Why Social Media Matters in K-12 Schools

In their book Why Social Media Matters: School Communication in the Digital Age, Kitty Porterfield and Meg Carnes make a strong case for school leaders engaging in the use of social media as a means of communication. As they so clearly point out,

"School leaders must be able to communicate with all their stakeholders, from the staff members in their buildings to the parents and other stakeholders in their communities."

In times past, school leaders could do that through published newsletters and similar communication channels. In the 21st century, our stakeholders expect a more interactive form of communication, often that form is social media.

In their book, Porterfield and Carnes, provide a list of 10 current realities of social media that no matter how hard district leaders try to block, filter, or policy our way through, these realities are ours and we can't change them.  Here are six of those realities about social media that school leaders ignore at their own and their school or district's peril.

1. "Social media is a new way to build relationships." Social media is the new way to get out and connect and build those relationships. Shaking hands has given way to Tweeting. Conversations at community meetings has made its way to Facebook. Our new reality is that our parents are increasingly expecting to engage in educator-parent relationships through social media.

2. "Communication is no longer about you; it's about your customers." The old days of sending out newsletters meant you were able to tell your story and that's it. Modern communication through social media means that what you speak about is about the people you serve, not you or your organization. Social media is about engaging your customers in conversation about you and your school or district.

3. "If you don't tell your story, someone else will." The truth is, you, your school, or your district is going to have a web presence or digital footprint whether you want one or not. If your district decides to change the school calendar, implement some new dress code, or start school earlier, there are people on the web talking about it. If you don't engage in social media, they are the only ones talking about it. Use social media to tell your story and give them an opportunity to respond. Then, let them know you're listening.

4. "Your reputation is at stake." You and your school or district has an online reputation no matter how hard you've tried to filter, block, and avoid social media. If you aren't there to establish your reputation, there are those who will gladly do it for you. Ignore social media at the risk of your school or organization's reputation.

5. "You don't have to do it all at once." Contrary to conventional wisdom, school leaders are perfectly fine wading into social media waters by using just one or two tools to begin with. Try out Twitter first. Learn all about its benefits and limitations before trying to set up a school Facebook page. There's no reason you can't start small with engaging in social media as a communication tool.

6. "It's here to stay." Finally, school leaders need to stop waiting for social media to go away. While the tools may change, interactive communication using the Web will be around. It doesn't matter how much we filter, block, or avoid it, social media is a part of our culture, and 21st century school leaders know how to use its strengths to engage stakeholders.

Perspective:
In the 20th century, school leaders could be satisfied with sending home newsletters celebrating the stories of their schools. In the 21st century, those newsletters look archaic and harken back to a time when talking at people was perfectly fine. In our current era, our stakeholders expect to engage in two-way conversations about what's happening in our schools and school districts. Social media is a big part of our current communication reality and school leaders who minimize or avoid it are not engaging in 21st century leadership.

Changes Ahead! Significant Metatrends for the Next 10 Years

Keeping up with societal and cultural trends has been important to me for over 25 years. Acknowledging trends (regardless if I like them or not) has not only provided me with valuable insights about the world around me but has informed and validated my work in significant ways. Now that I work in K-12 education, I pay attention to trends more than ever, especially as it relates to the teaching-learning process. Below is an excerpt from A Communiqué from the Horizon Project Retreat, January 2012 (NMC Horizon Project publication) which was posted as an article on the Campus Technology site. I encourage you to read it and consider how K-12 education might change as these trends continue to shape human activity:

Most Significant Metatrends for the Next 10 Years

1. The world of work is increasingly global and increasingly collaborative. As more and more companies move to the global marketplace, it is common for work teams to span continents and time zones. Not only are teams geographically diverse, they are also culturally diverse.

2. People expect to work, learn, socialize, and play whenever and wherever they want to. Increasingly, people own more than one device, using a computer, smartphone, tablet, and e-reader. People now expect a seamless experience across all their devices.

3. The Internet is becoming a global mobile network--and already is at its edges. mobiThinking reports there are now more than 6 billion active cell phone accounts. 1.2 billion have mobile broadband as well, and 85 percent of new devices can access the mobile Web.

4. The technologies we use are increasingly cloud-based and delivered over utility networks, facilitating the rapid growth of online videos and rich media. Our current expectation is that the network has almost infinite capacity and is nearly free of cost. One hour of video footage is uploaded every second to YouTube; over 250 million photos are sent to Facebook every day.

5. Openness--concepts like open content, open data, and open resources, along with notions of transparency and easy access to data and information--is moving from a trend to a value for much of the world. As authoritative sources lose their importance, there is need for more curation and other forms of validation to generate meaning in information and media.

6. Legal notions of ownership and privacy lag behind the practices common in society. In an age where so much of our information, records, and digital content are in the cloud, and often clouds in other legal jurisdictions, the very concept of ownership is blurry.

7. Real challenges of access, efficiency, and scale are redefining what we mean by quality and success. Access to learning in any form is a challenge in too many parts of the world, and efficiency in learning systems and institutions is increasingly an expectation of governments--but the need for solutions that scale often trumps them both. Innovations in these areas are increasingly coming from unexpected parts of the world, including India, China, and central Africa.

8. The Internet is constantly challenging us to rethink learning and education, while refining our notion of literacy. Institutions must consider the unique value that each adds to a world in which information is everywhere. In such a world, sense-making and the ability to assess the credibility of information and media are paramount.

9. There is a rise in informal learning as individual needs are redefining schools, universities, and training. Traditional authority is increasingly being challenged, not only politically and socially, but also in academia--and worldwide. As a result, credibility, validity, and control are all notions that are no longer givens when so much learning takes place outside school systems.

10. Business models across the education ecosystem are changing. Libraries are deeply reimagining their missions; colleges and universities are struggling to reduce costs across the board. The educational ecosystem is shifting, and nowhere more so than in the world of publishing, where efforts to reimagine the book are having profound success, with implications that will touch every aspect of the learning enterprise.

Do you have any thoughts here? If so, please share them. We are in this together!

TCEA 2013 was great!

I love going to the TCEA conference! In case you don't know much about TCEA, it stands for Texas Computer Education Association. The TCEA conference is held in Austin every February. Last week was my third year to attend and the three days and two nights is worth the time away from our ISD.

Below are some things that our group experiences at the TCEA conference:

• learn about emerging technologies and how it is impacting K-12 education
• attend classes to learn how others are using instructional technology in the classroom
• network with other teachers, technologists, tech coordinators, and tech directors
• visit with hundreds of vendors at the massive Exhibit

If you ever get a chance to attend a TCEA conference in future, consider going!  To learn more about TCEA and some of the member benefits, visit their website: www.tcea.org

Really Cool (and Free) Resources on the Web

I attended a TCEA Webinar during lunch today and learned about some free educational resources you might want to check out (if you don’t already know about them):

 

Gravity Assist Simulator

http://messenger-education.org/Interactives/ANIMATIONS/grav_assist/gravity_assist.html
Note: good for science classes

RadioLab

www.radiolab.org
Note: good for all classes but topics seem to blend science, philosophy, and human experience (my kind of thing)

Why Do Americans Vote on Tuesdays?

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-americans-vote-on-tuesdays
Note: good current event topic and good example of the TEDed content that classes can benefit from)

If you like the above resources, then check out more from “TCEA’s Lunch and Learn” site:
https://sites.google.com/a/tcea.org/tcea-s-web-tools/home
Note: be sure to check out the last three items: 6-12 Tools, Links, Resources (you will be glad you did!)

Tip: Lock your screen when you step away

Did you know you can lock your computer screen rather than leave it unattended when you need to leave your classroom or office for a few minutes?  Simply press the Windows logo and L keys at the same time.

When you return you simply type your password and everything on the screen displays as before (including any open programs and files).

Using screen lock anytime you step away from your computer is especially helpful if you have sensitive documents and student-related records on the screen.  I sometimes see unattended computers with Skyward open and though this easy-to-learn tip would be helpful (especially if you have students still in the classroom or nearby with easy access).  Turning off your monitor or waiting for the screensaver to come on in 10 minutes is not secure enough in some scenarios.

By the way, I understand today is “Mole Day” (at least from 6:02 AM and 6:02 PM).  While it is an unofficial holiday popular among chemistry teachers and students, I always thought a better name would be “Molemorial Day” (sorry, couldn’t resist…ha!).

Video Projector Tips

Each year around mid-September I receive lots of projector-related tickets. The reason is typically weather-related and over half can be resolve with a simple procedure.

Below are two tips to help teachers reset their projector and extend lamp life:

Tip #1: Reset projector
As we experience cooler mornings, you may come in one school morning and discover that your video projector will not turn on.  Often, a quick fix is simply unplugging the projector from the ceiling mount and plugging it back in (works as a reset).  I had three calls this morning relating to this problem and performing this simple procedure allowed 2 of 3 to work immediately.  If you try this and your projector still will not turn on, then the lamp or projector may need replacement (which will require a help ticket).

Tip #2: Extend lamp life
As I walk around the campus, I often see projectors on during conference and lunch periods.  This will lead to premature lamp replacement (which cost several hundred dollars).  I don’t suggest turning off your projector during short breaks (since this also negatively affects lamp life), but turning it off during 30-minute conference and lunch breaks will save lamp life and electricity.  You can leave your computer files loaded and ready to go for next class since they will not be affected when the projector is off.  Most projectors will come on within a minute so little preparation is required to be in ready mode.

I hope this helps!

Back-to-School "Tech-Connect" Update

Quick update.  I have most of the classroom-related computers hooked up after the summer floor cleaning schedule.  Jesse and his crew did a great job putting everything back where they belong…which made it easier for me to go around and hook up all the computers (and related technologies) again.  All of G-Wing and D-Wing should be done (except for content mastery and inclusion rooms).  I do have several classrooms to finish in A-Wing, F-Wing, and E-Wing and plan to finish those by the end of the week.  If your room was accidently skipped or if you are experiencing a technology-related problem, please submit a Helpdesk Ticket (click the web link below my signature for convenience).  While I don’t mind creating help tickets via proxy in your behalf (as you email or text me about tech issues), it will help me during this busy time of year if you can place them when possible.  This will also ensure I don’t forget about those requests you mention to me as we pass each other in the hall.

I look forward to seeing everyone next week and hearing about your summer fun!  If you are a new teacher and need help with logins or need a “quick start” lesson on a piece of technology, then let me know and we can schedule time that works for both of us.