A New Social Operating System

I'm fascinated by the way technology and social media have transformed the way we communicate, nurture and sustain relationships and expand our learning. That interest made Networked: The New Social Operating System by Lee Rainie and Barry Wellman a good read. Rainie is Director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, major researchers on social media trends, and Wellman is a Professor at the University of Toronto.

Many worry that this new environment isolates people. But Rainie and Wellman suggest that social media actually expands our connections and creates larger, loosely connected circles of friends and colleagues. These networks expand our opportunity to learn, solve problems, seek advice, and become familiar with new ideas. It frees us from the natural limitations imposed by physical proximity.

Of course expanded networks require that we enhance, or even develop, skills to develop networks, maintain connections with others and balance what can be multiple, occasionally overlapping, networks. In my case I've limited my Facebook network to friends and family. I use my Twitter account to expand my professional contacts and my professional learning. LinkedIn is used to network with professional colleagues and others who share similar interests or backgrounds.

I'd enjoy hearing from you about your use of social media and how it's transformed your personal and professional life.

Twitter and the School Leader

I've had a Twitter account for a couple of years but don't ever tweet. That's because I use my account almost exclusively to stay up-to-date on information that improves my work. I'm linked to some of my favorite professional organizations and favorite authors and presenters like Barbara Blackburn and Todd Whitaker. Recently, Todd (@Todd Whitaker), a well known speaker, said "Every school leader should be on Twitter. it is the very best free professional development you'll ever find." He's right. Twitter links me to some of the best ideas available for school leaders and allows me, if I choose, to share ideas and get feedback.

On Twitter you can follow other principals, check in on the latest news from groups like ASCD, eSchoolNews, NASSP, NAESP and others. Through Twitter you can link to their posts and lots of useful information.

Besides your own professional learning Twitter can be used to share information about your school. Separate from your personal account, your school can have a corporate Twitter account. That allows you greater control over the message and the image. Almost every day I learn about how school leaders use Twitter for communication. Here are some examples.

• Share educational news and articles about your school
• Tweet photos and brief biographies about new teachers
• Share information about school closings due to weather
• Post short videos of school concerts or drama presentations
• Announce school events and meetings
• Share the lunch menu
• Post school sports scores and results

I found that the most difficult decision was to establish my account. After a few days I found that I returned regularly to check out what my favorites were sharing. I'd enjoy hearing from you about how you use Twitter and other forms of social media for your own professional learning or for communication.

Dealing with Rumors Spawned by Social Media

Social media is a powerful communication tool but one of its detriment is the ability to spawn rumors. Rumors spread quickly via texts, Twitter or Facebook and can quickly overwhelm a school's ability to respond. Often they take on a life of their own and, accurate or not, require some sort of response. Many school leaders are uncertain about how to respond or how to use communication tools to put the rumors to rest. The National School Public Relations Association asked that question to a group of principals and found some interesting approaches.

• It is important to get timely and accurate information to key audiences quickly. Always make a cognitive, rather than emotional, response to rumors. Just the facts.
• Assure students, families and communities that you are aware of the rumor, are investigating, and will deal with it so that you maintain a safe school environment.
• Ask for specific details about any rumors that people may have heard. This will help with your assessment and response.
• Communicate quickly when a situation happens and notify parents and community rapidly. Don't let the message, and associated rumors, get spread by neighbors of the school, by students or others.
• Create a "Fact Check" site on your school's website and let people know that is where they can either go for information or to post a rumor and get a response.
• Recognize the importance of redundant dissemination of information. Everyone doesn't get their information from the same source and today social media is one of the primary sources of information for many people.

I'd enjoy hearing from you about how you deal with rumors and how you respond to the ideas from the National School Public Relations Association.

A Principal's Blog - Brag About Your School

One of a principal's most important roles is to advocate for their school. That includes sharing information with staff, students, families and community. Communication occurs in many ways but increasingly various forms of social media technology are used to spread the "good news" about your school.  One tool is a blog, basically a website that functions as an online journal. What's good about a blog is that you can control the content and make it what you want.

Partrick Larkin, 2012 NASSP Digital Principal, identified reasons for beginning a blog. Principals are generally pretty proud of their school. They want to share newsworthy things about students and co-curricular activities. They have great teachers who are doing great things in their classroom. And they want to improve communication with both families and community.  Once you begin your blog you can add a link from your school's website and you can share it with teachers and other staff. Here's a link to Larkin's article about how to get started. And here are some other examples of blogs maintained by school leaders.

• A Principal's Reflections - Eric Sheninger, New Milford HS (NJ) - http://esheninger.blogspot.com
• Learning in Burlington - Patrick Larkin, Burlington (MA) - http://LearningInBurlington.blogspot.com

I'd enjoy learning from you about how you communicate with families and community and what you think about starting a principal's blog.

Family Friendly Schools

The involvement of families in school life has consistently been shown to have a positive impact on student success. I'm always looking for good ideas about how to make schools more "family-friendly" and read an Eye on Education blog last week that suggested ten useful practices. They include

• Maintaining open lines of communication
• Making positive phone calls
• Cleaning the school before parent meetings
• Hanging student work in classrooms
• Celebrating student success
• Creating a "We Don't Brag" bulletin board to share positive information
• Organizing a family/faculty event
• Post graphs of student achievement
• Holding a contest to encourage attendance at parent meetings
• Encouraging parents to bring a parent of one of their child's friends to a school meeting.

You can get much more detail by clicking on the post. I'd enjoy hearing from you about other things you do to involve families in school life.

Social Media and You

Over the last year I've become acutely aware of the power of social media to improve the educational experience of students and to transform the way schools interact and communicate with families and community. My good friend, Howard Johnston, and I are writing a book that will serve as a principal's guide to the use of social media in their school.

We're very aware of both the use and abuse of social media, of concerns about cyberbullying and other forms of harassment. But we've also grown attentive to the ways that principals use Facebook and Twitter to share information about their school and to keep families informed about school accomplishments and events.

Both of us have read, and recommend, a book by Charlene Li titled Open Leadership. It's a powerful book and describes the way social technology has created a more transparent environment, one in which leaders must behave quite differently.

As Howard and I continue to work on the book we would enjoy hearing from you about both the issues and concerns you have with social media, and the way you and your teachers use it to improve classroom instruction. We look forward to hearing from you.

Working with Families and Community

I recently completed a project at Hadley Junior High School in Glen Ellyn, IL during which the staff and parents examined their program to find ways to strengthen and enhance their services to students. Several major commitments emerged during the project. First, the planning group worked diligently to keep parents and community informed. They held a series of Town Hall Meetings where they shared information with the community and heard about their concerns. Second, they published a series of newsletters in both paper and electronic format. They are also working to create a series of videos or podcasts of critical school events (6th grade orientation) that will be available for parents. They are also committed to making these resources available to parents and families where English is not the primary language. The commitment of the Hadley community to assure that everyone (families, community, teachers, students) are informed and have an opportunity to share their ideas about their school is significant. The commitment transformed their school.