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Action Plan for Building an Innovative School Culture- Karandy

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All teachers will join a Professional Learning Network (PLN) by January of the following school year.

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1. School administrators will share resources with teachers about Professional Learning Networks.

2. Teachers will create accounts or show proof of membership to PLNs.

3. Teachers will share forms of best practice that they have learned from their PLNs on the staff Google Classroom or Padlet.

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September: At the district and building meetings discuss that this is a point of emphasis for the district. Start with the “why” and explain the timeline of events. Also share out resources with staff

October: Share out a Google Form where teachers can share the PLN that they joined.

November-December: Encourage teachers to explore their PLN’s and start to discuss their findings  in their PLCs in school and their department meetings.

January: Have staff share forms of best practice on a Padlet that is shared on their Google Classroom. Share out the Padlet with the staff and discuss with teachers in the following staff meeting. Also share with the administration.

February to June: Give the Padlet short shout outs and highlight staff members who are engaged with the process.

Every year after- Highlight the Padlet and have teachers add to it from year to year.

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Methods to share

Google Classroom

Padlet

Professional Learning Networks

Twitter

A list of accounts that teachers should follow

Facebook

A list of pages to follow or groups to join

Linkedin

Blogs

Digital Discussion Forms

Pinterest

Resources that encourage the importance of Professional Learning Networks attached below

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A PLN Quick Start Guide

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Updated 1/8/19

The concept of a PLN has been around for a very long time. PLN's back in the day consisted of individuals with the same professional interests engaging in mostly face to face communication. Fast forward a good amount of years and enter the internet. No one can argue that the evolution of the real-time web has dramatically altered how we communicate, gather information, and reflect. The construction of a PLN enables educators to harness the power inherent in 21st Century technologies in order to create a professional growth tool that is accessible whenever wherever. In particular, my PLN provides me with a constant supply of resources, thought-provoking discussions, knowledge, leadership strategies, and ways to successfully integrate technology.

Image Credit http://21clc.wikispaces.com/PLN

Most educators I talk to have no idea where to begin when attempting to create a PLN that meets their teaching and learning needs. The vast majority don't even possess a working knowledge of basic web 2.0 tools and how they can be utilized for teaching and learning. The following list provides some good PLN starting points and resources to assist any educator looking to take their professional growth to new levels:

Twitter : Microblogging platform that allows educators from all corners of the globe to communicate in 280 characters or less. It allows for the sharing of resources, discussion of best practices, and collaboration. For more information on Twitter check out this .

LinkedIn : Professional networking site that allows educators to connect, exchange ideas, and find opportunities. Educators can join a variety of groups that cater to their individual learning interests and engage in discussions as well as submit, read, and comment on articles. For more information on LinkedIn check out this .

Blogs : Incredible sources of information that allow educators to reflect, share opinions, and discuss various topics. This is a common medium to discover best practices, examples of innovation, and learn from professional experiences of both novice and veteran educators. Common blogging applications include . For more information on blogs check out this .

: RSS stands for "Real Simple Syndication". An RSS reader is a tool that allows you to keep up with educational blogs, news, wikis, and podcasts all in one convenient location. By subscribing to various RSS feeds educators then have a customized flow of information that is continually updated and accessible through the use of mobile devices or the internet. Educators can even create their own RSS feeds! Popular RSS readers include . For more information on RSS check out this . Tablet apps are great tools to access RSS feeds and create your own customized news feeds. RSS Readers Flipboard is the best app that can be found on iOS and Android. Feedly

Digital Discussion Forums : Consist of communities of educators interested in similar topics. One of the most popular sites is called Ning where educators can create or join specific communities. Ning sites offer a range of learning and growth options such as discussion forums, event postings, messaging, news articles, chat features, groups, and videos. Popular educational Ning sites include English Companion Ning. Another fantastic digital discussion forum is

Social Bookmarking : Method for storing, organizing, and sharing bookmarks online. allows you to add descriptions as well as categorize each site using tags. Educators can even join groups and receive email updates when new bookmarks are added. For more information on social bookmarking check out this .

Facebook : Social networking site that not only allows people to keep up with family and friends but also to connect and engage with professionals. The Facebook in Education page provides information on how educators can best use Facebook as a resource. Other pages worth following in order to strengthen a PLN include . Each customizable page or group provides a variety of learning opportunities and growth options for educators.

: Everyone these days seems to be pinning. This tool is a great way to curate information to satisfy even the most finicky of learning needs. Check out my board just on PLN's.

Voxer: A simple to use push to talk app that can function as a walkie-talkie. With Voxer educations can engage in both synchronous and asynchronous conversations about professional practice. Learn more about how Voxer can enhance your PLN.

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Updated 1/8/19 The concept of a PLN has been around for a very long time. PLN's back in the day consisted of individuals with the same professional interests engaging in mostly face to face communication. Fast forward a good amount of years and enter the internet.

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Personal Learning Networks (PLN's) are a cost-effective means for educators to grow professionally.  Each PLN is crafted and personalized based on the professional interests and goals of an individual educator.  This is a FREE means of professional development available 24/7 from anywhere.  This board provides some of the most important social media tools that comprise many PLN's.

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Edutopia: Modern Professional Learning: Connecting PLCs With PLNs

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Edutopia: Modern Professional Learning: Connecting PLCs With PLNs

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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The district will establish building (7 members) and district technology committees (10 members) to develop educational technology leaders in the district to lead district tech initiatives by September of the following school year.

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1. The district technology director will establish a set of teachers who make up the district technology committee.

1. The technology director will have an application process that will highlight the expectations of the position and what it will entail.

2. These members will be members of the district technology committee and go to people in their respective buildings. They will carry out all district tech initiatives and be examples of digital leaders and innovators.

3. These leaders will be point people for other educators for best practices and help with technology.

4. These positions will also have a stipend

2. After the district technology committee is established, the building leaders will create the building technology committee. These members will be a part of bringing building best practices to the district leaders and serve as someone who can help communicate with the district tech committee.

3. The building and district technology committees will formally meet four times a year to share best practices and troubleshoot things for the teachers to help them with technology in the classroom.

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April of previous year- Technology leaders will meet to set up the interviewing process and share out the descriptions and expectations.

May of the previous year- The technology director will conduct interviews for the district technology committee. Members will be selected.

June of the previous year- The building tech committee will meet to establish the building technology committees. Members will be notified by the end of the school year.

September to June of the current year- The committees will meet four times a year and discuss best practices, discuss district needs, and help troubleshoot for teachers. District leaders will also share out at the monthly staff meetings.

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Application Process

Google Form for Application

Job description

Resources for Expectations

Pillars of Digital Leadership

The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros

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District and building tech leaders will work with teachers to assist them with building a brand for their teaching.

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Eric Sheninger

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Schools that work for kids | Eric Sheninger | TEDxBurnsvilleED

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1. Gather the district technology leaders together to discuss what we as a district want our brand to look like, explain what our vision is and how we want to convey that to the community and overall culture of the district.

2. Research and share out what other schools are doing to enhance their brand to members of the district technology committee and come up with a plan to share this out with teachers.

3. Explain to teachers what branding is, what it looks like, and why it is important. Explain what teachers can do to highlight their own branding. Share what district tech leaders have already done to share their own brand.

4. Share and amplify what other educators in the building are doing to embrace their brand and innovative culture in their classrooms. Embrace social media for positive influences to share out the great work educators are doing in the building and district.

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July/August of the Previous year- Meet with district technology leaders to discuss a strategy for the district’s brand as well as what other teachers should look for when doing their own branding.

September- Explain branding at the first staff meeting and share ways that teachers can make branding a part of their classroom and the building/district’s overall innovative culture. Share what the tech leaders are doing.

October through the end of the year and beyond- Share what other teachers are doing, highlight their branding and embrace their innovative mindset and culture in the classroom. Make sure leaders are highlighting themselves (leading by example) and have them highlight others

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Readings for Branding

Amplify your School’s Brand to Strengthen Community

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There are many lessons we in education can learn from the business world. Take the concept of branding. Since the advent of media, organizations across the globe have worked tirelessly to build a positive brand presence that resonates with potential consumers. A brand, woven into a combination of words, design, colors, music, video, and logo, represents a promise that is aligned to specific attributes with the goal of creating a memorable experience. If a company's brand meets this goal, the likelihood increases that a consumer will purchase its product. Mega brands like Apple, McDonald's, and Nike have long embraced this concept of branding and the result has been the creation of a clear identity.
Why Your Brand Matters
When it comes to education, people line up on both sides of the branding debate. From a purely business sense I would be against the concept myself. The purpose of school is not to sell and increase profits. This is something that we can all agree on. However, a school's identity is extremely important in the eyes of the beholder, which in this case are key stakeholder groups consisting of students, parents, community members, local businesses, and educators. The idea of a promise to educate all learners and prepare them for success in a rapidly changing world is an expectation that cannot be ignored. If this can't be promised then why would stakeholders support our schools or entrust their children's education to them?

Identity matters in a digital world. Do you want this created for your school or would you like to be proactive in developing one? This is where the concept of branding has value and significance for schools. The overreaching goal of a brandED strategy is to develop and sustain positive relationships with all stakeholders. It is not about selling, but a consistent focus on sharing and telling your story. The bottom line is that if you don't tell your story someone else will and the result could be an identity that does not align with your school's mission, vision, or values.

Embracing these elements of brandED thinking by becoming the storyteller-in-chief can begin the process of developing a powerful school identity that resonates. I've come across several districts recently that have adopted the brandED mindset and have created a platform that showcases the amazing work of students and staff. They've created a brand that contextualizes the work they do on behalf of students, thereby strengthening their relationships between the school and the community. These future-thinking districts include:
Strengthen your school's identity with these simple tips:

1. Amplify great work that takes place on a daily basis by consistently using a multi-faceted approach that blends traditional (newsletters, email, phone, face-to-face) with digital- age tools (social media). With social media tools make sure your account pages are up to date (website links, avatars, profile information, etc.). It is also wise to educate your stakeholders on social media tools and how you will be using them to increase engagement.

2. Build trust through transparency. The benefits here are numerous including attracting families to move to your local district or in the case of tuition (private, parochial, independent) schools, make a greater financial investment. It can also help when it comes to referendums, passing the school budget, and engaging alumni with the hopes of donated time, money, and resources.

3. Focus on elements that align to a thriving school culture such as innovative learning, student achievement, staff accomplishments, college/career readiness, partnerships, unique traditions, and extra-curricular activities.

4. Empower others to be active sharers and avoid a gatekeeper mentality when it comes to sharing the story of your school. Encourage different departments, student groups, parent organizations, and extra-curricular activities to maintain social media accounts.

5. Regularly recognizing the work of educators and students in your school can be inspirational. The result can be greater levels of motivation and appreciation, which helps to develop a positive school culture. Develop a template to curate all the great work occurring on a monthly basis. The report can then be shared in its entirety or broken up into numerous blog posts.

In an education sense the identity of your school (or even yourself) is not only determined by the work, but also how the work is shared. It stands for who you are. Being cognizant of this fact allows you to be proactive in creating an identity that resonates with all stakeholders. Think about the identity that you, your students, and staff want. By using the tips above, engaging stakeholders in two-way communications, and taking control of your public relations, in time you will create an identity that truly depicts the amazing work taking place on a daily basis.

I will be presenting on this topic at the 25th Annual Model Schools Conference on June 25, 2017! My additional topics include: EdTech Tools to Transform Formative Assessment (Teachers) and Community Engagement (Administrators) and Learning Transformed: 8 Keys to Designing Tomorrow's Schools, Today.

Each June, 5000+ educators come together at the Model Schools Conference to learn about effective strategies and develop an action plan for change. The participants come with different challenges, but focus on the same future-focused question: What do our children need to know and be able to accomplish to be successful in work and life?

I invite you to explore your answers to this question and many other topics with us next June!

Read more about BrandED thinking in Eric's new book: BrandED: Tell Your Story, Build Relationships, and Empower Learning

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Amplify Your School's Brand to Strengthen Community

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There are many lessons we in education can learn from the business world. Take the concept of branding. Since the advent of media, organizations across the globe have worked tirelessly to build a positive brand presence that resonates with potential consumers.

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The BrandED Difference

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When I first dipped my toe into the social media waters in March 2009 I really did not know what to expect. My sole purpose for embarking into this uncharted territory was to improve my professional practice by becoming a better communicator. This was a natural connection to my work as a high school principal as you will not find an effective leader who is not an effective communicator. So there I was churning out tweets about everything going on at New Milford High School. Little did I know that my tweeting would lead to a feature story on CBS Channel 2 NYC during November 2009 and in the process catch the eye of business maven Trish Rubin. It was at this point in time that I was exposed to the concept of branding in education.

Now when Trish contacted me out of the blue I was really caught off guard. She passionately explained that what I was doing was creating a brand presence for my school as well as me professionally. At first, I wasn't buying it, but after some more time speaking with Trish and analyzing how I was strategically using social media in my role as a school leader it began to make perfect sense. On the surface, I always thought a brand in a traditional sense was a term specific to the corporate world and revolved around selling. I later learned that a brand promises value through the evolution of a unique identifier that relates to a specific audience or stakeholder group. Value can be defined in many ways. Some brands promise durability, health, style, safety, taste, convenience, or savings. Brands are designed to stand out and ultimately influence the consumer in a fashion that builds trust in the product. Sustaining a sense of trust is an integral component of a brand's ability to promise value.
The definition above provided clarity, but it was still missing some integral components in order to make the concepts of branding more applicable to the education world. Trish recently provided a fantastic synopsis:

"BrandED tenets are about trust, loyalty, promise, and creating better offerings and innovations that distinguish the educational brand experience for every user including kids, parents, teachers and community. A brand isn't a short-term fix or a fad, but a way to strategically build a school's assets in a transparent digital world. No more Ivory Towers. BrandED is about a genuine personality that can impact school culture, achievement and resources."

The statement above clearly identifies the importance and power of establishing a positive brand presence in education. In the field of education, schools are considered a brand. They promise value to residents of the district in terms of academic preparation to succeed in society. Many families will choose to reside in a specific district if the schools have a track record of academic success. Specific variables that are ultimately embedded in an educational institution's brand are state test scores, curriculum, teacher/administrator quality, number of AP courses, college acceptances, and extracurricular activities. By establishing a school's identity or brand, leaders and other stakeholders can develop a strategic awareness of how to continually improve pedagogical and management practices that promise, as well as deliver, a quality education to all students. More detail on this is provided in Chapter 7 of By developing and enhancing one's school and professional brand we move past a developed perception of our admirable work by providing a necessary reality for all stakeholders to embrace and celebrate. Thus, a brand in education has nothing to do with selling, but showcasing work of students, staff, and leaders in an effort to become more transparent. Digital leaders understand the importance of branding in their work and by leaders I mean any and all educators who take action to improve learning opportunities for their students and themselves. A positive brand presence is developed with consistent attention to the following Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times discusses this in detail
As a high school principal, I felt that it was my responsibility to continually develop and enhance my school's brand through innovation, risk-taking, the building of relationships (students, teachers, parents, community stakeholders, institutions of higher education, businesses/corporations, etc.) and a commitment to the community. In my opinion, this vision can assist all educators in establishing a brand for their respective schools that not only promises but also delivers value to residents of the district.
Pillars of Digital Leadership:

When it is all said and done, the most important and crucial outcome of a To learn more get your hands on a copy of

Communications - We must begin to meet stakeholders where they are at by employing a multifaceted approach to engage them in two-way communications. Digital and non-digital strategies are used to not only communicate important information but also become more transparent.

By becoming the Public Relations - If you don't tell your story, someone else will. When you roll the dice and take this gamble it typically results in a negative story being told. In education, we do not brag enough and as a result, we pay the price dearly. storyteller-in-chief you can turn this tide and take control of public relations for good. There is so much power in stories and we must do a better job of sharing them.

brand presence in education is the building of powerful relationships with all stakeholders in ways that were not possible before social media. The end result will be a greater appreciation for the work you and your students are doing in your district, school, and classroom. Let your amazing work and that of your students turn perception into reality by developing a BrandED mindset.
BrandED on Amazon today!

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When I first dipped my toe into the social media waters in March 2009 I really did not know what to expect. My sole purpose for embarking into this uncharted territory was to improve my professional practice by becoming a better communicator.

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How can we shape the next great leaders and innovators?

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EDhub: Building a 21st Century Space to Transform Learning

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EDhub: Building a 21st Century Space to Transform Learning

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EDhub: Building a 21st Century Space to Transform Learning