Drape's Takes

Kelly Christopherson has done an excellent job in articulating exactly what I've been trying to say for months now about social media participation.

From my experience, if you can sum up your contributions to the school and learning in quaint little anecdotes, little stories about touching tales and quips about snippets of days, then you really don’t get it. See, for the most part, I can’t share what happens in my days because it’s confidential, too difficult to describe and, really, there’s no quaint way to tell the story. It’s about the lives, spirits and souls of the people in the two buildings as we begin to forge a new direction and the interconnectedness here.

I guess I find that many of the things that others write about to be, well, common sense and something that is within my realm of experience for too long to be thought of as actually unusual. Whether it’s talking with parents about a student with learning needs, helping parents with students with special needs, creating learning spaces for students, finding supplies and supports for teachers who need them or questioning people in positions of responsibility about programming and support, it’s what an administrator does because it’s what’s best for children. And I believe that is what defines my job – doing what’s best for children.

As I wrote (and for which I've since been scolded):

The fact of the matter is that there exist a very large number of effective educators that are simply not able to contribute in any significantly recurrent amount to online discussion. All told, it's not that they're incapable of participating and it's not that they're unwilling. Rather, this group maintains perceived silence online because their professional priorities prohibit them from spending the time or energy required to provide plausible contribution.

Now, I realize it would be nice if we had genuine, original online input from every educator. In fact, I'm still surprised by how exciting things get when technology facilitates a global conversation. (Just look, for example, at the quality and range of keynotes that will be presented next week at Steve Hargadon and Lucy Gray's Global Education Conference!)

Nevertheless, like Kelly, I've learned that as an administrator that are definitely times when participating really isn't appropriate - and when an educator's greatness might just be measured in how well they refrain from participating, rather than by how witty they're able to be while distributing dirty laundry before strangers. Along those lines, I've also found that there are even appropriate times when a mere retweet is all you're gonna get. You can tell a lot about a person by the articles they pass along (we are what we share), and some online interaction can be a lot better than none.

For what it's worth.

I remember when life was easy.

Seven to three. June, July, and August… aaaaaahhhh. Interacting with the kids - day in and day out - and no matter how bad it was one day, the kids would always return the next.


But then again, no matter how great it went one day, the kids would always come back the next (expecting bigger, better, and now!).

No, life as a teacher certainly wasn’t all bliss. I remember the inter-departmental politics, training bodily functions to react to the rhythm of school bells, scrimping from paycheck to paycheck, and trying to reach those kids that cared for neither me nor themselves. I remember parents that were never satisfied, apples that didn’t fall too far from the tree, and frustrations with the expectation that I was to serve as the surrogate parent of my students.


I also remember how great other members of our school and district community seemed to have it.

I mean, really.

Wasn’t it true that:

• Principals had the cushiest job in the world! No bells, no classes, no problem!
• District personnel were the definition of "out of touch." Clearly, they neither understood what life is like in the schools nor did they really care!
• Without question, the easiest job in all of public education was definitely that of the District administrator. Ivory tower, dictates from on high, and wow were they ever clue-less!
• Life would be easy if I could only get a gig. like. that!
  

Welllllllll. No.


Four years ago this week, I accepted a position as a district-level technology specialist. Last year, I jumped in to administration.

I now serve as the Director of Technology Services in the Canyons School District, and it’s been a much more difficult job than I ever could have imagined. Every day is non-stop, issues thrown my way are almost always complex, and there honestly is no seven-to-three, June, July or August. (For that matter, summer is our busiest time of the year!) I wake up in the middle of the night only to worry about some member of my staff; and until now, I never fully understood just how much every member of my team – for better or for worse – truly represents me as they interact with others.

Yes, being an administrator has taught me patience and humility (of all things), the importance of team, and the value of hard work, loyalty, trust, and experience. It's also taught me that where much is given, much is required. Ultimately, it's taught me about myself, my weaknesses, and ofttimes has pushed me near the edge of my limits.

Oh, how I dread those limits.

I’m so thankful for the opportunity I’ve been given to serve the students, teachers, and administrators in our District. I'm thankful for how much I've been able to learn and to grow; and when I say that I’m grateful for the trust, patience, loyalty, and hard work that those on my staff have demonstrated, I mean it.

I mean, really.

---

Image source: Flickr user Lady-bug.

With so many high-caliber people finally digging in (acquiesce?) to the utility of Twitter, I'm finding myself approach such widespread new-found enthusiasm with mixed emotion. On the one hand, I'm grateful that people are finally realizing what we've been saying for years: Twitter can be an extremely powerful tool/experience. On the other hand, I feel somewhat dismayed that it has taken so long for folks to catch on. Regardless, I'm excited for the direction now being taken by leaders in my new district.

In yesterday's Between the Lines, my Superintendent publicly admitted that he's willing to give Twitter a try:

Canyons [School District] also may be able to use such communication tools to foster learning, civil public discourse and more active participation in classrooms and communities. Our staff is investigating several technologies as opportunities for engagement, including blogging, Twitter, mass text messages and e-mails. That’s also part of the reason (curiosity, I’ll admit, is another) that I’m checking out Twitter. If we are going to understand how these tools might be used in positive ways to improve student achievement or public dialogue, we must be willing to try them out and learn about them ourselves. As for my experience, so far so good.

I can't tell you how excited it made me to read this. Definitely better late than never!


Quick questions:

• Why don't more school administrators use Twitter (what costs/risks are involved)?
• Does your district administration currently utilize Twitter or other social networking technologies?
• If not, what would it take to change their minds?

Side-note:

If you, too, are new to Twitter, then you may be interested in a few of the conversations we've already had regarding its usefulness in educational settings. These are a few of my favorites that I've thrown out there to chew on:

• Twitter Set Theory
• Edublogger Etiquette & Twitter Self Promotion
• My Twitterversary and the Future of Writing
  

Image source: Flickr user Scott McLeod.

Every teacher that's ever survived Parent-Teacher Conference knows how true this is:


Which is what makes this picture of one of my favorite teachers so absolutely perfect:


But I wonder how many educators have considered their own place in the overall scheme of things:


The more I work with teachers in a variety of different schools, the more I'm convinced that we teachers are not that different from our students.

Quick Quiz:

1. If we teachers are the apples that never fall too far from the tree, then what person, position, attitude or entity is the tree?
2. How much effect does a school administrator have on the attitudes and perceptions of his/her subordinates? (Possibly the same question as #1)

Original Image Source (apples): Flickr user r-z

Technorati Tags: education administrators change

To overcome in any battle, the intelligent tactician will attempt to attack the enemy at multiple, strategic, barriers to entry. Which is why I’m so impressed with Marc Prensky’s latest fronts in this, the war on educational boredom.

In his March 2008 article entitled Turn on the Lights, Prensky ensues with many of the arguments he has previously utilized, this time, however, customizing his attack toward a far more influential audience: School administrators. Combined with a larger offensive from our students, I think that helping administrators to better understand the importance of educational shift is absolutely vital if we are, indeed, to realize such a shift in pedagogical mindset. For this battle really isn’t about technology, or a flattening world, or even improved classroom instruction. It’s about money. Just like it’s always been. Control the money and you control education.

It’s that simple.

Which is exactly why Prensky’s efforts should not go unnoticed. As far as I can tell, the administrators are key because they, along with our friendly neighborhood legislators - aka those powerful puppets that ofttimes dangle in the hands of the parents of our students - control the purse strings.


To encourage change among educational administration, Prensky has highlighted nine principles that, if given due attention, would effectively change any educational institution.

Prensky’s Principals for Principals

• Announce that henceforth students will have a meaningful voice in setting all school policy regarding technology use. Hold assemblies that include teachers, students, parents, administrators, and technologists to hear all points of view and establish school policies regarding such issues as blocked Web sites and use of cell phones.
• Make it your business to eliminate boredom from your school—make 100 percent engagement the goal. Poll students as to which of their teachers and classes are engaging and which are boring and why. Investigate and take action.
• Talk with 2–4 students each day for at least one-half hour about their learning. If you feel you can't spare that time to engage with kids, you may need to rethink your priorities.
• Work with both students and teachers to implement the new "kids teaching themselves with guidance" model. Eliminate lectures and busywork from your school. Ask teachers who use active learning to share their practices with their colleagues.
• Promote technology use and move toward one-to-one computing.
• Orient your school toward the future. Offer classes in programming, robotics, long-distance collaboration, and cutting-edge science.
• Keep the computer lab open late and on weekends, especially in areas with limited technology access.
• Introduce computerized exercise games that kids really enjoy, such as Dance Dance Revolution, into your physical education classes.
• Have students share your school's most effective practices and results with the world via YouTube.

Abandoning my current thoughts about a global teach-in, I think our next war effort would be most effective if some sort of large-scale assault were to come from our students. Hey kids, ever heard of a sit-in?

Image Source: Flickr user Taras Kalapun.

Technorati Tags: change prensky administrators politics education technology

Three weeks ago I published a survey on this blog that replicated a survey created by Ed Bott, technology guru at ZDNet. While Ed was able to get a few more participants than we did (I know that at least Miguel Guhlin shared the survey with his readers) the sample sizes are large enough to make an interesting comparison between the ethical attitudes of the ed-tech community versus the less-specialized technology population to which Ed caters.

For those keeping score at home, we had 78 participants in our survey compared with the over 8,000 participants that Mr. Bott was able to garner. In the charts below, numbers presented are percentages. Note: Ed's totals don't always sum to 100% because he occasionally offered additional responses than I did.

1. Do you think it’s proper to buy a CD, rip it to your hard drive, and then make copies for your own personal use on multiple devices or computers?



2. Do you think it’s proper to buy a CD, rip it to your hard drive, and then trade in the CD at your local used-media store or online?

3. Is it OK to borrow a CD from a friend and rip it to your hard drive?



4. Is it proper to buy a CD and make a copy for a friend?



5. If you buy a DRM-protected track from an online music or video store like iTunes, is it proper to strip the DRM and make an unprotected backup copy?



6. If you rent a DVD from Netflix or Blockbuster, is it OK to make a copy before you return it?



7. If you miss an episode of your favorite TV program from a broadcast network, is it OK to download it from BitTorrent or a file-sharing network?



8. Does it make a difference if it’s a program from a subscription-only channel like HBO?



9. Does it make a difference if the same program is available for free with ads from an “official” website or for a charge from an online service?

This final chart shows how participants in our survey are related to education (or at least how they claim they are related to education - you never can tell with those ed-tech types).


Technorati Tags: survey ethics technology education teachers administrators students

Nothing brings President Bush’s references to “the Google” (and his apparent lack of technology literacy) closer to home than my recent experiences at the NFUSSD conference in Charleston, West Virginia.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of presenting (thrice) with Margo Shirley and Kathy Ridd at the National Federation of Urban & Suburban School Districts conference. The small, annual conference attracts an elite crowd of superintendents, school board members, and other high-ranking district administrators from various school districts across the United States. I was fortunate enough to give the closing segment of a presentation detailing the experiences I and my fellow team members have had while assisting in the creation the Jordan School District Comprehensive Balanced Literacy website. Our assigned task was to describe our collaborative efforts in creating the site – but my internal agenda pushed more toward a discussion of the skills necessary to succeed in the 21st Century, and our students’ heightened need for increased collaboration, global awareness, and social & cross-cultural skills. Essentially, I framed most of my points around the framework created by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and the list of skills that they have published (giving pretty much an outline of our recent Social Software in the Classroom open PD class). Entitled Soaring to New Heights in Literacy Through Technology Integration, our presentation was well received by roughly thirty-five participants.

While presenting, I was struck (and rather severely) with the realization that many (certainly not all, but many) of the participants in the conference had extremely limited technology skills. Furthermore, this realization had even greater effect as I better understood to whom I was presenting: Remember, these participants were educational leaders (superintendents and the like) of school districts throughout the country. Indeed, I was literally awestruck as I was forced to throttle back my discussion (almost to the point of that famous right-clicking lesson), in order to help several of the participants to understand.

Which has left me to question: How can we expect our students to learn things that even our leaders clearly don’t understand? Furthermore, if we require our teachers to have some level of technology proficiency, shouldn't we equally require our administrators to posess somewhere near the same level of proficiency? If our students should be learning this stuff, why shouldn't we all?

To further illustrate, it may be helpful if I elaborate on the kinds of things that left me scratching my head:

• Roughly thirty-five leaders in education viewed our presentation.
• Many of the participants had, at least, heard of Wikipedia – most, however, had a negative impression of it. I attempted to dispel such wiki-disbelief using David Warlick’s Pluto example. “Go ahead, look up Pluto in Encyclopedia Britannica – you’ll see that it’s still a planet.”
• Few of the participants actually knew what blogs were. While all had heard of them, few knew how they worked, or how they could be used educationally.
• Not one of the participants had heard of Google Docs. Thirty-five participants, no Google Docs. I guess this makes me so upset because I consider Google Docs to be such a paradigm shift in the way we think about creating, editing, and storing documents.
• Only two of the participants had heard of Second Life. “Yeah, I heard about that guy that had his own virtual family. His wife divorced him and it ruined his life.” I then proceeded to teach them about the Best Practices in Education Conference that was held entirely in Second Life. Did they know of any other way to hold a highly interactive educational conference, with participants coming from countries all around the world, for even a tenth of the price? Of course not.
• Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to discuss social networks – a natural next-step in any discussion of social software. I’m afraid it would have taken ten minutes alone to dismiss the “evil MySpace” preconceptions – and unfortunately, I only had 15 minutes to leave my mark.
• Some of the participants had very limited skills, as evidenced by the kinds of questions they asked:
  
  How do I go back to the page I was just viewing? - Try clicking on the browser's BACK button.
  
  How do I see the things that are at the bottom of the page? - Try the scroll bar on the right, experience the magic.
  
  
• I finished our presentation with Pay Attention. I’m pretty sure that it was the first time that any of our district’s board members or our superintendent had seen it. Shhhhhh. This technology integration stuff is top secret. I am happy to report, however, that Pay Attention was received very well - not well enough to immediately change our district’s “No Cell Phone in the Classroom” policy, but I certainly made a lot of head-way.

In conclusion (sorry Jim – this was a long one), presenting at NFUSSD was an eye-opening experience – both for the things I have learned and because of the people I have taught. I guess the only thing I regret is that I don’t bring home the same kind of pay check as those I was able to teach. : )

Technorati Tags: nfussd07 payattention didyouknow... administrators technology education socialsoftware07