Educator, Leader, Advocate online and offline – Module 5
This summer I have been bombarded with messages about digital identity, social media safety and propriety and a new term, “digital footprint.” I have always been somewhat aware that sharing too much personal information is not in my best interest. I have an inner guidance system based on my mother who would often say “Never put anything in writing you might regret. If you say it you can retract or deny. If it’s in writing it is hard evidence.” My uncle once told me “There is no such thing as an innocent question. People always have motives for asking, and an innocent reply can open a can of worms.” He taught me to reply with “Why do you ask?” So I have been pretty careful about what I post on social media over the years, and have advised my daughters as well. My son doesn’t use his own name on YouTube, and does not give out any personal information. His FB account says he lives in Canada.
Last month I took my daughter to her college orientation. There were two mandatory presentations. The fist was the official welcome by the president. The second mandatory session was about online identity and how what you post can effect your life in either positive or negative ways. The attorney that presented this information works mostly with college athletes, and had a plethora of real life scenarios where what students posted cost them their scholarships, got them expelled, arrested or unemployable. A lot of what she showed were “innocent” pranks, or jokes, funny semi-naked dances, drunken pictures, offensive posts, etc. It was a very powerful presentation. When our ITD&ML classes started I heard very similar messages and really began thinking about how I appeared to others online. This class gave me the courage to begin posting articles, petitions and ideas on Facebook to inform people about Education Issues, Early Childhood, Brain Development, Technology, and Political Issues that effect ECE and college students. Each time I posted an Education article it was met with intelligent comments from friends who are in education or are parents.
Another phenomenon I noticed, was that once I started posting more intelligent comments and articles, a different kind of social interaction began. I received fewer off color shares on my wall. People responded favorably and intelligently. It was as if I had changed the whole energy on my wall. I realized that I need to start cultivating an identity on Twitter similar to my FB account. Then I saw a picture Mark posted from our trip to Bermuda. Thankfully he did not “tag” me in it. I am not much of a drinker but on vacation he took me to the Swizzle Inn where they serve pitchers of “Swizzles” which are made with several different rums and juices. I had two small glasses and my eyes were floating around in my head. This is very evident in the picture of me holding the glass to my lips with one hand and holding my head in my other hand. It’s not pretty. So I had to ask him to remove the picture. I realize this is fairly harmless in comparison to college students countless posts of drunkenness, semi nudity, peace signs and ducklips. (please explain THAT to me)
Thinking about my online identity has made me examine my offline identity as well, and ponder if they are authentic and transparent. I don’t want to be transparent to criminals and people with ill-intent. But I do want to be transparent, professional and authentic to those in the Education field who look to me for leadership, and possible future employers. I started to outline both identities to compare them using a mind map and venn diagram. 
I tried to be objective, but I think that is difficult for anyone, so you may each have your own thoughts about how I organized my character traits. In doing this exercise, seeking authenticity and transparency, I am brought back to my original comments about advise from my family. Never put anything in writing you might regret…and there is no innocent question. If humans did not possess inherent flaws such as jealousy, greed, anger, resentment, bias, delusion and blame, we could all be as carefree and transparent as we wish. However, in a professional environment one must be careful not to be too transparent and monitor one’s behavior, humor and comments. One example: Paula Dean.
Now to the reflection: In what ways could you leverage the power of the Internet to expand work process and product by students?
I am currently not a teacher, but a director of multiple pre-k classrooms, so I will address how I can leverage the power of the internet to help teachers be more organized, provide them more support and better tools. I have learned so much through these classes, and don’t want to overwhelm my teachers with too much information and new technology, as they tend to shy from it. I have over 40 teachers and assistants in 14 classrooms across the city of New Haven in 7 different school buildings. Getting everyone together for PD, staff meetings, and team building is impossible. We are only given 5 PD days per year and those are used for district PD and data team and assessment meetings. Having a central “hub” of communication among ECE educators would be invaluable, especially because typically the pre-k staff is not included in the building PD due to state requirements. This may leave teachers feeling isolated, and separate from other teachers in the building.
The first thing I will introduce is Google+. I will use the smart board to show my teachers how easy it is to access Google+, Hangouts and Communities to share ideas, seek answers and support each other to create a more cohesive team. I will also show how I have stepped out of my own comfort zone to tweet, and post important news and issues about early childhood on my social media to advocate for my staff, children and families, and encourage them to do the same. We will share our concerns about current issues around ECE and discuss how to become advocates by sharing information, minding their digital footprint; and becoming activists by contacting their legislators about issues that effect young children such as cuts to SNAP, Care4Kids and other services that our needed in our community.
Another hat I wear is as the VP of Public Policy on the CAEYC Board. (CT Association for the Education of Young Children) There have been many changes in ECE on the State Level this year, including Governor Malloy creating an Office of Early Childhood. The goal is to coordinate and streamline services to families of young children. At this time we have Head Start, School Readiness, DSS, and Magnet Schools, all with separate regulatory agencies with different QRIS, guidelines and policies. This duplication or overlapping of services can cause loss of funding for children, interruption of services and extra paperwork for families and service providers. I also serve on the School Readiness Provider Council. I would love to see both entities use more effective means of disseminating information, organizing meetings and communicating with state leaders. We have had several big initiatives in ECE and have had to send representatives to Hartford as our voice. Using hangouts and communities we could have a hub where we generate ideas, discuss issues before the monthly meeting and be better prepared to affect change in a more timely manner, than after “next month’s meeting.” It will take awhile to make this change, but I am known to be focused and tenacious when we need to accomplish difficult tasks.
When leaders and administrators are using technology that is cutting edge, or somewhere near the edge, it will open their minds to what is needed and relevant for teachers, and their students to move forward with technology in the classroom. Rather than technology being perceived as problematic or intimidating.
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