While many technological innovations have undoubtedly transformed the position in a relatively short period of time, perhaps there is none greater than the advent of the Smartphone. In my case the iPhone. Some of these are for good and some not so good.
Email:
I am still blown away by the number of school leaders who shut their desktop computer off on a Friday afternoon and come back to over a hundred emails when they return on Monday morning. By accessing emails in this fashion, I can give immediate attention to an issue, concern, or complaint instead of letting it sit. The negatives can be that you never leave work.
Twitter: I love it. Connecting, collaborating and great PD. Those who use it know. Those that ignore it are missing out.
Facebook: The iPhone allows users to fully maintain and update a school’s Facebook page while tracking usage and views through a user friendly “Facebook Pages Manager” app. I regularly use the camera feature to post pictures of various school events and also provide community members with “live” Facebook updates at different sporting events.
Google Drive: This powerful “cloud-based” platform has single-handedly changed the way that we think about word processing and collaboration. I regularly access the Google Drive app on my phone to take notes during classroom observations, to “collaborate” with colleagues throughout the day. Office 365 follows closely behind.
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