Digital leaders are those who build others up. They are those who help other educators/people along their journey.
Digital leaders:
Know that when you help someone else you help yourself.
Are those who are not afraid to make a mistake and continually learn. You don’t need to be in the front lines to do that, you just need to share your experience and know that others have so much to teach you.
Are responsible digital citizens themselves and demonstrate this so that students and other learners can know what this truly means.
Every person has an opportunity to be helpful … every person has an opportunity to collaborate … to make a difference … to celebrate the good works of others (student, teachers, parents, community members) … to be a digital leader means to learn and be a responsible digital citizen yourself. To truly care enough to enter the digital world so that you can as Alec Couros says “think together” and I would add learn together. It is never too late to learn to be a good digital leader yourself.
CC image by Catherine Cronin
School Counsellors are in an amazing position to be digital leaders to help students and others know the importance of digital citizenship . At BCHS we start every year with a grade 10 retreat where the School Counsellors present on Digital Citizenship . Throughout the year we discuss digital citizenship through our School twitter feed as well as through our Facebook pages. We ask students if we can use their pictures before we publish making sure they have signed the required consent. There are many great School Counsellors who are digital leaders . Just check out the hashtags #SCCrowd and #scchat.
We want our students to be excellent digital citizens, but we know that takes time , effort , patience and great role modelling by all staff and educators in general.
Fortunately I know many great digital leaders (too many to list here) which is a great thing , however I will list a few if you are just getting started :
Technology is a very important part of students lives today and will be even more prevalent in the future. School Counsellors can find a way to incorporate exciting new practices into their School Counselling programs. These changes can inspire not only their students , but the School Counsellors themselves.
IF I CAN YOU CAN TOO
I’ve been asked by Dr. Chris Schimmel @doc_schimmel an outstanding Counselor Educator to present to future School Counsellors on the use of technology. I love technology and think it is essential to future School Counsellors. Why? Because it allows us to connect with students in their space as well as allows us an opportunity to connect to the whole school population. Of course there will always be a place and a space for meeting and connecting with students individually, but it is also extremely important to reach as many students as possible and that can be done through the use of technology.
Technology also allows us to develop a PLN with people from all around the world. In my opinion this is one of the best ways to connect with not only School Counsellors who are passionate, but also with other educators who use technology to assist them in improving and reflecting on what it is they do for students. Dr. Erin Mason @ecmmmason my friend is an amazing leader when it comes to School Counsellors utilizing and creating ideas with technology.
So, University of West Virginia Counseling students this blog post is for you. I look forward to meeting , connecting and sharing and helping you in the Google Hangout organized by your professor Dr. Chris Schimmel.
The rest of this blog will be about the resources I think School Counsellors can use that make a difference.
#1 is Twitter so I encourage you to get an account today. It will transform your life and the life of your future students if used properly. Twitter is where it all began for me and then ETMOOC changed the way I offered parts of my School Counselling program. A special thanks to Alec Couros @courosa Ed tech professor extraordinaire and social media expert at the University of Regina. You will want to follow him and his brother George @gcouros a leader and fabulous Administrator on twitter.
Advantages of twitter:
It allows for opportunities to connect, collaborate, share and learn from and with people from all over the world.
I have used Twitter and Google docs to collaborate with other School Counsellors and educators who have wanted to contribute to Mental Health in High School as well as many other projects.
Using the hashtags #SCCrowd and #scchat as well as some other great chats allows us to connect with School Counselling professionals who are more than willing to help us as we continue to work with and make a difference for students.
The instant anytime access allows me to get information or resources that I can utilize in an open manner which not only helps me , but may help others.
It also allows us a voice for reaching out to others to let them know that what we do matters.
This post has had 9,458 people who have seen it in two days. Social media can reach people quickly.
If you’d like to start to follow and share on #SCin30 you too can have a voice. We’d love to know what you think as a future School Counsellor. Pose a question and answer it. Then share and we can learn from you.
Twitter allows you as a School Counsellor to share and help other School Counsellors, School Counselling students and educators.
If you want to learn more about School Counsellors observe their twitter accounts. Please follow them using the hashtags above and you’ll get a good sense of how you too can be a positive digital citizen and model this for your future students.
Ask for help. Other School Counsellors and educators are always willing to help you. If you have questions or concerns please do not hesitate to ask.
One of the best ways you can find the best tech tools to use as a School Counsellor is to check out SCOPE School Counselor Online Professional Exchange. Spend some time there. It will be worth your time and effort.
#2 Haiku Deck As a School Counsellor you will have to give presentations or you may wish to share ideas or messages with students that you think are important. Haiku Deck @haikudeck is my number one go to app. It has a creative commons license built within the app that allows a visual experience that is like none other.
Below you can see some of my haiku decks that I have used to share with School Counsellors and students.
The power of social media to touch others is absolutely amazing. This simple @haikudeck on Who Matters? has had 79,769 views . One never knows the impact a simple gesture can have online and off.
#3 Livebinders I love to use livebinders to organize and share useful School Counselling information. At Bishop Carroll High School we use livebinders to share large amounts of important information with students in a single space.
Here are two of our livebinders co-created by our School Counselling team Erin Luong @ehordyskiluong , Peter Damen and I :
There are so many benefits for using smores. You can find a few ideas here.
Here is our Welcome to Student Services smore. It is an excellent way to share information with your future students , parents and staff. Also it is an amazing tool for gathering ideas to present to students as you can see in our personal wellbeing livebinder section .
#5 iMovie / YouTube I use iMovie more and more to present to students information that I think will be helpful to them. Dean Shareski , a Canadian educator said once and it has stayed with me video trumps text, so I try to use video as much as possible to create information students can relate to and then upload the iMovie to YouTube. I do this all on my iPhone which makes things very easy for me.
Here are two iMovies , one I made and one our students made as part of our student led wellness team.
Ten Things You Should Stop Doing: Notice the attribution to Haiku Deck at the bottom of the movie which you should always do . Give attribution that is. That is where people can see where the pictures come from and who to attribute them to.
Blogs are a great tool to create, connect and learn from others. For me creating blogs still requires a great deal of effort as I am still learning, but today’s example is a great way of sharing information with others from far away. I started my blog in May of 2013. It has had 15,113 views from 105 countries.
#7 Google docs are an amazing way to collaborate. I collaborate with our students on our Wellness committee and our Who’s Frank? team. Here are two google docs that you can collaborate on and I hope you do:
Pinterest does indeed inspire creativity . I have used it for many things including creating School Counselling bulletin boards as well as for ideas for presentations.
#9 Google hangouts
Again, yet another great way to connect with School Counsellors and educators from across the world.
For more ideas of why technology is important for you check here.
You can see that I use multiple tools in multiple ways to help me do a variety of things that help not only School Counsellors , but students as well. Three years ago I did not know how to do any of this so … if I can you can too.
It’s better to fail at what you love than to fail at what you don’t . Jim Carrey
This is an email I recieved this week from a student who wishes to remain anonymous. The message is great so I share it with you. I am grateful that BCHS is such a great place to work. Graduates … you amaze me! I am in awe of you.
Hello graduate:
This is a message from a former Bishop Carroll High School student and it is addressed to each graduate in the class of 2015. Before anything else, congratulations! You have endured, grown, been challenged by, and are forever changed by your BCHS journey. You have earned the green slips, made the cutoffs, and can now call yourself a graduate of Bishop Carroll High School; a great Calgary institution that has developed a legacy for turning out exceptional people – people who forge incredible impacts in the world and help make it a better place.
My purpose for writing this is to imbue you with a few friendly words of wisdom, some advice, and to call you to service in your community. What is said in this message is opinion not doctrine and it is meant simply to convey some words of encouragement as you close a proverbial chapter in your life and turn to the next.
Bishop Carroll High School is not a school for a neighborhood or a quadrant – it is a school for the community of Calgary. As a result, it is a place of great diversity and great opportunity. The experiences you have had and the environment you have been in is something that is unique and one that has set you up differently than other people your age. You have been given the Carroll Advantage – the opportunity to learn in a system that hones your strengths, remedies weaknesses, and lets you discover who you are. The result: an ability to think critically, to manage yourself, to take ownership of your destiny, and the ability to make a profound impact on those around you. Self directed learning is a fantastic way to learn and appreciate personal responsibility, develop self management skills, and ultimately learn who you are and grow as a human being. The opportunities, skills, and experiences found in and taken from Bishop Carroll High School create potential for great things in every graduate. All of you have potential that knows only the boundaries you set for yourselves. There is no limit to what you can do; so believe in yourself, set your standards high, dream as big as you can, and never ever quit on something worthwhile.
My time since graduating has afforded me the ability to experience many great things and meet many great people, but every time I encounter something new – a challenge or an opportunity, I often find myself reflecting back on the experiences I had as a student at Carroll. Truthfully, everything I do now is somehow connected back to my time at Carroll. No matter what I face I always tell myself I am a Carroll grad and that gives me the confidence to do just about anything because who I have become was largely started in my three years at Carroll. If nothing else, please take some time to reflect on your BCHS journey: the highs the lows and understand how those experiences will always stick with you. In the bright times use those memories to reflect fondly and appreciate yourself, who you have become, and who you will grow into.In the challenging times use those memories to remind yourself of all you have accomplished and tell yourself you can do anything you set my mind to – you will be better for it. No matter what you face, who you face it with, or what you end up doing know this – if you understand and appreciate what your time at Carroll did for you and that it has helped make you then you really will be able to do anything. There is nothing quite like the confidence or the last minute quick thinking of a BCHS graduate.
Bishop Carroll High School is different than anywhere else, from what I have seen and experienced since graduation it truly does prepare you better and make you more ready for the world. The world you graduate into is one that seems to change exponentially each year. New challenges and new opportunities will demand more of everyone and will likely challenge us as a global community in a way we have not been challenged before. It will take people from diverse backgrounds and skill sets to confront them. Regardless of your path after high school YOU have the power to help change the world. Change does not have to come from grand actions or mega projects – the world can be changed at the grassroots level by the sum of individual actions. So find something you are passionate about – something you love, do it, do it well, and use it to help make the world around you better. Although not everything will be recognized no good action is too small. The opportunities and skills you have now give you the BCHS grad a responsibility to help make a positive impact on the world around you and doing what you love is a great way to make the world better. .
Enjoy each moment, learn from your successes and your failures, never ever give up, appreciate those around you, and live your life to the fullest. Congratulations on your achievement and welcome to the BCHS alumni community. Mane Nobisum Domaine
The first week of School Counsellor in 30 #SCin30 is almost over , but School Counsellors feel free to post anytime. I loved being able to see you in the videos and so look forward to hearing more from you in the weeks and months to come. If you haven’t added a question or a video please do so and I will add here at a later date.
Thanks George Couros for your support and kickstarting the idea!
— Susan Spellman Cann (@SSpellmanCann) May 3, 2015
I sure hope School Counsellors from across the world will be inspired to join us on this journey. We look forward to keeping this going for a long time so that we can truly connect and learn from and with each other. Thanks so much for joining in to this vlogging experience. I know you are all so busy, but appreciate all your efforts to share your voice in #SCin30 #SCin30 Q1
Q2: Submitted by George Couros is How do you see the role of School Counsellor changing?
Add your questions to our google doc here. Thanks so much for collaborating! See you in #SCin30.
In a system that is more learner-centered, Albertans see the role of the teacher changing from that of a knowledge authority to an architect of learning – one who plans, designs and oversees learning activities. Albertans said the teacher should consider the interests, talents, passions and natural curiosities of the learner. The teacher should inspire and motivate, while planting the seeds for life-long learning.–Inspiring Education: A Dialogue with Albertans p. 23
Collaboration is so important and this month I get to collaborate with my Principal Neil O’Flaherty @neilof12 as we co-facilitate a session for ULead 2015 on curriculum redesign.
High School redesign is essential to creating an environment where students can thrive.
Here is a schedule of our day:
9am-10:30 a.m. St. Anne Academic Centre Introduction to HS Re-Design and involvement to date. Here is the Ulead St. Anne 2015 presentation. Norm Martin and Martin Kovack presenting.
10:45am-12:00 p.m. Bishop McNally High School. Deana Helton and Desiree Cook Smith presenting. Here is the uLead Conference2015 link to the presentation.
2:45pm-4:00 p.m.–Break-out Q & A (“Re-Design Carousel?”)–delegates can visit all three schools or remain with one at their discretion.
Bishop Carroll High School is part of the Canadian Coalition for Self Directed Learners. CCSDL has been in operation since 1971 based on the ideas put forth by Dr. J. Lloyd Trump in his book A School for Everyone. Even though this innovative school has been in operation for forty-three years BCHS is still working to stay on the cutting edge when it comes to curriculum redesign and we are fortunate to be a part of the team of people working to make this happen. If you have never seen how Bishop Carroll operates please take a look at this short video to get a window into the life of BCHS.
This is what 21st Century Learning should look like:
We want students to develop the competencies to become engaged thinkers, ethical citizens with an entrepeneurial spirit.
Alberta Ed Competencies so important for educators and students Engaged Thinkers| Ethical Citizens | Entrepreneurial http://t.co/Kz9YVIrRn5— Susan Spellman Cann (@SSpellmanCann) March 02, 2015
We need to work together to prepare ourselves and our students for the future. Here is a livebinder created by Peter Damen @naramata22 one of our School Counsellors to assist BCS students in planning for their future. Here you will find a collaborative doc that we put together with many stakeholders on mental health and wellness. Please click here for a livebinder of resources on High School redesign.
Here is the video from Italy that Neil spoke about in his presentation with the Capetown choir . You can hear the two choirs joining in at about 2:00 mins. in. This is true learning and collaboration at its finest.
It is The Right Time to collaborate and rethink what we do. This post is meant to provide you with as many resources as possible so if you revisit this blog in a week it will be updated from the U lead conference. We hope you had a great time and please share any resources you have created with us. Please tweet to @SSpellmanCann or @NeilOF12.
Is it time to redesign our curriculum for the digital age ? What do you think? We believe it is the right time to collaborate with our colleagues and to work together for the betterment of all students like was done in OCLMOOC the The Connectivist Mooc for Alberta Educators. There is no doubt that this is a process, but it is made easier through the use of technology. We can collate information easier and faster than ever before. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel, we just make the wheel better and better so that our students benefit and become better citizens in this ever changing world.
What a great day to spend with colleagues sharing our best practices. Meeting with leaders from across the world to share and connect is always rewarding. There were principals from Reykjavik, Iceland, delegates from Sweden , New Zealand and lots of Albertans.
Here is the storify I created : A short storify from #ULead2015. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your conference. Go make a difference It is the right time ! Lead !!!
Words really do matter. I am in the process of developing an online presentation for adults on mental health and wellness so that they may assist students in their post – secondary programs. As I think about what I will say I recognize that my words matter. What I say could potentially influence educators. What they say to their students could potentially transform what happens for the students and their families. Mental health literacy matters, stigma matters , words matter.
Sometimes I hear people use words way too loosely when describing someone with a mental illness or someone who has special needs or challenges. They may say so and so is an ADHD kid or so and so is bipolar, an alcoholic etc. It matters to me when I hear words used inappropriately as I believe strongly that we are people first ( the labels used like ADHD are only a very small way of telling us something about someone). We are so much more. Who we truly are cannot or should not be described in a few words.
So the next time you find yourself using the label first STOP and THINK about the power of your words. Jack or Jill may have a million attributes that are positive and when you use one word to define them you are missing such huge pieces of who they truly are. So eliminate so and so is a developmentally delayed child etc. and say their name and the many wonderful things about them. When you do this you start to perceive them differently. You also begin to treat each human being , each child in your care with so much more dignity and respect.
Are you thinking about what it means to be an open leader?Click on the archive to find out more , you’ll see a webinar by Christina Hendricks and Dr. Erin Mason : Archive of Open Leadership Webinar.
I am inspired yet again thanks to fellow Canadian and educator extraordinaire George Couros@gcouros to write a blog post about the fact that School Counsellorsdo indeed have hashtags and use them on a regular basis.
Does anyone have a hashtag that is used for guidance counsellors? #edchat
American School Counsellors are on the web in droves as you can see if you follow the #scchat hashtag. I am fortunate to connect with other School Counsellors who are from all over the world especially through #SCCrowd and you can join us . I am proud to call myself a School Counsellor because it is so much more than what a Guidance Counsellor used to be. Read more here. School Counsellor Chat #scchat was the leader of the way and we can join in as caring Canadians who are passionate about School Counselling and want to make a difference.
I am a School Counsellor
I was a School Counsellor the moment I realized students needed help and I could make a difference
Throughout the day I can be called upon to assist, encourage, intervene, give support, make serious decisions and more
I am privileged to see the potential in each and every student
Honoured that students and their families allow me to help them
Thankful that I have chosen a profession I can be proud of and one that allows me to leave a legacy
You, the parents allow me to enter your world and help the most precious gift you have been given in life your child
Students matter to me and I will counsel your children from my heart, always maintaining a professional response
I am a School Counsellor and I will never take that responsibility lightly
I will have the courage , strength and hope to do what is necessary
I will provide a place and a space where you can trust what I do
Knowing that you have allowed me to spend my precious days with the future
I am a School Counsellor and for that I am filled with gratitude each and every day
Susan Spellman Cann
It isn’t as easy to connect with other School Counsellors from across Canada. There are a few of us that connect on a regular basis often using the hashtags #SCCrowd and #scchat :
@ehordyskiluong
@CharlieOsenton
@TrentLangdonNL
I know there are so many more of you like @Michelle0102197 @BriseboisJoanne @brie_jen @JodieHeywood1 @helenMacKinnon2 @JenMTrigger @mikesmacneil @BoskertheSC @kimtremblay13 @MacISSuey @MzMoynihan that can and want to connect on a regular basis, but you may just need to be aware of the basics of how twitter and a PLN can change how you practice. For some of you, you may even need to know that there is a hashtag and how to use it. We are here to help you anytime. Just ask and we will support you in any way we can. Join in by adding your name to this doc. You can find it by clicking School Counsellors Collaborating here.
There are so many more School Counsellors that I have added to my PLN since I wrote this blog post.” There are so many amazing School Counsellors doing so many fabulous things”, in July of 2013. We really are trying to get more Canadian School Counsellors Connected on twitter so if you do know of any please send them our way and we will definitely start using the #CSCchat Canadian School Counsellorchat that Erin and I created long ago hoping more would come on board.
I am so grateful to be a School Counsellor in a time when we can connect and learn and grow from and with each other due to the internet. So please join us as we make a difference and learn together. Check out SCOPE one of the best resources for School Counsellors you will find on the net.
Our next International School Counsellor chat is on Tuesday , October 28th at 6:30 MDT . Join @rawolfon and I . It is our one year #SCCrowd anniversary. We look forward to meeting, connecting and collaborating with you.
If you have been thinking about joining in #oclmooc, but have been a little hesitant then you need to read Paul Signorelli ‘s post on our first session with Dave Cormier, I am positive it will peak your interest. It is fabulous . You can find it here. I love that Massive does not neccessarily mean big. It means “Massive Potential”. I would add that Mooc’s have the massive potential to make a massive difference for you. Here is the archive to last nights session.
The wonderful learning from Moocs transfers into what we do with students. We learn and they get the benefits of what we learn through connecting in this positive way. Even if you are not an educator Moocs can make a difference.
I am so pleased at how quickly @gailmwhite8 ( a lifelong learner extraordinaire) who is joining a cMooc for the first time has jumped into the learning. I look forward to seeing her growth in the month ahead and learning along with her and you.
Alberta Grassroots cMOOC taking root! A great opportunity to learn about professional learning opportunities. #OCLMOOC#rvsed
If you or anyone you know is interested in the Open Connected Learning Mooc you can still join in. Check out this smore here for how to connect and for more information on why I love Moocs click here by Verena Roberts.
I look forward to connecting with you in one of our communities . Check out our calendar and our google plus community here and share your learning. We look forward to it.
CC image by Catherine Cronin
Counsellor Talk : Connecting with those who want to make a difference. 