Is it possible...

Is it possible to have implemented too many cultural changes in a K-12 institution in one year? Are we setting ourselves up for failure?

We need a clear focus and shared vision. Goals.

Sometimes I think we have soooo many good projects, some of them potentially great. But.....my team is tired, stressed out, over volunteered, over worked, given responsibility only to have it yanked out of their hand...out of their own efforts it was stolen.

We are working so very hard to create learning environments infused with the global tools of the trade as well as the wisdom of the past. Yet our classrooms are driven by the policy makers.

We cannot create the future without looking back at the past. Agree?

I'm sorry I don't know who to thank for that statement. It's hard to think that the best research in our lives... possibly? is less than 5 years old...2 days old...1 minute old. When does history become history?

How do we keep a balance in our classrooms knowing what we know and understanding what we don't know?

Schooling right now is hard for everyone. Whether you are struggling to create custom learning environments, or watching the clock, waiting for that retirement year to roll around. Thinking this too shall pass. Sad.

Our children are so crucial to our survival. They are so lacking in the skills they will require in the flat world that exists out there. Outside of those red-brick walls. Reminds me of Pink Floyd. Their music was enthralling and created an atmosphere of questioning the deep thinking that existed in the era. Sometimes I think more and more, the lyrics of our young adult music is lacking in the area of deep thinking. Could this be why our students are so lacking of that same skill?

We have not created authentic thinkers, or authentic doers. This is already apparent as far down as lower elementary children. Our society, our communities, needs to recognize the issues we have with children. We can not teach in isolation. It seems we are at epidemic portions. It's societal and emotional bankruptcy.

Again, I am off-task. Our struggles seem to be so political. It's crazy -- we can't just be the experts. We can't just give the whole child a whole-child education. Too much red tape right now....

Building on the power of team...

Today, I was not working in my zone, my erg, my strengths. I feel like, on a 1 to 5 scale, I preformed at 2.

I have an awesome team of teacher leaders forming within our district. It is so exciting I just can't stand not shouting about it! My lead tech team is awesome!!
The level of investment in professional staff development they give is passionate. They only survive through the intrinsic motivation that feeds their desire to educate all children who pass through our hands.

Our grass roots teachers are becoming practitioners equipped with 21 century pedagogy and skills. If you haven't been following our posts over at the usd352summerinstitute07 blog, we have had 12 students in class every day for six hours a day, four days including two virtual students working in "Web 2.0 and the Digital Classroom". I know I speak for the entire team when I say we are so proud of you. So many had to have day-care providers for two and more and the entire team has sacrificed family time to attend. Bravo!

The trick will be keeping the momentum going and remaining an active participant in the "social networks" we are creating.

I leave you with this great post from Will Richardson at Weblogg-ed about passionate based learning.

Enjoy!

Reflecting.....

As I traveled the highway this afternoon, one of my favorite songs played on the radio. It brought much needed inspiration into my day. "I Can See Clearly Now" ....sometimes, getting lost in song is what gives me hope.

The past two weeks lost in the blogosphere have me thinking deeply about many things. Reflecting...

It became clear to me that surrounding myself with people who "see" the same grandiose vision as I is so much more important today than it has ever been before in the "business" of public education. I am reminded of Marco Torres, who reminded "us" tech directors in his March07 Keynote at the M.A.C.E. conference that our jobs are to CONNECT people not machines!

Thinking about Classroom2.0, I loved this quote by Will Richardson on his post "A Degree in Social Computing? Oh...The Irony"

I’ve said it many times, my blog, my participation in this network is my Ph.D.

How true!! It doesn't matter the network ... networks will come and go as all things do. Just connect.

I've been reflecting on what Will Richardson wrote the other day. It took me by surprise and saddened me to have one of the great thinkers who has shared such wonderful and inspiring ideas with me for a long time....feel defeated.

It's certainly about "Hard Optimism"! It's like The Monster Under The Bed only the bed is gone and now we just have a monster. (smile)

Year in Review

I was just thinking about my experiences this year with Laptop Focus, my Lead Tech Team, and Kal-Tech and I can't help but think about the growth we have made, as an individual, contributor, creator, teacher. Wow!! My brain can't hold it all :-)

My Team#155 is made up of a great group of educators from Ellis, Kansas. They are excellent educators struggling against the forces of change in their small rural community. They are the "cream of the crop" in their district. I also have four FHSU professors who work in the college of Ed. in Hays. They are also "cream of the crop" and struggling to keep up with the curve of technological advances in their profession.

Life is an upward battle.

We all have these people, the cream, living inside our organizations. Are we fostering their skills? They can help design new learning opportunities. Leadership. Leadership. Where is it?

This year was HARD work for all of us "change agents"! The more we introduce change the "messier" it gets!

To my Kal-Tech team here in this wikispace ... I would like to invite each of you to think and reflect about your experiences over this past school year.

What had the most impact on your life professionally?

What had the most impact on your life personally?

If you could change ONE thing in your building next year, what would it be?

If you could design a 21C skills class, what would you include?

What knowledge is of MOST importance?

About Vision.....

This post started out as an e-mail reply to my own message about an idea to create a space for "shared dialog" in our district. I called my idea "Thursday Morning Tech Talks". I know, it should/could be more creative but I don't think I created the mental model I have of these sessions because I had this reply from one of my most creative team-teachers:

Sounds good on paper- like staff meetings? Logistically it probably wouldn't be good for our staff meeting as we have to watch children quickly after the meeting and sometimes during-

Would be great if we actually had time to meet and focus on a topic- but mornings are pretty busy - great idea though
db

Db's reply came to my Inbox before I got my reply back out to them. I wrote:

WE could probably fill up the entire year having highly intellectual discussions "around" educational practice, educational research, educational design and THEN content creation! Maybe it should be afternoon :) I'm just thinking about building our bench. I want everyone to have the opportunity to learn what we know.

But then I had this message from my good colleague and favorite administrator:

Good idea, but db has some valid points--probably will also run into problems w/ the negotiated agreement even though the meetings are not required. What about an e-meeting of some sort on a specified day or time where discussions could occur as people are able to "drop in" online?

It's hard to think "inside" the box!

I ask--Do we really think we can create a shared vision with these out of touch, paper-trained, digital immigrants outside of their physical space, with the very people who think "social networks" have no relevance and that they are evil?

Don't we still have to "live" inside the box of School 1.0 until it finally blends in to School 2.0? When will it be about what Dan Pink talks about and what drives our passion? When will it be about intrinsic motivation and personal accountability for each ONE of us/them?

Last night at the board meeting after a great presentation by Aimee about the Omaha experience, I heard a plea for support from the board, superintendent, teachers, students, parents, and community. A plea to help "us" DEMAND "high expectations" of ALL! Very refreshing. Is there anyone else that believes we may fail at high expectations of students if we can't demand high expectations of staff??? We have a lot of work to do if we want them to see the same vision of educating and learning as US.

You and I can understand the "wisdom of crowds" and the power of "teamwork" and we should be DRAW-ing our pictures of what a classroom looks like and feels like in a "high expectations" classroom focused on using the tools of the trade. Ahhh, the "tools of the trade". Interesting concept.

If we can openly and collectively dialog about what these classrooms look like (the stories are at our fingertips) we might begin to create a "shared vision". Oh yes! Shift needs to happen from the top down. I heard this too last night and we all know how true this is. I do believe that we have suffered enough at the mercy of a top down system. We are now in a flat world where the greatest currency of our economy will be the power to turn information into knowledge.

Thoughts?

Better Catch Up!

If you have not listened to/read Thomas Friedman's book "The World is Flat", better hurry! The next "great" book you need is "Wikinomics" by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams. Wow! I find it very empowering to listen to these books as a change agent in Education....well, in any economic role!

Tom Peters talks about "disruptive technologies" in his book "Re-imagine: Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age:... we are certainly understanding this concept, eh?

The tools of Web 2.0 were described in "Wikinomics" as "the weapons of mass collaboration". "Peer production" is certainly a disruptive phenomenon.

It seems clear to me that we DO? | WILL live in "a world where only the connected will survive". How many of us today feel "a power shift is underway" and understand the paradigm that "a tough new business rule is emerging"?

Our students NEED to learn new skills to live freely and successfully compete in a "Brave New World". Tapscott and Williams are telling us to "harness the new collaboration or perish".

What do you think?

Data Driven Decision Making??

"If we recognize that change and uncertainly are basic principles, we can greet the future and the transformation we are undergoing with the understanding that we do not know enough to be pessimistic." - Hazel Henderson, The Politics of the Solar Age

The hubbub in the headlines of a Western Kansas community this week could be found in the BOE news of 04.19.07 at the Hays Daily.

Did the pendulum “tip” in the direction that will best use the RESOURCES of what was being built over the last three years with their one-to-one? What exactly caused the "tipping point" in this semi-rural Kansas community to "tip" so drastically? Too harsh a word? Not in my opinion.

It makes me wonder......did RESISTANCE from a culture stagnant to change rear its ugly head? Beware--it is messy out here!

How do we protect the learning environments that we inspire and create? Some of us have been working very hard at this for a long time! I would like to think we are “working on the work” as Phil Schlechty would say. Today, it is about creativity and R-Directed thinking which will empower our children with the skills required to be successful in our "flat world"!

At what COST do we abandon our INVESTMENTS in PeoPle, Kids, and technologies?

Our own usd352 “Learning Community”, what we call our Teacher Laptop Initiative, would be devastated if the decision Hays BOE made Wednesday night happened to our district.

What caused the scales to "tip"? Did it tip in the right direction? What disruptions will this "tipping point" cause in the learning cycle of the young adults who attend HHS? What kind of DATA did they look at in order to make an informed decision about changing the instructional learning design at their high school? Without weighing "their" successes and failures, can we really determine much?

I would challenge every one to READ, if you haven't, what Daniel Pink talks about in educating the whole child. It really is about Design. Story. Symphony. Empathy. Play. Meaning.

We’ve DONE “school”…. now is the time to DO LEARNING!

Again, I ponder........ at what COST do we abandon our INVESTMENTS in PeoPle, Kids, and technologies?

Are we "vested" in our people? Do we have reason to be? I certainly believe that today our district is vested in its best learners! In my opinion, our district could not teach the LEVEL of creativity and design without our "platform of choice". Apple.

I am hopeful our community will recognize the quality of their child’s education in the pages of our district website as they browse and dialog with the staff that live and create on these pages! This space is certainly growing and taking on a "whole new mind" of it's own.
http://www.usd352.k12.ks.us/home.html

It is a tiny bit about the technology … isn’t it?

I'm very disappointed in this decision.
http://online.hdnews.net/content/news/schoolboe041907.shtml

Design. Story. Symphony. Empathy. Play. Meaning. Which ones do YOU need to work on today? :)

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." -Charles Darwin

Do we believe?

I get the feeling educators in our own districts, those who have failed in the quest to be life long learners, don't believe the world has become flat, or if this is so - it does not and should not affect their teaching. Help me understand this....

Thinking about Thomas Friedman's book "The World is Flat", I came across a blog post from October 17, 2006 written by Chris O'Neal over on Edutopia's Spiral Notebook blog. It's titled "What Does "The World is Flat" Mean for Education?" and I am enlightened to read the comments. Great questions!

How does a flat world affect us personally? What do you think this means for our classrooms? How do we ensure that our children have the twenty-first-century skills to succeed in the new flat world?

Is there relevance in these questions for our own organizations and communities? In my opinion they are core to our conversations in Kal-Tech. I would challenge each of you to post your thoughts.

Book Study.1: A Whole New Mind

Our assignment for the upcoming April 4th meeting is to read the first two chapters in Daniel Pink's book and post our highlights, what stuck, what's interesting, what's questionable, or what needs clarification, about it here. The following are my thoughts.

"The future belongs to a very different kind of mind." Do we agree so far? Could it be the "Revenge of the Righ Brain"?

I like Pink's term for this new age, the "conceptual age", and his reference to the "six senses". Design~Story~Symphony~Empathy~Play~Meaning. I also read with interest "The Conceptual Age Orgainzation".

L-Directed Thinking vs. R-Directed Thinking

Now, R-Directed Thinking is suddenly grabbing the wheel, stepping on the gas, and determining where we're going and how we'll get there.

This quote on page 27, drew an instant mental image of all social networking sites such as Blogs, Wikis, Flickr, Superglu, Del.icio.us, Wikipedia, Google Apps, MySpace, and the list goes on. R-Directed Thinking????

I also like the term he coined "SAT-ocracy" as he referred to the many tollbooths we had to pass through to reach the land of knowledge work.

What struck me most was the relevance of scarcity vs. abundance and how we have lost so much in this transition.

Part 1: Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts......

At our first Kal-Tech team meeting at FHSU our assignment was to read the first two chapters of Will Richardson's book.

This is a direct quote from Chapter 1, page 5:

Without question, our ability to easily publish content online will force us to rethink the way we communicate with our constituents, the way we deliver our curriculum, and the expectations we have of our students. It also has the potential to radically change what we assume about teaching and learning, and it presents us with important questions to consider:

What needs to change about our curriculum when our students have the ability to reach audiences far beyond our classroom walls?

What changes must we make in our teaching as it becomes eaasier to brig primary sources to our students?

How do we need to rethink our ideas of literacy when we must prepare our students to become not only readers and writers, but editors and collaborators as well?

How do we best put to use the reams and reams of "digital paper" that Weblogs provide?

Are we ready to create School 2.0? Chris Lehmann writes:

It's really not about the computers. School 2.0 is older than that. School 2.0 is the tradition of Dewey. School 2.0 is born out of the idea that active, engaged, constructivist learning will lead to active, engaged students and people.

It's about the pedagogy.

Can we really afford to continue to take baby steps?

A Whole New Flat Mind

What has become clear to you as a result of the article written by Richard M. Felder?

Although Mr. Felder writes his paper directed at his own higher-ed engineering department when we writes: "...we are teaching the wrong stuff..." I believe the same holds true for K12 education.

How much more accelerated would change occur in our own organizations if Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat and Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind were required reading for all staff?