunate and tragic deaths of both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.
What you may not know is the absolute tornado of information that poured into the internet almost moments after each event happened. If you are a regular user of Twitter, you’ll know that the sidebar trending topics both surged with key words like cancer, cardiac arrest, the names of both stars, etc.
While both stories are sad, and I certainly am sympathetic for both families, it’s hard to ignore the amazing things that have happened today and how these connective technologies are having an impact on everyone and the implications for their use in an educational setting.
I found out about Farrah initially from Twitter earlier in the day. I moved from Twitter immediately to CNN.com, and then confirmed the information at MSNBC.com and FoxNews.com. I rarely just take things at face value anymore, and wanted corroboration from a trusted source before I made up my mind about what happened.
Later in the day, I had CNN and MSNBC on in my living room when the first reports came across Twitter and Facebook about Michael Jackson. TMZ.com had reported Michael initially dead, but the other news outlets, including the big 3 mentioned above and Reuters were not confirming.
I sent out my first tweet to see what the response would be:
As information came in over Twitter faster than it seemed to be coming into the major news services, it was hard to deny that confirmation of his death was imminent.
I wondered on Facebook if the information had been confirmed:
I also noted that the trending topic around him had been misspelled.
It wasn’t long before confirmation did indeed come, first from the LA Times, then FoxNews and MSNBC and finally, CNN. Since the news was confirmed, it’s been a nonstop flow of information, from MTV’s video retrospective, to CNN’s review of his life, even to ESPN’s angle of his Superbowl performance.
The reason that I believe that all of this has huge educational significance is the speed with which information was traveling back and forth, and the incredible conversation I was able to have with literally dozens of people over the course of just half an hour. We helped each other find information, shared links, thought critically about what information we were receiving, and drew conclusions as a group.
I think this says a lot about search literacy and critically thinking with web tools. I connected with my network, collaborated around finding answers to an issue, and came to a collegial conclusion as this all unfolded.
Today, Facebook and Twitter became my main sources for not only information, but also for determining if that information was factual, should be amended or discarded, or was worth exploring further before drawing conclusions.
This is the power of the Internet. This is the power of connectivity and Web 2.0. Isn’t this how we want our students to use technology?
An Amendment:
After I posted this yesterday, a few people on Twitter and Facebook, including our friend Bill, pointed out that there was a mountain of misinformation also being reported in social media and in the regular news outlets.
This is what search literacy is all about. We must learn and teach to filter out the most probable information by confirming sources and connecting the pieces until we can arrive at a plausible conclusion. Tweets and Facebook updates we're chock full of people asking for confirmation, digging for additional information, and unfortunately also dessiminated wrong information, such as the death of Jeff Goldblum. ( Link to Mashable's Post on this incident. )
Bill pointed out that depending on who is in your network, the story you got could have been vastly different from what others might see. I agree with that, but also think it's an opportunity, in the light of this morning and a continuing feed of information from traditional and modern sources of information, to examine how we receive what we read and determine how we are going to use that information.
This is a huge teachable moment.
HUGE.
_
What you may not know is the absolute tornado of information that poured into the internet almost moments after each event happened. If you are a regular user of Twitter, you’ll know that the sidebar trending topics both surged with key words like cancer, cardiac arrest, the names of both stars, etc.
While both stories are sad, and I certainly am sympathetic for both families, it’s hard to ignore the amazing things that have happened today and how these connective technologies are having an impact on everyone and the implications for their use in an educational setting.
I found out about Farrah initially from Twitter earlier in the day. I moved from Twitter immediately to CNN.com, and then confirmed the information at MSNBC.com and FoxNews.com. I rarely just take things at face value anymore, and wanted corroboration from a trusted source before I made up my mind about what happened.
Later in the day, I had CNN and MSNBC on in my living room when the first reports came across Twitter and Facebook about Michael Jackson. TMZ.com had reported Michael initially dead, but the other news outlets, including the big 3 mentioned above and Reuters were not confirming.
I sent out my first tweet to see what the response would be:
As information came in over Twitter faster than it seemed to be coming into the major news services, it was hard to deny that confirmation of his death was imminent.
I wondered on Facebook if the information had been confirmed:
I also noted that the trending topic around him had been misspelled.
It wasn’t long before confirmation did indeed come, first from the LA Times, then FoxNews and MSNBC and finally, CNN. Since the news was confirmed, it’s been a nonstop flow of information, from MTV’s video retrospective, to CNN’s review of his life, even to ESPN’s angle of his Superbowl performance.
The reason that I believe that all of this has huge educational significance is the speed with which information was traveling back and forth, and the incredible conversation I was able to have with literally dozens of people over the course of just half an hour. We helped each other find information, shared links, thought critically about what information we were receiving, and drew conclusions as a group.
I think this says a lot about search literacy and critically thinking with web tools. I connected with my network, collaborated around finding answers to an issue, and came to a collegial conclusion as this all unfolded.
Today, Facebook and Twitter became my main sources for not only information, but also for determining if that information was factual, should be amended or discarded, or was worth exploring further before drawing conclusions.
This is the power of the Internet. This is the power of connectivity and Web 2.0. Isn’t this how we want our students to use technology?
An Amendment:
After I posted this yesterday, a few people on Twitter and Facebook, including our friend Bill, pointed out that there was a mountain of misinformation also being reported in social media and in the regular news outlets.
This is what search literacy is all about. We must learn and teach to filter out the most probable information by confirming sources and connecting the pieces until we can arrive at a plausible conclusion. Tweets and Facebook updates we're chock full of people asking for confirmation, digging for additional information, and unfortunately also dessiminated wrong information, such as the death of Jeff Goldblum. ( Link to Mashable's Post on this incident. )
Bill pointed out that depending on who is in your network, the story you got could have been vastly different from what others might see. I agree with that, but also think it's an opportunity, in the light of this morning and a continuing feed of information from traditional and modern sources of information, to examine how we receive what we read and determine how we are going to use that information.
This is a huge teachable moment.
HUGE.
_
New Web Stuff 06/26/2009
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
SHMOOP!
If you haven't yet heard of SHMOOP--Listen up!
Shmoop.com is an awesome resource for teachers, especially for Language Arts and Social Studies. It is chock full of information and reference materials to make it useful for both the casual user and the deep thinker. Earlier today, I had the good fortune of sharing ways that I'm using Shmoop with teachers with a member of the Shmoop team and wanted to post part of my conversation here.
P.S. Shmoop also has a section specifically for teachers! CLICK HERE!
Shmoop.com is an awesome resource for teachers, especially for Language Arts and Social Studies. It is chock full of information and reference materials to make it useful for both the casual user and the deep thinker. Earlier today, I had the good fortune of sharing ways that I'm using Shmoop with teachers with a member of the Shmoop team and wanted to post part of my conversation here.
The following represents several of the ways that I've approached using Shmoop with teachers for Professional Development purposes to help enhance their teaching and improve student learning:
- I ask them to look at all of the ancillary items (tabs across the top) to help them familiarize themselves with books that students may be reading but they themselves have not read. This provides a common ground for discussions in the classroom, and emphasizes the ease with which teachers can promote choice selections to their students, which in turns breeds engagement and motivation to read.
- If teachers are reading a "class" novel, I ask them to incorporate all that Shmoop might have surrounding that novel, and to consider it against similar sites such as Sparknotes or other places (including textual) that they could get critical analysis type materials. Rather than a blanket ban on such materials, I encourage teachers to bring them to the forefront and make them the cornerstone of discussion or critical analysis, trying to figure out common threads among the analyses and think critically about the value systems behind the reviews, summaries, etc. (In an effort to understand bias, and to help students form a deeper meaning and comprehension level around the literature/text they are reading.)
- Shmoop also brings up discussion topics already that make class planning easier for teachers, such as the sections "Why Should I Care?" This helps students frame the learning around their own experiences and helps them to make connections to other texts they've read, events happening in the read world, or events that have happened to them that may be related to the reading...
- I usually point out the "Jump Start A Paper" section as well, and show teachers how to redirect students back to the Shmoop resources so that students can write about their reading, but do so with an arsenal of tools to write in a way that leads to deeper comprehension and a deeper love of the written word.
P.S. Shmoop also has a section specifically for teachers! CLICK HERE!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
New Web Stuff 06/10/2009
25 (Free) 3D Modeling Applications You Should Not Miss | Tools
Technically, 3 Dimensions refers to objects that are constructed on three plans (X, Y and Z). The process of creating 3D graphics can be divided into
Photoshop Alternatives: Another 14 Free Image Manipulation Tools | Tools
Image editing encompasses the processes of altering images. We use raster graphics editor as primary tool to edit a digital image in terms of manipulating,
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
You Don't Have to Change The World...
...you just have to make a difference in someone else's.
On the way to work this morning, I drove past our local Fire Station. Outside the Fire Station is a small fire hydrant sculpture flanked by two Dalmation statues.
Every night, usually, we take a walk around our neighborhood which always takes us past the Fire Station. Every single time, we have to stop so that our 2 year old can "see" the dogs. For some reason, she puts a small rock on each of their heads, gives them a hug and we continue our walk. The next time we go, the rocks are mysteriously gone, and we repeat the process again.
When I drove past the Fire Station this morning, I looked over at the dogs and noticed that the rocks were still there, sitting on top of each dog's head, exactly where our daughter had put them last night. Even though I knew she was safe and sleeping in her bed, I felt a little twinge of missing her, and wanting to see her right at that moment. It felt kind of silly, but it made me think that this tiny little act, this "rock on the head" custom that we participate in, is huge to me. It made a difference to me to know that this little ritual can have such a colossal effect on my mood and psyche. It was proof, right at that moment, that the past can help to shape the future and everything we do, every decision we make, ultimately has an impact. What we think may be only a ripple turns out sometimes to be a tidal wave to someone else.
So philosophy takes over, and I start thinking about how the tiniest of acts can make an enormous difference to others. In particular, how teachers interact with their students, how teachers interact with each other, and how administrators interact with their teachers. It makes me think about how our world is closing in, and that participation in all of these social networking tools may be small acts, but they are changing the world one tweet at a time.
I like that the context of my day can be metaphorical for the world we're living in now, and how so many of these tiny daily interactions make the world of difference to me, the people I work with and teach, and ultimately the kids who benefit from a richer, more multi-layered educational experience.
Our daughter wasn't looking to change the world, but she did change mine this morning. How often do we let these little subtleties of life shape us? How often are our eyes open to notice them? How willing are we to let these little things have an effect?
This is what the participatory culture is all about, having an effect on each other, no matter how small, and letting those tiny changes make the biggest difference.
In just a few hours, it will be time for another walk; it will be another opportunity to enjoy the fresh air, visit the dogs, place a couple of rocks on their heads, and change the world again.
On the way to work this morning, I drove past our local Fire Station. Outside the Fire Station is a small fire hydrant sculpture flanked by two Dalmation statues.
Every night, usually, we take a walk around our neighborhood which always takes us past the Fire Station. Every single time, we have to stop so that our 2 year old can "see" the dogs. For some reason, she puts a small rock on each of their heads, gives them a hug and we continue our walk. The next time we go, the rocks are mysteriously gone, and we repeat the process again.
When I drove past the Fire Station this morning, I looked over at the dogs and noticed that the rocks were still there, sitting on top of each dog's head, exactly where our daughter had put them last night. Even though I knew she was safe and sleeping in her bed, I felt a little twinge of missing her, and wanting to see her right at that moment. It felt kind of silly, but it made me think that this tiny little act, this "rock on the head" custom that we participate in, is huge to me. It made a difference to me to know that this little ritual can have such a colossal effect on my mood and psyche. It was proof, right at that moment, that the past can help to shape the future and everything we do, every decision we make, ultimately has an impact. What we think may be only a ripple turns out sometimes to be a tidal wave to someone else.
So philosophy takes over, and I start thinking about how the tiniest of acts can make an enormous difference to others. In particular, how teachers interact with their students, how teachers interact with each other, and how administrators interact with their teachers. It makes me think about how our world is closing in, and that participation in all of these social networking tools may be small acts, but they are changing the world one tweet at a time.
I like that the context of my day can be metaphorical for the world we're living in now, and how so many of these tiny daily interactions make the world of difference to me, the people I work with and teach, and ultimately the kids who benefit from a richer, more multi-layered educational experience.
Our daughter wasn't looking to change the world, but she did change mine this morning. How often do we let these little subtleties of life shape us? How often are our eyes open to notice them? How willing are we to let these little things have an effect?
This is what the participatory culture is all about, having an effect on each other, no matter how small, and letting those tiny changes make the biggest difference.
In just a few hours, it will be time for another walk; it will be another opportunity to enjoy the fresh air, visit the dogs, place a couple of rocks on their heads, and change the world again.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Virtual Summer Camp for Teachers!
Now that the year is winding down, have you thought about what you'll do this summer? Who am I kidding--you've probably been dreaming about this summer for months!
Let me rephrase the question. After you run out of things you've Tivo'd, after you run out of books you've been saving until the summer, after you get tired of laying around on the couch all day-- you know what, this isn't looking any better. Who gets tired of rest and relaxation?
Let's just say that if you need an opportunity to develop professionally or hone your technology skills, there are several online opportunities available this summer that you can work on when you have time--and best of all--they are FREE!
I'm posting an initial list here, and will be adding to it as I come across more opportunities.
Enjoy your summer, but if you want to learn something new--check out the following:
Virtual Summer Camp
PB Works Summer Camp - Learn how to WIKI!
Learn about Second Life in Education
Learn about Connecting to Other Teachers using Social Networking
Learn 21 things that the 21st Century Educator Should Know!
Learn about Google Earth
100 Free Online Lectures to help you be a better teacher!
Learn about Web 2.0
How to use Animoto
Learn about using Wikispaces
Learn about Podcasting
Larry Ferlazzo's "Best Of" series...
Learn about Social Bookmarking
Check back...more to come!
...
Let me rephrase the question. After you run out of things you've Tivo'd, after you run out of books you've been saving until the summer, after you get tired of laying around on the couch all day-- you know what, this isn't looking any better. Who gets tired of rest and relaxation?
Let's just say that if you need an opportunity to develop professionally or hone your technology skills, there are several online opportunities available this summer that you can work on when you have time--and best of all--they are FREE!
I'm posting an initial list here, and will be adding to it as I come across more opportunities.
Enjoy your summer, but if you want to learn something new--check out the following:
Virtual Summer Camp
PB Works Summer Camp - Learn how to WIKI!
Learn about Second Life in Education
Learn about Connecting to Other Teachers using Social Networking
Learn 21 things that the 21st Century Educator Should Know!
Learn about Google Earth
100 Free Online Lectures to help you be a better teacher!
Learn about Web 2.0
How to use Animoto
Learn about using Wikispaces
Learn about Podcasting
Larry Ferlazzo's "Best Of" series...
Learn about Social Bookmarking
Check back...more to come!
...
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
New Web Stuff 06/04/2009
Wild Wednesday Workshop: Flip Video Cameras | Journeys in Education
We have recently purchased 6 Flip Ultras for use in the college. The website for finding out more info is here. They are very easy to use simple video
Using FLIP Cameras in Your Classroom | Escobedo MS Tech Talk
What is a FLIP camera??? FLIP cameras are small handheld video cameras that can record 30 or 60 minutes worth of video. They connect to your computer with a
Video in the Classroom.com -- Integrating Video Production in the Elementary Classroom and Beyond
Flip Video Camcorder - Digital Camcorder | Flip Video
Looking to shoot video at any given moment with your digital camcorder? Capture those precious moments or amazing events when they happen. Never have to lug around the bulky camcorder again.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
New Web Stuff 05/30/2009
Ode to Poetry – Websites to Generate Student Poetry Online | Making Teachers Nerdy
Make a Print Friendly Version of any WebPage, save Webpages as a PDF
Exemplary digital stories by educators in Stilwell, Oklahoma » Moving at the Speed of Creativity
Blogging About The Web 2.0 Connected Classroom: 100 Tools For The Twittering Teacher
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
New Web Stuff 05/29/2009
Tips, techniques, and strategies for teaching writing in the classroom
100 Helpful Web Tools for Every Kind of Learner | College@Home - Annotated
78 Videos for Technology & Media Literacy…05.22.09 « The Proverbial Lone Wolf Librarian’s Weblog
Who_Gives_a_‘Tweet’_about_Privacy-Parsons(for_web).pdf (application/pdf Object)
Podcast.com is the ultimate podcast collection.
Podcast.com is the ultimate podcast collection. Find podcasts from around the world. Play, collect, download and share any podcast.
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives
A digital library containing Java applets and activities for K-12 mathematics
20 Facebook Tips/Tricks You Might Not Know | How-To
If you surf Facebook on daily basis or occasionally, chances are you’re already familiar with regular stuffs like add/delete friends, update statuses,
SalisburyPost.com - Area - Students getting creative with iPod touch at North Rowan High
Salisbury Post daily newspaper, with local headlines and breaking news, located in Salisbury, NC. Covering Rowan, Cabarrus, and Davie counties.
News Details :: Master Brain-Based Learning in 10 Simple Steps
News Details
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Maintaining a Professional Filter
Maintaining a Professional Filter
(from http://progrowing.wikispaces.com - my wiki about creating Digital Learning Networks.)
Since learning to network effectively reduces some aspects of privacy, it's important to understand what transparency really means. There have been several articles recently about professionals, both in and out of educational settings, being reprimanded for their use of social networking sites at work or related to work. Articles such as THIS ONE from the UK, where a teacher was "tweeting" about their students' and their own lack of enthusiasm, or describing student performance is an obvious no-brainer. If you are blurring the lines between your personal and professional persona on the web, you still need to understand that what you say, what you post, and what you share is viewable by many, many people.
This may be a new uncomfortable space for some, but the benefits one reaps by being more transparent far outweigh the drawbacks. Transparency, for many of those using social networking tools, is about being open, collaborative, accountable, and communicative--all the traits one would expect to see in an effective educator--just extended out onto the world wide web. It doesn't mean that you're posting phone numbers or your address for everyone to see, it just means that you are a contributing member of the global community. You share what you want to share. You become as transparent as you want to be. However, you must remember that what you do online can be linked in multiple ways, that things you post are never really gone, and others will make judgments about you based on what you choose to share. This isn't meant to scare you, it's only meant to make you aware of how you may be perceived based on how others "see" you on the Internet.
These days, we are collectively more transparent than we've ever been. With just a phone number, anyone can find out your address, directions to your house, even a satellite image of your property. Your name can be "Googled" to find out any public or published information about you. (In fact, many employers and colleges actively "Google" prospective employees and students and even look at Facebook or MySpace pages to help them "paint" a picture of that person.) You could be being "evaluated" at any time based on your online persona.
That said, we must remember that, as educators, we need to understand how transparency works and maintain a Professional Filter at all times. That Filter needs to be in place anytime we publish something to the web, whether personal or job-related, knowing that many eyes will see it. But that's also the point of doing all of what we're doing on the web. We want people to see that we are contributing to the collective body of knowledge that the new Internet is providing. We've moved on to what it is being dubbed "Web 3.0," meaning that we're moving away from just the informational and activity laden versions of the Internet, and moving into the connected and collaborative version. At some point, as members of the Global Community, we will have to plug in and participate. You will always have a choice about HOW you participate, WHAT you will choose to share about yourself, WHEN you will engage with others, and WHO you interact with. The WHERE is already taken care of for you. It is a New World--all you have to do is Log On, and reap the benefits of the new "Participatory Culture!"
Some Resources:
Social Networking Do's and Don't's
How Blogging and Social Networking can affect your job.
Mixing Work and Social Networks
The Facebook Classroom: 25 Ways to use Facebook in Education
(from http://progrowing.wikispaces.com - my wiki about creating Digital Learning Networks.)
Since learning to network effectively reduces some aspects of privacy, it's important to understand what transparency really means. There have been several articles recently about professionals, both in and out of educational settings, being reprimanded for their use of social networking sites at work or related to work. Articles such as THIS ONE from the UK, where a teacher was "tweeting" about their students' and their own lack of enthusiasm, or describing student performance is an obvious no-brainer. If you are blurring the lines between your personal and professional persona on the web, you still need to understand that what you say, what you post, and what you share is viewable by many, many people.
This may be a new uncomfortable space for some, but the benefits one reaps by being more transparent far outweigh the drawbacks. Transparency, for many of those using social networking tools, is about being open, collaborative, accountable, and communicative--all the traits one would expect to see in an effective educator--just extended out onto the world wide web. It doesn't mean that you're posting phone numbers or your address for everyone to see, it just means that you are a contributing member of the global community. You share what you want to share. You become as transparent as you want to be. However, you must remember that what you do online can be linked in multiple ways, that things you post are never really gone, and others will make judgments about you based on what you choose to share. This isn't meant to scare you, it's only meant to make you aware of how you may be perceived based on how others "see" you on the Internet.
These days, we are collectively more transparent than we've ever been. With just a phone number, anyone can find out your address, directions to your house, even a satellite image of your property. Your name can be "Googled" to find out any public or published information about you. (In fact, many employers and colleges actively "Google" prospective employees and students and even look at Facebook or MySpace pages to help them "paint" a picture of that person.) You could be being "evaluated" at any time based on your online persona.
That said, we must remember that, as educators, we need to understand how transparency works and maintain a Professional Filter at all times. That Filter needs to be in place anytime we publish something to the web, whether personal or job-related, knowing that many eyes will see it. But that's also the point of doing all of what we're doing on the web. We want people to see that we are contributing to the collective body of knowledge that the new Internet is providing. We've moved on to what it is being dubbed "Web 3.0," meaning that we're moving away from just the informational and activity laden versions of the Internet, and moving into the connected and collaborative version. At some point, as members of the Global Community, we will have to plug in and participate. You will always have a choice about HOW you participate, WHAT you will choose to share about yourself, WHEN you will engage with others, and WHO you interact with. The WHERE is already taken care of for you. It is a New World--all you have to do is Log On, and reap the benefits of the new "Participatory Culture!"
Some Resources:
Social Networking Do's and Don't's
How Blogging and Social Networking can affect your job.
Mixing Work and Social Networks
The Facebook Classroom: 25 Ways to use Facebook in Education
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