#IMMOOC, Season 3, Week 6, Blog 2

The impact of #IMMOOC

It's hard to say how something as powerful as #IMMOOC is just how it has made an impact on me because I know that I'm digesting little pieces of it all the time. With all the amazing personal connections I've made with reading others' blogs, writing my own blog, Twitter chats, YouTube streaming sessions, the impact is huge. I'm more optimistic and even more confident about trying new things, and I've reflected on where I could have done things differently. We learn from reflecting on our experiences. 

Because of these powerful experiences, I've decided that my keynote (my first keynote ever mind you) will be entitled Innovation in Education: Not just a Buzzword. I'm culminating all the ideas I've learned in my presentation, creating relationships, a culture of innovation, supporting staff where they are, modeling risk-taking and planning for how this can look in my district. This experience has been transformational for me, and I hope it will be transformational for staff, students, and for our district.

#IMMOOC, Season 3, Week 6, Blog 1

Reflections on Reflections

I selected Richard Erdman's @rerdmann blog post to respond to because it's exactly where I am with my own thinking about opportunities for innovation. From his comment about getting so many great ideas from Twitter as well as joining up with colleagues to create something new reflect my own ideas. I gain so much from the professionals I follow on Twitter, and I also gain a lot of inspiration as well.

We can start small, and the effort we put in up front will inevitably save us time down the road. Lastly, I love his sentiment of trying to say yes to enable a culture of innovation in his school.


My second read was Jessica McCormick's @McJesLyn blog post because of her honesty. I remember years when I felt broken at the end of the year. I remember years when my class left the room and I cried, cried because I felt like they needed so much more than I could give. Sometimes it's important to take a step back and see if something isn't working, and what we can do to remedy it. 

The third blog I'm reflecting on is Keli Kinsela @kelik0. Like Keli, I too need a rolodex of images from @gcouros that inspire me and help me remember what's important. Keli, like me, knows the importance of relationships and listening, which are critical to me as a tech integrator and hers as a tech coach. Like Keli I plan to continue to learn and refine my skills to benefit the teachers I work with and the students they teach.

@McJesLyn

@McJesLyn

@McJesLyn

@McJesLyn

#IMMOOC Season 3, Week 5, Post 3

Less is more

Every school has new initiatives each year. We add some, we take some away. But what about adding innovation as an initiative. But innovation isn't something that can be created, or even initiated. To add 'innovation' to a school district, a culture of growth mindset must be in place. We need trusting, collaborative, and supportive relationships to thrive and to be the learners we want our students to be. We should be problem seekers and problem solvers. Then we can model this type of thinking.

Creativity takes time, and so our initiative should be to allow time for creativity so that innovation occurs. (See Creativity Requires Time video.) A new space will not inherently allow for innovation. All long-term initiatives require patience, time, support, and sustained focus. In the words of John Dewey, "We do not learn from experience....we learn from reflecting on experience." Not only does creativity take time, but true reflection takes time. To create an environment where innovation will happen, we need to allow for many things that traditional education does not provide for. By encouraging risk-taking creativity, we can build an environment where innovation will thrive.

#IMMOOC Season 3, Week 5, Post 2

Powerful learning first, technology second

By modeling the behaviors I want, others will be willing to learn from my example. Last spring I planned a fall book study to be completed by anyone in their own time frame, with the culminating event being a Twitter chat with authors Heather Dowd and Patrick Green. The book was Classroom Management in the Digital Age which addressed many of the areas of weakness in our district. While I love preparing engaging questions and planning how teachers would share their learning, it was a flop. Three of us completed the book study. Here is the format I used goo.gl/Rg58bq.

It is only now while reflecting that I realize what might have been the true reason for the book study not being well received. I assumed it was because people were afraid to try Twitter and Google+, but perhaps the reason for low participation was that I wasn't focusing on the strengths of my organization, but on the weaknesses. I saw teachers having problems with management of digital tools, so I sought a solution. What I perceived as me thinking outside the box, PD in a teacher's own time, even in their pajamas, did not have the results I'd hoped for.

I thought I was modeling a growth mindset, trying new things by moderating a Twitter chat. And maybe I was, but I was also modeling was what we often do in education, focusing on the weaknesses. What about building on strengths, where competence can build confidence and improving their learning skills?

#IMMOOC Season 3, Week 5, Post 1

My organization has so many great strengths. One of our greatest is an abundance of staff that are willing to try new things and have a growth mindset. We have incredible teachers, and not just the ones far from retirement, who are creating amazing learning experiences with their students. Two weeks ago, I assisted a teacher who wanted to three things she had learned about at a conference. One of our librarians is diving further into makerspaces, and the other is going to have a student-led makerspace session for the parents next fall.





I can help move our organization forward by supporting teachers when they want to teach with new technology. We need to have strong relationships in place and be visible in order for that to happen. I often get so involved in a project for one teacher that I forget to walk through buildings and gain perspective, but more importantly, I must be more visible to teachers. If I'm not, they may not ask about how I can help them implement their dream project, one that puts creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking at the forefront of learning.





One powerful way I can tap into these strengths is to get teachers to share best practice. Taking a mere 2 minutes at the beginning of a staff meeting can be a powerful experience where teachers learn from each other. Our jobs can be very solitary if we are not intentional about allowing teachers the time to share with each other.

#IMMOOC Season 3, Week 4, Mentoring from Afar

One of my greatest mentors I met through Skype, then followed him through Google+ and Twitter.  John Mikton was my first inspiring mentor in several years, after Jan Segerstrom, the instructional technology coach that was my first mentor in the realm of technology back in 2007. She's the real reason I'm now a tech integrator, and I love my job.

My principal had met John at a conference and because I was working on technology integration alignment with our curriculum, my principal introduced us back in 2010. Find John's blog here https://beyonddigital.org/about/ and follow him at @jmikton or +jmikton.

I went to one of the first ever AppsEvents featuring Google for Education in Europe, I believe it was their second event, which was in Prague during my first year as a technology integration specialist in Zurich. After that I was changed; I saw the world in a new way. I was not on Twitter, or Google+ or any social media that didn't have to do with my family. Until I met John.

I was inspired. I visited the International School of Prague the day before the conference began and was stunned and amazing at this school. One to one with Macbooks, but that didn't mean that kids didn't actually read real paper books. Quite the contrary, technology was used purposefully, not just because they had it.

Through a series of events, and a lot more contact through Skype, Twitter, Google+ and John's blog, I became not only a fan, but was inspired to do something different, risky, insightful. And it wasn't about the technology. It never is. It was about relationships. It was about connecting with people, near and far, and doing what is best for students by providing the best teaching and learning. I don't think he ever said it outright, but he exuded that sentiment. Without relationships, we have nothing.

I was alone in this job somewhat. I was the first tech integrator in my school, and the only other integrators I knew were across the valley and my connection to them was not exactly encouraged. The only way I was able to make my new position work, to grow into and develop it, was to reach out to my new PLN through social media. That was all I needed as a catalyst.

It took two years, but with much support, we mapped how we were integrating technology into each curricular unit, grades k-5. Without the support and encouragement of my mentor John while teaching abroad, I'm not sure how it would have turned out. As a result, I now regularly create PD sessions for my teachers, present at Google for Education conferences, and am an Google Certified Educator and Trainer.

That original encouragement continues today as I transform my thinking while reading the Innovator's Mindset by George Couros and participating in #IMMOOC number 3, yet another very important mentor in my teaching career, as well as all of those mooc-ers George pulls into this amazing space.

Relationships and collaboration have proven to be crucial to my innovation and I'm so grateful for it!

#IMMOOC Season 3, Week 3 Was that really me?

When I think back to how I used to be as an educator, I'm so thankful that I've grown. After all, if I'm not growing and changing, how can I possibly expect this of my students? Now, teachers are my primary students, but the growing and changing hasn't shifted, only accelerated.

If I want to encourage teachers to embrace a #growthmindset and think differently, then I have to do those things. What I've learned in my position as a technology integration specialist is that without relationships, no modeling or deep growth really happens. I've been fortunate to be able to let the teachers who choose to integrate technology in powerful ways with students choose to work with me. In my two different schools, this has not been forced on teachers fortunately.

I've spent considerable time just listening in and trying only to support teachers and help remove barriers to their teaching, building stronger relationships with the IT department, and the results have been miraculous. Instead of forcing my ideas, tools, etc on teachers, I've helped to build bridges. There is a quote from Maya Angelou that encompasses this, “At the end of the day people won't remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.”

If I stop changing, growing, learning, and taking risks in teaching, please tell me it's time to move on. Permission granted.