Don't Compete with Social Media. Integrate It!

This week, I had some words via Twitter with Wake County Public Schools for making decisions about policies that affect students without bringing students into the conversation in a respectful way. Students were upset when they learned Snapchat was blocked and they took their concerns to Twitter.

.@randixmartinez If your phone is put away, why would you care if snapchat is blocked? #logic

— Wake County Schools (@WCPSS) September 21, 2015

@WCPSS blocking snapchat just makes me dread school even more, congrats now students are even more miserable

— randi (@randixmartinez) September 21, 2015

@WCPSS @AnnaOlson68 Thank God I graduated. I hated school because of policies like this. And I think that's why most kids hate school

— Mike (MaGzz) (@zvoidteam) September 21, 2015

I chimed in, sharing a Tweet that received a lot of Twitter attention making more than 5000 impressions.  I asked this:

If Snapchat is more engaging than school, schools shd work on being more engaging cc @randixmartinez #StuVoice https://t.co/aCoO5r4Sv5

— Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) September 24, 2015

Students started a petition that current has about 150 signatures asking their school to lift the ban.  On the petition students explain some ways they are using Snapchat for learning:

"Not only does Snapchat help us communicate with each other in and out of class, it helps quickly relay information between students for help on work. Just because there aren't school-related accounts on it, it's still a very useful tool and should not be blocked."

"There is no service at my school so those without iMessage cannot communicate with the outside world. Many use snapchat as a way to give information and updates throughout the day BRING IT BACK."

Teachers also chimed in sharing smart ways for using Snapchat.  For example Nikki Robertson explained Snapchat is used on the daily to tell stories of what is going on in her library.  

The most important point, however, probably came when I attended the Maker Faire Education Forum a few days later. Nancy Otero, known for her work with digital fabrication and project based learning was on a panel about "Making in Schools."  An audience member asked if making could compete with social media in schools.  I tweeted her response.

Yes! Q: Can Making compete w/social media? A. You don't need to compete w/social media. You can integrate it. - @LeSheepo #makeEDU

— Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) September 25, 2015

And this is what it comes down to. When we stop banning and competing with social media and start listening to our students, we can figure out ways to integrate this powerful platform into learning in ways that help students communicate and connect with the world and each other.  

And, you know what? It looks like all this "taking it to social media" may have worked. On Friday, the student who made this story news, Tweeted this:

DID THEY ACTUALLY UNBLOCK SC?!? I DID SOMETHING SUCCESSFUL IN MY LIFE

— randi (@randixmartinez) September 25, 2015

If this is correct, then HT to @WCPSS for hearing school voice. Hearing and adjusting is good. Inviting students to the table to have a voice in the policies and guidelines that affect them is even better. 

Update....

Misunderstanding.  Student voice dismissed. Snapchat remains unblocked. 

@InnovativeEdu @Snapchat Thanks for the blog post and for your perspective. We did not unblock Snapchat. 😁

— Wake County Schools (@WCPSS) September 28, 2015

My Makeaways from #makeEDU #makerED #MakerFaire

I had the opportunity to hear from leaders and influencer in the Maker movement at the Maker Faire Ed Forum. If you couldn't be there in person, you can checkout some of the terrific takeaways (or as I like to say, "makeaways") at the Storify below.

My personal favorite makeaway:

Yes! Q: Can Making compete w/social media? A. You don't need to compete w/social media. You can integrate it. - @LeSheepo #makeEDU

— Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) September 25, 2015

My most popular Tweet was an important message from our progressive school Chancellor Carmen Farina.

Superintendents: Even if u don't understand Making u must understand the importance of it. - Carmen Farina #makeEDU pic.twitter.com/HjQPBPCEaD

— Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) September 25, 2015

Check out the rest below.

Hand Signals - Which Do You Use For Effective Communication?

Recently, I enjoyed dinner with a friend and his daughter who is in first grade. As we were talking she used various hand signals to show when she agreed, disagreed, had something to add, and there were a few more.  As she shared each signal, I asked what they meant. She asked if I was ever in first grade? I explained that at the school I attended so many years back, we didn’t use hand signals. She explained how they made her time in class work much better and allowed all students to share with each other and the teacher how they felt.  

This is something that is important to incorporate in self-directed learning environments.  They provide instant feedback without interrupting a speaker. Hand signals make non-verbal communication explicit and deliberate by replacing subtle cues with intentional, well-defined ones.

To follow are several of the hand signals used at Agile Learning Centers which embrace self-directed learning. As you read each one think about which you might incorporate into your work setting. Are 

Tools, Practices, + Structures, to Guide Self-Directed Learning

Want a community that embraces self-directed learning? These tools, practices, and structures are used to support such a community as part of The Agile Learning Model. They can be used anywhere and modified to best support learning in your environment.

To follow you will read about the following structures, tools, and practices:

• Set-the-week Meeting
• Offerings Board
• Scrum
• Morning Intentions / Stand-up Meeting
• Spawn Points
• Personal Kanban
• Gratitude Circle / Community Rituals
• Closing Meeting / Afternoon Reflections
• Change-up meetings
• Community Mastery Board (CMB)
• GameShifting

Take a look. Think about what you like. Consider what may be successful to put in place where you work.

The Hottest Posts Everyone's Reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog.

Taking the lead this week is a new, free tool called Class Story which can be used to strengthen the home-school connection from Class Dojo. There was also interest in learning about becoming a teacher entrepreneur and intrapreneur. I was pleasantly surprised to see my post about the importance of relationships to build community remains at the top of the list.  My post that explains the new Google for Ed Certification Exams was also among the most popular.

There are a few more posts to round out the top including one that addresses what is most important when it comes to learning and another about how you can tap into the strengths of all your students. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. Share it on your networks.  If you're inspired, leave a comment!

Entry	Pageviews
Class Story (an Instagram for Parents) Helps Stren... Sep 6, 2015,	5023
Teacher Entrepreneurship - Learn What It's All Abo... Aug 23, 2015,	4870
Relationships, Not Fines, Lead to Great Schools + ... Aug 20, 2015,	4746
Should cellphones be allowed in school? My Respons... Aug 12, 2015,	3541
Google for Education Certification and Exams Sep 9, 2015,	3246
What's Most Important When It Comes To Learning? Aug 25, 2015,	2992
8 Real Ways Facebook Enriched Ms. Schoening’s Firs... Jul 15, 2010,	2318
How I Became A Teacher Intrapeneur. 4 Ideas to Ins... Aug 24, 2015,	2301

A Learning Model with No Tests, Teachers, or Curriculum Standards Required

Adult life is all about making choices, learning from them, and prioritizing competing demands for our time. A healthy educational environment must allow students to experience such opportunities and challenges. To do this, children must be able to make their own decisions and pursue their own passions. This creates the opportunity for them to flourish to their full potential if they have a supportive, respectful and loving culture. Knowing what they want to learn or do, and then following through to learn it or achieve it, is a core skill for learning.

There is an education model that reflects this philosophy. It is called Agile Learning.  The education model uses a tree as a metaphor to illustrate the model.  

Here are the four parts of the model: