I have chosen to focus on the development of a communication plan for my school district. First and foremost there needs to be a website that is user friendly and contains links to all pertinent information that stakeholders would be interested in.
This
should include links to district and school specific social media via Twitter
and Facebook. Teachers will have access
to the creation of a free website through the districts website.
The
district will create a survey that can be conducted online or at registration
that is designed to better understand what apps and platforms are most commonly
used by stakeholders.
A
technology team will focus on compiling and assessing results for
implementation of policies that focuses on ensuring that information is being
disseminated through modern and traditional formats. The technology team should be made up of
teachers, administrators, parents, and support staff.
Professional
development will be offered to teachers and administrators concerning new ways
to use these communication tools, the benefits of going digital whenever
possible, and exploration of new technological tools that can be helpful in the
classroom.
As
Eric Sheninger wrote in Digital Leadership, it is important to understand how
stakeholders communicate and meet them where they are.
Instructional
sheets will be offered on the district website for setting up and using these
technologies as well tables with this information at registration and open
house events.
Communication
is key to success, and the combination of traditional communication methods
such as emails, notes home, and phone calls in conjunction with new technologies
such as Twitter and Facebook, our school district can realize success as the
team that we create.
Sheninger, Eric. 2014. Digital leadership: changing paradigms for changing times. Corwin.
Hello Kristin! I very much enjoyed your post. I wanted to first talk about the last point you made within your post about communication. No matter what profession you are in, communication is the key to success. Being in the military, one of the biggest priority is clear communication. Missions have no chance of succeeding if communication breaks down and morale can easily plummet if communication between personnel is not achieved. In the classroom environment and school setting, it is equally as important. I liked that you mention the use of old and new forms of communication methods. It is not wise to abandon previous forms of communication. Letters sent home to parents, newsletters posted online, emails, and phone calls are all still effective means of communicating. Social media devices and platforms such as Twitter and Facebook create new, fast, efficient, and modern form of communication that is accessible and convenient for a wide group of users. Your evidence from your reading is great. Understanding how stakeholders communicate in the educational environment is crucial to the needs of the community. Implementing policies and plans are very important to the growth of the district because complacency gets school districts nowhere, fast! If plans are implemented in the first place, there will be no growth. Another detail related to that is the notion of assessment and reassessment of plans along the way. Having a great plan and leaving it alone isn’t always the best thing. It is very easy to assume that a plan will take care itself and no work needs to be done. By reassessing and making the necessary adjustments to plans and communication methods, stakeholders and school districts can succeed and adapt to future plans. By making things accessible to parents, faculty, and students will have the opportunity to become actively involved in their school communities.
ReplyDeleteHello Kristen,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate all points that you’d made on your blog regarding a communication plan. One question that came to mind was would it be a good idea to include parents or other stakeholders besides faculty and administration in the professional development meetings? I don’t know if that would be a good mix for the nature of the setting as one who has not been in the primary or secondary educational setting. My thinking was that since it is offered as a group training program it may be good to include as many as possible in order to contribute to improvements in communication among more stakeholders of the school district. Your plan appears well thought out. I like the idea of providing communication through traditional methods as well as through new technology such as Twitter and Facebook. Such methods should accomplish mass communication without excluding those who are not ready to learn new technology. The format, however, that you suggested such as providing links on a user friendly website for stakeholders to use for learning how to communicate through new methods seems like a good idea. Some of your ideas are related to the methods I had recently learned through the Breaking Ranks framework such as having a shared vision, one that is promoted by collaborative leadership, supported by professional development, and the need to foster a culture of change, (Breaking Ranks 2016) Having the communication plan method you suggested, I believe your school would be successful in its endeavor in fostering reliable communication methods yet, allowing an opportunity for stakeholders to be updated in new methods through the use of technology. I hope you have the opportunity to present your ideas to your school. In a collaborative leadership framework where all stakeholders’ strengths are utilized, a good technology plan such as yours, can be a success, Breaking Ranks 2016).
Reference:
Executive Summary (2016) Breaking Ranks: The comprehensive Framework for school
improvement, © 2016 National Association of Secondary School Principals https://www.nassp.org/
Thanks Kristen. You are correct in stating that a website that is developed for professional development or for any school purpose should be user-friendly. The school website that I have personally navigated as a teacher have been clunky and not very smart. I envision these websites could be more that what they have been. Imagine a professional development website that looks like Second Life. Second Life is a virtual 3D world that allows users to interact with one another through avatars, creating a "second life". I imagine trainings in this virtual 3D world that allows educators to be active in their education. For example, a training on managing behaviors would happen in a virtual classroom with virtual students. Educators could implement real life strategies in real time, while receiving assistance from other educators. Dozens of virtual classrooms can be created, simulating real life experiences.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, meetings can be held in the Second Life 3D virtual world. A professional development website should give educators that ability to collaborate and share. The world could also provide educators a reprieve and allow them to have fun! One of the coolest things about Second Life is the ability to fly from world to world. Imagine educators flying from an American based world to a Asian world where they are able to sit in virtual conferences or classrooms and learn from our global neighbors.
As wonderful as this sounds, I believe we are far off in some of our public schools. One main reason is "some people will never get on board with the change process for a variety of reasons, none of them good ones (Sheninger, 2014, p. 59). Also, poor professional development hinders many educators from realizing the true potential of technology. Educators who are properly trained on the instruments they are required to use can become wonderful advocated for digital leadership.
References:Sheninger, E. (2014). Digital leadership: changing paradigms for changing times. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin