Monday, July 27, 2020

Strangers on the Internet

Beware of online strangers! Many "Internet safety" lectures warned audiences about the scary ne'er-do-wells lurking in cyberspace, eager to steal your money or dignity. Don't get me wrong. It's important to use caution so people don't fall for phishing schemes or sexting scandals. However, I want to talk about my recent experience chatting with a stranger on the Internet and what a lovely, positive experience it was.

Last Monday, I was contacted via direct message on Twitter by someone unfamiliar to me.


She wasn't a bot. She was real. She wanted to talk and I said yes.

We arranged to chat on Wednesday afternoon. It was a busy week, with the ETFO Summer Academy that Jennifer Brown and I facilitated (more on that next week) running Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and several errands and appointments involving my parents. I was tired and took a nap just before our conversation. Despite having voice fatigue, Marian and I talked for an hour and a half and it was delightful.

Marian is such a pleasure to talk to. She lives in New Mexico where she worked in school libraries for several years. She is not resting on her laurels now that she has retired. She is taking courses to help her decide and align her passions to her next adventure to which she'll devote her time and energy. Conducting these interviews is part of her process.

Marian asked me some very thought-provoking questions, such as

  • What am I most proud of accomplishing in my career so far?
  • What is one area of my practice I want to improve on, and how am I going about doing that?
  • How do I continue developing professionally? What blogs or journals do I read regularly?
In our conversation, Marian and I laughed and cried. We chuckled at my students' tough evaluation of my organizational skills (which I had to confess was an area where I'd love to improve). I wept when I described how special library-related events can be the shining light in dark times for a student (which is part of an incident I told in an interview with Michelle Arbuckle). Our conversation helped me articulate the things that are important to me, aspects of my identity/personality and helped me remember some significant moments of my career. It gave me the chance to "amplify others" by promoting things like Doug Peterson's "This Week in Ontario Edublogs", OSLA's The Teaching Librarian magazine, Stephen Hurley's VoicEd Radio, Treasure Mountain Canada, maintained by Carol Koechlin and Anita Brooks-Kirkland, and Noa Daniel's "Personal Playlist Podcast" show. 

Near the end of our chat, I asked Marian why she chose to reach out to me. She explained that she saw me on Twitter (we follow each other) and I looked like I might be an interesting person with which to converse. She peeked at my "digital footprint", saw I had been at AASL back in 2017 and decided to contact me. What a fluke! I have to say that coincidence plays a greater part in having cool opportunities thrown your way than you'd expect - for instance, I was hired to teach an AQ course because the provider wanted someone local to teach the course and someone saw my photo and home base on a subject association website - it had nothing to do with my credentials, awards, or reputation.

What would you do if a "stranger from the Internet" contacted you out of the blue? I was talking with my ETFO co-teaching partner Jenn about my experience with Marian when she shared a similar story. Jenn was participating in a Twitter chat and a fellow attendee contacted her via DM with a question. They talked on the phone and the interaction has turned into some professional conversations and personalized pedagogy projects.

So, I guess what I'm saying is, don't throw caution to the wind, but consider what is being asked (and by whom) and who knows? You may end up with something memorable.
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Monday, July 20, 2020

Learn to (& with) Schmooz

In June, I won a prize. It wasn't the lottery but something that was also rewarding, except I didn't quite realize it back then.

To be honest, I don't think I even understood what I won. What is a "Core Values workshop"?
Last Tuesday, July 14, I found out the answer with some of the members of the Association for Media Literacy.

I was introduced to Schmooz Media via Noa Daniel and The Mentoree. Noa has written a much more eloquent account of their experience honing and developing their group's mission statement. You can read Noa's reflection here.
I won't go into too much detail about the process of the workshop. Noa said that for her and her team ...
It was the core value workshop with Zoe Share that has grounded so much of our work so far this summer. A group of Mentors gathered with Zoe and Alan of Schmooz Media to help us discover our core values as a community. 
I was intrigued by the process, especially because all of it was conducted online. It was also deceptively simple but led to profound insights. We met twice (Tuesday and Friday to finish up) and I was grateful that this was possible because we were able to have two more of our board of directors join us.


Big thanks to Neil Andersen, Carol Arcus, Michelle Solomon, Chelsea Attwell, Sarah Bayne and Nina Silver for joining us. (Please note that Carol's camera was malfunctioning on Friday, so I photoshopped her image from Tuesday into our Friday group photo.)

You may wonder why it would be helpful for volunteer organizations to consult with a social marketing agency. The general public may be suspicious of marketing agencies, and I think this may be due to how we approach media in general. I've heard classroom teachers refer to strategies used to attract attention as "media tricks". The implied message with that sort of approach is that media is "bad" and that "the media" is trying to do something deceptive. The AML does not like to place value labels on media texts; rather, we examine them as "interesting". For instance, anti-maskers may describe the public service announcements shared by various governments and organizations as propaganda because they don't like the message. If we understand how to effectively convey messages to appeal to our audiences (targeted or not), then we can do what we want to do better. (By the way, please wear a mask!)

Tangent: thanks to Wesley Fryer (@wfryer), Mythili Thedchanamoorthy (@mythedch), Kim Davidson (KDavidson_TDSB), Angela McCabe (@fujismiley) and Julie Millan (@jsm2272) for trying to help me find the particular "persuasion campaign posters" that I've seen on bus shelters. Once I find the ones I remember, I'll add them here. In the meantime ...




Zoe Share, the founder of Schmooz, told us that social media is the tool but being social is the goal. The aim of this particular workshop is for an individual or group to determine using fair, democratic, methods what their guiding principles are. Too many times a mission statement is drafted without input from the people who are the heart of the organization. Knowing exactly what your team is all about, and being able to succinctly articulate this in a few sentences can help businesses and non-profit organizations grow and even help make decisions. After the Friday workshop, I had the chance to chat briefly with Zoe about her work with Schmooz, perceptions around marketing companies, and the use of social media by businesses and corporations, especially when it relates to socio-political events. Zoe decried some of the disingenuous responses to #BlackLivesMatter and emphasized that people must be true to their core values. She said, "Sometimes the right response is to be quiet, shut up, and do the work". It was delightful to see how passionate Zoe was about her work, and the joy she finds from helping people discover how to embody their values.



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Monday, July 13, 2020

Two Approaches to Building Online Communities

I don't want to imply an artificial binary or dichotomy by saying "there's a right way and a wrong way to do things" but there were two stark examples of ways that individuals attempted to build online communities. One has been very successful. The other has not. While protecting the identity of the people behind the less-than-fruitful attempt, I wanted to analyze both situations to identify the factors that led to the different results.

Let me first begin with a project that was so positive that it garnered attention and public recognition via an article in The Toronto Star on July 10. (Apologies if you cannot read the entire article because it is behind a paywall.) The article describes the creation of #QuarantineEd, a discussion group on Twitter led by TDSB teachers Matthew Morris (@callmemrmorris) and Jay Williams (@MstrJayWill).

Issues of race have taken centre stage in weekly online meetings amongst Ontario educators that Morris and fellow teacher Jay Williams started earlier this year. Aptly dubbed #QuarantineEd, the initiative was launched with the goal of serving as a safe and open space for educators to share experiences on adapting to new realities of remote teaching amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The article describes how attendance went from about 20 participants to over 100, with people from beyond the city and province's borders joining in. Several people are quoted for the article, describing the positive impact Matthew and Jay have had on them while facilitating these discussions. My favourite quote from the article comes from TDSB teacher Shauna Griffiths.

“I think they’re innovative and relatable, and adapt themselves to teaching in a manner that helps students a lot. The things they’re doing in their classrooms, what they talk about, it makes me want to do so much more. They push me to want to be better.” 
I know friends of mine that have participated in Matthew's Twitter chat. I haven't participated yet in #QuarantineEd and I wanted to ensure I wasn't just heaping on empty praise just because mainstream media decided to pay attention. My dear friend Lisa Noble had this to say to me when I asked for her opinion.

Matt's group is ... completely grassroots, there are about 60-100 participants on a Thursday night, mostly educators of colour (from all over North America) and while Matthew and Jay are the hosts, everyone is invited to share (even old white folx like me). It's also a space for listening and learning, and getting the hell out of the way of other voices, but it's warm, and friendly, and welcoming. And you could ask a question and people would genuinely do their best to answer without making you feel ridiculous. There are also some amazing people - authors, public health educators, teachers from everywhere - all just finding a space where there are some other people who want to do the work. ... It's a true community and it's so powerful.

Let me turn to the other example. A friend of mine tagged me in a post encouraging me to follow this new account. There were several question marks for me about this account and so I asked them. A friend of mine also had some concerns about the purpose of this new account we were being encouraged to follow.

Note: I originally had an embedded tweet included here with those questions but because it identified the account I am referring to, I removed it prior to hitting the "publish" button for this post.

 The unfortunate thing is that we were responded with a very curt reply that I felt disrespected us. That tweet disappeared from the timeline as other people began to ask their own questions and raise concerns. What followed were:

  • apologies that centered on others feelings towards the account instead of the creator(s)' actions,
  • changes to the profile description (after other users suggested this move),  
  • changes to the account name 
  • blocked access for some people who asked critical questions about the account and finally,
  • removal of the account
The intention was probably good but we need to remember the difference between intention and impact. This was meant to bring together a group of people but instead alienated and offended a larger group of people. "We judge ourselves by our intentions. We judge others by their impact." says Stephen M. R. Covey. We should judge ourselves by the impact as well as the intention.

So what's the differences? What lessons can I (and others) learn about what things should be considered when attempting to create an online community? Many of these ideas relate to media literacy.

1. Consider using a hashtag vs an account.

Understand the form you are working with because the media is part of the message. There are several benefits to using a hashtag - this article describes a few, although it's in a business context. A hashtag invites use by others and allows easy searching and curating by more than one person. Focusing attention on a single account puts the spotlight on the person or organization rather than on the discussion. If an account is necessary or desired, be careful when choosing the name and completing the profile, to ensure it does not give the wrong impression.

2. Be transparent but also flexible.

What is the purpose of the online community?  Who is the creator of this online group? Morris and Williams made it very clear what the original goal was for their weekly chats but they were not so rigid that they insisted on restricting the conversation when it evolved. Morris and Williams don't mention #QuarantineEd in their Twitter profiles, but I suspect it has more to do with their modesty and humility than disguising their involvement.

3. Aim for more open vs less open

Who is the intended audience? Consider the group you wish to attract but remember that if other people are interested, they can bring great new perspectives to discussions.  #QuarantineEd never limited its membership to just TDSB educators. (Even specific hashtags and groups, such as the #TDSBEd group initially started by Larissa Aradj and Arianna Lambert and continued by Larissa and Jason Trinh welcomed participants from other school boards.)

4. Own up if you mess up

The block feature is great if racist trolls invade your timeline. The block feature is not great if people are genuinely trying to have conversations that push thinking and are just meant to be silenced. It is better to admit when you are wrong - I've done so here on this blog, even though it can be humiliating. I've written an article for AML about apologies. We all make mistakes. Admitting if we have erred shows we are human and helps us learn lessons.

An excellent point was made by Joy Henderson that links to all four points I've suggested.


I want to thank a couple of my colleagues that pre-read parts of this blog to ensure that I was not unfairly attacking anyone with this post. I just hope that positive and negative experiences can help us all learn and do better.
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Monday, July 6, 2020

MakerEdTO 2020 Virtual Conversations

Last Tuesday, June 30, 2020 was the fifth anniversary of MakerEdTO. This grassroots organization of teachers from different boards in and around the GTA, usually produce an affordable hands-on conference experience at the York School.

These were the highlights from the 4th event in 2019.
These were the highlights from the 2018 event.
These were the highlights from the 2017 event.
These were the highlights from the 2016 event.

The team was creative in re-imagining what this event would look like in these circumstances, when we were prohibited from gathering in large groups for in-person conferences. We chose to have virtual conversations about making.

Usually I have many photos from the event, but since most of it occurred via Google Meet, the images I have to capture the event aren't as interesting as past pictures. We also had to respect the privacy of our participants. The photos I have here are mostly of our core team of facilitators / moderators (along with Andrew Forgrave, president of ECOO - you can't tell he's a guest because he's wearing a red shirt like the rest of us).



My sub-group focused on Making and the Environment, and I was fortunate to have Tina Zita co-hosting the breakout room with me. Our group was small but so willing to share their thoughts and ideas.

I want to personally thank those who were present for that conversation. Apologies if I did not include your Twitter handle if you possess one.

  • Ruth G @originalmissg
  • Jen A @onelearningseed
  • Selena H
  • Ashley M
  • Irene F @pennstertoronto
  • Diana W 
The conversations were all captured via documents so hopefully no one feels like they completely missed out on information because they could not attend two sessions at once. (That's a common lament at conferences in general.)

I was also delighted to see several York University Summer TL AQ alumni attend. This conference was part of my TL AQ course and participants reported that they enjoyed the experience. I am not teaching the York University TL AQ this summer (since my domain is blended teaching and those courses aren't running due to the pandemic), which makes me sad, but I'm glad that people are still taking advantage of the online PD events happening.

These are some of the Twitter highlights of the conversations from June 30. I hope that we will be able to gather together face-to-face in 2021. There are many benefits to virtual conferences (like expenses, travel, accessibility, etc.) but I miss the benefits of the other type. We enjoyed having this option available to us.





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