Monday, January 6, 2014

Snow Days and Social Media

For the first time in many decades, my district had called off school in back to back days. We are a walking district, so it makes sense. The one part of me is excited to spend more time with my family, but the lesson planner side is freaking out because I've just lost two days out of the remaining 10 in the semester. We have a huge mock trial planned and the students have lost two work days. Ahhhhhhh!

Social Media to the rescue!

I received the school closing email Sunday evening and quickly tweeted it out and used Remind 101 to contact my students. My tweets and texts reached my students and my high school community faster than the district's robo-dialer. By using these tools, I was able to communicate with the vast majority of my students and explain the game plan moving forward. My students were relieved and I felt better. Twitter and Remind 101 made communicating with my students simple. 

Another great part of Social Media is watching the great things come across the feed from my friends all over the world. Great bits of information, funny pictures and overall goodness to keep me occupied between trips outside to shovel. Despite being away from my school, my learning does not have to stop on a snow day.

I'm still bewildered by those in education that still say Social Media is not important in education. I've been able to do so much while buried in the snow at home. It blows my mind that so many are still ignoring these great tools. 

Stay warm friends!

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