Chapter 5 RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION and recommendations Recommendations Principals and teachers need more experience with

educationfocused

social networking technologies. Our primary recommendation based on the research findings is that both principals and teachers need greater awareness and understanding of the available social networking/collaborative options, greater experience using those tools, and professional development on how to apply them in a wide variety of educational contexts: For For collaborating with building a wider network of colleagues their

professional learning

communities in

schools For incorporating collaborative technologies into the curriculum

The dominance of Facebook in our culture has been both a blessing and a curse for education. When using the term social networking, Facebook is the first site that comes to many educators minds. The recent, national publicity about Facebook and how the company pushes the envelope on sharing

personal information with friends has only heightened existing concerns about social networking and privacy issues. In some cases, fears about social networking have led to the blocking of many of these sites in schools. Fortunately, there are a growing number of social networks designed especially for educators. Some of those sites include the ASCD Community, Classroom 2.0, edWeb.net, Google for Educators, Learn Central, Microsoft Teachers Network, Ning in Education, TeachAde, We Are Teachers, and We the Teachers, among others. In addition, many associations and states are building their own networks to help educators connect. We recommend that principals, in particular, become more aware of these sites and begin to use them for their own professional networking and to build professional learning communities in their School Principals and Social Networking in Education | 22 schools. Professional organizations for principals and district staff development departments should consider taking the lead in offering professional development to help build awareness

of appropriate, education-focused networking websites. After principals have increased their own awareness about education-focused networking websites, they should lead efforts in their schools to create appropriate professional development for teachers. Educators need models for promising practices using social/

collaborative networking in education. There is a significant need to develop and disseminate promising practices demonstrating how teachers can effectively and efficiently integrate social/collaborative networking into the curriculum. Teachers need a variety of models, including descriptions of how others have done this, corresponding lesson plans, and the presentation of results of such efforts. Another area where promising practices are needed is in the application of social/collaborative technologies to educator professional development. These technologies are particularly well-suited to support professional learning communities, a growing phenomenon that contributes to school success. Social/ collaborative technologies can support professional learning

communities both within schools and districts and across district boundaries. Principals can play a critical leadership role in identifying, developing, and disseminating promising practices in the use of social/collaborative technologies to enhance both classroom instruction and teacher professional development and teachers are looking to principals for this leadership. There is also an opportunity for a variety of organizationsincluding education professional associations, teachers unions, education-focused nonprofit organizations, and education companiesto develop solutions, provide professional

development, and document successful models for educators. In particular,

the National Association for Elementary School Principals and the National Association for Secondary School Principals have an opportunity to play a significant role. School Principals and Social Networking in Education | 23 Schools need more effective policies on the use of

social/ collaborative technologies. Our research identified a critical need for better policies on the use of websites that have social/collaborative features. Some teachers and librarians simply want such sites to be unblocked. However, many principals who are already using this technology seek to strike the right balance between access and opportunity on the one hand, and safe, secure, and appropriate education-focused use on the other hand. The research did not reveal the existence of any constructive policies and practices. At best, policies were described as a work in progress,

and many were

described as too restrictive. We recommend that principals collaborate with their district administration to establish policies and procedures that address the following: Alignment of social/collaborative networking skills and abilities use to to curriculum

Assessment of social/collaborative

related

networking use Safety technology and use and student uses of social/collaborative security in connection to social/collaborative

Appropriate staff technologies,

including consequences for misuse Teacher professional development in appropriate uses of social/

collaborative technologies

Ideally, the process for developing district- and school-wide policies and procedures should involve students and teachers, to help ensure that policies and procedures take advantage of expertise at the local school level, are feasible, and achieve buy-in at the classroom level.