10 Practices to Help Bilingual Students Succeed from a Tel Aviv School via #VibeEdu @VibeIsrael Tour

This is just one in a series of ongoing posts on the educational innovations in Israel. You can see additional coverage here. 

New York City is indeed a melting pot, and while New Yorkers embrace its diversity, teaching in a school where students are not fluent in English, and often are not even literate in their own language, is challenging. Students are often unable to perform at grade level, not because of their capacity to learn, but because of their capacity to understand the language. What’s more, after just one year in the country, foreign-born students are expected to perform on the same standardized tests as native speakers. When they don’t, there’s a domino effect: the student is labeled a failure. His parent feels like a failure. His teacher a failure, and if there are many such students in attendance, the school is labeled a failure. The failure however is not the student, teacher, or school. The failure is the a school system that is failing these students.

Does any of this sound familiar?

What if there was a way to change this scenario?

As one of five bloggers invited to be a part of #VibeIsrael’s #VibeEdu Education Innovation tour I had the chance to visit a school where none of this is the case. The Bialik Rogozin School provides a unique model where refugees and children of migrant workers, some of them with little or no schooling at all, are integrated into Israeli society with common sense educational strategies that any school or district could adopt. 

Students at Bialik Rogozin Scohol connect through the common language of the arts.

Here they dance to music from various cultures.

Here they are:

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Is My School #CIPA Compliant? @CommonSenseEdu + @EverFi

If your school provides students with free or reduced lunch you are eligible to receive a major discount (up to 90% off) for internet services from the universal service Schools and Libraries Program, commonly known as “E-rate.” Here’s the discount chart. But it’s not like they just hand the moola over. To get this federal support for tech, you must ensure you are preparing your students to be safe, smart, responsible digital citizens.

That’s great, but how do you do that?

Easy.

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5 Ways to Determine If You Wrote a Killer Tweet Using Twitter Analytics - #EdcampNYC Takeaways

I recently shared my #EdCampNYC discussion on the "The Anatomy of a Killer Tweet." We came up with the five elements that make a Tweet killer. At the session, participants were challenged to write their own killer Tweet, but how would they know if they really nailed it? The answer: Twitter analytics. This is a free tool helps anyone who has had an account for at least 14 days receive details on tweets' engagement, clicks, retweets, favorites, replies, and more. 

Here are some ways to see how you've done.

If you're interested in an individual Tweet, you can look at just that Tweet by clicking on the date. If you right click on the date, you can copy the link to that Tweet. 

Analytic #1) Single Tweet:
Once you're looking at that Tweet, you'll see a bar chart symbol. When you click that you can see impressions, engagements, retweets, likes, profile clicks, link clicks, and more.  

Analytic #2) Comprehensive View

That's how to see how one Tweet is doing, but you can see how all your Tweets are doing with Twitter Analytics.  Check out the picture below to see how.

Once you select analytics, Twitter brings you to a comprehensive dashboard where you'll find information like the number of Tweets you had for the month, number of impressions, mentions, profile visits and new followers. You'll also learn about what made it to the top Tweet, mention, follower, and media Tweet.  Here's what that looks like.  

Analytic #3) View all Tweet Activity

On the left side of the picture above, under Top Tweet, you have more options to "View all Tweet activity" and to "View followers dashboard." Here is what that looks like. You see number of impressions, engagement, and impression rate broken down by Tweet.  On the right, you also see an overview of overall engagement rates, link clicks, retweets, replies, and likes. Here is what that looks like.  

Analytic #4) View Followers Dashboard

Next, check out the followers dashboard. You know your followers already made the smart decision to follow you, but this dashboard will show what else they may have in common. You can track your follower growth over time, see their top interests and uncover their demographics. 

Analytic #5) Benchmark Your Numbers

You can also benchmark your numbers against the total Twitter user base and find out what makes your community stand out. For example, I can see that I have 88% more followers in the area of Education than Twitter users overall. Here's what that looks like:

Extra Credit

1) Tracking Links:
At the session, Ann Oro pointed out that in addition to checking out your Twitter Analytics, it's also a good idea to track links within your Tweets. (You can additional reflections from Ann here.) She suggested using Google Shortener which you can access at https://goo.gl. Once there, you paste in your long url and Google gives you a short one. After that you can visit https://goo.gl and click "Details" to find the analytics.  Here's how you get to Google url shortener:

Google link analytics tell you the number of clicks, which sites people came from, the browser they used, the country they were in, and which platform they were on. Here is what that looks like:

2) Tracking all social media

It's one thing to track your own Tweets, but what if you use a hashtag and want to know what everyone is saying across platforms? Use Tagboard! It collects what people are posting on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Vine, Flickr, and Google +.  Here's what it looks like: 

Now it's your turn.

Write your killer Tweet using these five tips, check out your analytics using what you learned here, and let us know how you did. If you have any additional tips or insights, please share in the comments.  

5 Elements of A Killer Tweet - #EdCampNYC Takeaways HT to @DavidGeurin

I recently became intrigued by HS principal @DavidGeurin’s ability to write a killer tweet. For example the Tweet below has hundreds of retweets and likes.  

Those who are adaptable learners will own the future. #sunchat #edchat #futureready pic.twitter.com/qeLCY9hI11

— David Geurin (@DavidGeurin) December 20, 2015

And, while this is his pinned Tweet (which helps it garner attention), many of his Tweets get a lot of attention. Here are some other examples:

Whoever Is Doing the Talking Is Doing the Learning https://t.co/ZU940owJ9r #edchat #cpchat #leadupchat pic.twitter.com/tBHrkpi0Gq

— David Geurin (@DavidGeurin) January 1, 2016

The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply. #edchat pic.twitter.com/RnYpHyi3Vq

— David Geurin (@DavidGeurin) January 5, 2016

If learning is a top priority, then making learning exciting must be a top priority too. #edchat #leadupchat pic.twitter.com/SC9BxnWa9W

— David Geurin (@DavidGeurin) January 1, 2016

So I started paying attention to what he was doing. To help me, I decided to discuss it and host an #EdCampNYC session called, “How to Write a Killer Tweet.”

Credit to Ann Oro for snapping this shot of me
discussing the Killer Tweet at #EdCampNYC.

We started by looking at and noticing some of what David does.  

Here is what we found:

1. Link: He often includes a link to something useful to learn more.  
2. Hashtag: Use appropriate hashtags. Know the hashtags that are popular. You can get started by checking out the list of hashtags shared by @cybraryman1  at http://cybraryman.com/edhashtags.html.
3. Meme: He often creates a meme. I started doing more of this too using http://imgur.com.
4. Media/Tags
   He uses an image to tag others with large followings in his post once he selects the image.  The beauty of this is that you can tag up to ten people without using the number of characters it would require to do so. You can see how to do this in the below screenshot.  

1 Word of Caution: Starr Sackstein (@mssackstein) pointed out the importance of tagging intentionally and respectfully. Among other things, make sure you have a relationship with this person and the post is relevant to them. No one wants to feel used, so make sure you tag responsibly.

Here is the anatomy of a Tweet looking at all five elements.

Those are four tips for a killer tweet and one word of caution.  Try it. Tweet this post, tag me @InnovativeEdu for a guaranteed like, and let me know how it goes in the comments.
_____________________

Check out more insights and reflections from Ann Oro at http://annoroteaches.com/2016/01/09/first-edcamp-of-2016-part-i

7 Benefits to Ditching The Paper at Meetings + Events with a Great Agenda

We're deep into the 21st century, but you might not know it if you went to a meeting or event. There is still so much that is paper-based...fraught with broken promises of materials to be sent later or telling all participants to send separate emails to acquire materials digitally. If materials are handed out, the stacks of paper handouts usually end up forgotten in pile or waste space in a file cabinet. If you wanted to reuse, or refer to these paper presentations, you'd have to waste time recreating them.

This was a problem for me recently after attending an all-day conference sponsored by a few large ed tech companies. There were several presenters. No digital materials were handed out. Each presenter had a slide at the end of their presentation with information on how to reach them or their secretary to get materials. The conference organizer also say he could be emailed to acquire materials. What a waste of everyone's time. Rather than having the materials in the moment, participants would have to wait days or weeks later to receive materials. At that point, the opportunity to make the most meaning is lost.

I decided followed up on the promises and tracked down every single presenter and the conference organizer to get materials. After several hours of my time and several weeks, I had the materials that could have been provided up front. Most people wouldn’t even bother trying, but imagine if they had. There would be dozens of hours of everyone’s time that was wasted.  

All this can be avoided by updating agenda methods to save everyone's time. The agenda for every event (meeting, workshop, seminar, conference) should be digital with all materials digitally embedded.

This means that the answer to every question when it comes to materials is: “It’s on the agenda.” Every presentation, handout, url, hashtag, contact information...everything, is on the agenda.

Benefits include:

1. Save time: No one needs to waste time sending and responding to emails about materials.
2. Find materials: Materials don't get lost as various email attachments
3. Editable: Participants can make notes directly on the materials rather than separately on a paper document that they will likely never go back to, to transcribe.
4. Get to Thinking Faster: When participants know they have materials they can get to the thinking faster because they don't need to take notes on what you are saying but rather they are making meaning of what you are saying because they have the materials.
5. Information is Accessible: No more repeating or reminding people of hashtags, social media sites, urls. It's all on the agenda.
6. Save Money: Forget the stacks of paper and folders. When you go digital you can even toss that old copy machine.
7. Save Trees: Less paper = More Trees.

Think about it. If you've attended an event or have organized one, you know the promised follow up materials are often forgotten. Why even promise? Just do it once and do it right before the event and everyone wins.

Wondering what this looks like? Here are some examples:

• Five Steps to Harnessing the Power of Cell Phones for Learning
• Google Educator Certification
• Becoming A Make Believer
• Graphite Certified Ed Tech Integrator

The Hottest Posts Everybody's Reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog.

A new post takes the lead this week. It questions the role of the teacher in a tech-rich classroom. How might a teacher's role change? Check out the post and see if you agree with my take. Following that is a post that challenges the assumption that the teacher is the most important factor when it comes to learning. Next up is a post from my #VibeEdu tour of Israel that shares important lessons learned. Read it and you'll discover lessons like the importance of questioning authority or the value of being a part of a Youth Movement where nearly every young person spends time focusing outward to make their community a better place. 

There are a few more posts to round out the top including one that addresses why we need to stop freaking out about screentime and another that suggests we're ready to move beyond the factory model and teach students to use calendars rather than herd them from place to place with bells. Rounding out the top is a post that looks at the value of sharing a meal to learn about history and diversity. 

I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment.

Entry	Pageviews
Does Tech Mean the End of Teaching As We Know It? Dec 2, 2015,	4190
The Teacher Is Not The Most Important Factor When ... Nov 22, 2015,	3510
14 Lessons in #Education - Takeaways from Israel V... Dec 20, 2015,	1920
Give the Gift of Tech + Stop Feeling Guilty Dec 25, 2015,	1916
Stop Herding Students By Bells - Teach Them These ... Dec 30, 2015,	1912
Is Sharing A Meal The Ticket To Teaching Cultural ... Dec 14, 2015,	1861

What If Society Would Pay for Specialized Schools? #VibeEdu @VibeIsrael Tour Takeaways

Government schooling comes with strings of compliance, conformity, and dictatorship attached yet most of the elected officials determining what happens in these schools don’t send their own children to them. Even when they do, when you scratch beneath the surface you may find these are specialty schools that look very different from the rest. For example, in New York City, these are called Performance Based Assessment Schools. The students there don’t have the same requirements for the curriculum, standards, or assessments required by the rest of state. Instead they have more real-world and project based work and assessments. Montessori is a favorite school choice for many of the nation’s leaders. Waldorf schools are in favor for those who value an environment providing artistic development of pupils. The governor where I live sent his children to boarding school. Democratic schools provide another model that has become a popular choice among parents who value self-directed learning, that incorporates responsibility to community along with personalized learning for their children.

Why is it that all members of society don’t have access to these type of school that those with means select for their own children? This is the way it’s always been, but must it always be this way?

This is the question that came up in Israel nearly a quarter century ago. Citizens did not agree that if they chose to send their children to what they call a “unique” school, that this should mean no government funding is allocated to that student.  Parents mobilized for change so that funding was tied to pupils, regardless of the type of school, that their family felt was best. Today, for the most part in Israel, all schools receive per pupil funding from the government. Traditional schools are provided at no cost to families. Unique schools require families to pay a contribution of what comes to about $200 a month. Scholarships help poorer families pay the annual tuition. Students who come from truly impoverished backgrounds, have the opportunity to attend boarding schools like Mevo'ot Yam Youth Village. Immigrants and refugees have schools with substantial wrap-around services for students and their families such as the Bialik Rogozin School.

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RIP to @Joe_Bower A Learning Inspiration

Joe Bower began inspiring me about 5 years ago when I came across his blog, "For the Love of Learning" where he shares his distaste of grading and blogs and his admiration for the work of Alfie Kohn. It didn't take long before his blog became one of my favorites. He was one of my 25 favorites on Twitter as well. How wonderful is it that via the power of a social media Twitter chat I could learn and connect with people like Joe as well as other innovative educators such as Will Richardson, John Spencer, Gary Stager, and Justin Schwamm?

I was shocked to learn last night that Joe was taken from us too soon and too young as a result of an unexpected, heart attack. Joe's writing was always informative and inspirational. I am deeply saddened that the live conversations can not continue. However, social media provides a great opportunity to learn from the knowledge and ideas he shared with others.  

If you want to learn from one of the best about progressive ideas in the areas of grading, assessment, and homework, check out Joe's book, De-Testing + De-Grading Schools, and his blog. At his blog you'll find this picture and description: 

I am Joe Bower (and that is Deborah Meier) and I teach in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. I wish to challenge 'traditional' schooling while exploring more progressive forms of education. I intend on using this blog to uproot some of the most deeply rooted myths that continue to distract people from a love for learning. And I am going to have fun doing it!

In his last blog post, Joe wanted to instil the idea, that assessment was not about a number, but rather about a conversation with students and those who support them.  Though his words will live with us,  will be deeply missed by all those who knew him, face-to-face and/or will know him online. 

How to Use Social Media to Change Perceptions - #VibeEdu @VibeIsrael Lessons

This is just one in a series of ongoing posts on the educational innovations in Israel. You can see additional coverage here.

If you're reading this blog you are likely involved with a school, district, museum or some other educational institution that is engaged in innovative practices. But do others know of the great work happening there? Is there a misconception about your school or district? Perhaps the community or even the world is not aware that in your district every student has a digital portfolio that can lead to academic and career success. Maybe your school has a Makerspace and 3D printing, but few know of the magic happening behind closed doors. Maybe the neighborhood is perceived as rough, but the the truth is that there is a strong, cohesive environment where the community comes together to ensure children are safe and watched after. What might you do to change or even drive awareness?

Typical practices might be to advertise in the local paper or on the local radio station. Maybe pass flyers out around the community.  Perhaps distribute a press release or maybe even buy a spot on a local television program. While those practices may have been the most effective in the past, today, there is a shift. When millennials want information, they don’t go to mainstream media, they look to UGC or “user generated content.” This means they don’t want to hear from the media. They want to hear what friends and peers have to say via updates and photos in places like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or blogs. And they spend a lot of time engaging with UGC from social media, in fact more time with any other media type. About five and half hours a day are spent with UGC and they trust and remember what they read from their peers more than any other source.

Check out the stats:

Source: Smart Blogs

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