70 likes | 182 Views
Education Reform: A Social Media Perspective. Thinking about the current role and potential impact of online and social media in today’s education reform conversation. Social Media: Challenges . “I don’t have time to do it” “There’s no one to do it”
E N D
Education Reform: A Social Media Perspective Thinking about the current role and potential impact of online and social media in today’s education reform conversation.
Social Media: Challenges • “I don’t have time to do it” • “There’s no one to do it” • “I’m afraid of what people are saying about my organization” • “I don’t know what to say” • “I’m not sure if that’s the right thing to put out there”
Education Reform Conversation • Average of 5,200 posts per month • Nearly half of the conversation is happening on Twitter • Mainstream media accounts for 11% • Top blogs include: • Diane Ravitch’s “Bridging Differences” • Whitney Tilson’s “School Reform” • Fordham Institute’s “Flypaper” • Alexander Russo’s “This Week in Education”
Thinking About Getting Involved Things to consider when thinking about when, how, why and where to enter the conversation.
Who’s Talking? • Conversations are highly insular • Chatter within a topic or community silos • Opinion motivates action • Example: Representation of commenters from a Washington Post article on college majors • 10% of commenters accounted for 40% of the conversation
Signal vs. Noise • Separate the signal from the noise • Most opinionated folks are often the loudest • Engaging with critics can just fuel a conversation • Boost your signal: • Go where your conversation is • Pick your battles • One comment isn’t enough; be ready for real dialogue • Partner, partner, partner Lots of Noise, but weak signal Same amount of noise, but stronger signal