February 2012
2 posts
Latest research paper: Principles of Human...
Well, another research paper has been completed, and this one is around human development. Please feel free to read it here.
Abstract: Breadth
In the Breadth component of this KAM, the goal was to explore the original theories around human development and then compare and contrast them in the more contemporary literature. Works by more foundational theorists, such as Maslow and Piaget, are...
Many different tools provide a resource for posting to multiple social networking sites at once, and today, I have been on a bit of a hunt for some ideas that that would work for the Georgia Educational technology conference. I have been overwhelmed by the sheer number of these tools. Can anyone help me shorten the list to ones that they use?
January 2012
1 post
“As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do...”
– Nelson Mandela
December 2011
1 post
And I didn't even have to pay them!
One thing to know about me is that I am often surprised that people like my work. Call it insecurity if you must, but such feelings drive me to continually do my best, especially in writing tasks.
Recently, I noticed a few book reviews about Smarter Clicking: School Technology Policies that Work! that had been posted on various fora, and thought that you might like to hear some responses...
November 2011
2 posts
Knowledge Area Module on Social Change
I am attaching a link to my most recent paper on Social Change, especially in the context of how social change and technology interact. Abstracts are provided if you want to know more, but here is the link to the document itself: Christopher Wells’ KAM 1 on Social Change.
Abstract: Breadth In the Breadth section, three themes are discussed that reflect the original theorists of sociology,...
Recent Presentations at GaETC
I just presented twice at the Georgia Educational Technology Conference, and received great feedback. Feel free to look through the presentations, but realize that I am not a presenter who loads my slides with words. If you want to know more about the topics or are interested in the presentations, please let me know!
Presentation 1: Does Social Media Mean Virtual Fear?
Does Social Media Mean...
October 2011
2 posts
Reflections on Residency 3
So, it’s been two weeks since my residency, and the things that I learned had more to do with the people that I met than the content that I learned. My specific program is based on mentor guidance through six papers, and I am thankful to have a great mentor and enjoy the writing process. Most other programs are class-based, which means that there is little opportunity to get to know...
UGA Sigma Alpha Presentation
I was invited to speak at a Sigma Alpha professional development session at the University of Georgia. I am posting these two links to support those who did not have the opportunity to attend.
Presentation: Click Here
Handout: Click Here
Please contact cwells@schooltechpolicies.com if you have questions regarding this material.
September 2011
1 post
Residency 3
Well, I am taking a break from writing my current KAM on Social Change to attend the third residency in my residency series. There will only be one more after this one. The event is taking place at the Atlanta Hilton, and I am excited about talking to others in my program that are at the same place as I am. I don’t know the total enrollment, but I always enjoy meeting new, bright people who...
August 2011
1 post
July 2011
1 post
Leadership Development paper now available!
Click here to read my latest research paper on Leadership Development, with a focus on virtual team leadership development.
The Breadth component provides foundations of leadership development as seen through the works of leading leadership development theorists. By exploring foundations of leadership development theories, leading writers in the field of organizational leadership, and emerging...
June 2011
1 post
Presentation for the Gwinnett Student Leadership...
I was honored to present at the GSLT Summit 2011: Lead Within.
Here is a link to the slide show:http://goo.gl/euYWk
Here is a link to the handout: http://goo.gl/oOse3
Please let me know if you would like more information!
May 2011
1 post
Excellent article on online professor burnout... I... →
April 2011
2 posts
Please, bring your own technology...
One of the largest trends in educational leadership right now is the “Bring your own technology / device” (BYOT / BYOD) trend fostered by students who are more comfortable using technology than many teachers. In a recent web collaboration session with our area’s Consortium of School Networking (CoSN), a group of us recommended a summit or event for districts looking to implement...
Check out my latest article for AASA!
See my latest article for the American Association of School Administrators here (http://goo.gl/pwfxd)
Article Title: Parents, students, and social networking: free resources
The AASA Leader’s Edge publication is an excellent resource for administrators at all levels in the K-12 school industry.
March 2011
2 posts
Presentation for school counselors
Last week, I also provided a presentation for school counselors on social networking, cyberbullying, and sexting: http://goo.gl/mnwev
These presentations are usually light on words and heavy on images, so if you want to ask questions or discuss the content, please contact me at cwells@schooltechpolicies.com
Principles of Organizational and Social Systems
From time to time, I get asked for writing samples, and since I just finished a significant research paper on Systems Thinking, entitled “Principles of Organizational and Social Systems,” I thought I would share it here. This paper is one of six demonstrations prior to my dissertation, and are considered Knowledge Area Modules, or KAMs.Yes, I know it’s KAM 3, and my next KAM on...
February 2011
3 posts
Working with parents and teachers on Social...
The following slide show is available to download, and includes previously used information for other slide shows, as well as links that support each of the two content sections.
There are three parts to this presentation:
Introductory information that is general social networking info
Information to distribute to teachers
Information to distribute to parents
Click here to access the...
Presentations: Heavy on Graphics, Light on Words
Two presentations that I recently completed have been put on Slideshare.net. I tweeted these out last week, but thought it would be a good idea to put it out via this medium, too.
These slide shows are not word-heavy, and built off of the same template, so you will see repetition.
Parent presentation on “Students and Online Behaviors”
Student leadership presentation on...
Facebook Privacy
I have recently been speaking with many of my colleagues and parents in our school district on the concepts of social networking privacy. In case you don’t subscribe to my Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/techpolicies), here are some great sites to start considering the management of your Facebook information:
One more step for making Facebook a secure browsing tool - DO IT NOW if you can!...
November 2010
3 posts
Latest article in the T.H.E. Journal: Social...
Check out my latest article on social networking and its use in schools, published by the THE Journal’s Collaboration 2.0 publication. If you’ve been wondering what I do in my “spare” time, here’s a sample of my work:
http://tinyurl.com/24dve5o
Well, as you can tell...
The time I have had to update this blog has been escaping me for some time now. I am planning on putting out another article shortly, but the recent issues around cyberbullying have made that the topic of the day in many news environments.
As far as another book goes, I do have a proposal in to my editor / publisher, but we are taking our time on that due to the demands of other writing projects...
hi there
LOVE the book!!! I already am a big fan. When is the next book coming out? what will it be on?
July 2010
2 posts
Hey, I thought those are confidential documents!
When you visit your lawyer’s office, you expect a high level of client confidentiality. However, in an odd turn of events, client information was discovered in a dumpster, even though the firm had policies and procedures in place to protect against this type of data leak.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/2545870,CST-NWS-mitch29.article#
For any organization managing the private...
Instructional Applications in Three Dimensions,...
This is part four of a four-part series. Please click here to read the first article in this series on “Active vs. Passive”. Please click here to read the second article in this series on “Appropriate vs. Inappropriate”. Click here to read the third article in this series on “Public vs. Private”. Wells is the author of Smarter Clicking: School Technology Policies that Work! from Corwin Press,...
June 2010
4 posts
Instructional Applications in Three Dimensions,...
This is part three of a four-part series - Article 1: “Active vs. Passive” and Article 2: “Appropriate vs. Inappropriate”. This series is a response to the questions I receive as a central office administrator in a large school district. Online instructional and administrative tools are constantly being introduced into the K-12 marketplace, and the guidance in this article is to help schools and...
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Instructional Applications in Three Dimensions,...
This is part two of a four-part series. Please click here to read the first article, focusing on “Active vs. Passive” in this series. [Production: Insert link on the entire second sentence.] Wells is the author of Smarter Clicking: School Technology Policies that Work! from Corwin Press, which was the American Association School Administrators’ April 2010 Book Club selection. As noted in the...
Instructional Applications in Three Dimensions,...
This is part one of a four-part series.
One of the challenges facing me as a district administrator is how to provide guidance to schools when choosing online instructional and support resources. Other school and district leaders often struggle with the same concepts. There are so many choices of instructional tools, social networks, and productivity applications, and very aggressive salespeople...
April 2010
11 posts
Technology Innovation During Difficult Financial...
Note: This article is available in a slightly different format in AASA’s Leader’s Edge newsletter. -christopher
In most states, school budgets are receiving unexpected – and intense – scrutiny. There are so many competing demands for resources, and our economic environment is still languishing. Unfortunately, due to the nature of school district budget cycles and funding resources, the...
Tough Budgets Mean Closer Scrutiny: How to Prevent...
Note: This article is available in a slightly different format in AASA’s Leader’s Edge newsletter. -christopher
As a school administrator, you are already aware of many of the budget-related impacts on everything from textbook purchases to cleaning supplies. On one hand, you need to trim the budget, but on the other hand, the demands of the schools are increasing as staff members try to do more...
“”
– Available NOW! Smarter Clicking: School Technology Policies that Work!” by Christopher Wells, published by Corwin Press.
The iPod Touch - boon or bane?
After reading a couple of articles in *Education Week*, I realized that this fight to adopt new technology has taken on a new light. Here are the articles of reference: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/03/18/26ipods.h29.html
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/03/18/26overview.h29.html?tkn=UQUFRiXlI0hFyaPvLfAXi9%2BMvLZIjhaEn0HJ&cmp=clp-edweek Let’s face it - I am not the most...
Reputations, Startups, and "Cybersullying"
After listening to XM Radio recently, I heard an advertisement that piqued my interest. Apparently, there is a company working to “cash in” on the warnings around online presence and the fact that it is very, very difficult to remove internet content once it has been placed in the public domain: http://www.myreputation.com/ I am not sure how I should feel about this type of company,...
“Common Sense” is Not Always Common: Four Tips for...
Note: This article is available in a slightly different format in AASA’s March 2010 newsletter. -christopher Several weeks ago, a story surfaced with some distressing news. Lower Merion School District, PA, was allegedly viewing students at their homes through school-issued laptops enabled with cameras. It all began innocently enough, with remote “monitoring” software installed on...
Building Acceptance for Technology Policies
Link to this article on American Association of School Administrators (AASA) site.
Although educational technology is radically redefining instructional delivery for our students, the school community may not have a clear understanding of the value and necessity for school technology policies. The challenge many districts and schools face is sometimes thinly veiled hostility over the restrictions...
Out of the mouths of babes...
Link of interest:
http://www.issaquahpress.com/2009/09/22/students-develop-web-sites-for-peers/ In the article listed above, a student-developed tool could be exactly what the schools need. Like other social networking tools, this tool provides other students with clean profile pages that can be maintained for everything from job interviews to electronic “business cards”.
I think...
I don't always trust the FBI's advice, but this...
In Thomas Claburn’s article, “Beware Hijacked Social Networking Accounts, FBI Warns,” a number of different money-scam methods currently used by scammers are mentioned. From elegantly insidious to boldly clever, a new trend is to impersonate friends who are in distress overseas.
...
New verb: to Friend
I was in a conference session recently where a superintendent said that he had a) a FaceBook account, and b) encouraged students to connect to him through the account. Ethically, as an educator, is he now required to report any inappropriate actions that he sees when viewing students’ sites? What if a teacher has pictures of a holiday party where educators are shown drinking alcoholic...
Initial Post - Welcome to the School Technology...
This is a rebuild of the original site hosted by another company. That is why the blog dates are somewhat uneven in terms of posting regularity!
For the inaugural entry for this blog, there are some beginning notes to be made:
1. Goal / ScopeThis blog is a focused, interactive discussion on the development, modification, and implementation of school technology policies and procedures in the K-12...