Leadership and Social Media in Education

Editor's Notes

1. http://www.schoolleadership20.com/forum/topics/district-uses-social-media-to-communicate-with-parentsSuperintendent Devin Vodickatook over Vista unified district (in northern San Diego County) in July 2012.One of his first moves was to recommend a policy that dictates how educators and administrators should use social media sites.Since then, the number of district officials using the sites to communicate with the public has exploded.From interview: In 2 months, we went from 0 schools to ¾ of schools on social media. We created the policy, and told schools – follow the policy, and we’ll support you.
2. http://vistaunified.blogspot.com/This was his first post.
3. http://vistaunified.blogspot.com/His second post was a short Google 3 question survey he embedded – asking the community for feedback. He received 113 comments from the community, and shared some insights through a word cloud in his fourth post.
4. http://vistaunified.blogspot.com/His third post was a YouTube video he created to introduce himself. From interview: “I was astonished with the number of hits I was getting on it as I was transitioning into this new role.There was a great appetite from the community to use these resources.”
5. http://vistaunified.blogspot.com/2012/12/safety-concerns-form-for.htmlFrom interview: “After shooting in Newtown, we streamlined a process for people to give us input. We used Google docs, made a form embed in blog, tweeted it, distributed through traditional channels. We’ve got quite a few suggestions on how to improve that safety process. Anything that was concern. It really revealed to us where the needs were most prevalent. 82 comments.”
6. No specific example provided, but I thought this was another interesting insight that a lot of Sups may be able to relate to.
7. This is the first of 4 slides that demonstrate use cases:Professional networkingCommunicate with constituentsModel for student involvementAdvocacy
8. Coast is a better example of a school using social media in the classroom than to communicate with the external community. But I thought you could say administrators are setting an example as students are already using social media. 3 examples you might want to bring up.Pic 1: From interview: “We found Final Cut King, he came to middle school - did presentation on YouTube”Pic 3: They use Edmoto – looks like Facebook but private. Closed garden for students, parents have access through child accounts, they can see what their students, at my site all teachers and students use itPic 2: From interview: “Because we’re 1-1 with iPads we have an outstanding after school program. Students are creating professional quality content by the end of 8th grade. Preparing kids for the real world
9. @coastusd: Twitter account at Coast Unified Obtained approval from school board Approx 10 administrators have access and can post on behalf of the district Applied for 2 interns from local college to write communications plan, manage Twitter, website, video creation
10. https://twitter.com/mrcalandrohttps://twitter.com/casupt
11. http://www.dailydot.com/news/chicago-teachers-strike-social-media/http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/11/my-view-a-parents-take-on-the-cps-teachers-strike/“We've been training members for months during the contract campaign,” Shibata said. “We know that the mainstream media would portray a skewed version of the campaign so we empowered members to become citizen journalists. They're finding each other and making connections from school to school.”The CTU Facebook page has almost 38,000 likes, with 20,000 new since the strike began. The union also has a Twitter account with more than 7,000 followers, a Flickr account for photosharing, a Vimeo account with 34 videos, and a YouTube channel with 108 subscribers and more than 100,000 views. The union developed a video especially to be shared by and between members, called “Chicago Teachers Union vs. Astroturf Billionaires,” which has been viewed more than 21,000 times.
12. http://www.facebook.com/chicagopublicschools3779 Likes as of Dec 21.Chicago Public Schools is dedicated to providing a world-class education for every child in every Chicago neighborhood. We are the nation’s third-largest school system, with 675 schools serving more than 400,000 students throughout the city.
13. http://mashable.com/2012/12/14/parents-social-media-crisis/
14. http://www.facebook.com/hastingspublic/posts/570078526351025A preschool through twelfth grade public school serving approximately 3,500+ resident students from birth until age 21. This "Class III" district consists of six elementary buildings, one middle school building, and one senior high building.December 14, 2012Dear Parents and Guardians: Today’s sad news regarding events in Connecticut may raise questions of concern from our children. Young children need to feel that the world is a secure and predictable place. Many typical childhood fears resurface or become heightened when they hear about tragic events.The following suggestions may be helpful for parents and guardians to use when talking with children about their fears.• Model a positive attitude. Children take their cues from adults. While acknowledging trauma, focus on helping your child develop compassion, strength, and a sense that they have control over life’s challenges.• Use the “three C’s” in dealing with fears – communication, control, and compassion. Communicate with your child about their feelings, help them gain control over their feelings, and always show compassion.• Try not to overreact in regard to the event in front of your child. This can cause more anxiety. Reduce the amount of TV they watch in regard to the event. • Never say a fear is silly. It is very real to your child. When a child is afraid, they need to feel that those around them will help and protect them.• Encourage, but don’t force communication. In a calm manner, talk about your own feelings. Language gives a sense of control, so put words to your child’s fears. Let them know that they can always come to you. Our school counselor and others will be available to assist any child who needs to talk about today’s events this coming week and beyond. Please reassure your child that his or her school has plans in place to protect them and for emergencies. Sincerely,HASTINGS PUBLIC SCHOOLSCraig KautzSuperintendent
15. http://www.theforecaster.net/news/print/2012/12/18/portland-schools-offer-counseling-video/145859http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaA4bOW17l4&feature=youtu.bePORTLAND — In the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, the School Department has created a video to help parents and students deal with the aftermath of the tragedy.In the video, Sophie Payson, a social worker in the district, explains the importance of listening to children and looking for any changes in their behavior. She says that with coverage of the shooting dominating the news, it may be difficult for children to escape and any emotions they experience are "normal."
16. http://www.facebook.com/nixapublicschools/posts/121879634642684Nixa, Missouri
17. I removed content on challenges, pasted here in case you want:Communicating with parents:“It’s a balancing act of how many time and energy we want to put in. Our parents aren’t as social media savvy yet.”Access:“In the school system, Facebook is blocked because of inappropriate access.”Resources:“It’s really easy to jump in, and create a profile. But if someone is not there to monitor it, you can get flamed.”
18. http://www.slideshare.net/zenaweist/hrblockresponseprocess
19. Define how open well.