On the latest episode of the Cultivating Connection Podcast, Jennifer Casa-Todd joined us for a conversation about digital leadership and social media in education. Jennifer is a teacher-librarian from Ontario and the author of Social LEADia, our first book choice for the new KG Education Teacher Book Club. She’s an experienced educator, who has served in a number of different teaching roles, including acting as the Literacy Consultant for her school district. She has recently co-authored a children’s book Aubrey Bright in Stories that Connect us with Leigh Cassell and her next book, Raising Digital Leaders, will be available soon.
It was a pleasure to talk with Jennifer and we think you’ll love this episode!
What book are you currently reading for enjoyment or for professional learning?
Young Adult novels to support my student book clubs, including Howl’s Moving Castle, Genesis Begins Again and Hunted by the Sky.
Who has influenced or inspired you as an educator?
I was inspired to become a teacher by my Grade 11 English teacher who was just so passionate about literature and reading. He would walk around and passion just exuded from him.
I’ve been fortunate to have many mentors, including Lori Lisi and George Couros.
I’m inspired by my PLN on Twitter all the time. I belong to a group called Our Global Classroom and those teachers who connect globally inspire me. There’s so much inspiration that you can garner from people that maybe you haven’t even ever met in person.
What tech tool(s) are your daily essentials?
Google Jamboard and Instagram
Watch Jennifer’s YouTube Playlist for Google Jamboard tips.
Can you tell us about one way you and your students are currently using social media in education?
We recently connected with students leading a project called Impact without Contact and, through social media, I have been able to connect students at my school with them. They are focused on making a difference for people who might be struggling due to the pandemic and this connection has led to projects, including making cards and videos for others.
Learn more about Impact without Contact in this Social LEADia Podcast episode.
“We’re really trying to unify and connect our kids to each other because we’ve been remote since the Christmas holidays.”
Jennifer Casa-Todd
Your book highlights how meaningful connections can be made online. Can you tell us about some of the ways that online connections have helped, supported or inspired you as an educator?
I would not be here without the really powerful connections that I have made through social media. I joined Twitter in 2011 and decided that I was going to surround myself with teachers who knew more than I did, who shared their learning and who were a positive influence.
You don’t know the power of social media if you’re just following celebrities. Social media is all about who you follow. When you follow the right people, there’s just there’s no limit to what you can do. I think having a book is a direct result of being on Twitter and having a community on Twitter. More recently, I have found so many library groups.
Any social media platform can be a source of learning and inspiration, as long as you open yourself up to that. I also think it’s really important to interrupt my feed. I make sure that I go into my Twitter settings, and I don’t just allow Twitter to determine what I see in my newsfeed. We see how easy it is for you to only read and understand and know what other like-minded people are sharing because that that’s all you see. I’m very careful to interrupt my feed. I follow a variety of people from different places, countries all over the world, I have a Twitter list of international educators. We have to be critical thinkers, there’s so much misinformation out there. And we have to talk to kids about this too.
We really, really need to teach as if social media exists, recognize there’s so much learning to be had there. But then also showcase that if we’re not careful, if we’re not using critical thinking that we could be led astray.
Jennifer Casa-Todd
A lot of teachers use social media in their personal lives, but many teachers don’t yet use social media in education or with their students. Besides reading your book, what other advice do you have for educators about using social media in schools?
I always say that whenever we can bring social media into the classroom, we should, right? Because if they’re not getting those conversations with us, then where are they getting them? Not every child has the opportunity to sit around a dinner table and discuss some of these issues.
I advocate for using a class social media account. So that’s an account that you create for either a unit, or for a year, or for an entire grade level. You might try:
- thankful Thursdays to thank someone online
- making connections with another class like a pen pal connection
- finding math in the news
- bringing in news from social media and analyze sources and credibility
- giving kids the opportunity to choose a tool (they might choose TikTok or Snapchat), and then engage in conversations around those tools.
- discussing digital dilemmas: create a scenario and discuss how you could handle it as part of your class meetings
As educators, we are all going through a very challenging time as we navigate teaching and living through a pandemic. Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for our teacher colleagues at this time?
Some days are a real struggle. I walk into my library, and there’s not a kid there. I’m so sad.
We have to be mindful that when we’re looking at other people’s highlight reel on social media that we don’t internalize that as all these other teachers have it together. Be gentle on yourself. Don’t compare your real life to someone else’s highlight reel. And I think that’s really important to model for kids too.
So give each other grace. Give yourself grace, that would be my biggest advice.
Jennifer Casa-Todd
One of the things we’re passionate about at KG Education is teacher wellness. Can you tell us what you do for wellness? How do you take care of yourself?
By staying connected to some of my teacher friends through technology.
Starting The Masked Educator show with my teacher friends on Friday nights where we guess who the masked guest teacher is.
And honestly, I have never taken so many walks in my entire life. Lots of walks with my dog!
This is our first teacher book club. Do you have other book recommendations for what else we should read with teachers for personal growth or professional development?
Innovate Inside the Box by George Couros and Katie Novak
Spark Change by Olivia Van Ledtje and Cynthia Merrill
Reignite the Flames by Mandy Froehlich
The Connection Lens by Sean Robinson
Strive for Happiness in Education by Robert Dunlop
Where can our listeners find you and connect with you online?
Social LEADia companion website: socialleadia.org
Social LEADia podcast: anchor.fm/socialleadia
Jennifer’s Website: jcasatodd.com
Twitter: @jcasatodd
Get Jennifer’s Student Digital Leadership Playbook: http://bit.ly/SDLplaybook
Watch for the release of Jennifer’s next book: Raising Digital Leaders.
Ep 28: PhD Program Update with Devon – Cultivating Connection with KG Education
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