Online Presence - The Paper Resume Is Soooo Passe! #SAVMP #21

I just finished reading #SAVMP Assignment #21 by George Couros Online Portfolios by gcouros and Paul McGuire's post in response to the assignment Principal Musings on Education. I completely agree with George's points which were based on the premise that we need to move to Online Portfolios / Blogging et al. :

1. The Google Factor
2. Searching and Organization
3. Anywhere, Anyplace, Any Time Access
4. Create Opportunities Instead of Looking for Them
5. Continuous Sharing

Here is why Blogging and Developing an Online Presence works for me:

1. Collections of Learning



I have always been a collector. I collect quotes. I collect articles and research about best practices. And, I am a REFERENCER! Some how, some way, these things stay in my brain as sort of a shadow of their full meaning. So.....when I want to find their full meaning or the exact quote I plan to use, I just run to my collections and find what it is I need. These "collections" make up the sum total of my learning and the items that have led me to the vision I currently have for my school, my occupation, and my life. And, can I just tell you, that sorting through my binders and journals and various "collections" is time consuming. I feel like the past few years I have become freed by the amazing apps out there like GTasks, EverNote, GoogleKeep and my all-time favorite NoteShelf.





For example, I take copious notes during the sermons at church, and when I would fill up a notebook or a journal with notes, I would end up storing it in some dark corner only to be "referenced' every blue moon. Well, now, I don't have to worry about where to store them or if I will ever use them again. Using NoteShelf, I have digital notebooks of pages and pages of notes that don't take up ANY space. They are all customizable which is always fun and adds a personal flair. And, I can save them as a .pdf and print individual pages or save the full notebook to another location if I like. This is my favorite app. because I can take pictures of anything and embed them in the notes. I JUST LOVE IT! I can Tweet pages, email pages to team members; it is extremely versatile.  Here is a screen shot from my iPad of a few levels of shelves containing my notebooks.



I am no longer held captive by the search for a piece of paper. This completely matches George C's point about "Searching and Organization." I am quickly navigating to a Paperless Existence, and...

MY BLOG SERVES AS A... COLLECTION OF MY LEARNING.

2. Transparency

Transparency is a way of life for our children and our students. I am aghast at what some of them share with the world, and I know that time and maturity will help many of them develop the skills to be more discretionary with their online presence; however, I also admire their bravery. The new generations are not afraid to say what they think, to engage, or to grapple with life "out loud" and sometimes online. When I first started BLOGGING I was terrified. Some days I still am about what people will think about what I have to say....like my December post where I shared about my most recent tattoo. Yes, I said..."most recent". LOL. But, I ultimately feel the transparency is one of the best parts of my BLOGGING. If anyone reads my posts, they get a true sense of who I am. Some day, my children may be able to look back at these posts and discover some tidbit about their mother they didn't know. --Hi Kids :O)--

Most importantly, I believe that we all need to be our own chief storytellers. We need to control the story that is told about us. When someone "Googles" you, what do they find?

3. Shared Learning

This morning I was searching my brain for when I first heard about George Couros and the work he was doing. I can't remember, but if I went and searched my own Twitter feed, I would be able to find my first RETWEET or FAVORITE of his work. I remember, one day, I was clicking through his links everywhere in my typical DIY learning mode, and I found his BLOG as Portfolio YouTube video. I thought to myself, back then," I want to do that". AND, 1 and 1/2 years later, I have begun my portfolio. My BLOG represents a collection of my online learning. From Canada I have taken this concept to Florida. One of my fellow principals began BLOGGING soon after me, and I like to think that my BLOG entries have encouraged him to have the commitment to the task because I shared my learning. I hope others will follow.

4. Modeled Learning

With BLOGGING, I have to step out and take risks all the time. I do this so that I can understand the world my students live in and even the future ahead of them. Entire school districts have been using Digital Portfolios with their students K-12. I am modeling this learning for others, and I am experiencing it side-by-side with our current generation of students. It is a challenge, it is authentic, and it is highly rewarding.

5. My Goal

As I grow in my capacity to develop an online presence, I will be adding more pages to my BLOG and stepping out more often with other programs. After I went to FETC, I created my own Vizify which is a sort of bio program that grabs all parts of your online persona and meshes them together. It really took just a few easy clicks. Here is my Vizify Bio:

Vizify Bio for Enrjtk-Educatr

Also, after reading Paul McGuire's post, he shared a great site called About.Me which I have on my ToDo list for upcoming goals. It is one more way to begin developing this online resume or portfolio or presence or, or, or.....

The sky is the limit here. There are so many paths to innovation with the online platform. Give it a try!

Balancing Administrative Reality with Being Connected #SAVMP

#SAVMP

Balancing Administrative Reality

with Being Connected

I recently finished watching the Google Hangout hosted by Amber Teaman a.k.a @8amber8 on “Balancing the Administrative Reality with Being Connected.” The hangout was extremely informative because I got to see all the different personalities that I often follow on Twitter, but I also got to think about their responses to several good questions.  I was happy that many of the responses were similar to my own responses. I shared the same answers that they did on several questions, and that helped me feel like I am being successful in my Personal Learning Network (PLN).

The first thing that was humorous to me was... YES, some people consider being connected as not necessarily working. Justin Tarte @justintarte shared a story about getting called into the superintendent's office for tweeting while at work, but he was ultimately able to explain to his superintendent and eventually win him over to understand that leveraging social media is a highly effective way to increase your instructional leadership capacity. I have always been very wary of tweeting or blogging during work hours, and so I try to reserve my PLN work for evening hours. With this practice,   I don't ever run aground, and I keep perceptions from ever being misguided. I am very careful in this respect.

Next I was able to find solace in Tom Whitford's a.k.a. @twhitford answers. His view is that it is okay to send out personal tweets included in your PLN tweets because we are all real people. I appreciated that response because I have often tried to keep my personal and professional voices separate. I have three different twitter accounts, and it was refreshing to realize it is okay to use my educational account to throw out some personal tweets every once in a while to all my peeps so they will know I am more than my leadership “self”.

Next I got a fantastic resource from Amber Teaman called #kinderchat. That, by the way, is really what all this connectedness is about.  There is not a day that goes by that I don't identify and learn something from my PLN and then I turn around and share that information with the people in my own PLN or even better... I share it with my faculty or our school or our community.

Just this past week, I used the resources I found in #kinderchat in my newsletter that goes out to the faculty which I send out every Monday. I focused on the #kinderchat information that analyzed increasing rigor in the early grades. I received new knowledge from digging deep into the resources provided on that Twitter feed.  It is a great resource that allowed me to develop a context or knowledge base for something I've never done. I have not taught kindergarten and so having the new #kinderchat tool gives me a certain level of knowledge that empowers me to be a better leader for my early grades teachers.

One of the best parts of the conversation centered on the question… how can leaders find the time and find the energy necessary to be connected? I appreciated their answers. First of all, each of them seem like they are very high-energy. I am definitely a high-energy person. I am drawn to other energetic folks.  They shared that being connected is motivating and inspiring to them and it is what they live for! I agree because I know I love to learn. I constantly pursue new learning and strive to process new information to aid me in growth and improvement.  That feeling of growth is, in itself, inspiring to me and gives me the energy to spend those extra few minutes every night being connected and being the connected learner engaging in  DIY (DO IT YOURSELF) and creating my own pathway for improvement.

The last question that spoke to me was about... the need to be connected and still be productive at work. Wow. That is a tough one. I marvel at some of the people that I follow in my PLN like George Couros or Justin Tarte or Amber Teaman. I am alarmed at the level of presence they have and how little presence I have in comparison. Sometimes it is discouraging, but I know that I have just started this journey, and I will be able to grow my connectivity as the years go by. Also, I know that I will NEVER be the “Rock star” that some of those folks are. I will just be me, and I will be amazing being me! So, I will put in my 100% during the work day, and then I will come home and give my other 10% to my PLN. Then I have to kick in my mom and wife 100%.  Until they approve human cloning, I will just be very busy and very happy giving it all I’ve got!

Here is the Hangout in case you want to watch the professionals:

Google Hangout - Balancing Administrative Reality with Being Connected

The Importance of Trust #SAVMP

Week 4 – The Importance of Trust #SAVMP

I think it was my parents and the way they raised me that made truth and the search for it such a pillar of my beliefs. Even today, one of my flaws is that I can't even tell the little white lies that make some people so successful. I just can not bring myself to add that layer of duplicity that makes politicians and those who promise things they can't deliver so successful. In turn, I surround myself with other truthmongers, and I value the people who have the skill for discerning a lie quickly. I would love it if.....Liar, liar, pants on fire....would really happen when people told lies. LOL.

I don't know if others value the truth as deeply as I do, but I live my life as if they do. Just a few weeks ago, I encountered a scenario where I had to dig for the truth at work. The digging led to an uncomfortable situation, but the end result has been that I have strengthened a relationship between one of my teacher leaders and myself at school. The interesting thing about the whole story is that the lie was actually just a misunderstanding. A teacher believed that I had not released her from contract to transfer for a job at another school. When I discovered this information was being shared on campus, I quickly located the email from the other principal that confirmed that this was not the case. I also called the teacher in for a chat and explained the damage that could be done to my credibility if her information contradicted mine. At that stage, the faculty who heard both stories would be forced to choose between which story they believe to be true, and this would be confusing to them and unfair to me. When we talked through the facts of the scenario, it turned out that the teacher believed her version of the story. It took the email from the other principal to show her the TRUTH. We came to agreement on how to proceed, and things are 100 times better in our relationship. While it was very difficult to dig deep and have these uncomfortable conversations, it was instrumental in correcting a misconception held by a staff member and in terminating any further confusion for those who tried to understand the facts. The truth had set us free.

Lastly, I stare at the truth about myself often....sometimes too often. I am, what you would call, acutely self-aware. I know my limitations, and I repeatedly measure myself with the truth of those limits. Sometimes this leads to insecurity because--being a perfectionist, I struggle with not being perfect! Age and experience have softened my critical mindset about my skills, and I have come to HUG THE CACTUS many times over so that I can grow and get stronger every year. With a growth mindset, I will use truth to help me improve.

So, truth is very important to me. I have tried to insist on the importance of truth in my friendships, my marriage, my motherhood, etc. I get most frustrated when my children violate my trust, and I love them no matter what, but I relentlessly look for the truth. 

Why I Lead #SAVMP

I am very excited about a recent program I joined. I am now a proud member of the #SAVMP program. SAVMP is the School Admin Virtual Mentor Program started up by George Couros. And, now that I have been paired with my mentor and mentee partners, I am most energized by the global perspective I will gain from a mentor outside the U.S. Our perspectives will certainly be varied; however, I imagine the human situation will provide multiple common leadership experiences.

George Couros
Our Fearless Leader

As part of the program, I have several assignments. And, after taking care of the many steps in our first assignment, I must proclaim that I have already learned several things. And.....if you know me......LEARNING IS MY FAVORITE!

Yet, the most daunting part of my assignment is before me now. I am to write a BLOG entry on Why I Lead. Generally, self-reflection is easy for me and probably is why I was such a strong teacher. I spent most of my waking hours trying to revise and fine tune my practice so that my audience (students) were presented with the best lessons  and learning possible. This assignment stumped me--just a little. I have always struggled with the fact that leadership requires me to be in the forefront ALL the time. I have often preferred providing the structures for someone else to lead. I was always comfortable with being #2 or #3. So....when asked the question, why I lead, I had to have that internal deliberation about why I would pursue a career that puts me where I am sometimes uncomfortable.

Here are my conclusions:

1. I have a sharp and clear vision about what GREAT teaching and learning looks like. From the first day I entered the classroom, I had that "with-it-ness" that administrators look for in a new teacher. And within one year, I was seeking every professional development opportunity I could to improve and provide the best for my students. Within 5 years, I was courted by a curriculum resource technology team called the Beacon Learning Center. And at that point, I was then teaching veteran teachers how to wield the power of technology to increase engagement and productivity in the classroom. In addition, Beacon, from the beginning, took a hard-line stance on crafting the finest of lessons--using the backward design model and ONLY standards-driven units and lessons. All lessons went through a rigorous proving ground of peer feedback before being revealed to the public. So.....way back in the 90's I was able to develop a clear vision of what effective teaching is and what to do when the students don't learn....the spiraling of the curriculum. Well, even now, sometimes on a weekly basis I run into teachers (whether it be on the WEB or in real-time) who don't understand the link between CIA (Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment). So, I knew it would require someone to lead others to the power these structures provide for affecting student learning. I can help my talented co-workers work smarter not harder.  :O)

2. I am always on the first wave of all change and innovation. I sat in a workshop last week and heard an experienced teacher tell me the one thing she hates about education is that it is constantly changing. I was running a whole other paradigm through my brain while she said this. What if the physician's practice of 100 years ago had stayed the same and no innovation was allowed? What if our hospitals didn't change with the advances of modern medicine? Our teachers are amazing professionals, and embracing change should be a MUST! Just like a doctor who seeks the right combination of medicines and advancements to cure his patient's ills, we educators must grab and experiment with every change that comes along to see if it helps our students achieve their potential. I think this no-change mindset is one of the greatest obstacles in current educational practices. When our students walk in the door and know more about the computer or how to leverage social media for learning than we do, then it is like the patient knowing more than the doctor. So, I knew it would require someone to lead others to the magnificent capabilities of technology and its impact on student learning. I see fear in the eyes of lots of teachers, and I want to show them change is safe, and it is good, and it will make them and their students better.

3. I have a very strong sense of right and wrong. This is the hardest part of the leadership role. I want the best for our teachers, our students, and our families. So, when I see a professional who is harming our educational family, especially the students, vs. helping them, I take action. This allows me to be the best advocate for the folks I am paid to protect and nurture--my team and my students. A dear friend of mine who has similar proclivities once sent me a quote:  "I always wondered, why didn't somebody do something about that, and then I figured out that "somebody" was me." I was often frustrated as a teacher when I worked with administrators who didn't correct unethical situations swirling in the occasional classroom on our campus. For example, why didn't somebody address the teacher who punished her students with their grades OR the teacher who friended all of her students on FaceBook and partied with them. It was so taxing to come to work and do my very best and work tirelessly for every minute of classroom time while others did not. So, I knew it would require a strong someone to lead and to provide the best learning environments for the entire educational community. Sad but true, this trait sometimes makes for unpopular decisions. But, as my very wise friend also told me....if you want to be loved, "Buy a puppy!"

4. I want to be a servant leader. This is the greatest goal for me personally. I want to always be a respecter of persons, a gentle but firm boss, someone who honors every opinion, and someone who serves to make the lives of everyone I lead a better life. When I make mistakes, I often try to "own" them and ask forgiveness or at least understanding. I want to be a supporter of those who support kids. I want to support, especially, my team of friends who are out there walking the same walk as me--a difficult walk. I want to serve and make everything I touch better in some way. I follow lifestyles of men and women of character with scrutiny so that I can mirror their lives and attempt to gain their same level of effectiveness and impact. Because somewhere out there, it took someone to lead .......me.