Social media

#SXSWedu Tools

Eduflack Media, Social media

We are now less than a week from SXSWedu. For those attending, dear ol’ Eduflack will be doing a session on parental engagement and the importance of fathers in the education process. Following that session, I’ll be over at the SXSWedu bookstore for a book signing of my Dadprovement book.

At such events, I’m always a big fan of the online app, something that lets me see the entire schedule on my phone. As expected, the SXSWedu app is top notch. For those who will be in Austin, it is definitely worth checking out here.

I’ll admit, I’m a newbie for SXSWedu. This will be my first visit. I assume it’ll be the first for many of those who will be in attendance. So I was intrigued by a “SXSWedu Survival Guide for Educators,” offered by the folks at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education.

In the Guide, Rossier offers lists of tips, dos, don’ts, and even an organizer to help folks plan for the time at SXSWedu. Many of these items are generally useful for the education conference circuit in general, a core tick list before one descends on conference central. But for those headed to Texas next week, particularly for the first time, check out the “Helpful Links” at the end of the post. Those Trojans have pulled together blog posts from past SXSWedus to get folks in the right frame of mind. Definitely worth the look.

Let’s Chat about Reformer/Educator Collaboration

Eduflack Social media, teachers

Earlier this month, dear ol’ Eduflack had a commentary published in Education Week focusing on the need for both the education reform and the educator community to look for ways to collaborate and work together if we were serious about improving student learning and student achievement.

The idea might be common sense, but it is one that is often absent from so many of these so-called discussions. We seem to only want to debate with those who agree with us 100 percent, and we are quick to discount those with specific differing opinions, even if there is much we can agree on regarding the larger field.

The response I’ve gotten from the piece has been tremendous, and just a little bit surprising. Perhaps the most heartwarming discussion I’ve had is with Michael Ramon Hicks (@TheOtherDrHicks), a professor of education down in Louisiana. As the result of some rich give and take with the good Doctor, I was able to see I have a little bit of educator in me after all, and that those lines of both agreement and disagreement can be wonderful starting points for a meaningful give and take.

Continuing in that vein, I’m happy to announce that I’ll be part of Ed Week … Every Week!, a live Twitter chat hosted by the Arizona K-12 Center, a not-for-profit that provides high-quality professional learning to educators.

On Wednesday, October 1, I’ll be participating in their Bridging the Classroom-Policy Divide discussion. It’s happening at 7:30 pm ET (4:30 pm Arizona Time). You can join in with the hashtag #azk12chat.

Hope you’ll be able to join us.

Help a Trojan Out!

Eduflack Media, Social media, teachers

For those of us who live social media, we hopefully find a lot of use from the #edchat hashtag. Whether you participate in the official weekly #edchat discussions or just use the tag to throw out ideas that others might find interesting or provocative, it is a useful tag for taking the pulse of what is happening in education.

Well, the good folks over at the University of South California’s Rossier School of Education are doing a little survey to better understand how #edchat is being used and how it might be improved, particularly so it is of more use to classroom educators. So now is the time to have your voice heard on the matter.

Five minutes of your time Just go visit the USC Rossier #edchat survey. Help improve the Twitter space.

If surveys aren’t your thing, you can always check out the Essential #Edchat Resource Guide that those well-meaning Rossier folks (and Rossier MAT Online) have made available.  

And for all you non-Trojans out there, I assure you it is not an endorsement of their football team (unless you want it to be). I offered my opinions, yet will still be rooting for the University of Virginia (and, to a lesser degree Notre Dame) as college kickoff comes …

Wahoowah!

 

“The Top Twitter Feeds in Education Policy,” Courtesy of EdNext

Eduflack Arne Duncan, Media, Social media

August. That time of year when parents start wondering when their kids can go back to school already, when Mets fans can start thinking about how we will get over the hump “next year,” and when Education Next and Michael Petrilli (president of the Fordham Institute) release the annual Top Twitter Feeds in Education Policy.

I believe this is the fourth year that Education Next has published the list. Each time, I am amazed by the rich list of names of organizations and individuals that are committed to Tweeting about all things education. And while some may question the methodology, Petrilli does a strong job in building the list, relying on Klout scores and total number of followers to apply some quantitative metrics to an exercise that could quickly devolve into qualitative messiness.

So who is on top this year? Teach for America (@teachforamerica) vaulted from the “show” spot last year to lead the pack for 2014. TFA is followed by EdSec Arne Duncan (@arneduncan) at #2 and Diane Ravitch (@DianeRavitch) at #3. The two shared the top spot last year. (And one has to ask the question why Ravitch uses CAPS in her handle while Arne goes all ee cummings on us.)

The Top 10 is rounded out with Education Week (@educationweek), AFT’s Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten), Michelle Rhee (@MichelleRhee), Education Next (@educationnext), the U.S. Department of Education (@usedgov), Huffington Post Education (@HuffPoEdu), and Harvard Graduate School of Education (@HGSE).

You can view the full list, along with the metrics and last year’s rankings at Education Next.

There are four newcomers to the list this year. Badass Teachers Association (@BadassTeachersA) jumps in at #15. Mark Naison (@mcfiredogg) enters the charts at #21. Campbell Brown (@campell_brown) quickly joins the edu-fray and comes in at #24, and Education Nation (@educationnation) launches at #26.

And what of dear ol’ Eduflack? Thanks to a growing group of Twitter friends, @Eduflack went from 26th last year (with a Klout score of 64) to 22nd this year (an a 67 Klout).

This year, Education Next also provided some additional perspective by looking at the “top education-policy people on Twitter), with Arne, Ravitch, and Randi taking win, place, and show respectively. (Your favorite neighborhood Eduflack came in at 13, between Naison and Campbell Brown.) The people list also adds a number of media members to the list, including Joy Resmovits (@joy_resmovits), Eilzabeth Green (@elizwgreen), and Libby Nelson (@libbynelson).

If you are on the Twitters, you need to be following all the voices on this year’s lists. Collectively, they offer some valuable perspective, a wealth of resources, and a ton of content.

(and while you are at it, retweet and favorite more of my posts, so my Klout score can increase. 🙂 )

 

Social Media in the Education Space

Eduflack Collaborative, Marketing, Media, PR, Social media

Eduflack is often fond of saying that the education community is typically one of the last to truly embrace new technologies. We lagged healthcare and other spaces when it came to moving onto the Internet and using websites to improve information sharing. We were slow to platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, and some could say we still struggle with maximizing the reach and opportunity they afford, at least compared to other spaces.

Twitter seems to be a different story. In recent years (and recent months), we have witnessed the enormous education-focused power of Twitter. To get information out to teachers and school leaders and parents. To engage in conversations with individuals and organizations we might not regularly get to spend time with. To spotlight issues and concerns that may not receive the attention of the mainstream media. To raise awareness, understanding, and action on the key policy, research, and instructional issues of the day.
Connected Educators, an effort started by the U.S. Department of Education a few years ago, is the perfect example of the possibility. ESchool News named it one of the top 10 ed-tech stories of 2013. During Connected Educators Month (October 2013), there were more than 600 events and activities, with participation from more than 330 national, state, and local organizations. More than 13 million educators and others were reached via Twitter alone, generating an average of 4.6 million impressions a day. The numbers are more than impressive, but it is aksi a great example of the power of Twitter in advancing important issues, particularly with educators.
The education social media community is a great space to play in. Every summer, Education Next publishes its list of the Top Twitter Feeds in Education Policy. Eduflack is always in awe of the folks of this list, and is appreciative that he has been included on it each year. The wide range of voices, experiences, and perspectives one finds on this annual list (and on so many education-focused feeds that aren’t on the list), are just incredible. And some days it almost feels like a family (even if it is a family where you can’t stand that uncle across the country).
Why all the kudos for the education social media space? Next month, PR News magazine is recognizing its inaugural class of “Social Media MVPs,” an honor that will be awarded at its Social Media Icon Awards event in New York City. Eduflack is deeply humbled that he has been included on this list. And with all of the terrific SM voices in the education space, it seems I am the only education-focused voice on the list. I could start a long list of those who are far more worthy.
In announcing the list this morning, PR News noted, “The Social Media MVPs represent the innovators and trendsetters on social media. These professionals were nominated by colleagues and carefully selected by PR News to be part of this esteemed list.”
Now I don’t know about all that. But I do know that on the SM playground, I am so appreciative of all of the reporters and researchers and educators and others who develop the articles and reports and events on which I am so fond of focusing. And I owe big thanks to the 15,500 followers on the @Eduflack Twitter feed, particularly those who like to engage and have a little back and forth with me and to my colleagues at Collaborative Communications, who let me play in this fun space and give me so many great thoughts on issues and ideas to share on SM.
The 2014 class of Social Media MVPs is an impressive one, including:
  • David Armano, Edelman Digital
  • Danielle Brigida, National Wildlife Federation
  • LaSandra Brill, Symantec
  • Amelia Burke-Garcia, Westat
  • Erica Campbell Byrum, For Rent Media Solutions and Homes.com
  • Kevin Dando, PBS
  • Jim Delaney, Activate Sports & Entertainment
  • Scott DeYager, Toyota Motor Sales USA
  • Frank Eliason, Citibank
  • Sam Ford, Peppercomm
  • Joy Hays, AT&T
  • Brett Holland, Pepco Holdings, Inc.
  • Bob Jacobs, NASA
  • Leanne Jakubowski, Walt Disney World Resort
  • Evan Kraus, APCO Worldwide
  • Stacy Martinet, Mashable
  • Christi McNeill, Patron Spirits Company
  • Kristin Montalbano, National Geographic Channel
  • Christopher S. Penn, SHIFT Communications
  • Patrick R. Riccards, Collaborative Communications
  • Jennifer Stalzer, MasterCard
  • Lt. Stephanie M. Young, United States Coast Guard
  • Albe Zakes, TerraCycle
Kudos to all of those on the list. Social media is one of those things that you either love or you don’t. And from following many on this list, these are folks who truly love SM and the engagement that comes from it. 

“Common Sense on the Common Core”

Eduflack 21CS, CCSS, Collaborative, national standards, Social media

With states, districts and educators working to ensure that
all students graduate from high school “college and career ready,” we are
hearing more and more about Common Core State Standards and their impact on the
classroom, particularly with regard to testing. What seems to be lacking from
that discussion, though, it a meaningful chronicling of what successful
implementation of the standards means. Until now.

This week, the Learning First Alliance rolled out a new
podcast series—Get It
Right: Common Sense on the Common Core. In LFA’s own words, “to help those
committed to the standards ensure the proper implementation, the Learning First
Alliance is spotlighting those communities that are working hard to get Common
Core implementation right. These podcasts tell their stories.

The Get It Right series launches with three interesting
discussions, all of which the importance of proper planning and collaboration
in the implementation process. These podcasts include:

In addition to the podcasts themselves, LFA has also provided
resources from each of the states profiled, as well as from its
member organizations.

If we are serious about ensuring every learner is college
and career ready, it is essential that we get CCSS implementation right. LFA’s
new effort helps all those involved in the process better understand what “getting
it right” really looks like in our states, district and schools.

This post originally appeared on the Collaborative
Communications blog.

Full disclosure: Eduflack has worked with the Learning First Alliance and many of its member organizations over the years.


The Top 30 Edu-Tweeters Are Back!

Eduflack Arne Duncan, PR, Social media

Last year, Michael Petrilli and the folks over at Education Next put together a list of the top edu-Tweeters out there in the Internets.  The list instantly generated a great deal of discussion, with some Tweeters demanding they be included on the list and others surprised by those who were included.

Last week, Education Next revealed its 2012 list of the Top 30 Education Policy Tweeters.  For this year’s list, Petrilli used the newly formulated Klout scores, featuring a new algorithm that is supposed to provide a stronger look at one’s true online influence.  A lot goes into those new Klout scores, making it one of the few real measures of online reach.
Last year, @Eduflack was 22 on the Top 30 list.  This year, we were honored to check in at number 21, sharing the ranking with EdWeek’s Politics K-12, Education Trust, Education Sector, Students First, New Schools Venture Fund, Dana Goldstein, the Frustrated Teacher, Nancy Flanagan, and Petrilli himself.  
As Petrilli and company were releasing this year’s list, another interesting news story broke — that of “phony” Twitter followers.  According to recent digging, 71 percent of Lady Gaga’s Twitter followers are fake, and similar estimates put upwards of 70 percent of President Obama’s Twitter followers on the fiction list.
So EIA’s Mike Antonucci decided to take a look at how the Top 30 Education Policy Tweeters stack up when one accounts for those “faker” Twitter accounts.  The list almost flips itself, with EdNext #1 @arneduncan slipping to #24, with only 68 percent of his followers active, real members of the Twitter universe.
Surprisingly, yours truly came in #1 on the EIA list, with 91 percent of my followers genuine, active followers on Twitter.  (For the record, I do a regular purging of my Twitter account via ManageFlitter to remove the fakes and unfollow those who have left the beloved Twitter wilderness.)
So with EdNext, EIA, and others, should we be following Klout scores?  Total followers?  Real followers?  Or does it even matter? 

Take the Test? Me?

Eduflack accountability, high-stakes testing, Social media, Students

When we talk about the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, we usually like to focus on the freedom of speech part.  Some of us (including us former reporters) like the freedom of the press thing.  The recent Occupy movement has given us new-found interest in the right of peaceable assembly.  And come election time, we often hear about freedom of religion.

But what about that fifth First Amendment right?  How often do we give attention to our right to “petition the Government for a redress of grievances?”
This week, clause five takes on special significance for dear ol’ Eduflack.  Courtesy of the good folks over at Change.org, I am now the target of an online petition.  
For those unfamiliar, Change.org is a terrific site where folks can post their grievances on any topic you care about.  Oppose the war in Afghanistan?  Wanna stop the Keystone pipeline?  Demand the return of tan M&Ms?  Doesn’t matter, Change.org is your site.  Post up a petition, spread the word, and work toward that goal of 100,000 signatures.  When you hit the magic number, great things will come to the petitioners.
This week, a petition was posted opposing the use of standardized tests in K-12 education.  Using standard language of attacking those dreaded “bubble exams,” the petitions note:
Students are put under pressure like never before to meet high expectations on Standardized Tests. Not only that, but teachers are held accountable for these tests scores, putting just as much pressure on teachers all over the United States. Ultimately, destroying the true purpose of school and education. Basically, it doesn’t matter how much a teacher helped a student go from a struggling reader to a student now never seen without a book in his hand. It doesn’t matter that the teacher inspired and motivated the student to want to graduate high school instead of dropping out on her 16th birthday just 2 months away.
The petition’s call to action?  Before subjecting our kids to more of those dreaded bubble sheets, the politicians responsible for such horrific measures of accountability should first take those standardized tests themselves.  “If you are in a position of power in the education system and think the tests are good and valuable, the theory goes, then you should feel comfortable taking them yourself and sharing how you performed,” the petitioners write.
The petition is addressed to nine parties.  The U.S. Senate, which is working to enact ESEA reauthorization, is target one.  It is followed by folks like CA Gov. Jerry Brown, NJ Gov. Chris Christie, PA Gov. Tom Corbett, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, CT Gov. Dannel Malloy, and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.  But wait, there are two other targets on the list.  The first is former DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee, now the head of StudentsFirst.  The second?  Patrick Riccards, your friendly neighborhood Eduflack.
  
For the record, I do think student tests are good and valuable.  I believe that the ultimate measure of our public education systems should be outcomes.  If we are serious about improving student learning, we need to enact some measures to ensure that is happening.  Standardized tests may be far from perfect, and they may not be the only measure of student learning, but they are an important component to determining our success.  Like it or not, we need quantifiable measures of student progress and school achievement.
Sure, technically I’m not “the Government.”  But folks should feel free to bring me their redress of testing grievances.  Will I take the test?  I’d be happy to.  But as the head of an education advocacy organization, I’d like to have some of those voices defending the status quo and chanting “all is well” when we talk about improvement in the testing room right there with their own No. 2 pencils.  
Sadly, we are only up to 27 signatures on the petition.  When we hit the magic number, I’m ready for my bubble sheet.

Yes, We 50CAN!

Eduflack Achievement gap, Social media

For years now, Eduflack has written about how real, meaningful educational change happens at the state level.  Yes, the Feds have the bully pulpit, as evidenced by today’s expected White House announcement to provide waivers to those state willing to play ball with regard to AYP and student achievement.  But it ultimately falls to individual states to set the agenda, develop the policies, fund the plan, and implement real improvements with fidelity.

Programs like Race to the Top help jumpstart the process, but after the last check is cashed, it falls to those governors, state departments of education, and state boards of education to follow through.  And don’t forget about the superintendents, school boards, teachers, and advocates who make it happen.
Even the most well-meaning state, though, can use a little support, assistance, encouragement, and, if necessary, someone to hold feet to the fire.  
Yesterday was the official launch of just such a broker, with the formal unveiling of 50CAN, the 50-state campaign for achievement now.  50CAN’s new website is chock full of information on what is possible when it comes to real, state-level education reform.  It also spotlights four state CAN organizations — Maryland, Minnesota, New York, and Rhode Island — which have been built upon the groundbreaking work of ConnCAN in Connecticut.
In rolling out 50CAN’s new website, 50CAN President and Co-Founder Marc Porter Magee says it best:

50CAN’s mission is to identify and support local leaders who build movements within their states to ensure that every child has access to a great public school.  As 50CAN board member and National Council of La Raza Senior Vice President Delia Pompa says on our new website, “The job going forward is to create a larger podium for those who are guided by the interests of children.”

That’s what 50CAN is all about. We provide amazing local leaders with the tools to build powerful advocacy movements in their state, including national-caliber communications and research such as websites, lobbying strategies, policy expertise and social media savvy. By empowering local leaders, we are helping create a lasting, research-grounded education reform movement capable of tackling 50 sets of education policy challenges in 50 states.

The website and 50CAN’s twitter feed (@fiftycan) are well worth the look if you are serious education reform.  And the work being done through the CAN network is where the lasting state-based school improvement work will be percolating first and offering real longevity.
   

Some Ed Reform Tweetin’

Eduflack Media, Social media

The tweeting coming from the education community seems to be getting louder by the day.  What was once a handful of sparrows trying to find voice has now become an army of eagles (and some vultures) all seeking additional attention and acknowledgement for their respective causes.

This week, the folks over at BestCollegesOnline.com released their list of the Top 50 Essential Twitter Feeds for Education Reformers.  The list is a who’s who of education tweeters, broken into five categories — News, Government, Reform Groups, Teacher Advocates, and Education Policy.
Eduflack is honored to be one of the six Tweeters named to the Essential Twitter Feeds/Education Policy category.  @Eduflack tops the list, joined by @rgwahby , @saramead , @AEIeducation , @edvoters , and @TCBGP .
Whether you are a true reformer or a status quoer, the full list is worth a look … and forth a follow.