Integrating social media tools into a school’s
work is essential if leaders hope to build
meaningful relationships with stakeholders.
school events, student accomplishments, and innovations in the classroom
from any Internet-connected computer
or mobile device any time.
Perhaps most exciting for Sheninger
is that participation in social media
spaces enables him to tap into the
thoughts and feelings of students—a
group often overlooked in conversations about teaching and learning. “My
students took notice of my affinity for
Twitter during a meeting with members
of student government,” he explains.
“They conveyed that Facebook was
a more appropriate medium to reach
them and disseminate the same information.” So now, many New Milford
High School students follow the school’s
Facebook page, joining in community
conversations that they hadn’t been a
part of before.
So what would Sheninger recommend to leaders interested in using
social media to reach out to school communities? “The first step is to lurk and
learn,” he explains.
Watch what other principals are doing
to get a good idea of information and
content being shared with stakeholders.
Begin to establish a vision and some goals
as to what you want to accomplish using
social media. I do not suggest diving right
in. As you become more comfortable,
begin to gradually share information
relating to your school, students, staff,
and the education profession. Finally, as
with any new endeavor, communicate
with the appropriate supervisors to elicit
their support. (E. Sheninger, personal
communication, September 30, 2010)
Systems Design, MCH Strategic Data,
and MMS Education). Princeton, NJ:
ed Web.net. Retrieved from www.edweb
.net/fimages/op/PrincipalsandSocialNet
workingReport.pdf
Facebook. (2010, May 20). Press room:
Statistics. Retrieved from www.facebook
.com/press/ info.php?statistics
Hepburn, A. (2010a, March 22). Facebook:
Facts and figures for 2010 [blog post].
Retrieved from Digital Buzz Blog at www
. digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-statistics-
facts-figures-for-2010/
Hepburn, A. (2010b, May 12). Infographic:
Twitter statistics, facts and figures [blog
post]. Retrieved from Digital Buzz Blog at
www.digitalbuzzblog.com/infographic-
Hepburn, A. (2010c, May 19). Infographic:
You Tube statistics, facts and figures [blog
post]. Retrieved from Digital Buzz Blog at
www.digitalbuzzblog.com/infographic-
Lenhart, A., Purcell, K., Smith, A., &
Zickuhr, K. (2010). Social media and young
adults. Washington, DC: Pew Internet and
American Life Project.
Madden, M. (2010). Older adults and social
media. Washington, DC: Pew Internet and
American Life Project.
Weil, K. (2010, February 22). Measuring
tweets [blog post]. Retrieved from Twitter
blog at http://blog.twitter.com/2010/02/
measuring-tweets.html
Proceed with Caution
Although Sheninger is proud of the
work that he is doing in social media,
he has also walked cautiously. All the
messages he shares are connected to
learning or to school events. He also
has every family complete a new media
release form before sharing pictures or
video featuring students, and he regularly communicates with stakeholders
about the purposes of New Milford’s
social media efforts. With these precautions in place, Sheninger told me,
the school district has enthusiastically
supported his efforts.
Integrating social media tools into a
school’s work is essential if leaders hope
to build meaningful relationships with
stakeholders. Although encouraging
teachers to integrate social media into
instruction may not be a risk you’re
ready to take, integrating these tools
into your school’s communication plans
is an excellent first step. EL
References
Alexa. (2010).
Twitter.com site info. Retrieved
May 20, 2010, from www.alexa.com/site
info/ twitter.com.
Compete. (2010). Site profile for Twitter.com.
Retrieved May 20, 2010, from http://site
analytics.compete.com/twitter.com/
ed Web.net. (2010). School principals and
social networking in education: Practices,
policies, and realities in 2010 (Survey
cosponsored by Interactive Educational
William M. Ferriter (@plugusin on
Twitter) teaches 6th grade science
in Raleigh, North Carolina, and blogs
about the teaching life at The Tempered
Radical (http://teacherleaders.typepad
.com/the_tempered_radical). He is the
coauthor of Teaching the iGeneration:
Five Easy Ways to Introduce Essential
Skills with Web 2.0 Tools and Building
a Professional Learning Community at
Work (Solution Tree, 2010). Essentials
for Principals: Connecting and Communicating with Social Media Tools (Solution
Tree) will be published in spring 2011;
919-363-1870; wferriter@hotmail.com.
