Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together.
Paul Ryan
The 21st-century educator leads and models teaching and learning through connected, reflective, transparent, and collaborative methods. Such educators recognize that the educational landscape has changed with continuous advances in technology and see the benefits of transforming their role from a traditional isolated learner to a connected learner through the use of social media tools and a personal and professional learning network. They understand how connections developed through social media support them in cultivating a connected positive school culture and establishing a brand presence that extends far beyond the walls of their school community. They strive to build communities that currently do not exist, by communicating and collaborating with all members of the school community inside and outside their immediate circles in ways that foster cultures of excellence, in which everyone has the opportunity to become a part of something great.
It is important to note that educators who decide to go outside their own school communities to get connected and who have a desire to continue to grow professionally do so for different reasons. Some do so because they feel isolated from their peers or perhaps they are the only third grade teacher in their building. Others do so because they feel as though their peers either cannot or do not want to grow in the same manner they do and therefore are seeking other means to improve their craft. It is also interesting to note that many educators who are connected are extremely well respected outside their own organizations, yet their own school districts may not see or appreciate the value that a connected educator can bring to the local organization. This, in turn, perpetuates a feeling of isolation and the need for these educators to become even more connected because they feel their drive for a higher standard is either not appreciated or is not fulfilled. In the end, we must ask the question: Who is helping you get better, or—more importantly—who is inspiring you to want to be great? The challenge facing schools today is the ability to cultivate a culture wherein all members of the school community feel comfortable in disrupting routines long established by the status quo and embrace a connected world which is ready to support their desire to learn without limits.
Today’s educators have a vast library of free tools and resources available at their fingertips to tell not only their students’ stories in the classroom, but also the stories of their schools. Tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, blogs, and podcasts are all available for free to support educators in getting connected in order to communicate their stories. Many connected schools today are utilizing Twitter in their classrooms/schools to tweet out daily messages, showcasing the passionate work of their students and staff. By creating district, school, and classroom Twitter accounts, educators can share the passion they have for their school communities. In doing so, you may want to consider creating more than one school Twitter account, depending on the size of your school and programs in order to streamline your communication. Possibilities include an account for the principal, student club/activities, athletics, fine arts, and even a parent/booster account. Additionally, we highly recommend creating a school hashtag to create a connected community where students, staff, parents, and the community can come together to connect and celebrate as one. Once you decide on a hashtag name, search this link: http://www.hashtags.org/ (#hashtags.org, 2014); click in the search box to see if your selected hashtag has already been taken. Oftentimes, if the preferred name is already in use, there is a simple way to make it your own by adding an additional character or two (if #LHS is already taken, for example, try #LHS2014). Once you have created a district, school, or group hashtag, start using these on all blog posts, tweets, and emails, and begin to encourage your students and families to do the same. Before you know it, a connected community emerges. Remember, the longer your hashtag, the fewer characters you have left from your original 140 characters, so it is important that your hashtag be as short and concise as possible.
“By creating district, school, and classroom Twitter accounts, educators can share the passion they have for their school communities.”
One of the best examples of schools using hashtags effectively to create an engaged online learning community for their school originated with Jason Markey, Principal at East Leyden High School near Chicago, who worked with his school community to create the #leydenpride hashtag in order to bring a positive voice to his school community. Here is what Jason says about the power of the school’s hashtag:
Two years ago, at the same time we went 1:1 as a school by giving all students a laptop, I was having a conversation with two of our students about Twitter. At the time, students and staff were getting frustrated at how Twitter was becoming an avenue for sharing negative or even inappropriate comments. We decided instead of just burying our head in the sand, we should encourage and build a culture of participation in a conversation and celebration of our schools online by creating our own school hashtag, which became #leydenpride. Over the last two years this hashtag has become the place where our students, staff, alumni, and even parents go to be part of our school’s conversation online, creating a voice for everyone in our community to share our story.
(Markey, 2012)
To learn more about the Leyden journey, visit the link to Jason Markey’s original blog post in 2012: Where is Your School’s Online Conversation? http://jmarkeyap.blogspot.com/2012/11/where-is-your-schools-online.html.
You can also visit the following link to a blog post by a #leydenpride student, Maja Bulka, who was a high school junior at the time she wrote this in February 2013: A Student’s Perspective http://leydenlearn365.blogspot.com/2014/02/leydenpride-student-perspective.html (Bulka, 2013).
For connected educators, information flows quickly and efficiently, making communication convenient for all stakeholders. Whether through a 140-character tweet, a blog post, a Facebook update, or an Instagram photo and caption, school staff members can highlight students for their academic achievements, music performances, athletic accomplishments, service projects, and capture them at the very moment they are happening. This cultivates a sense of pride among the student body and school community as students are recognized for positive deeds that otherwise may have gone unnoticed. Through such communications, parents are also quickly notified or given reminders about important school functions such as open house, conferences, concerts, schedule changes, school cancellations, and security concerns. They are even given links to important resources which can benefit them or their children. In addition, when using Twitter to communicate news about school happenings, schools can link their school Twitter accounts and Facebook/Instagram pages so when a tweet is sent out it automatically embeds into the school’s Facebook and/or Instagram pages. Social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are readily available for free and are easily accessible for connected educators everywhere to use as professional tools to assist them in communicating what they want, when they want, and how they want.
“For connected educators, information flows quickly and efficiently, making communication convenient for all stakeholders.”
In the opening pages of this book, we suggest that connected educators never lose sight of the fact that although connecting online in a variety of ways is an effective and efficient way of learning and growing professionally, nothing can compare with working and collaborating face to face with other educators. No amount of online connectivity can completely replace the power of meeting in person, but it can certainly play a vital role in building relationships with others around the world who share our sense of educational purpose and passion. Moreover, oftentimes what starts out as a virtual professional connection via Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, or another online platform eventually becomes one in which PLN members meet face to face.
As an example, in February 2013, a group of connected educational leaders from all over the country who had originally “met” on Twitter decided to meet up in person at the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ (NASSP) annual conference in Washington, DC. One day, as they were having lunch and sharing the great things that were happening in their respective schools, the conversation shifted to a discussion about what they could do as leaders to support their teachers in getting more connected so they, too, could benefit from a similar experience these leaders were having. As they chatted, they developed the idea of planning a teacher exchange program identical to what currently happens in schools with student exchange programs. The idea included teachers connecting through social media, traveling to the “exchange” district, hosting the teacher in their home in return, and, finally, spending the day at their “partner” school observing classrooms and exchanging ideas with one another. Although those involved in planning the idea were enthusiastic about it at the time, it was never acted on—until things changed during the summer of 2013.
During that summer, another group of connected educators arranged to meet in person in Kansas City. Jimmy was present for this dinner, as was Robert Sigrist, an assistant principal at Central High School in St. Joseph, Missouri. Here is what Robert shared about that encounter, one which ultimately resulted in one of the first teacher exchanges originally planned over a year before:
Being connected via Twitter has given me the opportunity to interact with so many smart and talented educators. In the summer of 2013, a group of such educators met in Kansas City for an impromptu “BBQ Tweetup,” giving me the opportunity to meet many of these people face to face. During dinner, many of us were talking about the different issues facing us. I learned that Jimmy Casas’s school was a 1:1 learning environment, with iPads as the device being used. This was something my school was also moving to and I shared with Jimmy that many of our teachers were worried because they were unsure how they were going to implement this technology in their classrooms. From our conversation at this dinner, Jimmy and I began to formulate a plan.
We were able to coordinate a “teacher exchange,” whereby I traveled with several staff members to Bettendorf, Iowa, on a Sunday night. We stayed with members of Jimmy’s staff in their own homes. We spent Monday at Bettendorf High School, where Jimmy serves as principal, seeing how they were able to incorporate this technology. Two weeks later, Jimmy and his teachers drove to St. Joseph, Missouri, on a Sunday night and we returned the favor, with several of our teachers hosting Bettendorf teachers in our homes and our school. Because of Twitter, not only were Jimmy and I able to connect with each other, but we were also able to expand that connection to teachers from our respective schools. Those staff members became key members of each other’s PLN and serve as ongoing resources for each other. While we could have connected them through Twitter only, having the face-to-face connection was powerful. I know our staff gained valuable information from Jimmy’s teachers, and I hope they were able to glean something from us as well. And it all started because of Twitter—and BBQ!
As connected educators, we should strive to support our colleagues in our own schools, districts, and beyond in the learning process through collaborative means. Sometimes this entails challenging others to step out of their comfort zone in hopes that they will reflect on their own individual practices and experiences in order to learn and grow as educators. As we shared earlier and emphasize again in Chapter 4, being a connected educator is much more than just taking in: we must be willing to give back. One way to do this is by creating a personal blog. There are different platforms through which to create your own blog such as Blogger, WordPress, Tumblr, Posterous, and Habari, to name but a few. Before you decide which blogging platform to use, you want to keep these questions in mind to determine which might be best for you.
“As connected educators, we should strive to support our colleagues in our own schools, districts, and beyond in the learning process through collaborative means.”
(Dachis, 2012, para. 4)
If you are new to the world of blogging and thinking about starting a blog yourself, we recommend you begin by going through Google and using Blogger until you are confident that you are going to stick with it. Of course, you may choose to stick with this as your blogging platform permanently, but once you are comfortable with blogging and begin to get a better idea of your goals and your specific needs, you may want to explore the different features of competing platforms. Blogger will likely take care of most of your needs, and it is a free platform for blogging. Personal blogs can be formatted in many different ways, but you may want to consider including in your blog the following features:
Connected educators all over the world are sharing their professional practices on their personal blogs and highlighting the tremendous work of their students and staff. They are handing out their “Top Lists” of best practices, tools, ideas, etc. so that others may learn by reflecting on their own practices. Others are showing their vulnerability by sharing publicly the mistakes they have made, fears they struggle to overcome, or the failures they have experienced. Finally, many take time to contribute personal stories or celebrate the successes of former students. As a way to get started, we encourage you to take time to visit the following blogs in order to connect with these incredible educators in various locations who support all educators on a daily basis by sharing their expertise and experiences through their blog posts. If you have yet to begin blogging yourself, we believe you will have a better idea of how to get started by reading these educational bloggers who have been at it for quite some time and who have inspired us with their writing and thinking:
In June 2013, Jimmy was looking through his Twitter stream when he noticed a tweet from Jason Markey, Principal at East Leyden High School, asking followers to read a blog post which had been written by one of his students. When Jimmy clicked on the link, he noticed the blog site had been created to challenge members of the Leyden school community to write a blog post for each day of the year. As Jimmy began to read the posts, he was moved by the stories that were being told by members (mostly students) of the school community. He began to wonder how he could take this idea and adapt it to his school in order to bring his team of 145 staff members closer together and cultivate a community where people could get a better understanding of the work they each did every day on behalf of all kids. The following month Jimmy met with the team leader of the school counseling department to discuss strategies for the upcoming school year to more deeply engage students in learning and school. As he listened to the counselor share her philosophy and her story about how she worked to connect with students, it struck him that her words could be the beginning of a blog post.
In this way, the first blog post for what has become a venue for staff to share their expertise and stories, entitled “Breaking Down the Barriers,” was authored by school counselor Amy Harksen. After deciding on a name for the blog, TSLG1440 (which stands for “Teaching, Sharing, Learning, and Growing Every Minute of Every Day, 24/7, and refers to the fact that there are 1,440 minutes in each day), the school staff began regularly contributing posts to the blog, showcasing their teaching, sharing, learning, and growing that took place every minute of every day. Jimmy began by approaching staff members individually to see if they would be willing to share, in writing, their individual stories and talents. Staff members could write on any topic they chose with the only stipulation being they had to make a connection back to their classroom. Initially, staff members were hesitant to post. Reasons included not feeling comfortable with their own writing, being afraid to “put themselves out there,” not convinced they had anything important to share, and other reasons too many to mention. Interestingly, most teachers stated they lacked the confidence to write and felt the pressure of not presenting themselves in a positive light. However, once they actually finished writing and publishing a blog entry, every staff member who did so shared that they were glad they had written a post and had actually enjoyed their final draft once it was finished.
As the months passed, more and more readers began to follow the blog post. Staff were encouraged to participate through the principal’s weekly Monday Memo, where he highlighted the weekly author. Team leaders were also encouraged to model the way by participating in the blog challenge. Blog posts were tweeted out weekly and comments received via Twitter were shared with the authors. A link was posted on the district website so members of the school community, including students, parents, community members, board members, and even prospective new families to the area could view the posts shared by members of the BHS staff. Staff members wrote with a sense of purpose and now anyone could get a glimpse into their thinking by reading about their personal stories and journeys. Creating a school blogging platform such as this one allows the school community to come together as collaborative colleagues. Teachers walking across campus will congratulate teachers in other departments on a job well done. Teachers will stop by the attendance office to tell the secretary how much they appreciated her work and her story. Paraeducators will receive words of encouragement when they share their stories and you can even invite retired teachers to jump into the mix to tell their stories. Even central office staff will likely make time to leave congratulatory comments on the blog.
The experience at Bettendorf High School with a “community” blog is but one of many examples and can easily be replicated at any school or in any school district. To take a look at how one school got started and how the movement grew, view the following link to the Bettendorf High School TSLG1440 blog, which can be found at http://tslg1440.blogspot.com/.
At the time of this writing, the blog included 38 postings written by 35 staff authors and has been accessed by over 20,000 readers from all over the world, including Australia, Japan, Canada, Algeria, Russia, Indonesia, Ukraine, India, China, France, Ireland, and Saudi Arabia. A community that had never before existed developed and grew through this collaborative blogging venture.
One common theme that we have found to be true about connected educators is they have a tremendous amount of pride when it comes to telling the story of their schools. They find ways to leverage technology and incorporate it into the school community in a seamless fashion. No longer do parents have to ask or wonder what their children are doing at school on a daily basis. They already know because connected educators are using social media tools such as Twitter, Instagram, Storify, YouTube, and other communication platforms to flatten the walls of the school so parents and the community can get a real and immediate glimpse of the countless and meaningful activities being experienced by students in schools every day. Whether you use pictures to show students working with their classmates and teachers on a project, or share a video demonstrating the pride students have in expressing their passion for learning, connected educators everywhere are making it a priority to highlight all that is awesome about their school communities.
Tony Sinanis (@TonySinanis), Principal at Cantiague Elementary School in Long Island, New York, is one such principal who has created his own YouTube videos using the TouchCast app (see www.touchcast.com) to build his school’s brand and bring his school community closer together. Here is what Tony says about the importance of building community by sharing your school’s story:
There are many ways to use videos to tell your story and build your brand! At Cantiague, we started doing Weekly Video Updates in which six or seven students from each class do research about what’s happening on each grade level and then share those updates on camera. The children have two days to do their grade level research and then they join me for lunch and we make the video. The children are the best storytellers; who better to share what’s happening in our schools than the people who are experiencing it first hand—our amazing kids! That is the power of student voice (#stuvoice). These video updates have taken the idea of a newsletter and thrown it forward into the 21st century, helping to flatten the walls of our school and give the community direct access into the learning and teaching occurring at Cantiague. These updates have also changed the conversations during various community events and activities because now families are talking about what their children are actually doing in school and they have a clear understanding of not only HOW we do things at Cantiague, but also WHY we do things at Cantiague. Our video updates have been a game changer!
For years, typical teachers and principals have lived professional lives marked by isolation, unconnected to any other educators outside their own school. They were limited in their communication, confined to a network of building colleagues, friends, family, community, and local media. This leaves schools at the mercy of others to tell their stories. This often leads to schools being viewed by many as challenging places where too much time and energy is spent on complaining about student behavior, lack of—or over-abundance of—parental involvement, shortage of resources, state and federal mandates, and so on. Sadly, what is lost in the translation is that others are not only listening, but they then, in turn, carry the same inaccurate and/or unfair messages and communicate these to others in the school community. Over time, these negative comments can become very damaging and begin to unfairly label a school as a poor-performing school with low morale, or worse yet, as cultivating a school culture that does not care about students. With the tools available to us now, it is easy to take the lead in ensuring that the story that gets told about our schools and our school districts is a story that is accurate and focused on the major, not the minor, happenings. How we share information can affect our school environments both positively and negatively. As the storytellers for our students and our schools, it is critical that we understand our role and intentionally plan how we communicate and share our story in a way that shows the pride we have in our school and our entire school community.
Follow 5: These five educators from our PLN stand as models in the area of the 3 Cs, which we have written about in this chapter. We have listed their names and Twitter “handles.” We encourage you to follow these exemplary educators on Twitter and interact with them to enhance your life as a connected educator. Here are short pieces of advice from these experts in the field on the importance of Embracing the 3 Cs: Communication, Collaboration, and Community:
1. Curt Rees (@CurtRees). Elementary Principal, Wisconsin. Co-host of @TechlandiaCast. Curt participates regularly on #wischat, #cpchat, and #educoach. According to Rees,
Digital tools like social media services are excellent venues for building and enhancing positive culture within your school community. Countless successful activities are happening in schools every day, so make sure you take the time to share these events through platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Pictures and videos of smiling kids and teachers working together in an engaging project say a lot about your school. Make it a priority to share all that is good and right in your school.
2. Chris Kesler (@iamkesler). Eighth grade science teacher, Houston, Texas. Co-host of @eduallstarshq. Chris participates regularly on #tlap and #mschat. According to Kesler,
One of the most powerful things that I learned after getting connected with other educators outside of my school was the value of the 3 Cs. Once I embraced collaboration with my PLN, my world began to grow exponentially. I have been able to create projects that have made an impact on students and educators across the globe. Do not underestimate the power of connecting with others.
3. Pernille Ripp (@pernilleripp). Seventh grade English teacher, Madison, Wisconsin. Pernille regularly participates on #titletalk and #edchat. According to Ripp,
I didn’t know I was unconnected, until I got connected. Then I realized the power of being a connected educator and what it meant for my students to be connected. Through our connections we have started global conversations, we have shared our messages, we have shared our hopes and dreams for the future. I created the “Global Read Aloud” so that others could find a way to become connected, and find their voice within the world. We are stronger, not just as educators, but as human beings when we reach beyond our classroom walls and invite the world in.
4. Arin Kress (@ArinKress). Fifth grade teacher in Grove City, Ohio. Arin regularly participates in #5thchat. According to Kress,
Communicating, collaborating, and building community effectively with students and teachers within your school and beyond is an important skill for every teacher to have. I have used Skype in the classroom to connect my students with others from around the world, most notably a fifth grade class in Perth, Australia. We communicate daily via email, weekly via shared video, and quarterly via Skype calls and shared packages. We collaborate on math and science projects and have successfully built a global classroom community. If you are just beginning your journey as a connected educator, it is important to remember to start small but always be open to working with others online. You will likely learn from one another and their insights will hopefully benefit your students.
5. Tom Whitford (@twhitford). Elementary Principal in Tomah, Wisconsin. Tom regularly follows #atplc, #wischat, #IAedchat, #satchat, and #sblchat. According to Whitford,
We are living a world that continues to flatten, becoming more transparent and connected. We need to ensure that we are sharing the great things happening in our schools with our stakeholders so our mission and vision become evident. We need to make sure that the great minds in our schools are connecting with other great educational minds across our nation and even our world. As the saying goes, “The smartest person in the room, is the room.” I have learned more from collaborating with great educators across the world than I ever have from a textbook or a lecture.
Find 5: We have found these five online resources/tools to be particularly useful in embracing the 3 Cs of Communication, Collaboration, and Community. The following links are resources that we have learned about via our PLN and that we have used ourselves to improve some aspect of our job performance or extend our thinking in this area:
Take 5: We conclude each chapter by recommending five action steps you can take to get started or continue as a connected educator. Here are five initial steps we suggest you take to get started with Embracing the 3 Cs: Communication, Collaboration, and Community: