Technology Doesn't Belong in the Classroom?

Late last week, I had what I would consider to be an extremely enlightening yet quite frustrating experience as I took part in a professional panel for the South Suburban School Crisis Response Team as they conducted a seminar on the impact of social media during a school crisis. Admittedly, I was eager to take part and share with those in attendance, consisting mainly of student services personnel, law enforcement officers and school administrators, some of the great things that social media and technology can do for a school. I was proud to show first hand how our students responded to a situation where an app was widely used in our West Campus by a few students to bully and harass others; with technology, creating a video to spread a message:

Please understand, I am by no means an expert in this area nor do I claim to be. In fact, I am not really sure anyone is truly and "expert." Rather, some people are far more open to it and devoted to teaching the responsible use of technology in the classroom and in schools than others. This I learned first hand, and very quickly.

The panel consisted of a representative from the State's Attorney's Office, an editor from the Patch, an online news source, a school media specialist, an incredibly inspiring student, a school resource officer and the chief of police from the local town. Initially, the questions were straight forward; what apps are our students using today? How are students using them? Somehow, however, the conversation quickly went from this to a philosophical debate on the use of technology in schools. Mind you, and this is something I realized well after the event was over, the room was full of individuals and teams that have a largely negative context of technology and social media in schools. Many of these educators and officers see nothing but violence, self-harming behaviors, suicidal thoughts and sexually charged posts.

Without even understanding how the conversation took this turn, I suddenly fell in the minority with my liberal views of technology in schools. What sticks out most to me are two individuals from this conversation-the chief of police and a social worker in the audience-because they had such passionate views against technology in schools. Both went so far as to say that all technology, including cell phones, should be banned in schools from 7:00am until 3:00pm. This didn't even shock me as much as the one individual who said "there is absolutely nothing good from using technology in the classroom." Needless to say, I was speechless and realized this was not the time nor the venue to get into a philosophical argument. I tried stressing the idea that instead of using resources-referrals, time, staff-on enforcing a ban, use those resources to educate our students on using technology responsibly. "It doesn't matter" was a common response; another person went so far as to say we could teach students how to use technology responsibly without having devices allowed! I held back, but all I wanted to say was that this belief is like telling your PE class you plan on teaching them to play soccer without a soccer ball.

I was pretty frustrated by the end of this panel, so I took a step back and after a while, I had a few reflections and wanted to share:

• It was pretty clear that student service personnel have a strong opinion on the negative effects of social media and technology, understandably because of the nature of interactions they have with students and parents. We can't lose sight of this.
• As schools move towards 1:1, we have to keep in mind the mentality that many of our staff members will have reservations and some will be flat out resistant. It's so important to keep the “why” at the forefront of all of this; we need to continue to stress why we believe it is important (collaboration, new opportunities, furthering discussions, creating opportunities, etc). Otherwise, we run the risk of people looking at this as simply another “educational fad” instead of a great new opportunity for teaching and learning.
• We should consider during our planning and pilot processes looking at developing a curriculum around digital citizenship, responsible usage and online communications.

While these thoughts were at the forefront of my experience, I was also able to take a step back and look at one other major component, which ultimately was the key concept behind the seminar; what is the role of social media during a school crisis?

• Does your school have a plan regarding social media during crisis and lock-down? Will the District communicate via social media? If so, what outlets?
• Do we have a person dedicated to tracking and following social media during a crisis?
• Have we communicated with our local media sources regarding our procedures and contact points during lock-down or crisis? I learned first hand from the reporter at the Patch that they will run a story, so the better relationship they have with a school, the better.
• What should your vision be in terms of students using social media during lock down/crisis? We won’t be able to keep them from texting, but do we want to look at a plan where students are made aware of reasons to stay off social media and have a plan in place with our teachers and how to react to it?

Looking back, I laugh because a few hours after this seminar, I started to write a quick note to my colleagues and before I knew it, the email was nearly two pages long. I suppose I was partially venting. But, I realize that I believe in the power of technology in schools and more importantly, I believe in the good of our students. They are pretty incredible young people, and we can't let a few bad experiences hold back the positive. It's all about how we go about it. 

The Dance Twitter Built

Turnabout. Sadie Hawkins. King of Hearts. Winter Dance. People call it a lot of different things, but one thing that is consistent is that Leyden hasn’t had a Turnabout dance in over five years. Numbers were low. Students just weren’t that excited about it. We tried different approaches; formal, informal, themed. It just seemed to make sense take the dance off the calendar. And we did. That is until this last Friday night. We had out first Turnabout dance in five years. And you know what? It was a HUGE success.

Anyone who was involved with the dance several years ago can tell you that the intention was always great and there was always a great group of students wanting to be involved. Isn’t that always the case though? But, for a variety of reasons, the interest just wasn’t there anymore. So, instead of continuing to push it, we made the decision to hold off for a while and see where that would lead.

Over the last few years, different groups of students have asked about bringing the dance back. Last year, we even looked at some possible dates, but when time came to start planning, interest had waned. So, what changed that led to last Friday night’s Turnabout, a dance where nearly 800 students came out and had a great time? Well, the truth is, everything and nothing. Students always have great ideas and they are always willing to step up. However, now, more than ever, we have worked hard to empower our students and ensure that they know that not only is their voice heard, but it is listened to. This dance is a perfect example of that.

We have really placed a concentrated emphasis on working to create student voice and empowerment; not simply hearing them out, but really working hard to provide opportunities so that students can actually accomplish real, tangible changes and know that their ideas are listened to. It starts with something as simple as being present in the halls, saying hello and talking with students. If they bring up an idea, listen. Work towards a building culture where ideas and creativity are encouraged and open. Provide venues for students to have these discussions and bring these ideas forward. While we are not perfect and are always looking to improve, because of our conscious and constant efforts, our culture of communication and openness gets better and better every day.

As we continue to grow, what becomes more and more clear is that we are here to serve our students; not the other way around. Through our conference, we build our junior Leadership Team, consisting of students from sports and activities alike. These students define and tackle real issues that are important to them, and throughout the last three years, what they have accomplished is impressive. The birth of our popular video announcements. Discussions with our administration about creating an honors level PE course. A renewed focus on getting students involved at school, with talks about bringing back Turnabout. Just this last year, we have had several groups of students bring us wonderful ideas about clubs they wanted to start, including “ExcELLence,” a group focused on getting our ELL and minority populations more involved in the school culture, as well as “Rebels with a Cause,” a group of students who want to come together to simply do good. What’s more incredible is that both of these groups were developed by freshmen. Why? Because they know that in their school, their ideas matter and their voices are heard. We are really excited to see what these groups can do!

That’s where Twitter comes in. Last Fall, after a successful Homecoming Week, students continued to bring up the idea of having a Turnabout dance. Our Leadership team wanted to help. So did our Girls Cross Country Team. And our Freshmen Class Board. And Choir. We couldn’t deny the fact that this is something our students wanted, but we were hesitant; would the interest still be there after a cold, long winter? (we never imagined it would be this cold and long) Then it happened. The night after our Homecoming Dance, one of our seniors who is well respected and liked, sent a tweet to our Principal, Jason Markey, with a simple message-bring back Turnabout. So, Jason did what he is so great at doing. He listened, and replied along these lines: Let’s see how much support there is for Turnabout. Retweet if you’re interested.

150 retweets and nearly an hour later, it was clear; this is something that our students want. And the retweets kept on coming. The next day, students were asking us all day long whether or not the dance was going to happen. We both knew it was, and before long, the planning was on. What’s amazing though is that all of the groups who said they wanted to make this happen-the leadership team, cross country, class board, choir-didn’t miss a beat. They hit the ground running and never looked back.

After five years without a dance, a dedication to student empowerment and voice, working hard to create a culture of ideas and creativity and one crazy Twitter campaign, Leyden brought back Turnabout. But Leyden didn’t just bring it back; Leyden students brought it back, and with class. 800 students came out for the evening and had a great time. That’s when I was chatting with Jason Markey and sent him a picture of the dance.

His reply? “The dance Twitter built…” What an amazing concept. What a cool thought. It brings a smile to my face knowing that this is something our students did. And I couldn’t be more proud.