So, what’s new in SD?

This is in response to the following: http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2007/06/calling-all-blo.html 

I am intrigued with what I’m reading about getting our leaders in education to take the bull by the proverbial horns and lead the way.  It isn’t so easy and I liked Scott McLeod’s reference to the way many leaders probably feel about technology in their lives(http://scottmcleod.typepad.com/dangerouslyirrelevant/2006/11/riding_llamas_i.html ) by referring to the llamas in Peru….interesting analogy.

Not being in a leadership position in my school, I wonder what effect I can have on the leadership concerning our use of technology for our students.   Is it simply a matter of teachers taking it upon themselves and waiting for the leaders to back them up?  Or is there something more the leaders can do to be proactive, rather than reactive? 

On the other hand, is there more that parents can do to be proactive in asking for things for their students in the school setting?  How in tune are they, when there’s still a huge minority without up-to-date computers in the home and maybe not even Internet access?  How much do they know about the future of their own children?  How to find out and then see that their children get what they need to make their futures secure?

It’s not an easy thing, and living in a rural small town, I wonder if we are behind in many ways with seeing technology’s effects on our community’s future and the future of our children.  Either way, this is going to affect education and the educators who are entrusted with knowing what to do for the children they teach.  We owe it to ourselves, parents and educators and leaders, to learn as much as possible about what is coming and figure out what to do about it at the ground level — elementary school, middle school and into the high school.

Other comments about leadership: http://scottmcleod.typepad.com/dangerouslyirrelevant/2006/08/coming_out_swin.html  Are we as educators in danger of becoming irrelevant in today’s world by not preparing our students for the world they will step into?

http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/2006/03/19/reactions-to-podcast-40-redefining-telling-the-new-story/  This is worth the long read and gets meatier as it goes on.  “If technology is the tool, what is it’s function?”  How would you answer this one?

http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/2006/02/16/happy-birthday-jude/  Don’t be put off by the title here, this is actually about educators and what they know and do for their students.  Scary….