Friday, October 14, 2011

21st Principal's Top 10 Web Tools for Administrators

If you're looking for some tools to put into your digital, administrative toolbox, or if you're looking for Web tools to teach to an administrator, here's my top ten that I use during the course of my job as a school administrator.
  1. Evernote: I've posted about this one many times, but it often is the first application I open in the morning. As I've said before, I use it to create my Weekly To-Do List and my Daily Administrator Log. I also use it, along with Diigo to capture resources throughout the week to share with teaching staff and others. In addition, I  use it for quick notes during a classroom visit, or meeting notes. Add an iPad app and an Android app, and I can use this one anywhere. This is by far my favorite tool as administrator. Check out Evernote for yourself.  http://www.evernote.com/
  2. Twitter: I been using Twitter the longest. I've had a Twitter account since 2008. One way I use Twitter is through a school Twitter account to make  announcements.  Another way I use Twitter is through my  personal-professional Twitter account to share resources with my larger PLN and to engage in the international conversation about education. It is my premier tool for connecting with other educators. http://twitter.com/
  3. Diigo: This social bookmarking tool serves as one of my two resource collection tools. Evernote is the other. I use Diigo to bookmark resources, annotate interesting Web articles, cache interesting pages, and capture images. It is my primary bookmarking, resource collecting, and resource sharing tool. http://www.diigo.com  
  4. Google Docs: I use Google Docs more often than Microsoft Office or any other Office Suite. I actually use it all: spreadsheets, word processing, forms, and presentations. The biggest advantage is that I can use it for collaborative documents. Things like an observation sign up sheet or my student parking registration system are a breeze on Google Docs. http://www.google.com/
  5. Blogger: I try to post to the blog often, but like many others, it is a challenge to run a school and find  time to write worthwhile blog posts. Still, throughout the day, I often log into to blogger to start drafts of future blogs. It is another way for me to share and connect with other educators worldwide. http://www.google.com/
  6. Dropbox: I access Dropbox every day as well. My administrative documents library follows me everywhere I go because of this app. I save all my documents into this application folder, and with the desktop apps installed on both my home and school computer, they follow me. Add the iPad and Android apps, and I can access these documents anywhere I happen to be. http://www.dropbox.com/
  7. Edmodo: Edmodo is obviously an excellent tool for the classroom. It's social media-like environment enables interaction and facilitates class activities. From an administrative perspective, it can also be a tool for sharing on a wider network of fellow administrators and educators. http://www.edmodo.com/
  8. Slideshare: I use this Web tool just a bit less than the others, but it is an excellent presentation sharing tool. I use it to share presentations from the trainings I do during the course of the year. http://www.slideshare.net/
  9. Prezi: I am still learning this one, but it is an excellent alternative to the sometimes overused PowerPoint. With an Educator account and the desktop versions of the application, I can easily create presentations that are distinguished from slide presentations. http://prezi.com/
  10. Embedit.in: This tool allows users to create embed codes for presentations and documents to place on Web pages. For example, I have used this app to create embedded versions of our student handbook and curriculum guide. It allows users to present documents on the Web in viewers instead of links of icons. http://embedit.in/

2 comments:

  1. Lot of useful points are there. Its really keeps me updated.

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  2. Thanks for sharing your info. I really appreciate your efforts and I will be waiting for your further write ups thanks once again.

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