"Tell me and I'll forget, Show me and I'll remember, Involve me and I will understand." - Benjamin Franklin We have worked very hard this year to make our communication as seamless and as coordinated as possible this year. Through; emails, voice messages, phone calls, face to face meetings, blogs and twitter posts, we are building the story of us at Haysboro School. Our school wide question this year of, "What's the Story" we are 'Creating a Culture of Wonder' as we are 'Learning to Fly...Uncovering Wonder, Igniting Curiosity and Empowering Innovation' working towards becoming, 'Ahead by a Century'. By working with our students through blogs and twitter, we hope to share many forms of student learning so you can have a window into your child's world each day. So ... What’s Up with Twitter? If you’re like me, you are probably a pretty persistent parent in your desire to initiate a dinner conversation with your child likely using some variation of this inquiry, “So, what did you do at school today? What exciting things happened” And, if your kids are like mine, you likely receive a response similar to “The usual.” or “Not much”. Enter Twitter. There are multiple reasons why our school is brining Twitter forward, but the primary reason is to establish a bridge between the classroom and your home. In this way, your child’s learning becomes visible. Suddenly, the response “Not much” carries no weight whatsoever. It is this pending conversation with your child that offers and opportunity to transfer learning across contexts. When your child knows you share interest and connection to their learning, they strengthen their connections, and are more likely to pursue and extend this new learning independently. In addition, you as the parent are more likely to engage in learning alongside your child. This could include something as simple as side-by-side web browsing, to family outings. These are win-win-win situations benefiting your child’s learning, your relationship with your child, and the work of the school. Secondly, working with Twitter is a tool to assist in teaching our students digital citizenship. Engaging with authentic purpose with adult-to-adult communication helps your child to shadow and learn about social media in a controlled environment between trusted adults. Finally, Twitter is a tool for you to connect to the greater school community. While you child’s teacher and classroom likely remain your primary focus, we are all part of a larger school community. You will find the majority of CBE schools are now on Twitter, including all of our new schools. Teachers and School Administration prefer Twitter as a communication tool because it is: a) quick and easy – mobile technologies provide quick access, b) succinct – thoughts are compressed to a handy 140 characters or less, and c) specific – it is targeted to an audience that seeks their content. Of course, the main questions about use of Twitter have to do with safety. It is important to know that this is our priority as well. To protect our students, and to comply with privacy laws, we have all been instructed to use photos where students are “not identifiable”. This means that photos are taken from angles where student faces are not visible. In most cases, teachers will also choose to use a photo filter using apps. All our classroom accounts are monitored by, and teacher lead, and the entirety of the school accounts are monitored daily by school administration. As part of our role in digital citizenship we also discuss Twitter with our students, and make this documentation part of our ongoing discussions in the classrooms. Feedback regarding our adoption of Twitter has been very positive. When parents have the opportunity to pair Twitter alongside our daily/weekly blogs they are able to get a clear look into the day in the life of a Haysboro student. Students love to have their work highlighted and parent feedback around the quick and descriptive information bytes provides a lot of dinner-time conversations. In terms of organization, we have decided to join Twitter as classrooms instead of a centrally controlled school account. You can find our accounts using the following handles: Mrs. Kohan | @PrincipalKohan Ms. Russell | @msrussels3_4 Mrs. Campbell | @FlyinKinder Mr. Webber | @HaysboroWebber Mrs. Lineham | @linehamgr1_2 Mrs. Shukalov | @lynnshukalov Mrs.Austerman | @a_austerman123 Mrs. Pratt | @waiting2wonder Ms. McIvor | @msbrookymonster Mrs. Maynes | @MsMaynes Mrs. Carmichael | @MrsCarmichael21 We encourage all of our families to join Twitter, but respect that some parents choose not to be active on social media. If you have not set up an account, you can do so by visiting www.Twitter.com. Set up is very easy. You may also find the following resources to be helpful: Getting Started with Twitter: https://support.twitter.com/articles/215585 Parent’s Guide to Twitter: http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/blogs/mazza-ptchat-guide.pdf I understand that you might have more questions that have not been answered here. Please do not hesitate to contact me, Mrs. Kohan, directly to initiate a discussion. I can be reached at [email protected] or via my twitter handle @PrincipalKohan The Haysboro School staff believe in the educational benefits of Twitter, and thank you for your time in reviewing this document. Thanks, as always, for your continued support for your children's learning, Tracy Kohan, and the Staff at Haysboro School Special thanks to Ian Fero, Principal Fish Creek School and Heather McKay, CBE Literacy Specialist for putting together such great resources! Comments are closed.
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AuthorI am a Calgary Board of Education Principal, proud to be leading learning. I am driven by curiosity and believe that each day welcomes new learning. I am passionate about intellectual engagement and task design and I treasure "wonder-filled" moments with students. Archives
July 2018
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