Chris Casal is making a difference by facilitating communication with all school community stakeholders to establish a fully connected and transparent digital learning environment designed to build and strengthen relationships.

Students
Casal is a master at ensuring that students inside the PS 10 community are using the tools and resources they need for success outside of school. Chris knows the importance of exposing staff & students to this wide variety of technologies to ensure everyone is comfortable in the digital world. Students have access to a variety of software and platforms including PCs, Macs, Tablets, and more. As a result students know how to effectively comment on blogs and articles and many even blog themselves. Blogging has provided students a voice outside the classroom, and a way to connect authentically. Students use collaborative tools such as Google Docs to efficiently share work with teachers, work with each other remotely, as well as have access to their projects anytime from wherever they are.

Teachers
PS 10 is leaving in the dust those bulky binders of paper buried in file cabinets. Every teacher has an iPad for paperless collaboration & assessment. The iPads & paperless environment are allowing staff to work together and share information in far more immediate and meaningful ways. In the past it was “let me get my binder and see if it’s in there.” Now it’s “I’ll share my curriculum map with you in Drive” or “Here is all my student data, in one place, would you like the link?” In addition most teachers have interactive whiteboards to share work and ideas with students during class and colleagues during common preps and PD sessions. As a Google Apps school, teachers & students are all working on the same level. Students can create, share & collaborate in the same environment as the teaches. It is no longer a “this is what teachers use” versus “this is what students use.” As a whole school community it is now “this is what PS 10 uses.” Students and teachers are peers in this digital world.

Parents
When the PTA wanted to stage a “parent flashmob” Chris partnered with them to engage the community not present. He provided audio, live-tweeted, and shared a rough version of the event as soon as it was over. A final video was edited by parents & posted a week later. All the outreach helped strengthen the home-school connection (http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2013/04/flashmobs-social-media-unite-to.html) and the positive media attention made it among one of the areas most desired and talked about schools. Chris also shot & shared videos of student created projects such as the “PS 10 Rocks” as inspiration to the entire PS 10 community.

Community outreach
Parent’s can’t always come to school to meet with teachers, the administration can’t always observe every great lesson or activity. Chris helps to keep them in the know with the PS 10 social media platforms. This helps the school connect with parents & community members on a wide variety of digital platforms with a consistent message. There is the PS 10 Facebook page where he posts status updates with fliers about fundraisers, changes in schedules, links to news articles about the school or relevant NYC school information. He also manages the school’s Twitter account (@PS10Brooklyn) and hashtags #ps10bk & #ps10sw. This helps streamline the publishing of general information & student work, helping to create a very transparent learning environment. The transparency of Twitter and the school hastags allows parents and staff members alike to have a front row seat to the great things happening in school. Parents can follow teachers and get a regular glimpse into the classroom settings, even when they are unable to be there. The administration can more easily be aware of great instructional moments, even if they can’t be there first hand by keeping up with school hashtags and teacher handles. During Superstorm Sandy these social media outlets provided a lifeline for the school to keep all stakeholders up-to-date and supported.

Whether it is child, teacher, parent, or community Chris Casal works to ensure all members of the school community are supported in becoming active, engaged, and involved members of the digital world in which they live.