What is Social Media, How to Leverage it to build engagement between teachers, students and the community

1. MassCUE and M.A.S.S.
2014 TIC Conference
Harnessing The Power of Social Media
to Foster Community Engagement
Rick Roque, EdD Candidate
Neil Gile, EdD Candidate

2. Rick Roque, EdD candidate
• Something goes here
• Something goes here
• Something goes here
rick@menlocompany.com
408.914.5895
B.S. Electrical Engineering, 1991
Franciscan University, Steubenville, OH
M.S. Technology Management, 1999
University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN
Public Policy Fellow, Education 2000
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
EdD Higher Education Administration,
American International College
2

3. Neil Gile, EdD candidate
ngile@longmeadow.k12.ma.us
413.330.3605
B.A. Math Science & Technology, 1997
Springfield College, Springfield, MA
M.A. Education Administration, 2006
Springfield College, Springfield, MA
EdD Higher Education Administration,
American International College
3

5. What is making the traditional model of
Public Education Irrelevant:
1.
2.
3.
4.
New Pedagogies & Instructional Approaches to
the Classroom
Blended Models: Campus vs. Off Campus
Financial Model
Competition
What is accelerating the challenges to Public
Education?

6. Our Students Are Different than Us

8. Evolution of Social Media
1998
2001
2003
2004

11. Why does Social Media Conflict with K-12?
–
–
–
–
–
Administrators focus too much about about Control
Education is Nostalgic
Teachers tend to be indifferent to things out of their expertise
Educators mis trust Social Media
Educators feel that Social Media is a distraction from the traditional learning
process

17. Building Engagement
– Relationship Driven
– Inherently Social
– It is Democratic
– Centered on
• Family
• Community
• Schools
– Why Should We
Care? Standard 3!
Family
Community
School

18. From e-Learning to Social Learning
– E learning essentially automates the traditional lecture based
model; it is flexible but with limited interactions
– Blended models help with the interaction, but generally that too
is taught in the traditional way
– Social Media helps students develop the proficiency to create,
critique, manage, analyze, evaluate and synthesize multiple
streams of information

19. • Who Was The First To Build Social Media?
– You did.
Teachers who emphasized collaboration and
transformational learning were the first pioneers of social media
principles.
• Comcast Story: A Commercial Application
• The single most powerful and yet under utilized technology
today by Educators
– Fear
– Boundaries
– Lack of Training
• Combat Bullying
• Set Parental Expectations & Give Them A Voice

21. Where Most Go Wrong With Social Media
• No Stated
Purpose
• Inconsistent
Use
• Little Planning
• It isn’t
democratic
• Afraid of the
feedback they
may receive
• What do we want
to accomplish?
• Who is our
intended
audience?
• What conversation
do we want to
engage in?

22. Examples of Effective Social
Media & Engagement

23. Building Bridges and
Relationships:
Spring 2013 Trip to
Kabul, Afghanistan
•
•
•
Rick Roque, EdD candidate
408.914.5895
rick@menlocompany.com
•
Neil Gile, EdD candidate
Principal, Wolfswamp Elementary
ngile@longmeadow.k12.ma.us

24. Bakhtar University & K-12 School

25. Building Engagement
with Administrators

26. Building Engagement
with Students

27. Building Engagement with Parents/
Students back in the U.S.

28. What Made This Social?
• The communication was honest and transparent
• It was collaborative in nature – Youtube, Facebook, Twitter
integrated
• It Drove the Conversation
• Enabled for feedback
The Result?
• 500 visitors every day for a week (during vacation)
• Frequent emails and phone calls about our days
• Gained Local News Media Attention

29. The Old Model:
A Parent Night
• Announced a Parent Night to come and learn about the
Afghanistan Trip and how it would impact student learning…
HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU THINK
SHOWED UP?
Old Model versus New Model

30. 4

31. Social Media Will Transform Education
How Students Learn and
How Educators Develop

32. Coming Soon
• As Administrators – we can leverage Social
Media for Professional Development
Purposes
– Videos
– Daily Updates
– Automated Text Messages
– Peer to Peer Platform to encourage Teaching
Communities to coach one another on relevant
matters.
New Model: To be Announced

33. References
Arora, K. (April, 2013). Social media in education: The pros and cons. Retrieved from http://
edtechreview.in/news/news/e-learning/268-socia-media-in-education-pros-cons
Hay, E.S. (Jan. 2011). The evolving role of social media in education. New Jersey Education
Associatation. Retrieved from http://www.njea.org/news-and-publications/njea-review/
january-2011/the-evolving-role-of-social-media-in-education.
Lederer, K. (Jan, 2012). Pros and cons of social media in the classroom. http://
campustechnology.com/articles/2012/01/19/pros-and-cons-of-social-media-in-theclassroom.aspx?m=2
Marquis, J. (Feb., 2012) The pros and cons of social media in education. Retrieved from http://
www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2012/02/pros-and-cons-of-social-media-in-education/.
Poston, L. (2010) The role of social media in teaching and learning. University of New
Hampshire. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/geecheegirl/the-role-of-socialmedia-in-teaching-and-learning.
Webster, A. (Sept. 2012). Beyond the classroom walls: breaking down barriers with technology.
The Guardian: Technology in Schools Week