DISQUS

Jorgie · 9 months ago

Edmodo is another tool you can look at. @Zemote is the guy running it. It works like twitter but educators can create groups (classes) that receive certain tweets. Wish I had a class so i could try it out :-(

http://www.edmodo.com/
http://twitter.com/zemote

good luck to @canyonsdave too

JazzyJsMom · 9 months ago

Congrats Darren and thanks for being a part of the change we want in the world. Maybe your super can start a new trend?

I look forward to the many positive changes you are making in the Canyons. When you get tired of the cold weather....there are plenty of places down south that could use your techspertise.

Thanks for your blog posts about Twitter, as I am referencing your blog post in one of my assignments with Twitter in Ed Tech.

Bill Ferriter · 9 months ago

Darren's superintendent wrote:

That’s also part of the reason (curiosity, I’ll admit, is another) that I’m checking out Twitter. If we are going to understand how these tools might be used in positive ways to improve student achievement or public dialogue, we must be willing to try them out and learn about them ourselves. As for my experience, so far so good.

AMEN! This is the quiet "a-ha" that I've been waiting to see school leaders and teachers have for a long, long while now.

Experimenting with tools like Twitter isn't about studying new tools. It's about studying how learning is changing----and if we don't understand how learning is changing, we can't call ourselves "teachers" who are "preparing life long learners."


Then, Darren asked:

Why don't more school administrators use Twitter (what costs/risks are involved)?


I think the risk in our district is an overly combative relationship with the community that has developed because of poor PR work.

We're constantly surrounded by news articles of angry parents who are vocally questioning everything our district does (even as our district develops a national reputation for excellence!). What's more, our district has been sued over decisions several times in the past few years.

It's ugly.

And while having a presence on social networking services like Facebook and Twitter could be a positive cog in the PR machine, I think our district leaders fear that one or two misinterpreted 140 character messages might just create a firestorm that they couldn't control.

It's the double-edged sword of transparency: Sharing everything is great until someone uses the information that you're sharing carelessly.

We've probably all had that happen to us: The critic who jumps on something we've posted somewhere and uses it to batter us about the head even though what they've clamped on to is just a small part of what we think.

In an America driven by lawsuits, I think that school leaders end up letting fear drive their decisions around the role that social networking services can play in their work.

Any of this make sense?
Bill

Darren Draper · 8 months ago

Bill, I'm sorry this is late, but I think what you've written makes great
sense. Many administrators walk a thin line in maintaining a positive
relationship with the public - and plastering 140 "thoughts" out on the web
can be easily misinterpreted.

Thanks for your comment, Bill.