My personal brand would be the “Facilitator”. The go to person to get things done and make
the necessary changes to improve the learning environment of our district. An administrator who values the power of communication,
and who believes that to facilitate change there must be open, two way avenues
of communication. An administrator who is
in constant communication with students, parents and community members. The school brand would be an extension of my
personal brand by communicating that “Anything is Possible.” As the “Facilitator” I would demonstrate to
all community members that with effort and team work, anything is possible.
The school’s campaign would be initiated by tweeting, Facebooking,
and emailing positive achievements of students, organizations and teachers to
the students, parents, community members and businesses in the district (Sheninger, 2014) . Thus encouraging their participation in activities
and events taking place at the school or in the community for the school. At every school event, those attending would
be asked to create an account on an information website, set up by and for the
school, in order to be kept informed of activities regarding the district. This information would be used to both invite
stakeholders to future events and provide feedback about past events.
At these events would stakeholders would experience multi-media
and interactive presentations informing attendees of the “happenings” at school
and around the district. There would be
mini-seminars or learning modules to demonstrate the technology being used in
classrooms. Students would be welcome to
participate at all levels. Further
communication of the brand would be by following up with various social media platforms
such as emails, tweets, Facebook posts and text messaging seeking ideas and
input for improvements to the existing facilities and programs (Sheninger, 2014) .
Face-to-face get-togethers with interested stakeholders
would be planed, to brainstorm ways to engage students effectively to expand
learning possibilities and experiences.
Every person would be welcome to share their ideas and opinions no
matter how big or small. For those who
cannot attend, a link to a video conferencing site would be provided so they
could participate (maybe Skype or Google Hangouts). These town hall type meetings would be
scheduled regularly in order to maintain the constant flow of ideas and
communication.
The messaging at all these events and conveyed through
all these social media tools would be that “Anything is Possible”. That is, if we as a community band together
we can provide the needed resources for our students to obtain the quality education
needed to be successful in their chosen professions or educational pursuits as
well a productive and positive citizens of their community.
Reference
Sheninger, E. (2014). Digital Leadership Changing
Paradigms for Changing Times. In E. Sheninger, Digital Leadership Changing
Paradigms for Changing Times (pp. 105-114). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Retrieved September 3, 2015
Kathy,
ReplyDeleteReally interesting post this week on your blog! I enjoyed reading about your brand. I love the word that you choose, Facilitator. When I think of that word, I immediately think of someone that is a leader. I think of someone who is going to work well with others. I also love that you mentioned your school brand. I think that it is a great idea to have your personal brand linked to go with your school brand. I think that “Facilitator” and “Anything is Possible” go well together because it reflect that as the leader or in your case the facilitator you are letting your staff, students, parents, ect. know that you believe anything can be possible and that you are going to work hard and facilitate so that you can help students achieve their goals. I think that it is a great idea that you would use social media to get your school brand out. I think that in order for people to know that you are taking your brand seriously it has to be executed correctly. By using it on banners, at games, and on social media it will for the community to see that you truly stand behind your thoughts and ideas. You have a great plan for your schools campaign. You thought of some really great ideas to get stakeholders attention. Your plan will help to promote your brand as well as the schools brand. Great ideas, I enjoyed reading your thoughts this week. I hope you have a great week.
-Kristin
Hi Kathy,
ReplyDeleteThis is a good brand for you because I have had the pleasure of doing our collaboration project with you and you are the one who has been keeping communication going with our group. I noticed that you always refer back to any comments that Dr. Roberts has posted or commented about to our group. Not only is that signs of a good facilitator, but you always ask group members about our thoughts and input. You also ask if it ok with everyone to make the necessary changes, as mentioned by Dr. Roberts. As you have mentioned, communication is key and the best way to be an effective communicator. Based on what I have seen from your open line of communication, you already have good mechanics for being a good facilitator.
As we all know, technology plays a big part in communicating to everyone in the learning community now. I see that you mentioned Facebook and emailing, but have you ever heard of Edmodo. Edmodo is a technology tool, almost similar to Facebook, but is school related only. Just like Facebook, every person on Edmodo is able to add build their profile and add a photo for their profile. Each teacher in the system where we are now, has an individual Edmodo page. There, they post everything from homework and classwork assignments to tests. Most of the tests are take-home and open book. If there are questions about any assignment, students are able to post to their teachers Staff, parents, and students can chat back and forth in real time or leave messages for each. There are a few more things that you can do on Edmodo, but I am just giving you a few more ideas for being the best facilitator and communicator that you can be, as a leader. This is just another resource and idea to incorporate even now or when you become a principal.
Kim C
Kathy,
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of an administrator as a facilitator. Being a facilitator in my mind means that you are guiding the change rather than forcing the change. When change is guided, it is much more likely to be embraced by those who are under you. As you said, one of the most important aspects of change is communication. As leaders in our schools, we must communicate openly with everyone who has a stake in the students' education. I also agree that it is important that the communication flows in both directions. We, as leaders, must be willing to listen to feedback and input from others if we are to be successful.