Isolation Is the Enemy of Innovation #SAVMP 2.6

Isolation Is the Enemy of Innovation -- #SAVMP 2.6

     Change continues to wipe out existing paradigms in education. Teachers of today have a job that looks VERY different from teaching just 5 years ago. With the advent of data-driven instruction, technology integration, and ever-increasing accountability, teachers are living in a “brave new world.”

     With all of these incredible responsibilities added to an already time-intensive career, the need for teachers to collaborate is stronger than ever! So let’s take a trip back in time when I was a beginning teacher. 20 years ago (yes, I am a D-I-N-O-S-A-U-R), I started teaching. I had a mentor on campus who met with me about once a month. I was a fairly strong new teacher, so we just met after school when we could both find the time. After that year, I continued to fly on my own, and there was no more mentoring. It was part of our district’s plan at that time to provide new teachers a mentor during their first year. Then, each year afterwards, I would have a department chair who guided me and all department members in important calendar events, lesson planning protocols, and other school priorities.

     Fast forward to the future. Teachers now have virtual mentors available to them at a mere click of the mouse or a swipe of the touch screen! There are personal learning networks on Twitter, tutorial videos on how to teach anything on YouTube, and ideas on how to teach anything and everything with access to Pinterest, BLOGs, and many other vast resources on the Web.

     What used to be an isolated profession is now a connected profession. For example, in our district, we have moved to Professional Learning Communities as an amazing impetus for collaboration. It has improved our practices at both the school and the district level.

     Collaboration is also increasing via the Internet. The quickest and most dynamic way we have moved to transform the culture of isolation is by using Twitter at our school.  We are seeing the contagion of innovative practices occurring through the unique and dynamic Twitter window.

     Here are just a few benefits of our use of Twitter @MCherryStreet. We have many teachers tweeting just about daily, and all but a handful of members of our instructional faculty are leveraging Twitter power.

BENEFITS:

1.       Personal Learning Networks

My personal learning network has been the source of about 80% of all learning that occurs in my professional development arena. In the past 6 months, several of our district employees have joined Twitter, and now we are using Twitter to provide a World Wide and a Local Personal Learning Network. Here is a recent Tweet that contains one of my TouchCasts that allowed three administrators to collaborate together. This is sooo exciting!

2.      Excitement by Students

One of our #RockStar teachers, that I will refer to in the rest of this BLOG as Nikki, gets her students all excited about Tweets and the Retweets they have earned by national companies. She recently Tweeted about her students winning the grade level First in Math competition at our school. Her class Tweet was then Retweeted by the company, First in Math. Her kids were so excited, and they feel like they have voice!

3.      Transparency of Practices

Teachers are learning from each other and from others across the globe. We recently had a district Technology Exposition where our teachers learned several new apps. and programs that have caught on like “wild fire”. Several of our teachers are now using Go Noodle. Nikki, tweeted about it, and others all over campus can now see how one teacher could use this program--great ideas spread quickly. This is grass roots professional development from one teacher’s voice to another teacher’s view.

Take a look at these few Tweets where Nikki  credits another teacher on her grade level. These two teachers collaborate frequently! Teacher Kim is @CherryCheetah64.

4.      Classroom Walk-Thrus ~ The Window into a Teacher’s Practices

As an administrator, it is always difficult to get into teacher’s classrooms with the mounting paperwork responsibilities that accompany more and more federal and state accountability. Further, the immediate needs of students in crisis will throw my schedule out the window quicker than anything else. With that being said, Twitter has allowed me to see, sometimes on a daily basis, a snapshot of lessons occurring in the classroom. For my teachers who Tweet regularly, I can without a doubt­ vouch for the practices of that teacher because they provide documentary evidence EVERY SINGLE DAY about what occurs in their classroom. I have virtual CWT’s happening at my school. I feel empowered, but imagine how confident a parent will feel about the practices of this teacher! Twitter has been a tool for positive press for the teacher and the school! I, as the Principal, have access to our school’s FaceBook page, and I have begun cross-posting Tweets to our FaceBook page which gives the teacher twice the impact for those families who don’t have access to both—more bang for the buck!

      

5.      Ed Chats  -- Sharing Practices about Specific Strategies

Our school recently participated in 2 different Ed Chats. We modified the format a smidge by having them last all day so that any teacher could post to the Twitter feed during their planning session. This extended the Ed Chat to an 8 hour window, but the information we gleaned was priceless. Our topics were PBIS strategies shared by all faculty and the integration of technology. The PBIS chat was a positive way for teachers to share their successful strategies with each other while not interrupting their school day. This was organic professional development at its best. The technology integration Ed Chat provided my Technology Team with the diagnostic feedback they needed to help them organize and run a faculty meeting/professional development session focused on integrating the latest technologies. I created a Storify of that very first Ed Chat in a previous BLOG entry: Spreading the EdTech Virus.

Here is a Tweet where Nikki uses the #PBS hash tag to identify this Tweet is specifically about our school's #PBS initiatives.

And, here is a Tweet that shows how much Nikki is loving using Twitter to learn from her colleagues:

     And, just to praise the power of #TwitterTeachers, I observed a tweet from #RockStar Nikki while I was typing this BLOG Entry—she is frequently leveraging the power of Twitter to impact not only her classroom community but also the educational community at large (with Twitter that is a.k.a. THE GLOBE)! To emphasize my points here, I was away from the school today, and I could see—with a visual—what this amazing teacher was working on right then--when the learning occurred!

     Nikki is an educator who has shifted the “norm” of her classroom culture by using social media spaces to connect and learn from educators all over the world. To quote Amber Teamann @8Amber8 who provoked this BLOG entry via the #SAVMP project (I believe she was quoting my hero, @GeorgeCouros,) “Isolation is now a choice educators make.”  The shift really has to happen for educators. Using tools like Twitter allows for educators to connect and share learning that is happening with educators in their own school and with any other school abroad. We need to make this happen, weave this magic for our profession, and continue to create transparency in our own classrooms.

     If you want to follow one of these amazing teachers check out my list on Twitter titled: #Cherry Street Rock Stars. And....Tweet on my friends, Tweet on!

Teacher Leaders - The Wind Beneath My Wings #SAVMP 2:5

So today I am going to talk about MY classroom! Yes, the school and its teachers are MY classroom, and just like a classroom teacher, I get jazzed when my students (my awesome team of teachers) take risks and grow and demonstrate mastery of their learning. 

I have one teacher who took the teacher leadership challenge, and she is helping others grow as well. Since it is appraisal season, I was having one of those sit-down conversations with a strong teacher at our school. I was discussing the topic of teacher leadership with her. I shared that I wanted her to take on more leadership roles. Because she is a quality teacher, she was not afraid to raise questions with me. She shared that she felt she had missed the opportunity to lead in formal ways because grade chairs, school improvement team positions, and other formal leadership roles were already distributed. That is when we got down to some "real talk." I shared with her that my vision for the school was of a collaborative work force, and that I wanted to see leadership formally and informally. SHE WANTED TO KNOW MORE. I explained that teacher leadership should be exhibited by all teachers who have something to offer others. I wanted her to take on leadership roles that were beyond the status quo. I wanted her to be a "go-to" girl for new teachers, for her colleagues, and someone who positively impacts our campus for the greater good of our students. I began to see a gleam in her eyes. This was a paradigm shift for her, but it was one she quickly adopted. Sitting in the chair in front of me and my assistant principal,  she paused for a few seconds, and then she said, "Can you give me some examples?" I was amused by her enthusiasm and energy. I shared that there were a group of new teachers on campus who needed some help with their action research plans. I shared that we needed to be able to assist some of the new teachers with getting activated on Twitter since we were coming up on our second school #EdChat (#CherryElem). She said, "Okay, I will do that." Well, she wasn't kidding. She was SERIOUS and she meant BUSINESS! She walked out of my office, and went directly to the new teachers and asked them how she could help. She called me about an hour later, as it was getting dark on campus, and she said, "Hey, I am helping this new teacher and we have a question about the action research plan requirements." I got a huge smile on my face, and I was speechless! We talked through how to support that teacher. Then, the very next day, she got one of the new teachers on Twitter which is the picture you see above. 

Staff empowerment is such an important gift for our teachers. Teachers should not have to wait for a CEO type Principal to hand down decisions from above. Teachers should be empowered to come up with creative and innovative solutions on their own with collaborative input and monitoring by administration.

This teacher, Tiffany, was empowered, and she used her empowerment to empower others. Her excitement for the opportunity to lead others inspires me and my assistant principal. She has recently helped host our second school Twitter chat, and her leadership example stirs the excellence in others. Just since this school year started, we have seen all but 3 of our faculty members join Twitter. It has become a #BragTag fest where the teachers share the awesomeness of their classrooms. It has become a school-level PLN where we share and learn from each other's practices. AND, it has become an encouragement network for supporting each other's efforts to be #RockStarTeachers.  This same teacher, Tiffany, spontaneously got us all involved in a #TweetMob celebrating #EdJoy a couple of weeks ago. 

I have many others like her on my campus. She, and other teachers like her... are the wind beneath my wings.... 

#FETC Spreading the #EdTech Virus

Well, this year's FETC Conference was another amazing experience. I was exceptionally lucky to add to the richness of the experience this year by bringing three teacher leaders with me. Three of my Cherry Street teachers joined me in Orlando for FETC 2015, and I do believe they came back with the #EdTech Virus!

Valerie, Stefanie, Me, and Tiffany (all pictured here) got our #FETC Mojo going and have been on fire since our return. I am sure that each of these ladies could write their own BLOG entry on the amazing ed. tech. they have been integrating in their classrooms since their return. I hear wonderful stories about their use of Plickers: https://www.plickers.com/ and Kahoot: https://getkahoot.com/ as well as many others. 

Some of the sessions I attended this year were:

• TechShare Live
• Advanced Twitter Tips and Tools
• Give a Kindergartner an Ipad
• Kathy Schrock's Telling the Story
• Augmented Reality and Mind Blowing Student Engagement
• Neurological Benefits of Gaming
• Advanced YouTube

...and as always each of the keynote speakers was fabulous. 

The hottest topics in Ed. Tech. are, of course, the gamification of learning and the maker movements. I, personally, get excited by all the augmented reality that is out there on the market. There were several augmented reality demonstrations I attended, and the Elements 4D app from DAQRI was crazy amazing: Elements

The elements from the periodic table are in wooden blocks. But when you use the app. via your tablet or SmartPhone, it turns the blocks into three dimensional cubes that contain the elements being represented. It is difficult to even describe this sort of technology, but the crowd was "oooo"ing and "awwww"ing constantly. A cube containing oxygen and a cube containing hydrogen, when paired together, became a cube containing water!

Here is a tweet from Tiffany during one of the keynote speaker addresses that shows 3D printing and several augmented reality examples. 

Here is a tweet from Stefanie during one of the sessions she attended.

Part of the greatness of attending the conference is not only what you learn while you are there but also the fun you have trying out the programs you learn about once you get home! I started using TweetDeck at the conference, and I was able to use it during our Inaugural #EdChat at Cherry Street this month. With TweetDeck, you can monitor multiple timelines, topics, lists and accounts. I love it! The multi-tasking fool that I am has three different Twitter accounts. It can get overwhelming without these amazing tools: TweetDeck

AND, most exciting of all, my three teacher leaders hosted our very first #CherryElem #EdChat. We followed the lead of one of my favorite BLOGsters, Amber Teamann, and her suggestion to modify the parameters of a regular Twitter Chat by allowing for 24 hour posting so folks can see the process and get initiated slowly. Here is that BLOG entry: Technically Teamann

I got to use another super cool program, Storify, at https://storify.com/, when we finished the #EdChat. I posted a summary of our #EdChat here: Storify.com/Enrjtk_Educatr/first-twitter-edchat-for-cherry-street-elementary

Lastly, I appreciate the comradery and the fun that I was able to have with my awesome team in Orlando. We created some great memories! I have been attending FETC off and on for twenty years. I have seen Jim Lovell from Apollo 13 and the lauded science fiction author, Ray Bradbury. FETC is the best!

Starting the New Year with Gratitude

     I was recently reading about a couple’s trip to Ghana. The story goes like this…”The couple shared a story about a smart three year old child—taking a soapy bath in a bucket outdoors in a nice rain. She looked at the camera and grinned, laughing about the wonderful little bath she was getting due to the rain. On her face was a confident look of blessed joy. Her humble village had only one deep well. ‘Children walked for miles every day to bring back their family’s water.’ So when the skies opened and poured down rain ‘everybody grabbed buckets and bowls, catching the water.’ Then on cue, the little girl’s mother handed her soap and a towel,” and the child tore off her clothes, scrambled into a bucket, and before you knew it, she was soapy from head to toe.” And…she was laughing about it all.” She didn't even have plumbing, but she had joy!

     As I thought about this story, I reflected on my toasty, warm showers in my own home. I thought about my comfortable bed and my refrigerator that contains all my favorite tasty treats. I was reminded of my precious family and all the amazing gifts that we have and should be grateful for—but often, we forget how much others suffer or how much we REALLY ARE blessed.

     Then, when I was on Twitter this weekend, I came across this Tweet (see below). I liked the Tweet so much that I retweeted it, and then a local reading coach and another principal retweeted my Tweet. This really brought it home to me …the thought of how much of a blessing we are to our students. We are often the only smiling face a child sees, and some of them prefer our classroom to their homes. Please remember, as we begin this school year anew in 2014-- remember that you make the difference for our students. Love them, listen to them, and equip them with the skills they need to create a safe and successful future. Ask them about something they did over the break. Build those relationships. They will love you for it!

                

Who Is in Your PLN?

Unless you are a technology junkie like me, I think this title probably has some folks scratching their heads. What IS a PLN? A PLN is your Personal Learning Network.

Ask yourself where you would go to learn? A decade ago, your answer would have been the “library” or possibly “a college class” or “buy a book like Paddleboarding for Dummies,” etc. Well, with the internet, we can easily Get Connected  and learn from all of our contacts across the globe. For example, I rely on Twitter, ITunes University, Blogs, Wikis, YouTube, Skype, Facebook, various online news networks, and many, many more connections to do my learning.

Your Personal Learning Network should consist of * n. – the entire collection of people with whom you engage and exchange information, usually online. The usually online part is the best, because you can be a passive learner -- just watching others. I read several BLOGs during the week from other Principals, and EVERY week I learn something new or get a great idea. I also subscribe to several YouTube Channels such as TED Ed and khanacademy. AND, I also have my own YouTube Channel where I post all of my favorite videos so that I can pull them up easily for professional development with our school faculty and staff – any time and any place.

Here is a perfect example of how the PLN works:

I was searching Twitter for info. about first year principals. I located someone I follow, and she had a book recommendation. So, I clicked over to Amazon and ordered the book. I tweeted that I had ordered the book, and the book’s author (sitting out there somewhere in the twittersphere) tweeted me a “thanks” for purchasing his book. Wow. That was waaaay cool!

Another time, I had prepared a presentation for our LOL Academy (leadership academy hosted by our district HR director, Sharon Michalik). I used EdCanvas to host and present my presentation. Sure enough, EdCanvas began tweeting about my presentation, and then other people who followed EdCanvas were able to look at my technology leadership tips, passively and online. It is sooo risk-free. I love my PLN.

But, I can’t forget the face-to-face elements of PLN!  I have several people with whom I engage and exchange information. I have mentioned in a previous BLOG entry the one group I refer to as Team Willis. I rely on these fellow principals to explore good ideas, dump bad ones, to master current educational research and to simply feel the empathy of the challenges we all face. The pictures here are of us digging into the current research on feedback--notice the books strewn all over the restaurant table. I truly appreciate Denise, Glenda, Susan, and Lendy.

Who is in your PLN?

* Definition credited to: onceateacher.wordpress.com/