Reflection #2 - Why Social Media Matters by Porterfield and Carnes

Prior to being introduced to the social media tools we utilize in this class, as well as the reading of Why Social Media Matters by Kitty Porterfield and Meg Carnes, I didn’t understand the power that social media has in opening up communication in a school setting. Having taught in a district that was fairly “locked down” until just recently (and continues to be in some aspects), I just assumed that social media had no role to play. Porterfield and Carnes have opened up my thinking and now my wheels are turning on how I can use social media to connect all of the stakeholders at my school.

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, online blogging (and more!) give educators and digital leaders the opportunity to build relationships for every user, but also for the educational community. Porterfield and Carnes gave me so many ideas for how to use these tools to connect with my students, staff, parents, community and other educational leaders, while being safe and positive.

One thing that stands out to me from the reading for me, is the notion of a “sticky idea” that originally comes from Malcolm Gladwell. I’m a big Gladwell fan and sticky ideas interest me.  In my career as a teacher, I have encountered and worked with people who stand against new ideas, no matter what. I’m sure that I’ll continue to come up against those people as an administrator. Sticky ideas are ideas that hopefully spur change in people and systems and I want to have this in mind when I’m introducing new things to my staff. Technology (and everything it encompasses) tends to be a scary concept to some teachers, especially those that didn’t grow up in the technological age. Introducing new technology to these teachers will need to be done in a way that changes hearts and minds because it is crucial to the success of implementation. Making the message simple, unexpected, concrete and credible is a starting point. Connecting my staff to the concept by motivating them to care and connect emotionally through the use of success stories will help too.

Time and time again in this course, we’ve learned the importance behind that belief that it isn’t about the device and Porterfield and Carnes remind us of this again. A new flashy piece of technology is just a toy without learning the many ways that it can be used to enhance curriculum, instruction and communication. Social media is the same way. The point is to use the technology to connect with your stakeholders and to connect your students to their world. In the absence of this, the tool is just an expensive toy.

Finally, the major takeaway for me was that, in order for the use of social media to be widely effective, you also have to change your mindset and attitude. Social media helps create transparency for a system, but the leaders in that system have to be willing to hear what their constituents have to say and engage in that conversation – good, bad or otherwise. It is risky to put yourself, your school and your district out there in this way, but if done correctly the benefits far outweigh the risks.

Assignment #5 - PLN

Developing your own Personal Learning Network (PLN) as a digital leader can be immensely beneficial. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Tech-Leading Principals outlined by Jennifer Demski gave me a lot to think about. In order to inspire your teachers to innovate, you have to create an atmosphere in which that is created and fostered. This begins with the leader. As a leader, you have to constantly model for your staff that you are willing to walk the talk (NETS-A 3c). Fostering collaboration (both digitally and in-person) amongst your staff is also crucial. I loved the idea of the experts quoted in the article where each staff member set up a Twitter account of their own and began to establish their own PLNs working with others in the school and district, using common hashtags centered around the tech professional development they are receiving. What a great way to stay in the loop!

Another way to establish PLNs within the school is to rely on the expertise of your teachers by being open to their ideas. Everyone has their own set of strengths and no one person needs to be responsible for it all! If teachers have ideas, let them foster that. Establishing technology PLNs within the building, where teachers are taking the lead in the professional development (and leading teams of other teachers) of specific tools could be wildly successful (NETS-A 3b). On-going, quality professional development that enables teachers to become more comfortable with the digital tools they are provided, as well as ways to effectively use it in the classroom is crucial to proper implementation (NETS-A 3a). Even as a leader, being willing to admit you don’t know it all and modeling for your staff that you are committed to growth yourself in the area of bringing the world to the students in your school through technology can be powerful in inspiring the staff to take the ride with you. Showing them that taking risks is not only allowed, but necessary for the school to grow digitally, is how you get those “frozen” people to unfreeze and join the ranks (NETS-A 3c).

As a principal, I plan to find a blog or two, kept by strong digital leaders, to follow so that I can begin this process of developing a strong PLN. In addition, I am following a few of the technology innovators on Twitter. Staying up on current research about technology in the classroom, specific to the technology that we have in my district, will help me to be able to provide relevant information to my staff (NETS-A 3d). Staying connected to the rest of this cohort is also a part of my plan as we embark on this administrative journey together!

My first step in developing my own PLN is to begin this work now. I don’t need to wait until I am a leader to be developing a network of leaders that can help guide my work. This will make my job easier when I do become a principal because in some ways I will be able to hit the ground running. I plan to work with my principal next year to begin implementing some of the technological tools we have used in class these past two weeks. 

Assignment #4 - Connectedness and 1:1 Initiatives

I have to say, when I found out we were going to launch a 1:1 iPad initiative in my district, I was skeptical. The reason behind that feeling is because I had read that research shows that the implementation of digital devices in the classroom did nothing to improve student achievement. I was very interested to read Cuban’s assessment, however, that part of the problem might be that there is a large discrepancy between what teachers were reporting they did using the technology in the classroom and what they were actually doing with the technology in the classroom. It seems that teachers may, in large part, be answering questions in a way that they see as socially desirable. They know that a 1:1 initiative likely means that they should be infusing technology into their instruction all day long, so even if they aren’t necessarily doing that, they will answer that they are. This is the major problem with these studies being largely self-reporting, though I understand money and time are major factors.

In the article by Alan November (Why Schools Must Move Beyond One-to-One Computing), he talked about this notion of “spray and pray”. So many districts are simply trying to be ahead of the curve with technological implementation that they are “spraying” the new technology out there and then “praying” that it leads to higher student achievement. Teachers are given fairly surface level professional development that is focused almost entirely on the practical use of the device itself instead of how it can be used to increase learning opportunities for kids. What they are failing to realize is that they are putting the cart before the horse. Much more forethought needs to go into it before they actually put the digital devices into the hands of the kids.

I like November’s idea of framing a 1:1 initiative instead as a 1:World initiative because it reframes the reasons for the initiative in the first place. It takes it from simply spending a crazy amount of money to put devices into the hands of kids and teachers, expecting that fact alone to increase student scores, to creating a vision for connecting students to the world. It changes staff development from device use to lesson creation that is centered on empowering and engaging students with the world they live in.

One major lesson we can learn from the failure of others in 1:1 implementation is the creation of professional development that was ongoing and more focused on the pedagogy, not just the technology. Making sure that the staff doesn’t see the technology as just something else that they are being told to implement, but that it is crucial for their students as they learn how to connect with others and the world is really important. I think this is one of the places where districts are falling down on the job. I know even in my own district that there has been some grumbling about the iPad initiative and I believe that is, in large part, due to the district not rolling things out in a way that taught teachers about how to use them effectively for instruction.

Another thing I believe we can learn is to make sure there is extensive PD centered on training administrative staff about the proper way to transition to the digital learning space. I don’t know exactly what is being done at the administrative level to make sure that the roll out of this new technology goes smoothly (and maybe transparency is part of the problem), but I am hopeful that they have a plan, as they have already spent the last several years rolling them out at the secondary level.

Lastly, I think school districts need to allow the teachers who are passionate about infusing technology into the curriculum to take risks and support them while they do it – creating PLCs across the grade levels and schools that are focused on innovative ways to create lessons that connect to the world. But before they can do any of that, districts need to craft a clear vision of what the ultimate goal of the 1:1 initiative is - outlining exactly how moving to digital devices will accomplish something that cannot be accomplished in the traditional paper/pencil classroom.

As a future administrator and digital leader, I have some definite work to do to prepare. Using the next two years in my classroom to use this idea of 1:World will help me understand the role of the teacher when the time comes for me to lead them. I want to make sure that the lessons I am creating for kids on the iPad are not just about having them use the technology, but that there is a real world purpose and connection that the iPad can help facilitate. Becoming very comfortable with the technology available in my district will also help me to be able to create on-going, purposeful PD for the teachers in my building when the time comes. 

Reflection #1 - Digital Leadership

In Digital Leadership, author Eric Sheninger outlines the ways in which he forged his own path toward becoming a digital leader so that it might be easier for those who follow him. He illustrates how technology is not just about the digital device itself, but about the mindset of the leader as well. True digital leaders look for ways to connect their schools (staff and students like) with the real world in as many meaningful ways as possible and he provides a plethora of information on how to do that.

Sheninger outlines 7 Pillars of Digital Leadership that are crucial for administrators to be successful. One of the most powerful moments for me in the reading was when I read about the different ways that social media can be utilized to create two-way communication amongst all of the stakeholders of a school. Using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram (or any other social media platform) to post information about the school not only disseminates information in a quick and easy way, but is also a powerful tool for getting that positive PR and school branding out there! And since nearly everyone accesses some form of social media, you are likely to get more stakeholder involvement than a simple weekly or monthly newsletter can provide.

Two more important Pillars that Sheninger describes are student engagement and professional development. Because of this, and other reading we’ve done in this course, I have been thinking about our own 1:1 iPad roll out that is happening in phases over the next couple of years. To be honest, I don’t think there has been nearly enough preparation and purposeful professional development done at the district level to adequately prepare teachers for it beyond the traditional introduction to the device itself. There has been little to no conversation about the vast amount of ways that teachers can use the device to connect their students to the world in a way that can’t be done with paper and pencil (or frankly, how they can use it to connect to the world themselves). It has me thinking about how I can, as a teacher leader and eventual administrative intern in my building, create and provide this professional development at the building level to make sure that teachers at my school are prepared and ready to go. For example, teaching my teachers how to use social media to create and connect with their own personal PLN that extends beyond our school and district.

I think my own personal favorite of the Pillars was the re-envisioning of learning spaces. Obviously not everyone can go out and build a new school modeled after Clark Hall, but there are definitely things we can do within the own constructs of our buildings to make it work better for us in the digital age. For some of us that might mean rearranging things in the school to make it more open and bright. For others it might mean providing greater access to choice for students. For most of us, it will require a shift from teacher as purveyor of knowledge to teacher as facilitator. And for all of us, it should mean infusing fun into everything we teach! For me personally, I already have the wheels turning about how I can use technology (and other materials) to give my students next year plenty of opportunities to be creative – to let their passion be their guide and to let that passion take them wherever it needs to. Using this next year as a model, I’m already thinking that Genius Hour (or something like it) might be a pet project that I take on school-wide as I complete my internship the following year.

Sheninger gave me a lot to think about and I am excited to get started!

My favorite boy!

My (almost) 2-year-old, Carson!

Genius Hour in the Elementary Education Classroom from Emily W. Schmidt

Assignment #3 - Professional Branding

Personal branding always seemed like shameless bragging to me, but the reading for this assignment has got me thinking. The concept that my own personal branding, and the ways in which I choose to market it, also contribute positively to my employer never occurred to me until now. I’m starting to think differently about how to use my own branding to promote myself professionally that will lead to greater recognition and outcomes for my school and district at large.

I have a good reputation with colleagues, both past and present, for being reliable and extremely organized. One step in my classroom will reveal a system of color-coding by subject area that provides consistency for my kids. You will also see a data center set up for the students in my class to track our progress on a variety of assessments and behavior rubrics. A friend and colleague of mine will step into my room for a few minutes a day and just pause with her eyes closed saying, “order and lines… I just needed a little order and lines” before turning on her heel to head back into her own room. Because I have gotten a positive reputation for my organization system (that I also teach my students), I am frequently asked by other teachers for help in setting up their own. I want to be seen professionally, as dependable and organized and I think I’m establishing the basis for that now.

I plan to do several things in the coming year to continue to work on my own personal and professional branding. One thing I am beginning in August is to be a leader on our SIP team at school. After being impressed by what he saw in my classroom this year, my principal is handing me a piece of our SIP and letting me be responsible for it. I get to develop a team to help me with the work, decide what the goal for improvement is going to be and how we are going to get there and I couldn’t be more excited! This is an opportunity to get my name out there and I plan to do everything I can to continue to promote the positive branding I’m trying to establish in my district and beyond.

I love the idea of “reputational power” (Peters – The Brand Called You). Power has gotten a bad rap in the past because it brings to mind the image of pushing and shoving your way to the top, no matter the cost. There is great influence, however, with reputational power. As a principal, if you are known for being dependable, approachable and level-headed – your reputation will precede you. If, however, you are known for playing favorites, not being a good listener and never advocating for your teachers – your reputation will do the same. I alone am in charge of branding myself and I want to make sure I am conducting myself in a way that establishes reputational power within my current building, as a teacher, and eventually in my own building as an administrator. Once you have reputational power with your staff, the effects are far-reaching as you begin to establish that with the families of your students and the community at large.

Technology, especially social media, can play a huge role in the branding of a school. Using a school Facebook page, Instagram/Twitter feed or a school blog (or all of the above?) to keep all stakeholders of my school in the loop is a great way to have two-way communication within that community. Beyond that, it is a great way to promote the positive branding of the school, it’s staff and it’s students (NETS-A 2b)! Taking our own personal inventory and figuring out as a staff, what we are passionate about and what we are great at, and then using technology to promote ourselves will help us to establish “reputational power” within our district and community (Biro – 5 Steps to Empowering the Brand You). Getting my staff up to date on the technology we are using, and having them use it as well (i.e. classroom blogs) will only add to that positive image we are trying to portray.