Telling and Doing are not the same

Telling – Why not?

Smoking – We all know it’s bad for your health, is linked to cancer and is the root cause of many other physical problems. Yet people continue to smoke, we continue to sell tobacco products and our youth continue to be swayed to using them. Why? In the 21st century with so much advancement, why does this continue? Why can’t everyone just quit?

QUITTING

As someone who smoked for years, quitting smoking was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I didn’t do it on the first try, in fact it took many years to go from wanting to doing  and finally being able to state that I had quit. I still get cravings and I’ve needed to change my lifestyle so as to avoid being in certain situations where I willpower just won’t work. It was a very HUGE difference between saying “I’m quitting” and actually doing it. People who have never smoked don’t understand. Bill Engvel, an American comedian, talks about quitting smoking and how hard it is. Getting advice from non-smokers who’d tell him to “just quit! Why can’t you just quit?”  And it’s true, people who have never smoked will give all kinds of advice on how to quit, bombard you with all sorts of health information, which makes you feel even worse – sometimes like a complete failure. Someone who has smoked isn’t as quick to offer advice and will be more willing to offer support if asked but they aren’t as full of the “I know how” advice or the “you’re an educated adult, what’s wrong with you?” tone.

Technology Integration

What does  smoking have to do with technology integration?. For one, it’s kind of hard to sneak around the corner to “integrate”! How they are the same is that many people will tell you that’s it’s easy or that you should be doing it or how you should do it or why you should do it and provide you with all sorts of data – making you feel like that failure as their finger-wagging tone continues the “What’s wrong with you?’” But, they’ve never really done it. They’ve never looked at year/lesson plans and tried to imagine how they might integrate technology. They’ve not had to assess or evaluate students in order to provide a “mark”. They’ve not had to look at the long term of how does this fit into where I am now and what I do everyday. They might have classroom experience or put together a lesson or two but not the day-in day-out year-long experience.

They can tell you you should do it, that it can’t be that hard and will provide you all kinds of stats/articles/data about why, as a teacher, you should be doing it. They’ll throw out phrases that will include “21st Century Skills, digital citizenship, digital natives” and others. Some will be able to point you to teachers who “didn’t know a thing about technology but are doing it” just like there are some smokers who quit, first time, no problems. Well, for the rest, it wasn’t so easy.

A Plan

As you move to integrate technology, you might want to think of these things along the way – they’re things I’ve learned from experience in my classroom:

1. Decide why you are doing this and make a plan. Base your decision on learning not because you think you should or someone says you should. Cool might look “fun” but focus on the learning that will be taking place and how it will become part of the strategies you use in class and how might you assess the learning. I use tools like MindMeister and Gliffy to do brainstorming – sometimes. For some of the work, they are the best option for getting students involved and helping them to make connections between parts. They’re relatively easy to use. Now, there are other options like Popplet, text2mind and Mind42. This year I’ll also be looking at aMap and wikimindmap in some of my classes and I might even give Pinterest a go. Now, I’ll look at them but I won’t force them to fit and if I can’t use them, that’s okay. We’re way past the “wow” factor – our time is too precious.

2. Find your support people are and USE THEM. Teaching is not a solitary endeavour. Although there are a great number of resources that show you how, having someone to go to for support is essential for success. Whether it’s IT support or planning support or assessment support or delivery support, you need to have someone who can give you a hand. In the division where I teach, we have different people who support me in each of the above areas but because they are a distance away, it is important to find someone within the building or within you PLN that you can look to for assistance and help. This is where those connections via twitter or Classroom2.0 or Ed Administrators2.0 help.

3. Be prepared for setbacks. It will happen and there will be times when things don’t work out. Instead of tossing in the towel, getting down on yourself and forgetting it – reflect on what happened. That is why it’s important to plan – so you can assess for yourself and then make adjustments. Make notes of what went well and what you need to do to be successful.

4. Allow the students to guide some of what happens. You don’t have to control the whole process. In fact, it’s better if you build in various opportunities for their own exploration and sharing. Build the capacity of the room – make learning, not control, the focus of what is going on.

5. Have a backup option. I’ve been using technology in my classes since the mid 90′s – wikis and the LMS HotChalk since 2006 or so and have found out through experience that I always need to have an option that will allow us to continue to learn even if the internet is down or the system is buggy or ….. I’ve amassed a pretty good collection of items, articles, pictures that provide alternatives if things are working. Now, having more students BTOT, I rely on them to provide a buffer if our school system isn’t working. Heck, I’ve created my own  hotspot to allow students to work. But you need to think about these types of things and have alternatives. Having 26 grade 1′s all being frustrated because “It won’t work” can lead to great issues.

6. You need to lead with your strengths. I’m really good at the big picture – putting things out there so students/staff can see the parts fitting together. I’m not as good going from parts to whole – so I use my strengths and look for someone who can support me in areas where I’m not as strong. As an administrator, I have staff who have strengths which I encourage them to use and develop. When I first began teaching, I wasn’t very good but I was surrounded by a whole team of great teachers, each with their strengths. I visited them, watched them, had them help me, give me ideas and suggestions. I focused on making improvements while still using my strengths.

Telling and Doing are not the same

I’ve noticed that people who have quit smoking aren’t the first to offer you advice. In fact, they usually only offer suggestions or ideas because they know that whatever you do, it won’t be easy. They listen to what you have to say – will tell you a story or two of their failures before they were successful.  I know very few people, actually only 2,  who were successful the first time and did it with no plan. It’s kind of like that with technology integration – people who are successful usually have many setbacks, have learned from their mistakes and will share but will do so through stories which will usually include a failure or two.

Then there are the “Tellers” – they’re experience is vicarious – they’ve talked to all sorts of people who have done it but they really haven’t had the experience themselves – they don’t know what it’s actually like to have those successes – they just tell you that they will come. They’ve never been in a room with 29 grade 7′s when the computers aren’t working and things are going south fast – the panic as you realize your plan isn’t working, the sinking sense of failure, the “what do I do now panic” that sets in. They’ve heard about it, maybe even seen it but working through it and learning from it and watching or hearing about it are two different things.

So, as you begin to make plans, looking for tools to use – I like the site http://www.go2web20.net which has all sorts of sites that give you many different options that are searchable by tags – remember that you aren’t alone – you have supports around you and you need to use them. There will be setbacks but it’s only a failure if you don’t learn from it and move forward. You don’t have to control everything – it’s about learning and not control. Use your strengths – we all have them. Give yourself time – you are making changes in “teachingstyle” much as I did with having to make adjustments in lifestyle. One of them was exercising – I still remember my first “run” walking to the end of the block and back. Don’t compare yourself to what others are doing.

 

In this Galaxy or the Next – It’s Learning

Isn’t it becoming a bit redundant to say “21 century” already. I mean, 10 years ago it sounded so “new” and almost futuristic. Today, it’s starting to sound like someone hasn’t quite figured out where they’re living. This is especially true of education where we tend specialize in acronyms and titles.

21st Century Learning/ 21st Century Skills

Do we need to be reminded what century we’re in? The students and parents know what century it is and the rest of the world seems to have figured it out. Why does education seem to be the last place where we have to be reminded we’re in the 21st century. I mean it’s kind of a marketing ploy – “We’re teaching our students 21st Century skills” still has a ring of “Wow” to it. The reality is that there are quite a few different visions of what that really means – from testing to technology – which usually brings about a great discussion. So let’s pause for just a moment of reflection….

The skills people need today are somewhat similar to skills that people had in previous generations – collaboration, cooperation, problem solving skills (real-world or maybe non-real world), creativity and an ability to use information in a new an unique manner. Much the same set of skills people who first came to NA had to have to trek across the land with no maps, build houses and towns in the middle of nowhere with basic tools, help one another survey in a climate and landscape they were not use to and build two nations that have become leaders in the world.  If you take a look at the skills needed to accomplish all that in a few hundred years, the skills our students need are very similar. Granted they may be doing this in a different manner, across the globe using different technologies but these “21st Century Skills” aren’t much different than the skills that the pioneers possessed. It might be we’ve let some of these skills lapse since then but do we have to look at them as some new set of skills that we haven’t seen before? It’s much like the catch phrases “Web 2.0 and Digital natives/immigrants (look at the problems that’s created!)” which all have finally dropped out of use because we don’t need them. We really need to move past this naming thing. It gets in the way of getting things done because we spend so much time defining the label and figuring out what it means.

LEARNING AND SKILLS

Instead of naming our learning and skills, lets focus on creating situations where students can build skills and encounter learning that will motivate them and assist them to follow their passions, build community and solve problems regardless of what century they’re in or what world they are on! We need to spend less time “naming” and more time “getting things done”. Our students would be better of for it.

 

From Tech Talk to Transformation

Yesterday, as I scanned through my twitter feed, I came across this post by Lisa Noble - @nobleknits2 – about her experience with social networks and her own personal experience. It is a great example of how social media can have a powerful influence on lives. However, Lisa’s final few paragraphs at the end had me pondering.

This experience was a “game-changer” for me, at least in part because I watched my own kids become completely engaged in this process and take on some of the ownership of the experience. I realized how involved they are with my PLN, because I share things I’m learning with them. None of us have ever met Kim, but we’ve gotten to know her, and know we can ask her questions and call on her knowledge if we need it. That’s what I want to share with my students.

How do we take very personal experiences and relationships and bring that into a school setting? Can we create the same type of experience that Lisa and her children had, because of the nature of the situation, in classrooms? Do we need to? Do we have to recreate all life experiences in the classroom? What responsibility do we, as educators, have to provide students with this type of experience? Is it the relationships that we need to help our students see?

First, this is beyond what almost all people discuss when they talk about technology integration in the classroom. One of the key components of this is the personal relationships that have developed over time. Although the technology provided the means, it was the relationships that provided the foundation for what took place. For me, this is a story about relationships and life in which technology is part of the family’s life. If it hadn’t been, this story might not have taken place or maybe it would have taken place only locally. Some of our students have this degree of integration, some don’t. As Lisa points out,

 How do I help students realize that while the Internet can be a scary place, it can also be a place of healing? How do I teach them to be open to this kind of experience, while still being aware of how to be safe?

 

Ah, questions with which all parents struggle, not only concerned with technology but so many other aspects of life – friends, sports, alcohol, relationships, sex,… And isn’t that what many of us, as educators, are trying to do – help our students with tough questions? Our subjects and curricula are conduits that provide us with the opportunity to connect and help our students with so many of life’s questions.

As a family, what took place was such a personal experience, one that involved so much more than just learning, a social network and some yarn – it involved the heart, memories over time, struggles of life and death and so much more. Finding one’s passion is a journey and, sorry to say, might not be realized while in school. We can help our students and introduce them to the tools, provide them examples and give them opportunity but, just like you can’t make a 2 year old eat green beans, you can’t make someone find their passion. We need to give our students permission to find their passions – and the permission to search well beyond school. Not all students come from a situation where they can take advantage, nor have the opportunity, to follow their passion right away. But, by providing them the tools and opportunity, we give them the freedom to choose – the ability to continue on their time not our and the encouragement to keep seeking. Not everyone has found their yet!

 

A New Year – Kinda Part 2 – Technology

2011 – 2012 – Mid-Year Round Up

In my last post, I discussed the whole New Year thing and then began a reflection of where we are as a school.  This is a mid-year round up of life thus far at PPCS a brand new K – 12 school in rural Saskatchewan. The school is a combination of two schools – a K – 6 Elementary School and a 7 – 12 High School which came together on May 1st 2011.  This year is our first as a K – 12 school. In this post, I’ll discuss where we are and where we are going technology wise.

Tech for all – all for Tech

We live in a world in which technology surrounds and permeates almost every aspect of our lives. We see it everywhere, from our cars to the dining room table to, well, everywhere. And it’s not just kids that are using technology. Smartphones are being used by all ages. This Nielsen chart is one of many that you will find that shows the use of smartphone across age groups.

source:  http://socialtimes.com/nielsens-smartphone-usage-by-age-groups-study-intriguing-age-group-differences-for-blackberry-and-windows-phone_b83254

What you’ll notice is the increase in all age groups. This means that a great many people have a computing device to access all the time. If they have a data plan, they won’t have to worry about whether there is wifi or not and, if they have the ability to share their wifi, then others can access the internet without needing a local wifi system.

With this in mind, we decided at PPCS to scrap our policy for smartphones and other BYO devices and, instead, began to look at how we could harness the use of these in the classroom. Our division AUP focuses on the proper use of these devices within the school – puts the emphasis on students using these devices in the context of learning. Our policy basically states that the devices can be used during the school day for learning purposes but the use of these devices for such things as bullying, access unacceptable material at school and activities that distract from the learning environment will require the student to put away the device and may result in their putting it in their locker and have restricted use during class time. So far, we have had a total of 3 students sent to the office for excessive use that is not classroom related – texting and gaming.

Computers – being a new school we were provided with a new computer lab with 27 desktops, a teacher desktop with various software and a connection to projector. All our classrooms have ceiling mounted projectors that connect the teacher desktop, or any other computer, to the projector and Soundfield surround sound system that allow teachers to use a portable mic or connect the system to the computer. Each classroom has 2 laptops in the room. We have a portable cart of 22 and another mini-cart of 9 netbooks which can be used by the cart or individually – students sign them out at the library. We have wifi throughout the school which allows our students to go anywhere in the school to work – even the bathroom!  Just before Christmas we purchased 10 iPad 2′s and 10 iPod Touches. We will be deploying the iPads in the K – 3 rooms and the iPod Touches are for use by teachers for recording – video, pictures, audio or individual work. We also have 3 projectors that students/teachers can use throughout the school for small group work and presentations outside of the classrooms.

Technology Vision

Our vision was to get the technology into the hands of the teachers and the students so they could use it. Period. We would then support the use through tutorials and one-on-one sessions with lead-teachers supporting other teachers. To make this happen, our admin team would cover for one of the teachers during a prep period so the two could work together. We have also tried to manage the upkeep through a system where teachers ensure they let the admin team know of any problems with technology so we can then determine the appropriate action(s). The school does not have anyone who has release time for technology issues so it has become part of our admin team responsibilities so that we do not end up with a teacher being disturbed while they are teaching. This has also meant that some issues take a little longer to resolve so we encourage teachers to always have an option B when it comes to working with technology!

Before we did any purchasing, we discussed what we wanted to see our students doing with technology. We had a number of teachers who are familiar with using technology – 2 of our staff teach online classes – but we also have a number of teachers who have little technology experience. Our year began with all teachers indicating that they were interested in increasing their use of technology. As I indicated in my last post, we use technology for communication on a regular basis at the school – we support the staff to access the information and use technology but we also expect that they will use the technology to make themselves aware of what is going on, what they are required to do and what they can expect to have happening at the school. (We are still working out the kinks of some of these processes but remember we are 5 months old so we sometimes fall as we are learning to walk!)

 We had to do a number of brainstorming sessions on how we access computers when we have a few classes that are booked into the computer lab all the time – this limits who can access the lab because in our old schools – we had access to three labs and 2 mini-labs for the same number of students. It has meant that people are needing to adjust to this new reality. We haven’t been able to add as many portable devices as quickly as we wanted which, again, has meant some adjustments. What we have seen is teachers sharing the lab which has led to team teaching as the two teachers share their resources and talents.

Our division IT department has worked with us as we work through some of these things and has been willing to examine ways to make some of these things – like teachers taking the netbooks out of the building on evenings and weekends to use – so that teachers can have access all the time. This has also meant that we have had to introduce online services like Diigo and Dropbox so teachers can save their information to a web-based service so they can access it from any device they are using. More supporting and learning. With the recent addition of Evernote and OneNote as documentation tools, we are again having to support teachers as they work through learning to use these tools.

The one area in which we will be focusing in the remainder of the year is supports for students with learning needs. We have identified a number of students and a number of technology aides to assist them. We now need to make the two come together! Since this requires additional resources, it is taking us a bit longer to develop this part of our technology plan. However, with a renewed focus on this in the upcoming months, we hope to have these assistive technologies in place shortly after we return to school.

There is No Silver Bullet

Anyone looking for quick answers or shortcuts will be disappointed, I think. We have made great strides as a school in recognizing that our students and teachers need to have access to technology, to use it as they would use it outside the school and to be provided the necessary supports to be able to successfully make that transition from outside to inside the building. The factors critical in successfully using technology within the school, I believe, are:

• A focus on learning and growing by everyone in the building
• A realization that support for everyone is critical to success
• A plan for using technology within the classroom – meeting outcomes and student growth
• A willingness to learn and learn and learn – change is the new constant
• A shared leadership where people with strengths share with others and are given time within the day to do this. It’s not an add-on.

As the educational leader within the building, I realize that my willingness, or lack there of, to look at different solutions, to listen to what teachers are saying and then examine and re-examine our practices is crucial to our success as a school. Supporting the teachers so that we can do what is best for students is the foundation upon which we focus. It doesn’t mean we don’t make mistakes but we are willing to own up to them, admit it was a mistake and then look for a solution. At PPCS, everyone is a learner, seeking to improve each day.

Next topic: RtI and DI in the K – 12 school

 

New Year – kinda

It’s the New Year – 2012 - and all the expectations that one has for a new year and for the much anticipated 2012 ! Many people, but not all,  make a list of resolutions they hope to keep for the upcoming year.

I don’t. In fact, I don’t really celebrate this whole new year thing. My wife and I and our children – this year we spent it at my mom’s playing Frackle – usually spend the evening at home. At some point, we just didn’t see the reason for the hype – why do you have to wait until the new year to make changes or do anything? Why do we measure the past year against, well, expectations that are usually unrealistic?

As an educator, my new year began in August. This year was a very different beginning as we began our year in a brand new school with a completely different configuration than anyone had previously been in – a K – 12 school instead of an elementary or High School. One of the reasons I was hired for this position was to try to bring about some changes to the culture that existed, recalibrate in a sense. So now, at the halfway point, here’s where we are:

In this first year we have: hosted a Grand Opening, put in a new playground (installed while school was in progress), had a fire, a flood, a series of construction setbacks, hosted a teachers’ Convention for 800+ teachers (with the awesome and incredible Dean Shareski as a keynote), implemented a new report card and reporting system division-wide, implemented a new division-wide grade book,  had a student initiated Coffee House to raise money for Cancer, 2 play performances by our students, a basketball tournament and put on a Christmas dinner for 300 people. All this has happened as we try to find our identity as a school, merge two staffs and figure out just where we put that box with all the keys! (We still are looking for boxes and items we moved!) Our New Year, First Year, is half over so, instead of making resolutions, I’ve decided to do some mirror gazing. So my next few posts will look at key areas of education and how we, as a school community, are addressing and facing these issues.

Communication – Our number 1

In my tenure as a principal in 7 schools over 10 years – the number 1 area that requires a concerted effort and is vital to success is communication. How you engage in communication is the foundation for all that will follow.

Creating open and transparent communication and promoting win/win dialogue is so important. As an administrator, I focus on developing and monitoring communication in three areas: with parents, with students and within the building. Since we are “starting fresh” we decided to implement some new ideas and track their impact.

• Community Newsletter – this is a monthly newsletter that is mailed to everyone in the communities in which our students reside. Many of our students still only access internet through dial-up, a great many of our parents do not use the internet and we found that sending newsletters with our students didn’t mean they arrived home! Many people in our community do not have children in school, are elderly and have little contact with the school. This newsletter has been popular and we have received great feedback about how wonderful it is to know what is happening at the school.
• Updated website - we are in the process of updating our website – although it isn’t what we would hope, we are transitioning to a new software which has meant a learning  curve for us.
• Staff Wiki – this is where we have our calendar for events, information from the division, items for discussion, book study information, memos and other information. It serves as the information center for the staff.
• Evernote Premium – we have a staff account (don’t tell Evernote!) which we use to track and share data related to students, RtI and DI. We incorporate the use of OneNote, which is suggested by our division, and are building a repository of information/tools for use with students.
• Livebinders – handbooks are kept here for easy access. We have a staff account which we use to make suggestions about other Livebinders that we think will inform our practice.
• Diigo – our staff has an account where we have begun to save links related to specific topics – DI, RtI, PBL, FC, etc – which staff can access, read through and use. We’re in the infancy stages here with only a few teachers using this BUT with the growth of the use of blogging by the staff, this will grow.
• Class Blogmeister – 4 of our classes use this as a way to record and share what they are doing. What began as a pilot-project at the beginning of the year has now expanded to 4 different classes with other staff getting interested.
• Portfolios – we are in our second year of Portfolio Conferences with our students. We have expanded to having 2 classes using the blogging as a part of their portfolio which has really highlighted how we can demonstrate growth through the year.
• Student Led Conferences – this is our third year, my second. In a short period of time the staff have moved from a “not again” attitude to seeing these as great avenues for conversations between students and parents and this is helping them to reframe their thinking about their set-up and what takes place during the conferences. One of our staff has already moved to a Celebration of Learning model where the idea is to have students showing their parents the learning they are doing through learning stations and having discussions about what is in their blog.
• Student Newspaper – published quarterly – with works from our students. It is an award winning, student-directed newspaper that covers the different aspects of the school.

We have grown a great deal in 4 months. As a staff, we need to become better at regular communication with parents – phone calls or emails to parents to keep them up to date. We also need to become better at communicating as a staff so that our RtI, DI and SLC can be more transparent and fluid. We are looking at a school Twitter account and a FB page to provide yet another avenue for communication.

We are aware that we have few options for students to be involved in the communication at this point and we need to address this through our SRC. We are discussing communication, among other things, with our School Community Council (parent group) to determine how we can better communicate/dialogue with all parents. At some point we will have to address a way to allow parents to express their concerns and dissatisfaction in a way that will honour and support student learning and development.

As an admin team, we are constantly reviewing how we are communicating with the rest of the staff. Although the two of us are in classrooms everyday, we realize we need to streamline our communication so that we do not overwhelm people while still ensuring everyone has the necessary information. Our Wiki page has become a good place for this as has our sharing through Evernote/OneNote. It now becomes a process fine-tuning. We have decided on these 3 tools because they provide us with great versatility and huge potential for growth. We are also examining Google Apps for specific items, like forms, which we can use to gather information and data to help us with improving what we do at the school.

Next Up: Technology

 

Top 10 signs you get it

The ride might be gentle but the road to change is usually a rough one!

 

In my role as an administrator who has been tasked a number of times with moving schools along and bringing about improvements and changes, I’ve learned a few things about the change process and working with teachers to bring about change. I see a great many people who do not fully understand the great difficulty in bringing about change on school level never mind a district level. Social media and its use is only a part of this change process. The list below comes from my experience in a number of schools where change was required – in many different ways. Without some sense of actually living through the change one is asking to have happen,  I find a certain lack credibility – just ask anyone who has overcome a huge addiction if they give credence to someone who hasn’t. So many who are discussing educational reform lack this experience – the tough job of working through the change.

But before I get to my list, I’ve noticed an increasingly large number of these types of lists. My twitter feed is full of them. Here, in no particular order, are some of those that have floated through:

60 Ways to become the person you love

Charlie Brown Leadership

20 Things Students want the nation to know

10 elements of High Quality Digital Learning

5 Simple Apps to use with Evernote

4 Brilliant Videos

5 Reasons Kids Hate your Lessons

12 To Provoke Supportive Learning Conversations at Home

18 Steps to Better Educational Innovation Leadership

21 Signs Your a 21st Century Principal

 

These are  from the past 2 weeks. Now, I haven’t had the time to read all the lists that come along but I did have a look at these and many like them. So, in keeping with the lists theme, which may indeed be a prelude to the New Year’s Resolution List  (which is for far too many an epic failure) I thought I’d throw these 10 signs that you are REALLY getting this whole shift in education.

1. You chuckle when you see the discussion about Klout – not because you think Klout is important/unimportant but because you know that, no matter what people think or say, without Klout in your building or your district or on twitter or …., you’re just screaming into the wind and there’s nothing more frustrating than screaming at the wind – unless you’re trying to teach your youngest to tie their shoes!

2. You understand that being socially connected is important but you don’t spend your days worrying how many times you tweet or how often or if you’re a twitter rockstar or ….  because life is about balance and you sometimes need to be in the room and not worried about those who aren’t and, unless you’re heartless like me, you have a greater connection to those in the room and a greater vested interest.

3. You try new and inventive ways to mash social media and what is happening in the school – but you don’t have a list of things every school should do because every school is different and you understand that, completely. Sharing what you do is a good thing, especially for those who are struggling with a place to start. You also understand that all teachers are different and not all of them have the same views as you – that is what makes your school a great place to work! You seek people’s strengths and use them to build upon. You’ve learned that, like your students, everyone wants to contribute and you seek those ways to make that happen.

4. You actually use the technology and tools in your teaching in a K – 12 setting  - you don’t just talk about how other people, even if they are in your building, are using them – you have walked the talk and have hands-on experience not just third party views. You have been able to mesh theories with actual practice.

5. You check in on the great international tech conferences virtually because you realize that, if we are telling our students that online/virtual learning is good enough for them, then you need to figure out how to make it good enough for you. You are a digital citizen and rarely, if ever, attend conferences. This type of PD hasn’t changed education, why should it changes it now just because it’s about technology. Unless, it’s not about the PD but about the connections, interactions and personal contacts – which would mean we need to rethink a few things….

6. You engage in twitter conversations using hashtags and have your lists but your world isn’t preoccupied with any one social network and you spend time elsewhere – and don’t always tweet about it. You see the possibilities of Google+ circles and social media like Plurk/Nings because of the different ways that the content is displayed, knowing that, in learning, there are times you need to be able to use these different models to help your students. You are open to change – “all my friends are here” isn’t a good enough reason for you not to go forth on your own and you actually give it a try – because that is what learning is about. You don’t worry about how it will affect your “standing” or “karma”.

7. You have been using digital technology long enough to know that, no matter what people claim, it is a tool. Yes it is a powerful tool, just like other tools that have societal implications and can be used for positive and negative but you aren’t limiting your students to just digital tools although you don’t regularly bring chainsaws into the classroom! 

8. You use multiple digital tools because you see that, for you, they work but you also see that, as there are many different people around you, not all of them will have the same needs nor the same uses as you do. You make suggestions and give others assistance, period. You understand and see how students use the tools in their lives, you use them too! You try to see how these two can mesh and you plan and organize with this in mind. However, you realize that the world of youth and the world of adult are not the same so, sometimes, there is no overlap and you’re okay with being the adult – because you can’t go back.

9. You understand that learning takes place all around us and you see how you can get your students to experience learning outside the classroom – digitally and otherwise – so you see the whole school – hallways, library, stage, gym, classrooms, office, entrances – and it’s surroundings –  playground, playing fields, road accesses, flower gardens, woods out back, etc – and the community in which you live – malls, stores, parks, community services – as places of exploration, wonder, excitement and learning. You sometimes use digital means to record these but other times you take along materials so students can see things through a variety of medium. And sometimes, you just take your students to go – with nothing but their minds because you know not all learning is countable or recordable.

10. As an educator and an adult, you know that you are required to do specific tasks, like assessing. Although you don’t always agree, you also know that you are an example to your students and because you choose to remain in your position, you do what is required to the best of your ability – not to spite the system.

As always, comments are welcome and appreciated.

 

 

Choosing to Learn – Staff PD

There have been a few discussions going on about staff PD and the need to change things and make them more relevant for teachers. So, I figured I’d share a few things that our staff decided to do to enhance our PD, a few things that we’ve “made our own” from division directives and how we have decided to tackle traditional PD.

Because the staff at the school I work at is a newly formed staff – two buildings a K – 6 and a 7 – 12 came together in May of this year – we decided at the outset of this year to change our PD and staff meeting processes.

1. We began the year with having a staff meeting once a month – 2 1/2 hours long – which had both PD and traditional agenda items. This was a carry-over from previous administrators and we decided to see how it worked. Because we were going to become one staff fairly quickly (that’s a whole other story!), we decided to rotate the meetings from school to school. Although this helped to build staff relations, it gave use an idea #1 – move your meetings to different locations as it helps people to get to see the school. We have had our meetings in the Arts room, the IA Room, the new conference room, the foyer of our new school, the computer room and various classrooms. It allows us to take time to see what is going on around the school.

2. In order to share the responsibility of the meetings, pairs of teachers chaired the meetings. Agendas were posted ahead of time on our school wiki where people added items. Because our meetings were on Monday afternoon, we closed the agendas, most of the time, on Saturday. Most teachers would print them off but a few began to bring their laptops to add directly to the wiki so that notes were instantaneous. It began to change how teachers saw their role in the meetings. idea #2 – change the hierarchy of meetings – share.

3. PD became the focus meetings – teachers began to want to spend more time focusing on PD that was directly related to what we were doing in the classroom. We began to alter a PD into a) partner share time. Teachers would pair up with another teacher, highschool teachers with elementary teachers, and discuss one of the PD topics. We focused on DI, RTI2 and UbD. Teachers were sharing ideas from their perspective areas and then sharing it at the meeting. b) PLC time – groups were focusing on Math improvement or Reading Comprehension. #3 – focus PLC topics and relate them to what is going on in classrooms. Collect data to see if initiatives are having an impact.

4. Meetingtrivia was shared via the agenda memo – anything that was urgent was noted and we would begin our meeting with these – things like our STF information – it was a contract year – NETA information – our school is hosting the teacher convention next year – Moving – our schools moved from being two school to one the 21st of April and we opened as one school on May 2nd.  #4 protect time for teachers to work together.

5. Staff wanted more time for PD – we began to move all meetingtrivia to a morning meeting where we had breakfast and protect our time for PD. #5 – allow staff to have a say in how these types of things work.

6. Traditional PD conferences were shared during PD time with teachers creating a short Prezi or handout – this was posted before the meeting and then experiences were shared – a Q&A was done with teachers. #6 – expect that teachers will share what they are doing – it does become the norm.

7. Staff began to use Evernote and our school wiki to share information and ideas/discuss topics.

#7 – if possible, introduce tools to help people build capacity and collaborate.

8. School Improvement Days – these days were used to examine the division rubric which then led to topic areas for improvement. So, in the upcoming year our staff will be focusing on First Nations, Metis and Inuit Ways of Knowing and Understanding & Building a School Culture – we hope to use ideas from both to help shape our new school culture and build a stronger school community. #8 – plan for success and focus on specifics.

So as a staff, we were able to do a great deal of work in our first year together, considering that we were only together for 2 months as a whole school. We have a state-of-the-art school and wish to build a school community and school culture focused on developing the whole child, learning from our past, living in the present and dreaming of the future.

 

The sands of time

In my last post I was pondering the opening day that will soon arrive and what it will look like. George posted his thoughts about the first day with teachers and the importance of giving them time. In my response to George, I mentioned that time is precious, like water in the desert.

Teacher first, administrator second

My administrative career has spanned 9 years in 7 different schools where I’ve been required to teach. My first principal position was one where I was principal of two schools – blocks apart – and taught 2 classes. These experiences have influenced my administrative practices and how I use the time I have with staff. My biggest concern as a teacher was that most of the time at a staff meeting was spent on things that, really, were informational items. So, as an administrator, I’ve used a wiki to organize and disseminate information to staff. Now I use a wiki for several reasons but the biggest reason is because I also want staff to adding information to the site, contributing to what is going on. Another reason is that there is a calendar option where all events linked to the school can be posted and updated. This means that whatever is happening at the school can be accessed by all staff from anywhere not just on a calendar on someone’s desk. I try to eliminate the need for time-eating meetings and memos by using the tools to save time.

This is the front page of the wiki I used last year. Meeting notes, staff meeting information, team meetings and other information was posted and accessible for all staff.

Another way I try to help teachers and not take up valuable time is through the creation of a school diigo group where staff can share links to sites and articles and build a resource base for PD and for their own interests.

School Diigo Group

This site can be used in a number of ways from teachers sharing online information about subjects to building a pool of PD resources that are directly related to the PD focus for the school or for individual teachers. I also like the Diigo setup because it allows teachers to create a class site where students can share online information and have discussions about the information that is posted – sharing ideas and collaborating on tasks and building their search skills as they have to explain why a particular link is worth someone’s time.

Time – there’s no going back – it’s not a commercial!

As an educational leader, I have to very conscious of how I impact the time of those people with whom I work. I need to make sure that what I am doing is allowing them to have the maximum impact on students so whether it’s time for meetings, individual discussions, PD or other school activities one of my main roles is to ensure that the precious commodity of time isn’t wasted in telling people what they could read on their own – or maybe listen to on their own. Next project, audio memos!

 

What does your opening day look like?

I’ve been doing some pondering about what I’ll do with staff on the first day back. I’ve ran across some interesting post that discuss the whole staff meeting question and what the meeting should contain.Zoe Branigan-Pipe has some good comments about our need to remember that, if we expect teachers to engage students then, as administrators, we’d better be doing the same with the teachers in our buildings.

George Couros has some ideas about developing a collaborative environment and shared leadership that are important to remember.

Another fellow Sask administrator, Mr. Bircher, discusses his plans for the year and how he will be looking at the use of technology within the school. I like his plans!

What will you be doing? For me, I’ve not quite decided as I am in a new school and I have the opportunity of bringing two school staffs together into a new school building. I’ll be doing some planning and writing as I work through the how, why, when and where of what I’m going to do. I do know that I will be hosting a bbq after our first day back at school for the staff and their spouses. Better make sure I have enough propane!

 

The power of the network

The network

This article gives 10 good reasons to join a social network. For me, this power has been exemplified through the new blog Connected Principals started by George Couros a principal from Alberta. Now, the thing that really grabbed my attention was that this blog has just started and, through the power of the network, has grown and is getting a huge amount of publicity via twitter through retweeting, the use of hashtags and such things as blastfollow.

I’ve been following George for a short time and it has been interesting as he has used the network to build a PLN of administrators in a relatively short period of time through his connecting, following and writing. I juxtapose this with some of the other administrator‘s who I know who have been  writing and working via the web for the past few years and to my own attempts to build a network for administrators and to help administrators through various other online activities.

Building your network

With the use of hashtags and the use of twitter and other social networks, educators have the opportunity to connect and join together to share, discover and learn. There is no reason for any educator not to be using these tools to enhance their knowledge and grow their learning network.

Word of Caution

My one word of caution is that educators need to keep build balance into their lives and with all the opportunities that are available, it is easy to become overwhelmed by what is going on. I don’t know about others but I know that I’ve had whole days go by as I spent time online. It was great learning and wonderful but, being a father of 8 children, I have to remember that there needs to be time for all areas and, sometimes, the drive to “globally involved” needs to be tempered with a larger view of life. So, as much as I’d like to be doing, reading, participating, writing, publishing, making videos and coordinating all sorts of different learning opportunities for administrators, I also realise that I will not get these years back with my own children who deserve to have as much face time as I can give them.

Learning from my Past

As an educator, I realize that I have the opportunity to influence students in so many ways. So, as much as I spend time working online, I also realise that working with students directly is the most important thing. Once again, it is so very important to realize that, as educators, we need to spend the majority of our time with students, building relations and developing a rapport. It is the relationships with the students, parents and other people in the community that are the foundation for what will happen in the school. All of this takes time and educators, as social networking grows and becomes more important in their lives, must learn that there is no way to “do it all” and be selective on how they spend that precious time. As an administrator and someone who has been using technology for the past 15 years or so, the one thing I make sure is that teachers’ time is valued and guarded. As I introduce new strategies and work at building their familiarity with technology, I constantly check to ensure that what we are doing is, indeed, not wasting their time.

So as you build….

The network that is developing, especially for educational administrators, and the opportunities for sharing and connecting are seemingly exploding, it is so important to ensure balance. Now, for me, that balance means spending as much time with my own children as I can – someday I’ll write a post of what I’ve learned from having a large family – really 2 families and knowing that, although it is important to grow and learn and get better, it is also important to not let things get out of balance in that pursuit. The network is a very powerful thing – one that each educator needs to tap into but it can also become very time consuming which requires one to reflect on the importance of balance. A piece of wisdom that I reflect on more and more – “No one has ever looked back on their life and declared “I wish I had spent more time at work!” Be sure to identify what is important in life and allocate your time accordingly” Enjoy the power of the network – don’t be consumed by it.