As we know in the afterschool world, summer learning is key to supporting student success. Summer is also a great time for adults to try something new-- to expand our learning, add to our toolbox, and enjoy new experiences. One of the things I've been working on and pondering this summer is how to use some of the new media tools out there to open up our conversation in Vermont about afterschool, expanding learning time, education reform, and summer learning.
Last week I picked up Ron Ploof's new book, Read This First: The Executive's Guide to New Media- from Blogs to Social Networks. (That should give you a good clue at how new I am to all this!) It's a surprisingly fun read and, while written for business executives, the ideas about using "New Media" tools (like Facebook, Twitter, blogs, RSS, Google Alerts, etc.) also make good sense for a fledgling non-profit and statewide partnership organization like ours. Ploof emphasizes three ways we can use New Media: (1) to listen to what's being said in our field; (2) to communicate what we're doing and thinking; and (3) to encourage others to participate by commenting, contributing, and asking questions.
Last month the we launched our Facebook fan page for the Vermont Center for Afterschool Excellence. Since I wasn't even on Facebook myself yet creating the page for the Center and figuring out how best to use it has been a giant learning curve for me. The thing that has been most striking and most rewarding has been the different mix of faces and new friends that have shown up as our facebook fans. While there are a few people on there that I see pretty regularly through work, what's most exciting are all the faces and names that I either don't yet know or who I haven't seen in awhile. How cool is that? Creating that fan page opened up a whole new group to share information and resources with and to get ideas and feedback from. And while I'm still learning as I go, I love the new energy and the expansion of ideas that this venue brings.
Ultimately our statewide network belongs to the afterschool partners and programs in Vermont. I hope this new blog can help in building joint ownership and awareness across the state. My thought is to use this blog to have regular conversations with those of you out there who want to listen and respond. I'd like to share what we're thinking and doing at the Center as we work to build this partnership organization and support afterschool programs in Vermont. I'd like to tell you what the Partner Advisory Council is up to and have you get to know those folks a little better. I'd like to talk about important issues and policy decisions in our state that affect our programs and the families and kids we serve. And I'd like to hear your comments, spread the news about your own programs and successes, and be able to answer your questions.
So, thanks for checking in and for joining me in building this statewide conversation. I'm looking forward to the adventure.
