Director's Blog: Are you a thrasher?

Are you a thrasher?

Once a fashion model and prankster on the television show Punked, Ashton Kutcher is leading the social media wave called "thrash". The definition of "thrash" is the wake of a moving target, and I can’t help but think of the term’s applications for educators after the time I’ve just spent with many of the best in class "thrashers" in our business in Austin, Texas.

I am also compelled to compare these leaders and learners with how we work and “thrash" in North Carolina. Many leaders in our state talk about creating a legacy, but thrash is a perpetual legacy created on the waves of Google, Face book, Twitter, Four Square, Linkedin and various other electronic communications channels. It does not wait for the right conference to network, the right demonstration to come to a district and/or school, or for a final center or building to be built in your honor. Rather, it assumes that the “thrasher" learns, works, and leaves many legacy tentacles across the expanse of the net.

The wrong conversation is whether or not to block social media at the workplace and/or school site. The right conversation is how to capitalize on the "thrash" that these amazing tools create for educators. Teachers can follow a hash tag on Algebra I best practices throughout the state. Superintendents and principals can follow gurus who plug them into solutions for their schools and districts on Face book. Yet, most impressive about this past week, CTOs and CIOs can follow the delicate balance between innovation and security and come up with some amazing learning management, social media, data warehouse, and learning strategies that open safe, secure, and innovative doors for students.

Some of the folks I worked with this past week included Oscar Becerra, Education Technologies Minister for Peru’s Education system where they have one of the largest one to one laptop deployments in the world. Bijaya Devkota, CIO in Charles County Maryland, a true innovator in security and innovation solutions for students. Julie Teague, Executive Director of Technology for Minnetonka Schools in Minnesota doing great work around learning management applications for all learners in her district. Dr. Ken Eastwood, Superintendent of Middleton, New York, a trailblazer in smart technologies for leaders, teachers, and students. Ed Freeman, CTO/CIO, of Denver Public Schools doing amazing stuff around technology and teacher incentives training and tracking. Rich Mincer, former State CIO of Idaho, a real player in the technology infrastructure and student achievement levels in charter schools in DC. All of these folks understand thrash and regularly contribute to the flow of information on the net. They brand learning. They take time to learn, unlearn, and relearn (Toffler) best in class solutions on the net. They share, collaborate, and contribute well beyond the expertise of the school house, community, and/or district.

So, are we doing this in North Carolina? Who are the thrashers among us? Who do you follow and/or network with "daily" and "on demand". Do you read the local paper first and/or twitter? What would a thrasher do to make his/her students globally competitive? How can you understand the grand challenges of our time around STEM, Energy, Terrorism, or Finance if all of your "thrash" is internal and/or local.

Looking for where to start? Plug into the thrashers who are creating the wake for

you. At NCVPS we have many thrashers out there researching, developing, and innovating solutions for schools, districts, and students. For some of the best in class "thrash" this week, here’s a summary of what I saw in Austin that may be helpful for your districts and/or schools:

1. http://turnitin.com/static/index.html - A web based plagiarism and one stop shop for writing solutions.

2. http://www.schoology.com/ Face book for learning managements systems. Very student friendly and cost effective.

3. http://www.nettrekker.com/us/overview – the leading educational search tool for k-12 students and educators.

4. http://www.edmin.com/ – a leader in learning and accountability solutions.

5. http://www.kdsi.org/ – strategic online professional development services.

6. http://www.lightspeed-tek.com/ – a leading service provider of classroom audio technology.

7. http://www.masterteacher.com/ – an online service for professional growth and development of teachers.

8. http://www.psiwaresolutions.com/ – online tool for monitoring students with behavioral problems.

9. http://www.calypsocontrol.com/ – dedicated to improving k-12 learning outcomes with ease of use of media devices.

10. www.d2sc.com/ – on demand decision tool from everything from assessment to data warehouse needs.

11. http://www.adaptivecurriculum.com/ – Turkish company with on demand learning objects solutions for educators.

12. http://www.itslearning.co.uk/ – among the three largest LMS/CMS systems in Europe.

Catch our thrash on twitter, Face book, www.ncvps.com, www.nclearnandearn.gov, and/or www.thevlc.org, and have a great week tapping the virtual advantage!

Bryan