Relevant Leadership for Today's Schools

Over the past three years I have, in my opinion, dramatically grown as a school leader.  The catalyst for a significant portion of this growth was my embracement of social media as a powerful leadership tool.  For me social media opened the door to a variety of pathways to enhance my ability to lead a comprehensive high school is a way that was more relevant, meaningful, and impactful.  This is what I and others now refer to as Leadership 2.0.  It is because of this evolved style of leadership that we have seen the significant change and transformation at my school on a variety of levels.  

Image credit: http://nusum.wordpress.com/2010/10/04/letting-go-for-high-performance-leadership/

I am excited to announce two specific resources available to any school leader to learn more about Leadership 2.0 for free.  The first is the Leadership 2.0 community at edWeb.net hosted by Joe Mazza and myself.  Leadership 2.0 is a professional learning community that will help school principals use Web 2.0 tools be an innovative leader, help teachers grow professionally, improve student learning, and improve communications with all stakeholders.  In a series of free webinars, live chats, and online discussions, you'll learn how free social media tools can help you:

• Expand your personal network with your principal peers.
• Help teachers engage in free online professional development.
• Motivate students by integrating technology into learning.
• Connect with parents and the community.
• Get practical how-to advice on how to get started and which tools to use.
• Learn how to support the responsible use of social media in school.

As a member of the community, you'll be invited to a free webinar and live chat each month. You'll have access to all of the recorded webinars, presentations, and resources, providing you with an online learning center you can return to at any time. The Leadership 2.0 community at edWeb.net is a place where you can post questions, start discussions, and get feedback from other principals on the issues and challenges you face in adopting these 21st century technology tools.  Our first webinar on the Fundamentals of Leadership 2.0 will take place on Tuesday October 9 at 5:00 PM EST.  You can register for this free webinar HERE.

Another opportunity for school leaders and other educators to learn more about Leadership 2.0 is through a free course created by George Couros.  Here is how George describes this course:

As administrators, learning is continuously evolving and we must be learning leaders within our organization.  But what does leadership look like in schools today?  If we are leading schools the same way that we were 20, 15, or even 10 years ago, will administrators still be relevant.

Using the Alberta Education framework for Principals, we are looking at developing leadership in schools that builds upon the fundamentals of good administration but in a continuously changing environment.  Although we will be using the Alberta Education framework, these qualities are beneficial to leaders no matter what area of the world they are in. Because of this, we have asked school administrators from all over North America to share their insights on each strand and how they effectively meet this in the context of today’s learner.

Don't miss out on these wonderful opportunities to delve more deeply into the concept of Leadership 2.0. Be sure to also follow the Leadership 2.0 hash tag on Twitter (#lead20).