Gone are the days when imparting knowledge was the primary work of a teacher. Today’s teachers need to be able to support their students in knowing how to effectively connect, communicate, collaborate, cooperate, and create. This means that to prepare today’s youth for success in the world, educators must become savvy users of social media. Opting out of online worlds, which students can use to change the world, is no longer an acceptable option for teachers.
But getting started can be scary.
The video below features my interview with Author Learning Center where I share ideas for how authors, and really anyone, can begin to build their social media presence. Below the video are the ideas spelled out with a focus on education for innovative educators who are interested in developing a robust online presence and start connecting with others who share their ideas.
5 steps to building social media presence from scratch
- Don’t be afraid of zero
We have to start somewhere and when it comes to social media, that means starting at zero. That’s okay. Take that first step and join the biggies like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. Start a blog and don’t worry about not having any followers. You’ll start at zero, but it won’t be long before your connections reach the double and triple digits.
- Find your people
Who cares about what you care about? Each social media service has a way to connect with those who share your interests. Do a search for groups or tags that relate to your areas of interest.
- Look around
Once you find people who care about what you care about, look around. See what the norms are. This is called lurking. Read. Learn. Think. Reflect.
- Join the conversation
Reply to tweets. Respond to posts. Share ideas. Let people know what you are thinking. Build your network.
- Collaborate and create
Invite your network to join you in the creation of great things using online collaboration resources. For example, find others who are interested in doing what you are doing and write an article together using Google Docs, make a presentation together using Prezi, create a book using Flickr, work on your school curriculum map with Google spreadsheets.
Following these five steps will not only help you find those who share your passions and interests, but it will also lead to you (or your students) establish yourself as a leader in the field. The resume is a 20th century relic. Sure, you can have that one dimensional representation of who you are, but what will set you apart from the rest is the online persona you actively create and the connections you make in your network.
Lisa Nielsen writes for and speaks to audiences across the globe about learning innovatively and is frequently covered by local and national media for her views on “Passion (not data) Driven Learning,” "Thinking Outside the Ban" to harness the power of technology for learning, and using the power of social media to provide a voice to educators and students. Ms. Nielsen has worked for more than a decade in various capacities to support learning in real and innovative ways that will prepare students for success. In addition to her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator, Ms. Nielsen’s writing is featured in places such as Huffington Post, Tech & Learning, ISTE Connects, ASCD Wholechild, MindShift, Leading & Learning, The Unplugged Mom, and is the author the book Teaching Generation Text.
Disclaimer: The information shared here is strictly that of the author and does not reflect the opinions or endorsement of her employer.