Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
top of page
Search

Social Media Institute: Social Media FOR Schools

by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano, AASSA’s Social Media Coordinator, Educational Consultant & Coach

Cross posted to the Langwitches Blog

I spent an intense day with administrators (Heads of School, Directors of communication, admission) at the AASSA (Association of American Schools in South America) Social Media Institute discussing social media FOR schools (not social media IN schools).

You can find the documentation including resources and examples in this post.

Description: Gone are the days of having to discuss the existence and importance of a social media presence for schools. Faculty, students, parents, stakeholders, potential families and employees, and a people-network, vital to your organization, are expecting interaction, curated information and just in time news updates. Who is the lead storyteller at your school? Social Media has changed the way we communicate, curate, archive and disseminate information. Schools no longer push out content as a one sided conversation. Who is overseeing what, when and how something is being said about your school? How do schools harness the power of social media and embed authentic, collaborative, and networked communication, learning and marketing? The day was divided into 4 sessionsSocial Media 101: Introduction to Social Media concept. Review the social landscape of the year 2015. What does an integrated and interconnected network mean for your school? What can social media do for your school in terms of learning, marketing, outreach, faculty recruiting, retention and professional development? Social Media Platforms and Tools: Look at the “current” social media platforms. We will highlight the nuances of each. Which social media platform is best suited for a specific purpose? How do you streamline various platforms? What types of media or information is being shared? Strategic Social Media Planning: Develop a social media strategy for your school. Know your constituents and know the kinds of content they want and need. How do you curate resources customized to their needs? How do you connect via social media your faculty to experts and colleagues to collaborative grow and learn as professionals? How do you grow your social media presence and network? What do you want the world to know about your school? What is your school’s digital footprint? What does your online brand communicate about the school? Social Media Hands-on: Work on your own professional social media presence. Experience the power of social networking. Learn to create engaging content (photos, videos, questions, mission driven, etc). Experiment with social media writing genres, #hashtags, visual design tools, digital storytelling and strategically grow your network.

IMG_2014

IMG_2047

My first question was to find out HOW schools were ALREADY using social media. I asked participants to share via a Today’s Meet backchannel. I realized that there is a difference in responses between WHERE (as in social media platform) the school “is on” (much easier to respond to) and HOW a school is using social media.


social-media-for-schools-AASSA7

social-media-for-schools-AASSA8
IMG_2016

AASSA-SM-Survey
AASSA-SM-Survey2
AASSA-SM-Survey3
AASSA-SM-Survey4

School Websites:




  1. American School of Brasilia

  2. Escola Campo Alegre

  3. The Columbus School

  4. Albert Einstein

  5. Colegio Maya

  6. Pan American School of Bahia

  7. International School of Panama

  8. Colegio Jorge Washington

  9. Colegio Internacional de Carabobo

  10. Colegio Interamericano

  11. Pan American School

  12. Associacion Escuelas Lincoln

  13. Interamerican Academy

  14. Carol Morgan School

  15. American School of Rio de Janeiro

  16. Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt

  17. Colegio Menor San Francisco de Quito

  18. Chapel School

  19. Colegio American de Quito

  20. Academia Cotopaxi, American International School

  21. Uruguayan American School

  22. Escola Americana de Belo Horizonte

  23. Escola Americana do Recife

  24. Georgetown International Academy

Below you will find the social media presence participants shared… a perfect opportunity to view, notice, consider and be inspired how social media is used for branding (personal/professional and as a school), as well as being able to “harvest” feeds and usernames to build and grow your own network.

Blogs:

  1. Barry Déquanne (Head of School American School of Brasilia)

  2. Nicholaas Mostert ( Middle School Principal, Carol Morgan School)

  3. Carol Morgan Newsflash blog

Twitter:

  1. AASSA Member Schools (AASSA curated Twitter List)

  2. International Educators (AASSA curated Twitter List)

  3. International Administrators (AASSA curated Twitter List)

Twitter Hashtags:

  1. #AELPD

  2. #gradedpd

  3. #CDSlearning

Facebook Pages:

  1. Colegio Menor Campus Samborondon

  2. Colegio Menor Campus Quito

  3. International School of Panama

  4. Colegio Interamericano de Guatemala

  5. Escola American da Bahia

  6. Colegio Roosevelt Alumni

  7. Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro

  8. Pan American School of Porto Alegre

  9. International School of Panama Alumni

  10. American School of Brasilia

  11. Academia Cotopaxi & Imagine Education

  12. Colegio Alberto Einstein

  13. Colegio Jorge Washington

  14. Uruguayan American School

  15. Colegio Maya Guatemala

  16. Georgetown International Academy

  17. Escola Americana Belo Horizonte

Carol Morgan School

Interamerican Academy

Instagram:

  1. Colegio Menor- Quito

  2. Colegio Menor – Samborondón

  3. ISP Arts

  4. Escola Americana de Belo Horizonte

  5. Colegio Jorge Washington

  6. American School of Brasilia

  7. Carol Morgan School

Pinterest:




  1. Barry Dequanne

  2. Academia Cotopaxi

YouTube:



  1. The Colegio Maya

  2. Carol Morgan School

  3. Colegio Roosevelt

  4. Colegio Jorge Washington

  5. American School of Panama

  6. Colegio Interamericano de Guatemala

  7. Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro

LinkedIn:



  1. American School of Brasilia

  2. Colegio Interamericano de Guatemala

  3. Academia Cotopaxi

  4. Escola Americana de Belo Horizonte

  5. Carol Morgan School

  6. Toby Travis

  7. Roberta Coelho

Barry Dequanne




 

Social media FOR schools is about storytelling. We are also telling the story of ourselves as life long learners, as educators, as professionals. In order to make our stories more visual, we took a look at how we can incorporate the cultural phenomenon of the selfies to put ourselves into the stories, a way to document that we were part of an event, of a learning experience or a process. For some participants, it was the first time taking a selfie.

IMG_2017
IMG_2023
 

IMG_2046

By taking a look at what the questions or concerns are, schools will have a great starting point to continue (and share) conversations back at their schools


AASSA_-_TodaysMeet1
AASSA_-_TodaysMeet2
AASSA_-_TodaysMeet3
AASSA_-_TodaysMeet4
AASSA_-_TodaysMeet5
AASSA_-_TodaysMeet6
AASSA_-_TodaysMeet7

 

social-media-for-schools-AASSA5

Social Media FOR Schools: Your School’s Story in 15 Seconds or Less from AASSA on Vimeo.


 

IMG_2015
IMG_2032

IMG_2033
 

The backchannel on Today’s Meet continued to prove a valuable platform as it was used to share:

  1. connection requests

  2. further resources

  3. questions around conversations to be continued

  4. examples mentioned in conversations


AASSA_-_TodaysMeet-connections

social-media-for-schools-AASSA9
AASSA_-_TodaysMeet-followup
IMG_2048

Take a look at further resources below with list of questions to guide developing a policy.

  1. How to Create Social Media Guidelines for your School by Steve Anderson

  2. Digital Citizenship Education in Saskatchewan Schools by Dr. Alec Couros & Dr. Katia Hildebrandt


social-media-for-schools-AASSA10
social-media-for-schools-AASSA11

Recommended reading list for Social Media FOR Schools:

  1. Show your Work by Austin Kleon

  2. The Art of Social Media by Guy Kawasaki & Peg Fitzpatrick

  3. The Power of Branding by Tony Sinaris & Joseph Sanfelippo

  4. Digital Leadership by Eric Sheninger

  5. The Power of Visual Storytelling by Ekaterina Walter & Jessica Gioglio


social-media-for-schools-AASSA

AASSA_-_TodaysMeet-resources-added
AASSA_-_TodaysMeet-resources-added2
AASSA_-_TodaysMeet-resources-added3
AASSA_-_TodaysMeet-tips
 

While newbies practiced to summarize, curate or connect their resources, thoughts and ideas in 140 characters on paper… others, with a Twitter account already, were encouraged to participate by using the #AASSA hashtag to document, take notes and share out.


IMG_2031

IMG_2034

[View the story “AASSA Social Media Institute” on Storify]

Interested in continuing the conversation about social media FOR schools? Share HOW you are using social media for your school in the comment, use the #socialmedia4schools or #AASSA (For International schools) hashtag.

bottom of page