Making Connections between Schools, Parents, and Students

Teachers are often challenged to make connections between schools, parents, and students.  Many times parents regard their children and school work as unrelated to the "real world" of their day-to-day lives.  The Library of Congress of the United States of America has suggested that students capture oral histories of their families.

Last year I had two projects that I introduced at the middle school (seventh and eighth grade) level that could be adapted up and down and is relevant to adults as well.  These two projects were a Family Migration History project and a Footprints Project.  You can find out more about these projects on my digital portfolio for education on YouTube.  (Follow this link for the same video on Teacher Tube.)  You can find the details for the projects on these websites:  http://drmontgomery.wikispaces.com/ and http://drm-ms-resources.wikispaces.com/.

In the Family Migration Story we used the National Geographic Human Genome Project as our starting place for everyone's stories, then picked up personal family stories as far back as the parents could remember, talking about family members and reasons for moving from one place to another across the globe.  Using a collaborative writing technique guided by the teacher students in each class created a series of questions which they translated from English to their native language.  They asked their parents the questions and recorded the answers.  They also gathered family pictures, souvenirs, and other family treasures to support their stories.  (These are called primary source documents in historical research circles.)  We made digital copies of these treasures and returned them immediately to their parents.  Our goal was to have the students write a script from their answers and to digitally record their Family Migration Stories--accompanied by the digital photographs of their family treasures.  Ideally they would make the recording in both English and in their native language.  Our goal was to record their scripts onto DVDs which the parents could then play at home.  Due to technological difficulties the audio in our recordings didn't work last year, though the rest of the project went well.

The Footprints project takes the end of the Family Migration Story and talks about what someone has done with their lives.  Middle school students can talk about what they want to do with their lives and what kind of footprint they want to leave on the planet.  Parents and teachers can talk about footprint stories from the point of view of what they have done with their lives and of the footprint they are leaving on the planet.

These are very engaging projects and are good for the beginning of a school year, though they could be a focus point for anytime during the year.  Parents could come to the school to view multiple Family Migration Stories as part of a celebration of learning.

The key to integrating parents into the school life and the life of the students is to make the connections with the real world.  Parents and students studying language together can be a help as well as parents becoming involved as subject matter experts about their own families.

Finding Quality Professional Connections around the world--LinkedIn Social Networking

I need to find quality professional connections around the world.  Looking to social networking for a solution, LinkedIn.com seems to be a very good solution.  There are millions of people connected via the site.  Many of the discussion groups put me in touch with professionals in the areas I am looking for.  Alumni networks put me in touch with professionals who share a corporate history with me from the global workplace.

LinkedIn offered me the opportunity to start my own discussion groups.  I created three to gather together people interested in three different projects I am currently working on.  I've just dissolved one of these groups due to apparent lack of interest (at the moment) and have sent an announcment to members of the Audio eBooks for Learning to see if people want that group to continue.  My newest group is DrM-Language-Network so that people who choose to work with me on my latest project, making affordable online language learning programs available to learners throughout the world, can join with me to share ideas and to celebrate sucesses.

I've joined several pre-existing LinkedIn discussion groups so that I can invite people to work with me or to refer me to others who may want to be involved in my current project(s).  Some of these people have also joined my "primary" LinkedIn network.

Many of the people who are already in my primary LinkedIn network are the type of professionals I enjoy working with.  LinkedIn is one place to find quality professional connections.  Presently this seems to be the most direct and effective means, though I am open to learning about more.

Networking, Connections, Social Networks, New Opportunities, Ideas and Inspiration

This week I have been exploring some new ideas to make a positive difference and to generate more income.  (Visit my earlier blogs for this week.)  Today I went back to LinkedIn to join more networking and alumni groups so that I can connect with former colleagues and others who share similar interests and values.

I needed to connect with people I can trust (often alumni network members) who live in other parts of the world and who can help me find some connections for global businesses.  What I like about these social networking groups made available via LinkedIn is that we can share ideas, discuss, and inspire each other.  Often someone will ask a question that someone else will have an answer for--or a resource or an idea about.

This one service provides me an opportunity to expand my thinking and to connect with lots more people who can help me make some dreams come true--for lots of people.  If you're interested, visit my LinkedIn profile.

Connections--Staying Connected--Friendships--Colleagues--Names and e-mail

Earlier this summer I started upgrading my Yahoo Contact List (started in 2002),  using it to invite people to my LinkedIn Network.  (See an earlier post about this.)

I found out during this "exercise" that many of my e-mails on my old Yahoo Contact List were out of date.  I was able to reconnect with some friends and have lost touch with others.  Telephones and addresses often change more frequently than e-mails.

LinkedIn offered a new feature, putting some names on the upper right of the "home page" that may be someone I might know.  One of the names was of a friend I worked with closely in the years 1999 and 2000 and whom I haven't seen since.  I was delighted to find a new e-mail and quickly invited him to my "network."

The e-mail "bounced" (the same experience I had been having with my Yahoo Contact list e-mail for this friend).  I then did a "search" on LinkedIn for my friend and found that there are at least two or three people (six entries) with the same name.  Which of these is my friend?  I don't really know--the names are identical and there is a logical reason why either of two addresses could be the right ones.
When I joined Facebook this summer I found many of my more "Internet savy" family members on Facebook.  LinkedIn seems to be more for friends and professional colleagues.  They are still close and also have at least one foot in the "business" world.

I know that, while I regard my own name as unique, at one time there were 12 people with my name with accounts at a bank I was using in the Chicago area.  A Google search on my name reveals lots of people I don't know and may rarely show anything connected with me.  While I don't have my home address widely around on the Internet, the contact page on my website offers several good ways to contact me.

Friendships and connections are important--to all of us.  If someone I have lost touch with happens upon this post, please use the contact information and send me an e-mail.  We often work closely with business colleagues and build friendships--then move to different activities and different people as we change what we do and where we do it.  For example, many of the people I knew in Action Learning or consulting I lost touch with in my six years of K-12 teaching.  Some of the colleagues I met in one school district I may lose touch with when I change buildings or districts.

Long ago (and, for some, still today) Christmas card lists were important ways to stay in touch.  For more and more of us--including myself--e-mail is my first channel for communication, including for cards.  Telephones are next, followed by "snail mail."

Staying connected really does require some work--on everyone's part.  There was something about a person I came to regard as a colleague or a friend that is an essential part of that person and I wouldn't want to lose touch with that person or that essential part.  I have some friendships that seem as close as yesterday, even if there have been years between our face-to-face meetings.

I'd also like to be able to bring talents and resources of some friends and colleagues to new projects I may encounter.  Hopefully more current contact lists and e-mails will allow me to do that.