How to Create and Maintain a Professional Online Presence
Yue-Ting Siu, TVI and Doctoral Student
University of San Francisco at Berkley
ysiu@berkeley.edu
Twitter: @TVI_ting
Author's Note: Information from this article was
initially presented to Fellows and faculty associated with the National Leadership Consortium for
Sensory Disabilities (NLCSD) during a semiannual meeting in Washington, D.C., in July
2013.
Whenever questions about technology are
posed to a mixed group of educators, chances
are the majority of eyes glaze over or widen with
anxiety. Asking a more specific question such as,
"how many people feel overwhelmed by the number of technologies out there?" can guarantee
near total audience response. While this segue is
effective in engaging an audience immediately, it
also reflects the prevalence of uncertainty most
educators experience when tasked with leveraging technology to their advantage. From 1999 to
2009, the National Center for Educational Statistics reported a major change in technology used
for communication from no use to a majority
(59%) of teachers using email or a listserv to
communicate with parents (Gray, Thomas, &
Lewis, 2010; Smerdon et al., 2000). Technology
has quickly and drastically changed how educators teach and communicate with parents and
students, and how colleagues relate in the professional realm. With so many options, how can one
be expected to keep up with each learning curve
technology throws our way? More importantly,
how does one create and maintain a visible pro-
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