Social Media Strategy

To: Lehua Ledbetter

From: Hannah Magarian
Date: March 27, 2016
Working Creativity into a Standardized
Curriculum:
Included:
Overview
Observations
Branding and Distribution
Conclusion

Overview
In the field of elementary education, one of the biggest issues currently is
how teachers can turn around a very standardized curriculum to make it
appealing and educational for students. One of the sources I used the most
to look into this issue is Education Week. This source is constantly publishing
the newest in the field of education as well as new research and ways to
effectively support a classroom. Since standardized testing is taking over the
curriculum, teachers are now looking to their colleagues to find innovative
ways to keep the classroom entertaining but also relaying the information
necessary to meet the standards.

Observations
There are several online organizations that teachers can subscribe to or join,
to see what other teachers are using in their classrooms. Each core subject
has its own site, for example I used FOSS Web for all of my science lesson
plans, these plans are prior approved and have been used in classrooms
previously so that teachers can plan ahead for problems that might arise
during the lesson. Education week is another way that teachers can catch up
on the most recent findings in the field, which was previously mentioned.
Another site I commonly use is Teachers Pay Teachers, where teachers sell
their lesson plans and ideas for low prices for other teachers, there are
reviews for the ideas and once purchased you can buy the plans online.

Social Media Strategy

Above all for me currently is Pinterest because not only can you see other
people ideas, if you like their idea you can follow their page and look at their
boards due to the fact that often times common interest overlaps. People use
these for aspiring teachers (like me) to show us that we do not need to
reinvent the wheel, but rather use the sources that teachers before us have
established. People brand themselves by showing their credentials and
experience with their lesson plans, the proper language for this includes their
degree(s) and usually proof that they used their ideas in a classroom and
that the kids responded well to the activity.

Branding and Distribution

For me to be able to contribute to creatively expand a standardized
curriculum and enter the conversation as an aspiring teacher, the best way
would be through means of Pinterest. Since I am so early on in my career
Pinterest is a way to show others in the field that I do not have enough
credibility yet to make a website, however, I am starting to find my way by
studying plans and pinning ones that I have used in my practicum
placement. This will help me establish ethos because the earlier I start and
show my experience, the quicker I will build up my credibility and show
people what is happening currently in the field since I have the benefit of
observing a couple classrooms while I am stull finishing my degree. This will
make me visible since it can be shared and I an eventually post to sites of
higher authority. To carry out this assignment I created my own Pinterest
board of other ideas Ive found, some Ive used with my current practicum
classroom, and some I have yet to try out but found appealing. This ties into
Agres notion that to be a professional in your field you must be moving
ideas forward with your colleagues and lead intellectually. By sharing these
ideas online for classrooms worldwide, this gives everyone a chance to lead.

Social Media Strategy

Conclusion
Since standardized testing is so prevalent in todays curriculum, teachers
need to find ways to not only support themselves and their classroom, but
also emerging teachers to keep as much creativity into lessons as possible.
There are several outlets on social media for this conversation; ones that I
must begin to get involved with in order to build my credibility as a future
professional. While my board and Pinterest page is not finished, I used the
picture above to give an idea of what a board might look like. I also would in
the future create my own pins to share with other educators to share and pin
and spread to other teachers in the field.

Social Media Strategy

References
Agre, P. E. (2005). How to Be a Leader in Your Field:. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
Assessment and Testing. (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2016, from
http://www.edweek.org/topics/assessmentandtesting/index.html?intc=main-topnav
MacArthur, A. (2009, March 19). The Secret Sauce of Twitter 8 Lessons Learned from Being a
Publisher on Twitter. Retrieved March 29, 2016, from
http://www.mequoda.com/articles/audience-development/the-secret-sauce-of-twitter-8lessons-learned-from-being-a-publisher-on-twitter/
Schawbel, D. (2009, April 2). HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on Facebook. Retrieved
March 29, 2016, from http://mashable.com/2009/04/02/facebook-personalbrand/#UB38lp7NPSqb
Teaching Resources & Lesson Plans | Teachers Pay Teachers. (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2016,
from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/