mguhlin

A Topical Ointment – Tech and Leadership

A colleague recently asked me, “What are some of the traditional ways administrators work that could be changed by strategically applying technology?” The question made me think of technology as a topical ointment you can apply on leaders who are bit old and crusty, suffering desiccated souls who still think they can be successful without a deep plunge into the realm of technology.

Administrators, or campus leaders if they are willing to climb the magical staircase, have to take a hard look at 5 practices they can improve with technology. I’m not sure my list below does the job, but it’s a first draft.

Since it’s a first draft, how would you do a better job than what I suggest here? Again, I don’t mean to suggest that this is THE way to do it. I welcome critical feedback and suggestions for improvement.

Note: All suggested “new” approaches work with Android, iOS, and traditional technology (e.g. computers, laptops).

Problem Topical Ointment Transforming Technology Deep Plunge with New Approach
Need to get feedback on a set of ideas discussed in a meeting or a document. Email a Word or Excel document to many people, ask them to make changes, and then you combine those into one document. GoogleDrive Create a GoogleDoc, share it with collaborators and invite them to modify it.
Need to collect the same information from many people. Send an email with a list of questions and ask them to send it back to you. GoogleForm Create a GoogleForm, then send the link out to everyone. Your GoogleForm has standard choices so that there isn’t any confusion about the answers, even though they differ from respondent to respondent.
Connect with parents via a coffee. Invite parents for a coffee, sending out announcements via Twitter and other social media. Edmodo
Twitter		 Invite parents for a face to face session, use social media before, during and after to heighten engagement and transparent interactions. Use Edmodo to have a conversation, publishing key contributions to your RSS feed.
Facilitate a book study for staff, students. Have face to face meetings with target audience, reading paper books. GoogleDocs
Edmodo		 Post an outline of book study topics, then after an initial F2F “get to know you session” have participants share their insights in an Edmodo Group.
Let people know about an event. Print a flyer and put it everywhere. GoogleDraw
Edmodo		 Design your flyer using GoogleDraw, then put it online in the faculty Edmodo group or, if parents, share via social media outlet.


Apps to Install

Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

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