In the latest chapter of his book Innovators Mindset, author George Couros develops the concept of "8 characteristics of the Innovators Mindset". All 8 characteristics appeal to me but the networking concept caught my eye (plus it was the one thing the my fellow blog contributors hadn't really talked about yet).
So in case you didn't notice, I love to tweet! As a fellow blog contributor said to me, "tweeting is a sickness" (and that is a positive statement). I just can't help myself. The ability of the platform to build an endless network of committed, talented, innovative educators is unrivaled. But only 7 of my teachers are on Twitter (and of those, only a couple regularly tweet). And even while FSUSD seems to have a ton of educators on Twitter, as a percentage of the number of teachers and school leaders, it is a relatively small number. So that raises an issue...most of our teachers aren't tweeting yet. They are missing out on the PLN that is literally better than any PD/professional learning network I've ever participated in or attended. So what now? How do we build a network on our campus and District for our teachers and school leaders in a way that creates innovative culture and change. That is efficient. And safe/inclusive/meaningful/powerful/and on and on (PSSST...Twitter does this really well for educators. Not sure about safety for other topics...).
I don't have all the answers but I am taking a leap and I am going to try to break down some walls (not literally...my secretary would likely tackle me). Today, I talked FlipGrid for staff at our staff meeting. The platform allows for users (teachers and students) to respond to prompts with a short video upload. I was going to go with this flowery question on innovative practices for our first question but instead kept it to something simple, yet powerful. What is the best thing that happened for you at school today? See https://flipgrid.com/gmwyauk. They seemed interested but I was kinda bummed when 13 responses weren't posted (though I admittedly couldn't give them time to post at the meeting. Which raises other questions about providing quality time for reflection...another post). I then introduced the #observeme movement that is sweeping our secondary schools. I am not really sure this is happening at any of the other elementary schools but #cheobserveme has begun. I can't wait to see where it goes. Our teachers are already innovative (even if its only one single innovative lesson). Can we share with each other? Can we grow? Can we document our journey (triumphs and mistakes alike)?
Lastly, I haven't given up on connecting CHE Twitter with TwitterEd. I am excited for #JoinTwitterWeek, tentatively scheduled for the week of April 17th.
Oh, and my network is the best thing that happened to me at school today! That and kindergarten science and dance parties!
What are the Observe Me signs that Kristen Witt is sending you? #ilovetotweet too!
ReplyDeleteI too have found that Twitter can be addicting. Sometimes I have a hard time shutting it off. There are so many great things happening out there and I really enjoy finding inspiration in the work of other educators.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of join Twitter week - may have to put that challenge out to some of my colleagues and see what momentum we can build.
Sarah
I made a slide deck to present the idea of "observe me" at my school. Although I've never gotten to share it, it's pretty good https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1BX39Ki7DePVBmOwDzZKfhOApXM6wHEfYx7gDW3ReHps Maybe someone reading this post wondering what #observeme is will find it helpful.
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DeleteUmmm...I am thinking dozens of teachers and our admin team will mind it SUPER helpful! As always, thanks for sharing! You are truly an amazing educator.
DeleteI think part of the hesitancy with Twitter is the perceived risk people have and a misunderstanding of the tool. "What if someone sees this?" is kind of the whole point of social media right? So, "how do we give people a reason to use this tool with a purpose that benefits them?" a question to tackle. One thing that helps is to throw out a question into a twitter chat and see if anything comes back. I had a teacher looking for a resource, so I threw out the question in #sschat (social studies chat) and got an answer back within 5 minutes. That showed the teacher that twitter can be an efficient and time saving resource and isn't just about showing off your lunch order.
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