What if the ideas of personalized learning and students owning their learning was applied to teachers? 

These are questions I ask as I wonder about the ways in which schools and districts attempt to support teacher growth. In the same way schools have a hard time empowering students to own their learning, districts struggle with letting teachers own theirs. I'm not aware of any district that truly embraces the notion of personalized learning. Districts all seem to feel the need or push to set goals for schools and teachers. They tend to standardized professional development and in many ways replicate the industrial models of school. The underlying desire for accountability is largely the barrier to trust. 

What if their goal was to have teachers truly own their own learning? 

There seems to be a strong disconnect with the emphasis on differentiated instruction in the classroom and differentiated professional learning for teachers. Some teachers will encourage teachers to seek their own learning but only after they do what they're told or mandated. I've had enough experience working at the district level to understand the complexities and challenges of that branch of a learning organization but I've not seen any district brave enough to trust their teachers to do the "right work." Politics certainly play a role here but I have believe there are leaders who, if they truly trusted teachers and believed they could direct their own learning could make it happen. 

As most would agree, few if any teachers wake up in the morning with the intent of doing a crappy job. The more time I spend in schools, the more I believe that teachers are generally pretty awesome folks but are stuck in a bad system.

I think they need four things:

1. The time and opportunity to explore new ideas and possibilities. Of course time is an age old problem but unless we provide reprieve from the busyness of the classroom, we'll be hard pressed to see our teachers get better. 

…teachers must deal with constant daily disruptions, both within the classroom such as managing discipline and interpersonal conflicts, and from outside the classroom such as collecting money for school events,making announcements, dealing with the principal, parents, and central office staff; they must get through the daily grind; the rewards are having a few good days, covering the curriculum, getting a lesson across, having an impact on one or two individual students(success stories); and they constantly feel the critical shortage of time. (The New Meaning of Change, Michael Fullan, p. 31)

2. Autonomy. When schools and districts own the learning, teachers can't. Some teachers get this with their students and are making changes to reflect that belief. I'm not suggesting teachers currently have no autonomy but I don't know any that have full autonomy in their professional learning. As professionals, I think they should. I also think this might be the fastest way to improve morale. It costs nothing but sends a message of trust and appreciation that many of our teachers don't feel. 

3. The support to make it happen. The role of the district needs to be in providing teachers with new ideas as well as supports for current practice. Researchers, coaches and facilitators.

​4. The expectation to share. If you're worried about accountability, require every teacher to share their learning. While we give them autonomy, districts do pay their salary and require them to be good classroom teachers but also need them to share with one another. Whether they post their work online or not, I think they need to share what they learned. My pre-service teacher courses end with every student answering the question, "What did I learn?". Imagine if all teachers did that every year? 

I know Will Richardson is on the hunt for bold schools. While there aren't many, I know there are some.

I'm on the look out for districts who truly trust their teachers to guide their own learning. Do you work for one? I'd love to hear from you. Maybe you disagree, maybe you think districts need to mandate PD in some way. Either way, this is likely a conversation I'm going to be having for a while. 

Where's the joy? I'm a bit disappointed to see a lack of joy in my own student's learning projects. It could be my fault, I'm not sure. But for me I find great joy in this learning. I picked my project and love the process. I wish that for my students. Why isn't there joy? Maybe my forcing them to pick something to learn isn't very joyful. Then again, they're going to spending much of their life helping others to learn, I would hope they could find joy in their own learning.  Anyway, thanks for watching, I hope you can at least laugh at me or hopefully laugh with me as I learn. 

Here's five more of my students. Ask them about joy or anything. 5 minutes to encourage a future teacher would likely be a good investment of your time and theirs. 

Adam…learning to climb

Colby….relearning piano

Kaylen…learning to speak French

Justin…learning Python, the programming language

Here's another 5 of my students that could use your encouragement. Whether you are an expert in any of these, leave a comment…better yet, leave them a great question. 

Mofizur….learning to cook

Linsey…learning Wii game Super Smash Bros.

Trina….developing webquests

Stacey…learning sign language

Rebecca….learning to draw

This video showcases a new little strumming drill I learned as well as highlight some others diving into a musical learning project. 

• Shannon Smith
• Alan Levine
• Bryan Jackson

If you want to participate in helping others with their learning project, considering gifting one or more of my students with a little comment, whether or not you're an expert in any of these fields, a kind word of encouragement can go miles in helping them realize that learning in public is a good thing. 

​Dan…learning to make sushi

Danielle…learning to sew

Jeneane….learning sign language

Jennie…learning to read Chinese

Josh.…learning graphic design

Watching my students struggle through this in varying projects, I likely have to revise the project but I truly believe in this process. If you're so inclined, leaving a comment or two on their blogs would be great. I'll highlight 5 of them today and share another 5 next week.

• Cole….learning Japanese
• Nicole…learning crochet
• Hillary…learning meditation
• Edgar….learning Assassin's Creed
• Courtney….learning to draw

​Any comments for them would be truly appreciated.

These updates really serve two purposes. One is for me. Like the before picture when you go on a diet, these videos will one day serve to remind me just how brutal I once was. I have no illusions of grandeur but continue to desire to be able to play for personal enjoyment. In that sense, I've already achieved it to a small degree. Documenting my learning via video is a useful and easy way to track progress. Outside of jotting down a few ideas to reflect upon, it's totally impromptu. I know, it's hard to tell.

Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3

The second purpose is for modeling. I'm hopefully showing my students that learning is hard but fun and that being a reflective practitioner is something that will serve them well as they progress in their careers as life long learners. And teachers too. 

I suppose there's a third purpose or outcome here is to demonstrate that by sharing your learning you open up the opportunity for others to join with you and teach. That people would take time to watch me struggle and offer support and advice is an illustration of using technology in transformational ways and is amazing. And when I say amazing, I mean amazing. 

So here I am, still looking for support and moving forward.

I'm not sure why I'm calling these lessons, since they really aren't anything more than me reflecting and updating my progress. I don't think it shows much on the video but I feel decent about my progress. Certainly it's not like the rapid and immediate feedback of a video game but I'm hearing songs in my head. I really have to focus on chord transitions as you can tell. Of course as I watch guitarists do their thing I keep thinking "How in the world?". The more I learn, the more I understand and appreciate their skill and craft. It's the same way I look at professional golfers. And yet, like golf, every once in a while you play the chord perfectly and you're encouraged. 

So, keep those cards and letters and comments coming, any suggestions on specifics to work on? 

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/evilmutent/384401502 by Hugochisholm

As per usual, when I come up with an idea, I don't always have it all mapped out and don't foresee potential pitfalls. One student suggested she wanted to get in better physical shape. We had a brief discussion about how that may not fit with the spirit of the project as it needs to have a fair degree of cognitive processing and reflection. We discussed that learning a skill or discipline like yoga may be a better fit as it requires you to think and learn as opposed to simply creating a habit. I'm not sure I offered her the right language but I know I need to be more clear about what I mean by learning. Given this is the first go, I hope to repeat the process again with students and will undoubtedly learn lessons.

My own learning is being documented via video. Students can choose any means by which to reflect. I hope the reflections include personal struggles and triumphs but also examination of the experience itself as  a student. Thinking about learning. 

Here's me after 2 weeks of learning the guitar. 

As you can see, I've got a long ways to go but that's okay, I like learning stuff, being doing it since 1964, (see what did there?)

It's been said and discussed often here and many places that a real shift for educators is moving from teacher to learner. Not so much moving, we still need teachers, expertise matters but until we see ourselves as learners and intentionally show are students we can't be the educator our students need us to be. 

Last week I began my ECMP 355 course with largely freshman pre-service teachers. My usual introduction to my course reminds them that they are the winners of education. They were successful students because they were largely compliant and knew how to survive and thrive in a system that values a "mind your own business" style of learning. Do what you're told, when you're told to, and you'll be fine. Learning isn't very self directed in this system. Students wait to be told what to learn.

I'm trying to get them to consider something new. I truly believe that the best coaches in sports aren't usually the best athletes. They are often the bench players, backups and lesser known players who end up becoming the best coaches because they truly understand and can break down the subtleties  of the game.  Understanding not only how you learn but being able to articulate it and express it is a skill I'm not convinced all our teachers have. 

Last year i read Ewan's post about a 100 hour challenge. I tucked that post away because I knew I'd come back to it. So with that idea in mind, I'm asking my students to take 25-50 hours and learn something new. While Ewan's goals were somewhat different, I want my students to explore a few things.

1. Learn a skill, concept or idea you know very little or nothing about but that you're interested in learning

2. Document the learning. Write about it, video tape, audio record, whatever.

3. Consider all the sources you use to learn. Collect those resources. 

4. Take a early baseline snapshot of your understand at the beginning and another one at the end. Compare and analyze. 

That's it. As the quote above says, make your learning transparent.  I've never done a project like this with students before. it's not really about technology and yet it will be as students share their learning and consider people who can be their teachers. I feel like I need to participate in this as well. So I decided that I'd like to learn to play the guitar. I love music, have some musical background but have never learned to play the guitar. Starting with my daughter as one of my teachers, I completed my first lesson.

I'm really looking forward to my own learning but also watching others learn as well. If you have any ideas on how to make this idea/project better, let me know.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/langwitches/3500044331

Saturday, June 25

Educational Reform
Led by Jon Becker and joined by 10-12 others.

This session considered what we mean by “reform” and considered various challenges and barriers.

Key takeaway: Size of organization plays a huge role in allowing innovation. Finding the optimum size for schools and organizations to flourish and grow is essential.

Teachers as Advocates
Led by Jon Becker and joined by 10-12 others

Jon asked the question, “Are teachers responsible for being advocates?” Advocacy can take on many roles from public relations to policy change.

Key takeaway: The voices of teachers need to be heard beyond the classroom walls and school buildings. The questions I leave with are “what should we be advocating, how do we seek and develop common messages and to whom should our voices be directed.

What are we doing for our Leaders
Led by Scott McLeod and about 30 others

Scott’s basic premise here is that instead of blaming leaders for not “getting it”, create conditions in which they can. Stop blaming and start enabling. A few ideas were shared about how to make that happen.

Key takeaway: I wasn’t terribly thrilled with this conversation. May have been my own fault but I didn’t find a new idea here or anything to consider. Again, likely my fault.

Sunday, June 26

The Netbook Rollout
Led by Ben Grey and joined by 4-5 others

This was a bit of an ongoing session that began at brunch and continued on various times thoughout the conference. Spending time with Ben will do that.

Key takeaway: The image they’ve used courtesy of Jim Klein is robust and seems very easy to maintain.

ISTE Keynote
Dr. John Medina

An overview of his book Brain Rules which I have read.

Key takeaway: I wish he would have explored more on the area of design and what schools should look like to better accommodate how we think and learn.

What Happens when you Write Every Day
Led by Zac Chase, Bud Hunt and Me

An great conversation about Zac’s efforts to blog every day and comparing that to me posting a photo a day.

Key takeaway: What we might feel is lesser quality and even a throw away effort, often resonates strongly with others.

Enough Blogging, Let’s Do Something Already
Led by David Jakes and joined by 5-6 others

David asked an honest question whether all the blogging that educators do is really helping make a difference for students. He’s concerned about a lot of talk and not that much action, wondering if our time was better directed towards students as opposed to blogging. It was a sincere question about whether everything that needs to be said has been said and perhaps we need to shift focus from talk to action. It was a great conversation with many bright folks contributing.

Key Takeaway: Reminds me to be careful to keep students first and foremost in our conversations and pay attention to what actually makes a difference for kids. Most agreed it’s not a zero sum game, however, there were some good reminders and perspectives shared.

Monday June 27

Living Facebook
Led by John Spencer

I introduced myself to John and identified him as one of those “smart people” I pay extra close attention to. John shared how he felt a bit out of the edtech group but I only know he writes well and has much to offer. He began sharing about the Living Facebook project he and his wife explored earlier this year. I had heard about it but was intrigued even more as he explained what he learned.

Key takeaway: He really is one of those “smart people”.

Creating Touchstones of Potential with Peer Coaching
Led by Shelee King George, Peer-Ed with Colet Bartow and Mary Knight

This was a poster session and Bud and I had a nice conversations with these folks about their coaching model and implementation.

Key Takeaway: You don’t necessarily have to build in time in the school day to incorporate the coaching model. A few important ideas I can use in my own coaching model with Lani and PLP.

E-Book Quick Tips and Tricks for Interactive Whiteboards
Led by Christine Voigt and Paul Wood

​Paul shared with me the way Bishop Dunne was incorporating ebooks at their school. Certainly they are leading the way.

Key Takeaway: Publishing companies still aren’t sure how to market and sell ebooks.

Vendors, Testing and Politics
Led by Scott Floyd joined by 4-5 others

Being Canadian and somewhat sheltered from much of the nastiness and controversy surrounding politics, testing and big companies, I look to Scott as my go to guy for all things  edupolitics.

Key Takeaway: The reason the vendor floor looks like it does is  because there is big bucks to be made often by leaders who are uniformed and are looking for quick easy solutions. Reminds me a bit of the earlier session on reform.

#EngChat
Led by Bud Hunt and dozens of others

Bud’s very interesting experiment of considering how to pause.

Key Takeaways: Slow down. And Ben Grey does lovely work.

Tuesday June 28

New Media, New Literacies: Educational Transformation through Digital Creativity
Jason Ohler

I’ve always wanted to hear Jason present. He shared 10 ideas for using Digital Storytelling.

Key Takeaways: Surprisingly not as much new here as I would have liked. Wes blogged the session here.  That’s not to say it wasn’t a good session, just nothing new for me.

Wednesday, June 29

Simple Tools for Sharing
Led by Wes Fryer and Me

I was honored that Wes asked me to help him lead this BYOL session. We did a lot of stuff in an hour.

Key Takeaway:  The balance between scaffolding and play is a very difficult one to find in a one hour hands on session.

The Fix Is In: Social Mobilization and School Reform
Led by Carl Anderson and Scott Schwister

A model classroom session exploring and deconstructing the power and idea of citizen journalists. I was one of the “students” in this session and thought they did a nice job.

Key takeaway: Deconstruction and reflection is critical for showing students the value and purpose of social media.

ISTE Closing Keynote
Chris Lehmann

Chris hit a home run with students and a powerful message focusing on agency. While I’ve heard this message in general from Chris several times, the inclusion of students as well as a few new twists made it a great way to end the conference.

Key takeaways: Certainly reminding our students they are beautiful is a message we can’t hear enough.

Customized your TinyURL
Led by Chris Craft

Chris talked to me last year about some geeky custom URL installations. I’m still interested in the idea but would like something that works with a mobile device.

Key takeaway: It’s nice to have geeky friends.

iPhone App Sharing
Led by Tim Wilson and 2-3 others

Tim shared a few key apps and other interesting  tools he’s exploring

Key takeaway: See the previous takeaway

ISTE Keynote Fail
Led by me with 4-5 others joining

This session took place on the roofdeck of Chris Lehmann’s house where I questioned Chris and others if  ISTE had a responsibility to have their keynotes address technology more directly. A rousing conversation ensued and a few ideas sparked this post.

Key takeaways: I love it that I can challenge my friends and push back on their ideas and they do the same for me.

Punchline:

So in case you’ve not figured this out, most of the sessions I mentioned were not found in the program guide. That’s because they didn’t exist there but were rather conversations that I was privy to or indeed initiated. Simply by surrounding myself with smart people, listening a little more than I normally do, I found great value in ISTE 2011. These are often the conversations that, while they exist online in many places, lack the intensity and focus and the ability to clarify that a great face to face conversation has. I attend this conference because of the sheer numbers of people that I can learn from in various contexts and settings. A mix of intentional and serendipitous learning. Everyone has their own approach. This is mine and it’s working pretty well for me.

Want to instantly create better teachers? I know how. One word. Blogging.

Now before you roll your eyes or accuse me of oversimplifying the very complex issue of teacher evaluation and monitoring hear me out.

I began teaching in 1988. It was a tough job and thinking about getting better was superseded by survival instincts. Early on in my career, there were several documents that the province produced in support of improved professional development. I didn't pay much attention to these but one phrase I saw in those documents some 20 years ago stuck with me. Reflective Practitioner.  I sort of understood the concept but other than simply thinking about what you did in the classroom, I wasn't at all sure what to do with this term.
When I discovered blogs almost 5 years ago, I soon figured out what that term meant. Since that occasion I have sat down to write close to 1,000 pieces of reflection. While not all would be considered deep, most take me anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours to craft. It may not always look like it, these are generally borne out of the times I spent observing, thinking and working in classrooms. The reflective writing has been valuable but definitely the nearly 4,000 comments have been even more of a learning experience. This is the single best professional development experience I've had.

Dan Meyer, a Mathematics teacher in California

…blogging was the cheapest, most risk-free investment I could have made of my personal time into my job. You start by writing down things that are interesting to you, practices you don’t want to forget. And then you start trying new things just so you can blog about them later, picking them apart, and dialoging over them with strangers. Periods of stagnancy in your blogging start to correspond to periods of stagnancy in your teaching. You start to muse on your job when you’re stuck in traffic, in line for groceries, that sort of thing. That transformation has been nothing but good for me and it all began on a free Blogspot blog.

Thousands of other blogging educators could echo similar words. In fact, I’ve yet to hear anyone who has stuck with blogging suggest it’s been anything less than essential to their growth and improvement. I’ve no “data” to prove this but I’m willing to bet my golf clubs that teachers who blog are our best teachers. If you look at the promise of Professional Learning Communitiesthat our schools have invested thousands, more likely millions to achieve, blogs accomplish much of the same things. The basic idea of the PLC is to have teachers share practice/data and work in teams to make improvements. A good blog does this and more. While the data may not be school specific, great bloggers know how to share data and experience that is both relevant and universal so any reader can contribute and create discussion.

There’s a natural transparency that emerges. The teachers who blog as professionals in this reflective manner in my district invite anyone to look into their classrooms and you can get a picture of what happens on a daily basis. This goes a long way in addressing accountability concerns.

Teachers have for years had to fill in a plethora of reports and forms which in essence are accountability papers. For the most part they are of no use teacher and in most cases aren’t very valuable for administration either. Busy work.

So here’s my plan. Hire a teacher, give them a blog. Get them to subscribe to at least 5 other teachers in the district as well as 5 other great teachers from around the globe. Have their principal and a few central office people to subscribe to the blog and 5 other teachers as well. Require them to write at least once a week on their practice. Get conversations going right from the get go. Watch teachers get better.

Try that. If it doesn’t work after a year, you get my golf clubs.

PS. The only people allowed to criticize or challenge this idea are people who have blogged for at least one year and written at least 50 posts. The rest of you can ask questions but you can’t dismiss it.

Professional learning comes in all shapes and sizes and I'm hard pressed to assign value to any. Those who speakabout "training" usually are speaking about a linear, by the book approach which is often easily transferred into the classroom. These are not transformative types of experiences but sometimes necessary to help teachers do their job. The professional learning that moves to make us truly better teachers and provide the best learning experiences possible are the really expensive ones. By expensive, I'm not referring exclusively to money but largely time. If change were that easy, we'd all be doing it. The hard work of improving practice generally takes years and as we all know, teaching is a profession you never quite get right and the very best never stop learning.  By that standard, professional learning is simply what we do. You might say, teachers are professional learners.

A rough calculation would suggest that in the last 10 years, my school district has spent upwards of $35,000 on my professional learning that includes conferences, classes, and workshops. That's a lot of money and I realize that it's probably more than most teachers would receive. (Although most of that has no substitute teacher costs which for most teachers, represents a significant expenditure) Was it worth it? There's no doubt that some of those workshops and conferences were less helpful than others but the whole of those experiences I believe are greater than the sum of the parts. Out of all the conferences I've attended, I'd be hard pressed to recall a single event or experience that has significantly shaped my work above any other. However, I can't imagine being anywhere near the educator and leader I am today had it not been for those opportunities. I also recognize that not all professional learning costs money. This space has been one of the greatest sources of professional learning for over five years. The time invested here is significant but has been worth every moment.

In the effort to be fiscally responsible and focus our attention on what truly matters, we hear this question asked almost everyday as we make choices on how to support our school division: "Will it improve student learning?" That's a simple and yet very complicated question. It's pretty easy to suggest that almost anything you do will improve student learning  but not everything will translate into the classroom and impact student learning immediately or directly. 

Here's what I want to know:

1. How do you measure the effectiveness of professional learning?

2. Is there a time frame in which the professional learning translates into student learning?

I'm not sure I'm articulating myself particularly well here but am searching for some ideas that will help me solidify my own beliefs. I'm really curious to hear your thoughts on this one. Thanks in advance.

I’ve played the role of utility man or 6th man depending on your sport of choice. It’s been enjoyable and has been a great personal learning experience both from a community building standpoint as well as simply connecting with passionate educators.

Sheryl and Will are now in the process of gathering new cohorts for the next school year. This is a great opportunity for schools and districts to move their practice forward.

PLP is not about technology and it is not about tools. While both of these things play a central role in the school and the curricula of 21st century focused learning, PLP is about pedagogy and teaching and learning. There are opportunities for both schools and school leaders to take part.

Specifically, I would like to see a cohort here in Saskatchewan. I’m fully aware of the power of this experience and would love to see some of our divisions and schools take advantage of this not only for personal professional development but to build connections on a provincial basis. If you at all interested in that, contact me and I’d be happy to discuss my plan to make that happen.

Either way, no matter where you are, consider this a great opportunity to participate in a great PD experience that has tremendous local impact.

Rather than commenting on each person, I thought I'd highlight some of the more salient remarks and perhaps add some commentary of my own.

Alan writes:

I am less sanguine about the consensus for change. Competing philosophies of education still hold teacher’s attention. The teacher’s priorities also act as a barrier. Dean mentioned concerns that the focus is to narrowed on Math and Reading (add writing to this). Sure there are marginal teachers, or sound teachers in a slump; however, as Dean remarked, most teachers are innovators. We all have private action research projects we have committed ourselves to and these compete with the division’s primary curricular goals.

I'm not so sure I'd use the word innovator but certainly each teacher brings their personal bias and strengths which adds diversity to students' educational experience. While no one explicitly states that health or art are less important, the message is implied. It reminded me of a post and the comments of a previous rant from about 11 months ago as well as this quote:

Dave writes:

I’ve never seen a detailed breakdown of teachers’ time. If a group of teachers voluntarily started keeping these notes, and if administrators and support staff paid attention and gathered the data, we’d have a much better picture of the problem, could work towards some solutions, and make actual progress because we’d have data to show the decision-makers.

This could be an interesting research. My sense is that so much of the is interrupted in terms of student learning which includes obstrusive assessments. I had a number of teachers last week tell me that they spend more time working at home than they ever have. Again, this is anecdotal, perhaps some hard core data would be of value. Two can play that game.

Megan:

I am convinced that it can only happen when teachers are taught about the power of the personal learning network. By reading and writing and reflecting, teachers can not only connect with those down the hall but also with others from around the world. Through these networks, teachers can begin to grow professionally in their own ways and on their own time line. Of course, this takes great leadership (and possibly PLCs which teach and foster a 21st century mentality), but I think it’s a way to make transformative changes in schools and in teacher-attitudes from the bottom-up.

Although a few of the teachers I spoke with fit into this category, I agree that the support and power of personal learning networks are valuable. That said, our current division uses the term PLC very badly. In fact, what we do is not a PLC and it certainly isn't personal. Teachers are given 3 days throughout the year to work collaboratively on fairly targeted areas.  The work itself is important but somehow the personal part needs to be included. This argument always falls back into a lack of time and will to provide teachers the ability to learn from and with each other. That's why those who are developing this online have the edge. They use their own time and efforts to do this work. There needs to be a better balance between personal learning and professional learning. Not that the two terms can't coexist but as a district or school, there may be certain goals that don't necessarily align or meet every teacher or student's needs but we can't ignore the professional judgement and needs of individual teachers.

Gord, a school administrator from my division writes:

There is no disagreement among teachers, administrators, or senior administrators that the changes we are discussing/implementing are positive and promising for improving student learning. In fact many of the changes we have been wanting for years are coming to fruition. The challenge of course is not in the believing or understanding of the change, but rather the complexity of the implementation. Teachers need time and training to successfully implement the transformation. Just as we do with our students, chunking, scaffolding, and mastery of outcomes come one at a time and build on one another. What we are doing right now is serving a buffet of change and asking teachers to taste a little bit of everything, without really having time to digest anything. Thus, as the instructional leader in our school, I find it my responsibility to filter out some of the myriad of choices and present them one at a time rather than force feeding everything and causing a mass case of indigestion. Change is good and will be a constant for all, but how we manage change and take others with us in the journey is critical to a true transformation.

Sue King,

To me, one of the biggest issues is that deep level change is needed – significant change – and that is not possible to do incrementally while school is in session in the manner we currently do things. I think a very different approach is needed – but the state leaders in education seem hell-bent on staying on the course of accountability via low-level standardized assessments given to all in order to “hold teachers and schools accountable for student learning.” Though the “student learning” being measured is not, to me, genuine learning. I am ready for a change – just do not know how or with whom to join to create something different – something that can start small but be brought to a larger scale in a reasonable amount of time!

Deep level change. That's an ongoing problem with education. We nibble at a variety of approaches and rarely dig deep. I'm excited about the possiblity of our new Saskatchewan Curriculum. It offers the possbility to go deep. Fewer outcomes that focus on big ideas and supporting indicators to guide assessments. Designing learning that answers the questions, "Why do I need to learn this?" and "What is it that I want my students to remember 5 years after they graduate?" is a worthy goal. There are huge implications about how to do that. That's a major shift we're dealing with right now.

Bill Ferriter,

I’ve never wanted to be anything but a classroom teacher–and have turned down many, many high paying opportunities to work beyond the classroom to stay true to that commitment. But I’m actively looking for a way out….and I’ll do almost anything: consultant, college professor, instructional resource teacher etc.

Pretty harsh reaction to someone who obviously is a valued teacher. I worry more and more of our best will be thinking this way. Not that those options are bad, I'm one of them, but certainly seeing those options as a way out, doesn't bode well for the future of the profession.

Finally, a bit of a dissenting point and one that is worth considering and responding to. Joel says,

I don’t think it’s fair to paint teachers as victims or martyrs. Professionals in many fields take responsibility for the product and the process of their work, and it seems that teachers may finally need to step up to the plate on both of these fronts.

I’m always amazed by teachers who think that education is some kind of ultra-noble exercise that is unaffected by the laws of organizational dynamics. It seems we’ve largely neglected our professional responsibilities for quality control, productivity, corporate culture and innovation. We’ve handed the reigns of our profession to administrators, staff development experts, teacher’s unions, and local and federal policy makers.

What did we expect? Did we really not see this kind of reform coming?

My response to Joel is that the "pull up  your bootstraps" approach does have some merit, however, there are so many mixed messages that the whole idea of reform is a muddied notion.  As he states early in his comment,

I’m a sixth grade teacher in Tucson, and I feel much of the pressure you describe. It feels like trying to rebuild the engine of a car while the car is still cruising down the highway.

Reminds me of the EDS ad about airplanes. That challenge is particularly unique to education since we can't ever stop.

Thanks for all those great comments and insights. This is why I write; to learn. Does any of this strike a nerve? Did we miss something?

With the advent of technology and distance learning, I’ve stood in front of teachers and administrators many times and asked them to consider why their students would choose to come to school. While the quality of distance learning is far from perfect, it offers the opportunity for students to learn with and from anyone at anytime. With more and more choice students will start asking if they really need to come to class. At the same time, it’s hard to deny what it means to learn in the same physical space. Notice I was careful to say "learn". Many people take for grant it that students will come to school simply to socialize and enjoy extra-curricular activities with others. I say that’s not good enough. Learning has to be social, otherwise why come to school?

This article and the accompany video might at first glance be a anti-technology message but in fact its arguing for better face to face encounters. Some might view the article as anti-technology or anti-powerpoint, I simply see this as trying to determine what the best use of face time might look like.

The undergrad course I teach is usually 3 online for every face to face experiences. I’ve learned a great deal in teaching online for the past 3 years. I’ve worked hard to make it interactive and participatory. I’ve had my share of successes and failures and will endeavour to make the best experience possible. That said, the face to face classes prove invaluable. In many ways, the content and delivery of these classes is no better than the online sessions but somehow students say it offers something the online sessions can’t do. Simply seeing faces and understanding each other in a different way fosters community in ways online interaction cannot. Maybe it’s just a return to the comfortable setting they are used to. I believe its more than that. Yet, without the asynchronous and synchronous online components, my courses would not have near the impact. We need both. I no longer take face to face time for grant it. I think many teachers have become lazy and aren’t considering the current and upcoming options that are available to students.

Rob Jacobs viewed the above video and article and considered Professional Development. I also think about meetings and conferences. In the district I work, we have many teachers and administrators travelling 3 hours to go to a meeting.  It is deplorable that they might attend a meeting and leave thinking, "I should have stayed home". Consider the time and money spent. I don’t want to be responsible for wasting their time. It shouldn’t really matter how far you have to drive, being together should be time well spent. We owe to teachers and students to make the face to face time we have valuable and important. 

While interactivy and particpation are two huge elements that ought to be present, what else is good about face to face? How do you insure that your students/teachers/co-workers/clients find the time they spend with you valuable?

In a word: “blogging.”

In seven words: “blogging and probably using a digital projector.”

The digital projector opened up my classroom and practice to visuals, which was a profound, if rocky and still ongoing transition.

But blogging was the cheapest, most risk-free investment I could have made of my personal time into my job. You start by writing down things that are interesting to you, practices you don’t want to forget. And then you start trying new things just so you can blog about them later, picking them apart, and dialoging over them with strangers. Periods of stagnancy in your blogging start to correspond to periods of stagnancy in your teaching. You start to muse on your job when you’re stuck in traffic, in line for groceries, that sort of thing. That transformation has been nothing but good for me and it all began on a free Blogspot blog.

Whenever I ask my pre-service teachers or classroom teachers to blog, it comes with a variety of reasons and purposes. Not everyone uses a blog to be reflective, but reflective practice in isolation has its challenges. There’s nothing like a solid testimonial like this to once again point to the value of open and transparent exchange of ideas.  This is also why I often hesitate to suggest twitter to folks wanted to engage with other educators. Not that it has less value but there’s no way twitter can replace blogging as a form of reflective practice. I don’t suspect many use it that way but when it’s referred to as "micro-blogging" I get a little worried about that comparison. Blogging isn’t about building a sizeable audience necessarily. It’s about finding enough critical friends to make you work at getting better. Thanks to all who have done that for me.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by shareski

I come away from an event like this feeling blessed to know such awesome people and leave with great memories.

Our talk revolved around our efforts to change traditional teacher education to leverage the power of networks and technology in teaching and learning. We hope to spark some new conversations and support the great work already begun by Scott and friends.

Here’s the video to our Keynote and our other session can be found here. Slides from the keynote are here: Cooliris slides

Thanks again to Scott and  Paul Wood in particular for an outstanding weekend.

People

Without trying to list the names of everyone, it’s apparent for most users of social media that face to face gathering times have changed in the past few years. I used to go to conferences and mingle with local colleagues and a few others I’d met a various functions and committees but there wasn’t much of a community. Now we meet people we’ve never seen and can enter in to meaningful discussion since all the banter and small talk takes place  in other spaces.

This conference brings together not only educators and administrators but also IT. I certainly commend our own IT team for focusing on students but not all do. This is a great way to have them understand that their clients are students and it’s a highly complex task to provide safe, secure environments that also enable them to have the access needed to use the tools that help them learn.

Keynotes

I’ve heard David Warlick live a couple of times but I must say this was worth seeing. David is a gifted storyteller but certainly connects to many outside of educational technology.  Carlene captured the essence of it well. It lead to many meaningful conversations and insights for many including my superintendent who said, “I know you’ve been talking about this for years but it’s finally starting to click”. What’s the phrase about being a prophet in your own town?

Being able to provide a keynote with Clarence, Kathy and Darren was truly a treat. Once I get the audio from Rob, I’ll post it but it was a privilege to facilitate these three tell their stories.

Sessions

So many of the sessions dealt with what’s best for students and how does any of this help our students learn more. The phrase “How does the technology support the practices that lead to student achievement” rang through my mind many times. I heard more praise from various sessions than I have at many conferences.

Critcisms

Nothing is perfect and there were a few things that I’d like to see change. Wireless continues to suck. Why? Last year the wireless at another venue was much better. The hotel did not have wireless so someone had to install a temporary system. It was lousy. This has got to be resolved. I would also like to see more built in opportunity to network. Not a big deal for me personally since I have many connections and can steer informal conversations to meet my needs but for many, they need a time and space to ask questions and contribute ideas.  I mentioned the idea of a “linkable” keynote. A killer opening that had many components that could be explored deeper in follow up sessions or simply building an open space style based on the ideas in the keynote and interests of the participants. Then culminating the conference with a sharing time of what was learned and what plans were made.

So on Tuesday I invited a few folks together to watch some presentations, talk about them and share our own experiences. It was good. There were people there for whom they had never heard of many of the ideas and really needed to wrap their heads around the implications for teaching and learning. For those without a network to support them, this is invaluable. Even if one person can come away with a plan or at least a connection, I’m pleased.

And here’s the other thing. Traditionally we send a teacher to a local conference, pay sub costs, registration fees, mileage, meals and maybe accommodation. You can conservatively estimate a cost of about $500 a day.  I brought it supper at about $10 a person and I would say we had an experience, equal if not better than a day at your typical conference. I’m in the midst of reading Disrupting Class and Scott McLeod’s presentation deals with some of the ideas in this book. This is really an example of disruptive professional development.

I’d encourage you to plan your own local events. Use the essential questions at the bottom of each presentation to guide you. If you have something in the works or just want to flesh out the ideas some more, leave a comment.

k12online, k12online08, scottmcleod, disruptingclass, professionaldevelopment

So it’s Friday night, my wife is out watching my girls perform in Annie. (I’m really a good parent, I watched them on Saturday I just don’t need to see it three times). So I find myself watching Jeff Utecht in Bangkok on his computer, streaming his former colleagues in Shanghai gathering together on a Saturday watching presentations from K12 online.  You may have to read that sentence twice to get it.

Jeff held a similar event a couple of years ago.  2 years ago, streaming video was not readily available but Jeff did record some of that event for viewing after the fact.  Today, streaming video is as easy as email. But Jeff had to do some fancy configurations to stream his Skype call from Shanghai back to Bangkok out to the world. I was concerned that the internet might break at any moment. Jeff has a reputation.

As much as I live this stuff everyday, there is still a WOW factor here. The WOW of an almost seamless discussion with people who care deeply about the things I do. I think WOW is good. I think WOW should be leveraged not as an end but a means to really important stuff.  I agree that WOW isn’t enough anymore but to think that I could have a rich conversation with folks who offer a completely different perspective from the other side of the world would seem significant.  I think having rich conversations locally is important and that’s exactly what the teachers in Shanghai were doing.  There’s no reason why we would have to choose.

The day was well crafted by Ewan that included a series of short presentation type deliveries followed by opportunity to discuss and play.

As a group, we decided these were the most important ideas from the morning:

1. R & D is for everyone
2. Building Shared Awareness
3. Remix the curricula
4. Balance between structure and flexibility, saturation and overload
5. Importance of rules in play

The afternoon was spent exploring gaming and the concept of gaming as a learning tool.

One participant summarized his learning this way, “One mistake I’ve made is I’ve never played with a computer”. This was a telling statement about how we view ourselves as learners.

Lots of ideas were explored and my goal was that folks left willing to continue to innovate, explore, learn and share. Not entirely new but a fresh set of eyes always helps.

Working out a New Game photo: by Ewan Mcintosh

The more I think about the value of this conference, recall the stories shared during our presentation, I can’t believe what a powerful learning opportunity this is for all educators. While I’m sure others will find fault and criticize some of our efforts and decisions, I will, without hesitation, state that this is by far the best value for a professional learning conference you’ll ever find. I’d say that even if we charged $500 for the event. But it’s less than $500. It’s free.

The real magic of this conference is not only in the presentations. While these continue to provoke thinking and support for learners, here are what I think make the conference as good as it is:

1. Connections. The story of Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay meeting via the conference and continuing to do the work they’ve done is one example. There are countless other examples of people who met during the conference and have continued a relationship well beyond the initial release dates of the presentations.
2. Re-purposing. I’m excited about the way leaders have used the content to create unique learning festivals in their local contexts. Jeff Utecht’s LAN Party is one example. Listen to the video to hear him explain it more fully. I’m looking forward to more creative ways of using the content locally.
3. Unlimited access. This is more than simply unlimited access to the content but unlimited access to the presenters. Again, there are many stories here but I’ve been able to make connections with Liz Kolb and her work with cellphones and been able to use her to support my work locally.
4. Authentic Collaboration. The organization of this conference is done entirely online as well (except for the one evening that 3 of us were together). I’ve been overwhelmed with the response in the past 2 weeks of volunteers. Many have never done anything of this kind in working together to organize a virtual event. Being part of building and creating something real is a great experience and one that certainly transfers to our work with students.

There are likely oodles more stories out there of what this conference means. If you have a story, go ahead and leave a comment. We’ll likely take them and post them to the conference blog but we can start here.

I’ve also added a Skype video recording of our convener meeting. It’s unedited, 23 minutes long and mostly of Darren Kuropatwa‘s unshaven face. But here it is if you’re interested.

Show notes

As David and I held a little planning session tonight we talked about the power and importance of visual literacy. We also agreed that while PowerPoint may be the tool we focus on, it’s really not about PowerPoint but the ability to communicate a message effectively with the support of well designed visuals.

This video promoting a book called The Back of a Napkin, demonstrates how ideas can always be enhanced and developed using simple visuals.

Many of these principles are transferable whether you’re using a napkin or a slide deck. If you’re attending NECC, we’d love to have you pop by Monday, June 30th at 11:00. David plans to take everyone who attends out for supper that evening.

Our school division will be hosting a day long event with Ewan Mcintosh. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Ewan’s work, he is outstanding advocate of social media and has been involved with Scotland’s very progressive curriculum innovations.

Here’s a some more information about the day:

Scotland meets Saskatchewan Outline

9:00-10:30
Presentation: Scotland’s story: how curriculum meets innovation
The new curriculum, developed with the profession and parents over several years, has ‘allowed’ more teachers to break with tradition and take up new technologies to facilitate children’s learning. The curricular moves share much in common with Canada’s states’ and provinces’, so what are the similarities and differences in technology, professional development and the way students learn?

11:00-12:30
Roundtable:Assessment is for learning and making the links through new technologies – share experiences from both sides of the pond.

12:30-1:30 Lunch

1:30-3:00
Practical workshop:Thinking Out Of The (X)box
Scotland is leading the way in some respects of games-based learning. Experience some of the methodology and ideas in this practical workshop.

6:00-7:30
Focus on Leadership Dinner: Ewan will focus on leadership and explore Scotland’s approach and experience with leading change.

7:30-9:30
TeachMeet08 Saskatchewan
An unconference for teachers, by teachers. Share something from your classroom or professional learning in a seven-minute micro-presentation, two-minute nano-presentation or simply be an enthusiastic lurker.

To register, email me shareski.dean at prairiesouth.ca by June 22.

$75 Covers your cost for the day. If you planning to attend the evening meal, please add another $25.
Make your cheques payable to: Prairie South School Division and send them to:

Prairie School School Division
Attn: Dean Shareski
15 Thatcher Dr.
Moose Jaw, SK
S6J 1L

This is going to be an outstanding day!

The growth of this conference over the past 2 years has proven its value ten fold.  We’re looking for creative, enthusiastic people to share their learning during this conference. While many of you share daily, the K12 conference offers a unique format and gathering of ideas that makes it a very easy place to both introduce and challenge each other with new ideas. Please consider submitting a proposal. You’ve got 6 weeks to put something together. You can do it.

I invited Will to return the favour (btw Will, you still owe me a few more appearances) and share some ideas (about the 14 minute mark) about publishing which sparked some great discussion and questions. So he gets in from sledding with his kids and chats with us for about 10 minutes. I carry on. Then David Warlick watches via Ustream and at just the right moment (35 minute mark), skypes in to share his thoughts on Lulu.com ( I had asked David earlier so it wasn’t a purely random interruption). So I went to the back of the room, grabbed a water and allowed David and Will to do their thing.  It’s been said often, that the minute you open up your laptop, you’re no longer the smartest person in the room. I never was anyway. But this is what learning ought to look like; finding and connecting to others that help you learn more. Easy, free and personal. Low hanging fruit.

I realize this is not profound or new, but I just wanted to share.

Technorati Tags: showcase2008, davidwarlick, willrichardson, skype, lulu

I’m so looking forward to this. I love this stuff, I’m passionate about it and  I live it everyday. I’m excited to be able to watch and learn, share and teach with largely a group of first year pre-service education students. Here’s are the main themes of this course:

• Learning is social and connected
• Learning is personal and self-directed
• Learning is shared and transparent
• Learning is rich in content and diversity

So much of the work I do in my day job is similar in all but one key way…TIME. Even the best case scenarios allow teachers 4 or 5 days a year for professional learning of this nature. How can they possibly begin to do the kind of learning and thinking that my students will do? We will meet every week for a few hours, they will spend hours on their own and with each other learning. We will be in constant communication. The teachers that I work with must try and carve out time after work to begin to reflect and embrace the idea of a changing classroom. Ever see the video of building a plane while it’s flying? Perfect analogy for today’s teachers. My students get to build it on the ground where it’s supposed to be.

This is not so much me reflecting on how hard it is for teachers to have the opportunity to learn but more on how excited I am to be able to spend some quality time helping these young people consider how they’ll be able to create spaces that are fun, engaging, personal, relevant and authentic. Those aren’t buzz words for me either, I really try to foster that in all the work I do. It’s not easy all the time but it’s what I believe is important. What makes it hardest is not being able to spend the time to really get it. That’s what it’s like for most teachers and I have to find ways to live with that. I can’t expect big things from a teacher who is already maxed out from a day filled with all kinds of distractions, duties and stresses that at times deplete their energy down to almost nothing.  So I make adjustments, try to support them in small ways, give them bite sized chunks of ideas and because most are smart and want to be better, they do pretty well. But most will say to me over and over, “I just wish I had more time”.  This phrase is echoed throughout the walls of most schools on the planet.

But for the next four months, I get to work with people who have the time; not the expertise, not the experience but the time. It’s gonna be good.

Update: Another surprise to me was that many of my students are Arts Education students so if you know of some great teachers of arts education (music,dance,drama and visual art) showcasing their work via blogs, wikis, podcasts, whatever, leave the link here….it would be greatly appreciated.

Technorati Tags: uregina, aleccouros