Raising expectations - communication skills

I’ve been thinking about my last post concerning raising expectations. That post came out of a little non-scientific survey that I did with some students regarding what they thought were necessary aspects of a progressive and relevant highschool. I’ve known that the two are linked but it’s taken me a little while to work things through - and I’m not sure I’ve completely done that.

When I first arrived at my current location, I had just come from two very “learn by fire” years as a new administrator. I had 10 years of teaching behind me in middle years so students didn’t really scare me. I had finished a MEd in leadership and had two years of vp experience. I figured I was ready. Yeah right! About as ready as a canoe for an ocean crossing. Each day the learning line was vertical and I seemed to be always scrambling. I didn’t have time for reflection because I didn’t have time to much of anything but survive. Looking back, which is always the easiest thing to do, I realize that although I was able to see issues and areas that need improvement, I wasn’t able to communicate with others in a way that allowed me to move forward. Instead, my communication skills inhibited me from making the progress I wanted to make.

Now, in a position for four years, I’ve been able to work on my communication skills, advancing and improving little by little to a point where I am now confident in my ability to share ideas with others and come to a solution based on active listening and reflective discussion. I’ve also spent time thinking about my vision for school and writing that vision down so that I can articulate it to others. As I’ve gone through this, I keep wondering why these weren’t skills that I learned during school? Why did I have to learn them the hard way?

I began to read about successful communication and the skills involved in being a successful communicator. The resources for this topic are plentiful. However, over at Six Minutes there is a few very good resources that point people in the right direction. From my reading, there were still things that I believe we can do in schools to help our students to be better prepared to communicate with others once they leave our halls.

My Non-Scientific, highly subjective, communication needs of all students

Speak in front of others - I really believe we need to help our students to learn how to speak in front of others in such a way that they don’t become powerless and lost. Just as readers become stronger readers through reading, speakers become better speakers through speaking. Well, not just speaking but discussing and examining issues with others. By speaking in front of others I don’t necessarily mean reading, although that, too, has it’s place. I am more concerned about the moments when they are asked their opinion and can’t say anything or are asked to talk about their ideas and experiences. It’s more a development of skills to be able to join in conversations that are formal - at work during meetings, at gatherings where people ask their opinion or at a social when just sitting at a table with a group of people.

Dialogue vs Debate vs Argument - I really wish people knew the difference between these three. Dialogue, a discussion in which people put forth ideas and listen without trying to persuade the others that their’s are the right ones. Debate, when two sides put forth evidence to convince the others or someone else that their’s are indeed correct. Argument - what usually happens most of the time when people put forth their ideas, usually forcefully, with little regard for anyone else. I get to see a whole lot of the latter and very little of the others. Students need to understand that there are times when you need to dialogue about an issue in order to get people’s perspectives without trying to make one or another the “correct” one. This is very important in such things as Interest Based Bargaining or solution focused problem solving. In these two cases, you are trying to find what people think and how they are feeling with the primary goal of getting to a point where you can discuss a solution that is reasonable in the given situation.  Debate is something that people often get confused with argument. A debate usually takes place between two parties who are trying to convince a third party that their position is the best. A good example is the basis for political debates where parties or representatives put forth their opinions or the opinions of their party on a given topic. Unfortunately, these usually turn into Arguments or mud slinging. Arguments are what I deal with the most - people are not wanting to really find a solution - they want to push their position or point. Typically, the volume gets louder the more they think that the other party isn’t listening because they haven’t changed their minds. The other two forms are much more productive but harder to master unless you are able to practice such skills. Unfortunately, we are seeing way too much arguing being classed as the former so no wonder students are confused.

Presentation Skills - I believe our students need to learn how to present something in a convincing and dynamic manner. I once had a student who wasn’t the best athlete or or or but this student could write jingles and do a presentation like nobody’s business. He was very talented and it was a pleasure to have him do one. I even modeled a presentation rubric after what he did because he did it so well. Eye contact, voice, intonation, body movement, focus and elaboration, explanation and conclusion. He was a natural - I even let him do most of his major projects in this manner because writing wasn’t his strong point and he just couldn’t do in writing what he could do in a presentation. He always seemed passionate about what he was talking about just through his body movements and his delivery. These skills will, I believe, be important as students enter a global economy where much of the information about them will be found online and their sale or their next job will rely on their ability to nail that presentation.

Active Listening and Responding Skills - these are skills that all parents should be required to take classes to understand and use. With my own children, I’ve had to really work at developing these skills. Heck, with my wife I’ve had to learn how to listen. I’ve heard that females are much better at this than males but I not sure if I heard that correct or not Whatever the situation, our students need to be aware of what it means to be an active listener - and not a repeat back to me or “I think I hear you saying” as my own children have informed me that these are, in fact, lame and demonstrate that you have taken some type of course and are practicing. It was only after I actively listened to my oldest daughter who pointed out, through the severe eye-roll motion, that beginning with something like that was not, in fact, an indication of listening but of mimicking. I’ve really learned quite a lot from oldest three daughters about listening, not listening and the whole being in the room when a conversation is taking place. (Don’t let them know this otherwise it will make it hard for me to look like I’m not listening to their conversations when I am in fact listening). To be an active listener is to be aware of body movement and positioning, eye contact, how their voice is sounding, how they position themselves and many other things. It’s the whole act of focusing on that person who is speaking and making connections for yourself with what they are saying.

Finally, the art of being silent - I know this went out with Charlie and his moustache but it is something that is key in good communication. The silent pause has become a sign of something being not quite right and people feel they need to fill it in with something - usually a bad pun or joke or something of little consequence. Silence is a moment for reflection, a moment for people to allow what has been said to pass through filters. Really good speakers use that pause to allow audiences to absorb what they’ve said just as great comics allow audiences to laugh and set up the next lines. In fact, silence, used at the right moment can be even more effective than anything a person can say.

Somehow, there needs to be a greater focus on speaking, presenting and listening that will allow students to develop these all important skills. Yes, the five paragraph essay is extremely important, until you get out of school. Learning to use language in writing is a great and wonderful thing. However, many of our students will also need to be as well prepared to speak and listen. It’s sure makes someone stand apart from the crowd when they have those skills. I’ve watched students who, through their superior development of presentation skills be able to do better than students with equal writing skills but underdeveloped presentation skills. As someone who was an entrepreneur at age 19, I developed some of these skills through just having to do them over and over again. And, when I became a teacher and now an administrator, I  had to continue to add to my skill set things that, had I been actually shown examples or been made aware of, I might have been able to use and incorporate myself without all the “trial by fire’ learning that I had to do.

As I learn more about them and practice them myself, I have become even more aware of their importance. A perfect example was while interviewing for a recent position, one of the prospective candidates arrived chewing gum and continued to do so throughout the entire interview. Another candidate over-explained, over-sold themselves instead of providing what was asked of them. Again, these are sometimes the results of being nervous but, also, the results of not having been taught presentation skills.

What’s your experience with students and presentation skills? Do you believe they need to be taught more formally than at present? How important do you see them being for today’s students?

Go to the source

It has been a very busy week and it will only intensify from now until the end of June. I’ve been working on several projects and just haven’t had the time to get involved in conversations via twitter or read too many blogs. However, as I was working tonight, I’ve been reading a few as they cross my screen. The following tweet by byjudeonline caught my eye:

the thing about twitter. regular teachers can’t sit and tweet all day. we’re missing the most important conversations of all

This response followed:

dmcordell @heyjudeonline I agree, and there’s also the extreme time differences to contend with. Wish we could go back more than 10 pages in updates.

Followed by:

MetaWeb20 @heyjudeonline many of my teachers don’t even use email, let alone tweet!

heyjudeonline @MetaWeb20  my thinking too. It’s to easy to create ‘parochial tweet camp’

kolson29 @heyjudeonline but aren’t the resources you find here valuable enough as is? Just b/c all tchrs not here, doesn’t diminish value IMO

heyjudeonline @kolson29  oh yeah, love what I learn via twitter. just worry too many tweeters are not representative of teaching possibilities. Silly me!

 The idea brought up by heyjudeonline  is a core part of the whole web2.0/21st century learning discussion . As I work frantically to meet deadlines, get ready for meetings, meet with parents, visit classrooms and all the rest, there isn’t time for me to be on twitter or keep up with the conversations and discussions and I just don’t have the desire to go back too far in the discussions to see if I’m missing anything. My edge has about 2 frayed nerves left and someone keeps tapping one or the other.  There just isn’t the time to partake in the discussions that are going on. As someone who has a bit of understanding about technology in schools, I’d like to be part of the discussions. Thing is, there isn’t time and any time I do scratch out of the day, I am becoming more and more stingy about because time demands due to my job have been increasing over time regardless of the technology I or others are using.

Missing a crucial voice?

We are missing a crucial voice in all the discussions that are taking place. I’ve heard many people who are using technology who just don’t get why others cannot see how great it is or they don’t want to keep showing people only to have them not use it or they are “told off” by frustrated teachers or become defensive about what they are doing or…. Sometimes, when someone makes a negative remark about what we do or the time we take up doing what we do, the tendency is to become defensive and react. Over the past few years, I’ve learned that remarks like that have a grain of truth in them even if we don’t agree with the entire remark or with the accusation being made or we don’t want there to be. As a principal, I’ve had more than a few people say things about me that I could just brush off as being of no use. However, to learn and grow, I’ve really looked at what has been said and learned to see the grain of truth that is hidden there. I then take it and let what could be an irritant become something that I use to grow and turn into a pearl.

I believe we miss out on some great insights because we’re offended or dismissed or whathaveyou. There is a tone of superiority that does come across when discussing those who use tech in teaching and “the others.” For many teachers, technology integration and use is the last thing they are thinking about as they prepare to meet the demands of the students in their classroom. Heck, I’m beginning to question this whole twitter craze and really wondering if there isn’t a better way to spend my time than trying to reduce all my discussion into 140 characters (including spaces)! I don’t have the time to surf looking at url’s for this or that or to try out this or that. It just isn’t happening because of the pace. I’ve even tried giving away paperwork but no one would take it! When part of your job isn’t related to technology use, it is very hard to find time to do these above mentioned things even if, like me, you are really interested in them.

The comment by kolson29  but aren’t the resources you find here valuable enough as is? Just b/c all tchrs not here, doesn’t diminish value  makes me fret. I worry that the gap between the “users” and “non-users” will widen because teachers who are full-time classroom teachers don’t have the time to work with these resources. Even tech-savvy educators find it difficult to keep up with the conversations and the tool-sharing because they don’t have time to take in all that is happening or become part of the constant conversation that takes place. Being a follower, the exchange of information is wonderful but it is very fast, always constant, without form and too large to backtrack. Those who have the time are building the networks, others who are being introduced are trying but, I’ve noticed, many fall away because they don’t have the time to keep up with the conversations. I follow about 250 people but, realistically, there are about 25 people who dominate the conversations and who are discussing issues, looking at various tools, building their teaching repetoire and so on. As heyjudeonline says “we’re missing the most important conversations of all” - the other 225 or so who aren’t part of the conversations.

Go to the Source

I know that many people who use technology and want to share it with the masses have been turned down when bringing it to other teachers. Maybe we need to change the tactic a bit. Instead of bringing the knowledge, ask teachers what they want to do. Go to these people who are busy with full days, families, extra-curricular and have some other life outside school and ask them “What would you like to be able to do a bit differently?” “What is it about your teaching you’d like to tweak?” “What part of the actual teaching do you find overwhelming?” Ask questions. Find out what would make their lives easier, better, funner(?), ….. and see if it can be delivered. If they start out a bit negative, find that grain of sand and grow that pearl. I know that I’ve been amazed at what happens when I’ve taken something that came to me in a very negative manner and found that one piece I could use to help myself grow and created a pearl in some way. Sometimes being direct and acknowledging how they feel

I sense that you aren’t happy with certain technology uses that have been tried before and you’re a bit frustrated by___________________ and you feel you don’t have time with all the other demands on your desk and …… I just want to let you know that there are things that will help you if, like you ask your kids, give it your best effort and try. There is something everyone can do.

We are missing a piece of the conversation - in fact I would suggest we’re missing out on the conversation as we’ve moved to another room apart from what most other educators are discussing. I guess the challenge is to decide whether we wait for some of them to ask us if they can join or if we go to them and join in their conversation, bringing with us the ideas we have for improvement.

Note - while doing this post, there were approximately 75 tweets that passed back and forth between people. Interestingly enough, the number of people involved isn’t that large. What are other teachers doing?

Meme: Passion Quilt

Linda and mrstucke have tagged me for the quilt meme. The whole idea of this meme is to post a picture that is especially meaningful to you or says something about your passions as a teacher. I was hoping I’d stay under the radar for this one as I’m not a real picture person. However, there is a picture that I took a few years ago while on a tour of England that isn’t flashy but is kind of cool.

I’ve actually had this as my desktop for awhile and had a large print made. People ask me why? My response is that it’s an image that you see all over the tubes of London reminding people that to be safe, you have to “Mind the Gap”. For me, it speaks about life in our modern age. How we must be reminded to stay safe even though it should be something everyone knows.  As an educator, it also reminds me that there is always a gap in what we do and, if we don’t mind that gap, someone will fall through. My passions - students, all students, doing the best they can to the best of their ability. Being able to increase their knowledge and show others what they know. Not letting ANY student slip the gap and become a statistic.

The meme works as follows:  The rules are simple.
1. Think about what you are passionate about teaching your students.
2. Post a picture from a source like FlickrCC or Flickr Creative Commons or make/take your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about…and give your picture a short title.
3. Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt” and link back to this blog entry.
4. Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network or whom you follow on Twitter/Pownce.

Okay, now I get to link to 5 people. Hmmmm well, here’s a few new bloggers that it would be nice to introduce to the world: lgatzke,  mathman33, georgygrrl,  cgseibel,  speters. Looking forward to their pictures!

Wrestling the invisible

I took some time to do some reading last week during our February break. There were many great posts and ideas that are circulating via my RSS Reader but three posts really caught my attention. The first was Linda’s post about the difference she sees between “front line teachers” and those who are contributing to the edublogosphere discussions. The second is a set of posts by Nancy McKeand and a take on an artcile about teaching. The third is a post by Dave Sherman which looks at good teaching.

Each of these, in their own way, reflects on how technology and new tools impact what makes a good teacher. Linda’s view is very personal, something that I really appreciate. It gives me something to reflect upon as someone who is working toward building the skills of the teachers with whom I work. I like her comment that

My day has enough ‘must know, must do, must respond, must quantify’ in it that I look at my PLN to create humor in some difficult, stressful situations.

Her post is honest and forward which I appreciate. She expresses her thoughts about the use of technology from the perspective of a full-time teacher who is working at capacity. She is much like many of the teachers that I know and with whom I associate. The comments on the post reflect more of the same. It is vital that people outside the daily teaching arena listen closely to these voices. My friend Susan has expressed some similar thoughts after returning to the classroom this year. Her post looks at how she is trying to bring different aspects together and how difficult it is to do now that she is in the classroom full-time.

For now, my classroom is completely wireless, yes, no wires at all. Unplugged. Oh, I have the one computer in the corner. I try to keep up the school website and my class site but it is not what I was dreaming of last year. I’m not sure how to do it. The lab is in a state of disrepair and the six computers in the library might make stations possible but they are down the hall and around the bend so it’s a struggle to get all of us there and purposeful at the same time. I need… I need time to think it out, plan for it, find a small chunk that I think might work.

I continue to read what Susan has to say because she is someone who I know has the desire and knowledge to merge web2.0 tools and the classroom. Her posts, not all are this subject, allow me to better appreciate someone who, although not in my building, is close to home and has similar demands as do the teachers in my school. With Linda, they really highlight what many teachers are feeling. As someone who is looking to be a champion of Web2.0 tools, it is this type of insight that gives me food for thought.

Nancy’s posts are great for the original discussion on What makes a good teacher?, the comments and then the following post that stretches this a bit further. In this day and age of fast and furious change, we really need to watch what we expect of teachers and how we begin to evaluate what they do. The two big questions at the end:

  The big question now is whether - after 20 years of being told exactly what and how to teach - there are enough teachers ready to be “creatively subversive”?

Also, after years of being told in precise detail how to teach, will teachers feel ready both to devise their own way of teaching and engaging students and also constantly to evaluate and adapt their own teaching methods.

These two questions are really at the heart of what we are asking teachers to do no matter what it is we are asking them to do and without the proper amount of time for teachers to reflect - in the bathroom between classes is not adequate time by the way - the outcomes will not match what we know is possible. Now, there are some teachers that are doing great things and are great examples of what can be achieved but, unless we listen to the teachers like Linda and Susan, we will be doomed to follow the path of previous school change ideas.

Finally, Dave Sherman’s post. Dave’s post really focuses on what is paramount in good teaching.

 Good teaching in the 21st century is not about technology. High quality teaching is not just about blogging, creating wikis, or podcasting. Yes, those are a few of the tools or options available to teachers, but there are so many more. Real teaching is about creating opportunities for students to become involved in critical thinking, questioning, problem solving, inquiring, researching, and authentic learning.

I couldn’t of said it any better. Thanks Dave! In a time of constant change and increasing responsiblilities on teachers, how do we expect them to bring about changes through refelction if we don’t somehow give them the time? To be a teacher during this time is to step forward and take the whole of the social fabric of society on your back. The public expectation of teachers has grown while the amount of time for reflection and professional growth has not. We have students with a myraid of challenges in the classroom, expect teachers to differentiate for students and now begin to use a host of new tools without giving them more time to do so.

Yes, I know that using the tools will help with time and it’s use within schools and the classroom. But time has become this invisible combatant against whom the various levels of education are all trying to battle but from different sides with no one really making any progress. Because no can agree howor what  this time opponent looks like, we end up in a match against each other without gaining any ground. What is the old adage “To go fast, first you have to go slow.” Yes there are many educators adopting the tools but there are many good teachers who are able to reach their students through other means. If one of the greatests tools for helping teachers improve their teaching is self-relflection, are we giving them the necessary tools to do this?

The potty-training theory of technology

I am the parent of 7 children. My oldest, almost old enough to scare pedestrians legally, and the potty-training escapades have not yet faded from my over-full memory bin. Since that time, my wife and I have survived 6 children learning to use the bathroom at the appropriate time. Now, we have 4 girls followed by three boys. This is an important detail that will later come back into this discussion.

Learning to use the bathroom, a new and exciting piece of technology for a toddler, is somewhat like learning to use new technology of any kind but, especially, I think, technology in education. Really.

For instance, my two oldest daughters are very close in age. The oldest, the one now getting ready for the Indy 500, was somewhat of a stubborn young thing. Being good parents, we read all the information we could find on raising children and what was the appropriate time for all the “firsts”. So, when we read that we should begin training, we nervously began planning our venture with the new technology. Now, my grandmother had some very sage advise that, unfortunately, we didn’t listen to at the time. It was “She’ll start using it when she’s ready.”

So we began. We purchased the newest of technological gadgets - a mini-potty with it’s own reading center and toilet role holder. People were so impressed with our purchase. (A friend of mine even tried to use it but that’s for another time.) We showed it to her. Let her sit on it to read, put toilet paper on it and showed her how to use it. At 2 years old and very advanced for her age, we figured she would seamlessly transfer to this new technology. Boy were we wrong!

You see, like all children learning to use new technology, showing them HOW to use it does not mean they WILL use it as it is meant to be used. In fact, there many lessons to learn from this little adventure. Firstly, there is no “right” age for learning to use this technology. Our 2 year old was nearly 3 when she used it. And, it had nothing to do with us “teaching” her. She would drag the potty into the living room and set up shop, sitting on it and watching tv, reading, colouring and using it as part of her house play but not once did it get used for its designed purpose. Her sister, 18 younger than her, was more interested in using it for training than she was. We’d bride her, get mad, get frustrated and all the rest. We even had her go without a diaper for awhile hoping that she’d get the idea. All that happened was that we had quite a few messes to clean up and our daughter was becoming traumatized. Here it was, two professional teachers trying to figure out how to get their daughter to use the bathroom - and we were out of ideas. Finally, defeated, we just let her continue as she was, diapered and happy.

Now, we were fairly traumatized as parents. How did we fail? We had the newest techynology. We read all the right materials and asked others who had successfully managed this technology use. Visions of our daughter, leading a life on the streets with all its horrible images haunted us. We even thought about seeking counseling in order to know what to do and to deal with our failure.

That Christmas, at a family gathering, her cousin - the same age as her pointed out to her that only babies wear diapers. We returned home and next day the diaper disappeared and the potty was in full use. No training pants, no accidents. One day diaper, next day potty trained. By introducing her to someone who was within her own peer group who had an influence, the conversion to using the new technology was easy - she had the knowledge it was the incentive that she needed.

The rest of our girls followed a similiar pattern of technology adoption with few setbacks. In fact, when our first son was born, we didn’t give this matter a second thought. The technology was the same but, ahem, the user was a bit different. (Note, if someone can invent a shields for the toilet sides, there would be a lot of parents with boys who would invest in them!) Now, the biggest change, besides the aim, was that boys tend to wait until the last minute second nano-second before making their dash. This is where my I learned that some technology users can adapt if there is the right pressure. See, my oldest son came dashing through the living room, obviously having to use the washroom (firm grip on front of pants), going first to the main bathroom, the ensuite and then starting downstairs only to be told it was being used. He returned to the livingroom, doing a new type of rain dance then spied something that would suffice. He dashed out the diningroom doors onto the deck, grabbed a pail and proceeded to use that, in full view of our company, to do the job. With much of the technology being open source, this type of innovative use is happening all the time where people, seeing a need and needing something to replace the old standard, are able to adjust things at the moment to create something new.

Right now our third boy should be beginning to train but, being veterans at this now, we know that starting something too early or not at the right time will just lead to untold accidents and much frustration. See, it’s winter here and everyone is pretty much bundled up like small perogies. When in training, the number of garments worn directly corresponds with the success of training. More than two layers, failure is highly probable so, for the time being, we’re okay with the way things are and, given that summer is about 5 months away, figure that by that time he’ll be more than happy to get into training much like some people who don’t want to look at technology. They see that the world is passing them by and finally figure that they should give it a try. Once they do, they don’t like to go back and look for ways to use the technology - kind of like having to use the washroom in every town you pass through when on a road trip. Is all the technology the same? (How come we don’t have a standup one in our home?)

Much of life, I’ve found, is really just more sophisticated versions of learning to many of the things that children learn to do in their early years. Could we make it through life not being able to use the bathroom? I guess but it sure would reduce the number of people we interact with, limit our social network and probably isolate us to a point that we’d have to figure out a way to change. So, next time you see one of those really cute pull-up commercials, just remember that on tv, no one pees off the deck!

Functioning in a state of overload

The last few days I’ve spent some time just reacquainting myself with what is happening on the different social networks that I follow, adding some comments and thinking about what is being discussed. One conversation that caught my attention was at the Fireside Conversation ning where Connie Weber shared an article about reading. This article discusses that, with the overload of information, there is less deep reading going on and more of the skimming and scanning going on. People have less time for indepth reading as they try to keep up with the amount of information that is piling up.

Now, I can relate with what this article says as I found it to be very intimidating not only trying to keep up with the amound of information that was coming my way but also trying to keep up with the rate of change that was taking place with the tools that were being used. I was trying to read and add information to my RSS, get up to date with new tools that were entering the stream seemingly on the hour plus teach and be an administrator, coach and then have some sort of family life. Safe to say I was overwhelmed and beginning to wonder if all the hype was worth the added stress. And, if I was having trouble,  can you image what other educators who weren’t using technology would feel like if this were thrust upon them, even a bit at a time. With the number different things that are coming at educators from all sides, an overload of information is not what they need. So how does one manage in this time of information overload and do more than just skimming and scanning or drown in the tsanumi?

FOCUS

The first thing that I’ve learned is that you need to have a focus for what you are doing. Whether it’s using a new tool or looking for ideas for classroom use, you need to focus what you are doing. There are so many different tools that to try to keep up with all of them means that you spend most of your time just finding and accessing them. One way to avoid this is to find some people who are using different tools and follow what they do. I like Read/Write Web site, Jane’s page and go2web20. These sites help me to keep up without having to search and try things all by myself.

PLN

I also suggest that you develop your Personal Learning Network to include different people who are using different tools in their work. People like Stephen Downes, Scott McLeod, Dave Cormier, Alec Courosa, Glenn Moses,  Dean Shareski, Kim Cofino,  Steve Dembo, David Truss, Alan Levine , mctoonish and Injenuity. These are some of the people who I look to when it comes to new tools and using these tools in an educational setting. Of course there are many more people who I follow and who are using tools in exciting and innovative ways but it would take way too long to list all of them. For a better idea, check out my twitter.

READ

This is where you need to sift carefully and select with care. In this time when everyone is an author, one must be selective about what one selects. I try to keep my options open by having a number of peopole in my RSS feed who offer ideas and suggestions about what to read. Vicki Davis, Sharon Peters and Lisa Parisi are some of the people whom I turn to when looking for reading ideas. I have become very selective in what I read. For instance, I am taking a class on reading strategies so I am now looking for information the has that focus. I also subscribe to Educational Leadership and, if their monthly focus is geared toward something that would be of use for me in my work, I take time to read through the artciles and look at some of the information in the bibliographies. I also make sure that I spend some time reading for recreation - fantasy fiction is my escape.

PODCASTS

Podcasts are another great way to get information. I use the iTunes library to supplement my learning. I would suggest that you also look at Wes Fryer, edtechtalk and WoW20 for great information on learning and the use of technology in education.

There is definitely an informational tsunami taking place. As educators, it is important that we develop our networks. By using these different ideas to narrow the selections that come our way, one can spend more time going into more depth with our reading. However, it is important to realize that we also need to spend time away from the grid in order to remain focused on areas that interest us. By focusing on specific ideas and using other people as sources for our learning, we don’t have to do all the work ourselves. No one can keep up with everything and to try just divides our attention. Educators working in classrooms do not have the time to sift and sort and do not have time to search through the plethora of information that bombards them. By being selective, one can begin to manage the information instead of it being so overwhelming and daunting.

Let’s meet them at the door

I’ve been really busy of late with all the things that go on in the life of a parent, principal, coach and community member. My senior boys basketball team is showing signs of becoming a real contender - which means that we have to play more - with more nights away. I’ve also been working very hard on getting some of the policies for our school ready - reworking areas that just don’t seem to fit. I’ve been expanding my use of various web2.0 tools including such things as Jing, VoiceThread, Animoto and other tools. Now this is because I’m hoping to do a session at the upcoming Tlt Conference in Saskatoon in May. I am focusing on tools that can help administrators to become more familiar with what is available and begin to use the tools in their own lives. I’m hoping to use Jing to create a Jingcast of some of the tools I hope to use plus add to my admin wiki some of the things that I am learning and working on during this time.

Tonight, after reffing and coaching a bball game, I was able to sit in on Alec Couros university class using Ustream. During this time, one of the participants, nnoakes, asked a really good question about the whole networking idea. George Siemens, who was guest presenting on Connectivism, had just mentioned some of the major educational bloggers in his presentation. The question posed was something like:

How does the network open up for new people as most of the people mentioned refer to one another in their writing and their own network includes one another.

I also wonder this. I recall a commment that once directed me to some advice on becoming more widely read. It included commenting on other bogs, writing regularly, keeping the topics current, referring to what you’ve read and so on. Well, I must say that it’s a lie, as far as I’m concerned. Many of the big names were there at the start and continue to grow their readerships because they were there at the start - and rightly so. Some have done some great work with connecting classrooms and including technology in their teaching and this has grown their readership. Some have interesting comments and make controversial comments which brings them readership. The rest, well, we write on, sometimes having a good post that draws attention from readers or we manage to be noticed by a blogger with a large reader list which brings in readers.

As the number of teachers who enter different networks grows, it will be interesting to see how things pan out. I know that I’ve seen the frustration in a number of bloggers who find it very disappointing that it is so hard to get comments or interaction. Having commented on a number of blogs, I know that it takes a great deal of time to do this. Some say it pays off in attracting readers. I’m not convinced. I’m not convinced that, like all other areas of our society, there won’t be just a few major players whose writing is followed by many while many of rest will continue with a very small readership, occasionally attracting readers because of this or that.

My reasons vary but mostly come down to this:  most of the big name bloggers are not full-time teachers or school building administrators and are outside looking in. There, I said it. There is only so much time in a day, there is only so much time to do reading and commenting and many are finding that to be committed to a network requires time that many teachers do not have. So, if you are a well known figure, you can pop in and out of twitter and leave a few posts and then not appear for a day or two and people will respond to you. The rest need to build and nuture our networks - commenting and building, building and discussing, discussing and sharing. Any time away and our network moves on - not really leaving us but not allowing us to just drop in.

Now, we do make some personal connections, especially if we can meet f2f with people from our network. This really adds to the relationships, strengthening the bonds but, like most teachers, the chance of attending a major national conference and meeting these people is, well, not that likely. Those who do get this chance, appear to build and strengthen their network in ways that are different than others. With many of well known names, they meet one another at these conferences to get reaquainted and reconnected. Their conversations have references and such that those not attending cannot share. It may not create an exclusive network but it does affect those who are involved. So for others trying to get involved, it becomes even more difficult as they try to make sense of it all.

Maybe we need to really go out of our way to help those just joining the community and network. Mentor them and introduce them to different educators. Really share ourselves with them instead of allowing them to find their own way. The idea similar to what happens with new teachers. Those who have mentors tend to develop in a much different way than those who learn by trial-by-fire. Education, unfortunately, is know for the latter and not the former. For so long, we have not opened the doors to new people but instead allowed them to make it on their own. Maybe, as we explore these new venues and tools, we need to toss open the doors and do more than just invite them in. We need to meet them at the door and help them find their way. We need to check in on them and see how they are doing and share cool ideas or tools with them. Those of us who have some experience, need to share that with others and maybe go beyond just our blog sharing. Maybe we need to meet them at the door, welcome them and help them with what they are doing. It’s one thing that does work in school.

Do I have the passion?

First off, let me congratulate Chris Lehmann for a very successful conference at SLA. From all that I have seen and heard, the Educon2.0 was an incredible success. It is obvious that Chris had done a tremendous job of facilitating this learning experience for all who attended.  As Tim, 0ver at Assorted Stuff  posts,

I’ve never seen a school, where there is such a sense of community and collaboration. Students and staff at SLA really seem to be equal partners in the learning.

Indeed, this is a goal that schools all over are trying to achieve. With the focus on improving student learning being at the core of what schools are about, it seems that Chris and the teachers at SLA are on to something. It is obvious from the various reading that I’ve done, that those who attended were swept away. I mean, even ijohnpedersen commented that Once a year I get serious on my blog. Today felt right. Reflections on Educon Philly. http://snipurl.com/1yk4b 

As someone who couldn’t attend the conference, I am grateful to all those people who are sharing their notes and their links to the different sessions. It will take me time to sift through all these and digest the information. I agree with Tim about

However, more than anything else we need to continue and expand the discussions that began this weekend.

Improving education from the outside has never worked, not in my lifetime. The only way anything is going to change is by working from the inside.

We need to continue to expand the community of educators that was in Philadelphia this past weekend.

Exactly. We need to reach out to teachers and help them to begin using the tools.

However, this post is not about that. This post is about one administrator, who has for the last 15 years or so, has been working to bring technology into schools. This post is about how one administrator wants to reach out to other administrators and help them to understand how education can change, needs to change, as technology becomes a part of everyday life. It is about how one administrator continues to look for ways to network and make connections but, living the life of an administrator, doesn’t have the hours needed to do much more. You see, one other thing struck me in Tim’s post.

Another thing great schools need is a strong leader as principal -so I’m thinking maybe we could clone Chris.

Ok, so that’s not very practical. Instead we need to work to help our administrators understand that more trust in our kids and giving them more control over their own education can actually improve their learning. Test scores, too.

Then one of the commentors left this comment-

I couldn’t agree more, and it became painfully clear today as we held the second of three faculty interviews for a new lower division principal at my school. I left thinking, “where’s the passion?” Chris definitely holds the patent on passion in administrators.

First, I have no doubt that this wasn’t aimed at all administrators  but it did grate me some.  Oh well. Move on and I probably would have but I kept on reading through my RSS feed and came across Scott McLeod’s post over at Dangerously Irrevevant that was a follow-up to an earlier post. Now, Scott links to his earlier post, a follow-up post by Pete Reilly and Others who have commented. He finishes by saying:

We need to teach administrators about this stuff. Take a post like mine that gets some play (and also is of interest to school leaders) and show them how this works. Show them that the learning is in the dialogue and the interplay of ideas and that it’s not difficult to do. They need help seeing the power and potential. Lend a hand, won’t you?

As one administrator who’s working his tale off and trying to make a difference, I’m kind of deflated at the moment, to be honest. I don’t have a hope of being able to hold a conference or be able to do national presentations about technology and the power it holds for administrators. Heck, I don’t even get the chance with the administrators in my own division.  I might get a crack to actually do a small presentation at a small conference later this year, if my proposal is approved. I work pretty much in isolation, trying to gain insights and support from my small network. I’m trying to change things in my own school to make technology more accessible but am not always able to make headway. I’ve shared my own teaching experiences using technology, everything from using gliffy and bubbl.us to creating podcasts using audacity and trying out some of the online video editing software to sharing the use of social bookmarking tools, blogging and RSS readers. I worked to try to begin a ning group specifically geared to administrators and technology use but it’s not getting the response that I expected even once I threw it out to my twitter network.

Do I have the passion? I think so. But right now my passion is really burning wondering what a guy has to do to get someone to listen. Okay, maybe that isn’t passion but it’s still burning.  Most administrators I know are working in a situation where they have way too much on their desks. They are trying to do things that are being dictated from above while being pushed by the teachers within their own buildings, often with more than one competing agenda. Heck, I think technology is extremely important but I don’t have the time to always be up on what’s happening on Twitter or seeing who’s leading on twitdir. In fact, I’ve grown to really like Pownce because I can see it having some real use for my staff and even for students in particular instances.

All-in-all, I’m pretty frustrated with all this talk about administrators being the ones who are highlighted for needing help. In my experience, they are only a part of the puzzle. In fact, it is just as important to bring all the stakeholders online with this need for change. Policy and focus need to support the actions of technology use so that schools can move from casual use to assimilation where the technology no longer has that “wow” factor but is just part of the learning environment. This requires more than just getting administrators on board. It requires a reshaping of culture in order to see that learning does not span certain a period of time but is, in fact, a lifelong pursuit that begins at birth and continues until death.

Yes, I have a passion - for doing what is best for the students that come into the school each day. Sometimes, I have no time to even think about technology with all the meetings or dealings with students who are struggling or who are mad or bullied or …. and never mind those who don’t want to be in the building. Then there are parents who don’t agree with how we do things or how I do things. Like most public school administrators, I deal with whomever comes through the doors and whatever baggage they are carrying and try to make things work for them. If passion was all it took to get things done, I’d have accomplished much more in my time as principal. But it takes much, much more.

For those who are serious about wanting to have their administrators become better engaged with technology, send them over to the ning. I’m hoping it’s a place to share and grow as learners. My experience is that, like teachers, administrators listen to other administrators. They don’t have to do more than just look around but I’m hoping to bring together a collection of what I’ve gleaned over the past few years in regards to technology, learning and leading. Actually, I’m hoping to have others contribute - my stuff won’t take much space.  

It’s societal

I’ve been in a discussion over at Infinite Thinking Machine with various people including Arthus who is “… a 14-year-old student in Vermont who has recently become actively involved in the online dialog about educational technology.”

Part of the discussion I’ve been having with Arthus and Steve Hargadon, of Ning Classroom2.0 fame, revolves around the need for schools to change. You can catch up on that conversation here. Part of the discussion has centered around the need for schools to change and for teachers to use more technology. Now, as many of you know, I agree on both accounts. One suggestion is that we need to increase the number and type of people involved in the discussion about schools and have more people who use and understand technology in decision-making positions. This is a good idea but I do not believe that, by having technologically savvy people in higher decision-making positions, it will somehow increase changes in schools regarding technology access, use or integration.

Societal Barriers

As much as many of us discuss within the small technological circle the need for schools to reform and the need for change, the reality is that the circle is small. Adding voices from someone like Arthus is a great thing to do. As I pointed out in the comments

we can have input from whomever we want but ultimately someone has to be responsible.Unless people fully understand this and are willing to give input realizing that their input is just that and may not be used, then we run the risk of people expecting things to happen when, in reality, they cannot….. Talk all you want, discuss all you want but until it’s your butt on the firing line about the decision that was made, don’t insinuate that those making decisions don’t know about technology or technology use.

I am someone who is in a position to make some decisions about what happens in schools. As much as I might like to see things change, there are other pressures that are also pushing and pulling for time and, depending on which one the media grabs or which one becomes a focus for the community, that is where many of the resources go. Is this always good? No. Is this what I want? Not always but it is the reality of what happens. You cannot point to any one level of decision-makers as most of them are reacting to societal forces that are pushing at them.

For changes, significant changes to take place in schools, society has to rethink the idea of school. Instead of people seeing students who are listening to ipods, texting and using laptops as youth playing with expensive toys, they need to realize that these tools could be powerful learning tools.For those students using the tools, they are but somehow we’ve made the internet something that has as many, if not more, evils than it has virtues. Media continues to portray and report the nasty and bad, which society is demanding they do, instead of the good. Now, those of us who see the potential of the tools and many of the students know this isn’t the case but for many parents this isn’t so. It is something new, different and, ultimately, something scary. For the adults, who can protect themselves, the internet is a wide-open playground yet with the youth this changes and becomes something else.

As Steve points out

I think part of the difficulty here is that the rise of the read-write web is probably going to have comparable historical and cultural significance to the advent of the printing press. I believe we are going to see some dramatic changes in many of our existing institutions.

Change is never easy and, I agree with Steve here, the changes are going to be widespread and far reaching. As adults, our natural reaction when we see something that we really don’t understand is to try to protect the youth. Is it any wonder that changes in schools are slow? This is a place where many of the adults can still walk into and recognize and, for the most part, feel safe. Despite all that is going on in the world around, schools and what takes place within them are still safe and recognizable.

Bring on the Change

For Arthus, and many other youth, they don’t see schools the same way. Their world has been dominated with change and with a global view of events and actions. Communication and socializing are all part of learning and understanding. Active integration of the tools is common. Using tools to create their own interpretation is not unique. Sharing with one another over vast distances is not a scary thing, it’s what they do. Instead of fearing the changes going on around them, they accept them as part of their way of life. Again, Steve comments

It may be that if traditional schools have difficulty responding to this massive change because of how they are currently structured–as you have pointed out well–we may find that some parents and students look for alternatives.

And indeed some parents and youth will make that move. However, as I point out,

“Society is basically happy with how schools run - they don’t want something radically different - “Hey, if it worked for me…” when, in fact, we do need something radically different. Something that would allow learners to access information, discuss topics - sometimes across boarders and oceans - create their own reactions that were “graded” differently than we do now. This would require that universities move away from how they accept students and, really, completely turn over the entire idea of education from top to bottom.

Such a monumental change requires more than just technology savvy people in decision-making positions. It requires a societal shift in the idea of what “educated” means. For that to happen, people have to become uncomfortable with the way things are being done and that will take time no matter who is making the decisions.

Celebrate Librarian Appreciation Day

Today is a day which we should be showing our appreciation for those people who work so hard finding resources and helping our students to meet the demands of the various assignments teachers assign. I’d especially like to thank those blogging librarians who give me all kinds of great insights and links to various  informative sights.

Rob Darrow

Hey Jude

Donna Desroches

The Shifted Librarian

Voices from Inglenook 

Steve 

To all these people who help make our schools a better place, I hope you had a great day!