Thursday, May 19, 2011

Listen to a Principal Who Knows Banning is the Easy Way Out

Educators, administrators, and school board members interested in learning how technology, the web and social media can be used to engage both their students and their communities have the opportunity to hear from a public school principal who is doing just that.  On May 19th New Milford High School Principal Eric Sheninger will explain how to move from banning to embracing technology and social media.  

Sheninger understands that while banning students from technology and social media is certainly easier, his job is not to do what is most convenient, but rather what is right for our students.  As a result, Sheninger publicly embraces the use of social media for himself and for his students.  


Earlier this year when a New Jersey principal advised all parents and students to get off Facebook in the media, Sheninger joined me in fighting back.  His rebuttals were featured in various shows and in his writing like this piece here. I wrote pieces like this one here and created the video rebuttal to that principal which you can watch below.  It is followed by Sheninger's radio interviews.

Sheninger, considered to be one of the most innovative principals in the country, will be joined by several of his teachers, students, board trustees and members of his community to discuss how New Milford High School uses technology as a student, parent, and community engagement tool. Don't miss this opportunity to hear him and his community share their ideas.


Update: Eric did a fabulous job.  You can see what he did at

2 comments:

  1. Below is a link to a letter to parents parody I wrote for use in an end the cell phone ban presentation I created. The audience was district leadership and school principals.

    https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1rESMPtQsNqE03_-9s7HRZC1OEiEWPW8DFXdMdNY_Eo8

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  2. As educators, we teach children. We teach them math and science, but most importantly, we teach them about life. Technology and social media tools are part of life in the 21st Century. They are not just tools in the classroom, they are embedded into everyday life and our jobs. They help us to communicate better, be more connected, and be more efficient in our work. We must teach students what it means to be responsible users of technology and model that behavior. Technology motivates students, there is no doubt about that. We need to use it as an educational tool to enhance a students' learning. Students use these tools on a daily basis - they are a way of life for them. Let's make sure we are living in the digital age and using technology appropriately and purposefully rather than banning it altogether.

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