Learned Voices and the Art of Social Networking
Over the years I’ve acquired and read a substantial number of books on the many facets of education. My collection, which spans several shelves in our home library, includes names that should be familiar to us all: Howard Gardner, Grant Wiggins, Jay McTighe, Alfie Kohn, Carol Dweck, Robert Marzano, Charlotte Danielson, Eric Jensen, John Bransford, John Bruer, Rick Wormeli, Carol Tomlinson, and scores of others. Collectively, this group has influenced countless educators across the country and around the world; teachers flock to their keynotes, administrators make their work required reading. And while they represent some of the brightest, most respected minds of our time, not one of them appears to have mastered the subtle art of social networking.
If you search Twitter for Dweck or Danielson, you’ll come up empty. Same holds true for Gardner, Jensen, Bransford, Bruer, and Wormeli. Carol Tomlinson aka @cat3y has tweeted only twice, most recently in August of 2009. Marzano, Wiggins, and Kohn have written dozens of books and hundreds of articles; together they follow a total of eight people. Perhaps McTighe was speaking for them all with his one and only tweet: “I just signed on [to] TWITTER. Now what?????” Now what indeed.
Social tools like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn have enabled educators to form vibrant, extended learning communities. Pre-service and veteran teachers alike are able to exchange ideas, shape and expand their thinking, and find and develop their professional voice. Some voices are more learned, some simply more vocal, but the voices we should all be listening to are largely missing or silent. And yes, I did say “we should all be listening to.” Whether you agree with their research and theories or not, the aforementioned literally wrote the book (or at the very least a good number of its chapters) on modern education.
Imagine being able to read Gardner’s latest tweets about multiple intelligences, or Danielson’s thoughts on successful teaching practices. Wouldn’t it be something to follow a conversation thread about differentiation with Wormeli and Tomlinson, or put a few questions to Wiggins and McTighe regarding essential questions and enduring understandings? Granted, there are certainly others who tweet about these topics, and many do an exceptional job. Does it really matter, then, if Gardner et al. are not engaging us online?
Absolutely.
By not effectively participating in social media, the aforementioned are missing opportunities to share and accurately represent their work with a global audience and solicit feedback from those of us who put theory into practice. Because these luminaries are not part of our learning landscape, they risk becoming irrelevant to a growing populous of networked teachers. Without lending their voices to the often chaotic stream of online thought that is social media, louder but often less thoughtful voices will lead the way.
To those whose ideologies have shaped this profession, it’s not too late to get started; come join us.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:22 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Patrick Woessner, Marzano Research. Marzano Research said: Totally agree with Learned Voices and the Art of Social Networking: http://bit.ly/arraDQ. [...]
July 19th, 2010 at 11:16 am
per usual, great thinking here, Patrick..and I mostly agree with what you are saying. However, as long as these folks keep getting the big bucks for keynotes and consulting, they may not have much motivation to switch up their mode of operandi.
July 20th, 2010 at 7:02 am
Isn’t it possible that some of these great authors and researchers have little to no time to post on social networks because they are out speaking to educators and administrators? And not to mention the time they spend writing new books? I realize that everyone would feel so much more important if they had one of these noted authors follow them, but realistically, there just isn’t enough time in a day to do that.
July 20th, 2010 at 11:28 am
Matt and Barbara–thanks for the comments. I agree that as long as the books and speaking engagements keep coming the motivation to engage in social media may not be there. However, I refuse to accept the notion that these people (or anyone else for that matter) do not have enough time in a day to develop an interactive online presence. While I’m sure the demands of researching, writing, teaching, speaking, etc. are consuming, it’s purely a matter of choice; people find time for things that matter to them.
For what it’s worth, the Marzano Research Group (whom I didn’t know existed on Twitter until after I published this post), tweeted this out yesterday: “Totally agree with Learned Voices and the Art of Social Networking.” I guess that’s a start.
July 24th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Great post Patrick and certainly represents a missing piece of all these folks great work. Not only would it be valuable for everyone if they blogged, or used any number of other social media tools, but it should also be included more directly in their work. The practices they advocate would be greatly enhanced with being connected. As we know it’s difficult if not impossible to tell others to do something if you aren’t willing or able to do it for yourself.
July 25th, 2010 at 7:26 am
As someone who writes, keynotes and workshops- in addition to leading two companies– but w/o the name recognition or pedagree of those above mentioned –I can attest it isn’t a time issue. Rather they haven’t been shown the value yet.
Posts like this one will help. Thanks Patrick.
September 8th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
just found this post thanks to @MichaelEbeling ‘s tweet.
while i love books and can’t imagine not having one in my hand or bag – there’s something completely unleashing/abandon about an ongoing-ness of a conversation.
hard to capture all the aspects.. but it’s like a toddler able to now take steps… or a teen able to wheel around.
assumptions can be explained. feedback can refine and redefine. connections can be made. seeing each other’s intent/heart/meaning is so key to authentic community…
twitter has done this for me…
thank you for calling attention to it and addressing it as art here Patrick. (and all)