Easy access to technology has changed the way school principals work. So what tech tools can’t principals live without? High on their lists are handhelds, calendaring tools, data “warehouses,” and curriculum software that helps boost student test scores.
It’s early in the school day and Bonita Henderson is on her way to observe a teacher’s lesson. She carries the handheld Palm on which she will record her classroom observations. As she moves from classroom to classroom during the day ahead, her Motorola Razr cell phone will keep her in touch with the office. And the Bluetooth wireless earpiece will leave her hands free at all times. Later in the day, she will download her observation notes from her handheld to her office computer…
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Have you a favorite technology tool? A tool that you couldn’t live without? Perhaps this is a tool that helps you work more efficiently, communicate with parents, improve your school’s curriculum, or boost test scores… Which tech tool have you come to rely on most? Which is your favorite? Click to join the conversation.
Wired as Henderson appears, she longs for the day when her district will provide her with a Blackberry so she can handle email as she moves from classroom to classroom.
Henderson, an assistant principal at the Parham School in Cincinnati, might have been in education for several decades, but one look at her as she wanders the hallways and you know she is a wired school leader. “I may be ‘old school,’” Henderson told EducationWorld, “but I’m flexible.”
Flexibility is a key trait of any successful school leader, but it’s even more important at a time when technology changes are happening faster than a principal can text message her secretary.
TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED THE WAY PRINCIPALS WORK
Easy access to technology has changed the way school principals work. And it is the subject of the latest question we posed to Education World’s ”Principal Files” team of principals. So what tech tools couldn’t our principals live without? Click on the links below to learn what they had to say:
Jack Noles, principal, Shallowater (Texas) Intermediate School
Carol Roebuck, principal, Briarcrest Christian School, Memphis, Tennessee
Teri Stokes, principal, Weatherly Heights Elementary, Huntsville, Alabama
Steve Whewell, principal, Victory Christian School, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Dr. Lee Yeager, principal, S & S Middle School, Sadler, Texas
Charlemeine Zemelko, principal, Chicago (Illinois) International Charter School
To explore other practical articles from the Principal Files series, go to our Principal Files Archive.
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