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However, after reflecting on the session and speaking with some of the attendees, it is apparent that the embracement of social media in schools and by educators will continue to be an uphill battle.  For those educators and schools that are either resistant to or unsure about using social media I pose these questions to you:

This isn't directly related to this week but I thought it would be interesting to post. This was the headlining article on CNN today. The Penn State report is obviously big news because of how big of a deal the scandal at Penn State was. The fact that CNN decided that the aspect of this report that was most important was the reaction on social media is what I find interesting. It really says something about the importance of social media in our culture. I think anyone expecting to be a leader within a school district is going to have to pay attention to and put resources into social media. I wonder if we'll see positions being created in school districts just to deal with social media in the future.

This is an article for the times. Good information to be shared with colleagues.

Even though this isn't about education, this Times Dispatch article addresses social media issues that school leaders will face when hiring.

We have been discussing this a lot in school. As leaders we are held to a high standard. Perhaps everyone should act accordingly. Before we print or say something we should consider whether we would want our own children to read or hear it. Accountability is a hard lesson for some.

Online social networking is spawning a new type of professional development that brings educators together to share face-to-face lessons, but in a more freewheeling-and, some argue, more targeted-way than traditional conferences intended to boost teaching skills.

This learning journey is just beginning for me.  I encourage you to tap into the resources at your fingertips.  Use social media to become a connected learner.  Thank you to ALL those who have helped me on my learning journey.

It is incredible how social media can connect otherwise unconnectable professionals. I have experienced numerous school decisions that parents did not support and which could have benefitted from examples carried out in other schools.

There are a few interesting slides on here about how the internet can be used in education

An interesting, holistic (philosophical if you may...) study of internet as part of modern society, whether accepted or resisted to... It shows as well how people have adapted to it, so that total privacy won't be lost, and, of course,the fear of social media...

Here is a literature review on one to one computing.

Another evolution of classroom technology infographic. I like the categories it uses: writing, A/V, digital & social media.

This graphic has some fascinating statistics about the explosion of technology in the classroom after the internet became popular.

There are so many real educators out there who want to get better at what they do so that they can always do what is best for kids. By opening up your own learning to the world, you will be surprised not only how your knowledge elevates, but how your passion for teaching and learning will benefit as well.

Have you ever said or thought this: "We didn't have [x] when I was a kid and I turned out okay"? You might be interested on an article shared by George Couros in Twitter. The author says if this argument is valid, so these others are too: "Buses? We walked to school barefoot, in the snow, uphill both ways!", "Electricity? Pshaw! Do you know how dangerous those wires are? When we were kids we had oil lamps and candles and everything was fine.", "Agriculture? Hah! It's the ruin of society! Kids are just sitting around getting soft while they watch the crops grow. When I was a child we actually had to run after our food. We were tough, not like these kids today.", etc… Check it out!

The knee-jerk reactions that teachers (& yes, me too!) have against new technology applications are perfectly understandable. Change is not always easy, but attitudes will depend on how things are introduced and explored. I successfully avoided Facebook for a year until a friend sat me down and went through it (it was also the only way to communicate with her, so I had to!) Some of the negativity from teachers must be connected to how technologies are introduced to them. Being told "you are doing this, this and this now" without any explanation or support is bound to develop negativity.

All @WestVanSchools launching new websites today with Principal blogs and Twitter feeds built in - like this one

This is just a cool ensemble of pictures of what it would be now considered "old technology"... It reminds me so much of my ESL students doing their state test last year... There was a picture of a typing machine in the test and to my surprise none of them knew what it was... most of them wrote "a kind of very old computer" he he... Well, maybe it is!!

It amazes me that "old technology" includes items from just 5 years ago!

I know!!! Tech is advancing so fast, it makes us feel even older than we are!! :P

Very detailed but concise timeline of every event related to technology in several fields... I loved they mention of one of my fav movies: "1999: The release of the movie "The Matrix" once again steps up the computer generated graphics technology field." Always thought movies have played an important role in the advance of technology... Movies make people dream about things that are not inspired by our daily lives...

I am amazed at how much was developed in such a short space of time. I am also impressed that Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first "Head of State" to write an email message..... and whatever happened to Netscape!!!

OK, this one has a little bit of everything and very concise and clear, but what I loved the most was the quotes... An example: "Computers in the future may weigh no more than one and a half tons." -Popular Mechanics, Forecasting the Relentless March of Science, 1949.

Now, this is another timeline but it focuses in the last decades on how tech has been used in education. It ends in 2007, and the next heading is "2008 and beyond..." How cool is that we can already write the history under that heading!!

Well, this article couldn't be more interesting... It dates back to 1997, it is in the Journal of Technology Education by Virginia Tech. It seems that since 1990 the number of students graduating with technology education teaching degrees had plummeted notoriously and the doomsday for the tech teacher preparation programs would occur by 2005... I guess it didn't happen!

Well, Norma, I do think this is interesting and I think it might have happened. The article is specifically about "technology teachers," and there aren't that many of those anymore. Now, technology is not as much a standalone subject as it is integrated into the whole learning process. That's good, IMHO. But, at the same time, I think we've gotten away from offering computer science courses. That's bad, IMHO.

Hmmmm... That's true! I've been trying to remember how things were in Colombia a couple of years ago, and it seems the same phenomenon has happened. I remember how in college I took some technology courses for specific kinds of programs... then, they started disappearing and if I wanted a refresher I had to teach myself or find a friend. In my schools here I can see how the technology classes are used as a means to do something else through technology rather than studying technology by itself... It stopped being the object of study and became a means to achieve objectives in other areas. A clear sample of that: The technology teachers at my two schools started going to two or three schools, they are more kind of facilitators than instructors... I guess that's pretty bad for the kind of student who needs to learn formally, step by step, in a classroom setting.... For our students... well, my younger students know way more than me! And they didn't learn it form anybody! Just trial and error!

A huge amount of information about the use of instructional film, radio and television, but it does show general trends though each decade.

I love how the timeline broadens your view of what technology is... Because of the era we were born in, we've narrowed down technology to the most modern expressions of it... which makes it more difficult to connect the dots as to how tech evolved...