We've got laptops, now what?

For a small school, we have it pretty good.  We have a decent computer lab, and a full laptop cart.  We have 2 SmartBoards, 3 document cameras and a few projectors.  Things are moving along.

I think that getting used to these tools is the first step.  But then what?  Integrating the technology into the instruction takes these devices and turns them into collaborative learning tools.  Here is a list of free things that can really make a difference in a classroom.

My Favourite Collaborative Tools for your Classroom

·         Wordle – wordle lets us make word clouds (see image above).  Following a brainstorming session, type all of the words into Wordle and you will get a word cloud that prioritizes words repeated more by making them bigger.  Try it yourself:  http://www.wordle.net.

·         Wikis – a wiki is a website where users can add, modify or delete content from multiple places at once.  I have used wikis to build family reunion food lists, to create meeting agendas, as a platform for book club discussions, and for my own research (Wikipedia.org).  Try a building a free wiki yourself at http://www.wikispaces.com.

·         Googledocs – is a free, web-based office suite and data storage service offered by Google that allows users to create and edit documents online in real time with other users.  Googledocs allows you to have two kids working on the same presentation, at the same time, from each of their individual home computers.  How’s that for collaboration?  https://docs.google.com.

·         Skype – allows you free audio and video calls over the Internet with other Skype users.  Last September, my daughter had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to New Zealand with her mom.  She has a pretty tech savvy teacher who agreed to work with me on connecting my daughter and New Zealand with her classroom back home.  At pre-arranged times during the trip, she would Skype the class and do a questions and answer period with them.  I had her use her iPod Touch for this, so when someone asked “Is it pretty in New Zealand?” she simply walked outside, flipped cameras and showed them.  Pretty neat, huh?  http://www.skype.com.

·         Content publishing tools (a.k.a. blogs) – Well, you are reading this, aren’t you?

Celebrating the Small

I had a conversation with a student today, and it was a challenging one.  And unfortunately, as events would have it, things conspired to ensure that it was a challenging one. 

But this time, I bucked the trend;  I was bound and determined to bring this conversation to a positive finish.  I even told the student that no matter which way the conversation went, that we would find a way to end it on a positive note.  I told the student that we would wrap up with a positive step forward.

In high school, someone told me that a kick in the butt was still a step forward.  They were right; however, I have found that it often takes a lot of thought and reflection (and help) to see that step—especially in a positive light.  It is about refining your moments instead of them define you.  Some people call this “flipping it”, taking something negative and flipping it into something good.  It’s a shift:  a very meaningful and planned shift in thinking, in acting and in being.

We did end on a positive note, albeit it a small one.  Getting upset was the easy way out;  it is too easy for a pair of people to get upset about something or about each other.  It is much more difficult—and much more rewarding—to work together to find a positive step to end on.  I chose to end with a positive step forward today because that gives us something better to start on the next time that we have a conversation.  It was definitely more work and took more energy, but we each left the conversation in a better place than we were during the events that led to it.  It can take a tonne of energy to find the small victories, but once you take the time to look you will be amazed at how often you do find them.

Sometimes, finding something small is the biggest thing that you can do.

Connecting with Kids

As I wade through  the pile of FSAs, DPA surveys, requests for performances at school, teacher evaluations, calls to return, funding requests, requests for funding, new students files and documents to be reviewed before adding into student files on my desk, it’s easy to feel up to my eyeballs in “stuff”.  I even have a lamentated picture of an alligator on my door that I can flip over for just such emergencies.  But, I digress...

It’s funny because as I sit here, cringing at a pile that is s l o w l y disappearing, feeling a bit empty and—I’ll say it—a little unfulfilled that my day hasn’t just jumped up and bit me the way I see a strong cup of Joe perk my wife into attention each morning.  And as I sit here, wondering if that is what is supposed to happen, I find myself smirking—in a reflective way—that the answers I am looking for aren’t just staring at me in the face, but they left my own mouth earlier today in a heart-to-heart with one of my students. 

“You are in charge of the kind of day that you will have”. 

It kind of echoes in my head.

“When you find yourself stuck in a rut, feeling negative and lost, you have the skills and ability to pull yourself up and make a difference for yourself.  I believe in you.”

I believe in me, too.

“You can be an agent of change for yourself”

That’s it!  I know what to do.

 “Put on your big boy pants, and get on with what is important...”

No, wait...that was Lisa’s voice.  Sorry.

I guess I have to take my own advice.  Now, I am not upset like my student, but I am starting to get into a rut today.  You know, the kind that you make with your boot in the snow when you drag the toe back and forth as you pretend to be giving your full attention to the person debriefing you about their day in  a way that just doesn’t seem aware enough about how you feel about how much you want to get skiing.  It’s just a little rut, and a swipe of the heel or a dusting of new powder will wash it all away.  The problem is not just the day dreaming, the wanting to do something else, to be in another moment.  The problem is that if you don’t perk yourself up, that if you don’t act as an agent of change for yourself, that this line in the snow will become a rut.

And, ruts become trip hazards.

The beauty of today is that I have 258 reasons to connect with.  258 eager little minds, all wanting to share something amazing from their day.  258 relationships that need stoking.

258 agents of change.

The connection to kids part of the job is, well, the most important part of the job.  Actually, it is the job.  Period.  Everything that we build here rests on the relationships that we have kindled, stoked and refuelled.  Everything.  The learning, our safety, our needs, our culture.  Everything.

So, I am out.  I am pushing aside this pile of "stuff" and heading to a some classrooms for some visits.  I will try to slide in and see what teachers are teaching and what students are learning.  I will see who is contributing to a great day, and who needs a little pick-me-up.  If it's anything like yesterday, I will hear about loose teeth, gingerbread men (and gingerbread cowboys), a mouse in a house, yesterday’s playdates and the excitement about the upcoming weekend.  I will have a laugh and try to share some laughs, and then when I come back to my office this afternoon, I will flip through that pile of “stuff” like it was nothing.

And I will go home feeling full.

98. Inspirational Improvement





98. Inspirational Improvement

Continuing on my list of my personal 100 Things of Awesomeness, is something that I call inspirational improvement which is, fortunately, something that I see quite regularly as a Principal.  It comes in all shapes and sizes, some of which are easy to see and some of which are far more subtle.  It’s the kind of stuff that fills your soul.

The easy ones: 

·         academic achievement

·         athletic championships

·         superb fine arts performances

The subtle ones: 

·         a student setting a goal and then meeting or exceeding it

·         a teacher tackling the challenge of a new teaching area or teaching style, then mastering it, and then sharing it with a colleague

·         an anxious student making a friend

·         passing a math test

·         a behaviourally challenged student having multiple “good days” in  a row

·         the best teacher/student/leader that you know putting in the blood, sweat and tears to improve something that they already do better than anyone else

·         public speaking for the first time

So here’s my thing:  no matter how great or seemingly small, as leaders we need to make a point of not only seeing these improvements but by acknowledging them in a meaningful way.  Sure, it’s easy to congratulate a provincial winning team or a prestigious scholarship winner, but sometimes—many times—those little victories, the math test, the public speaking and the appropriate-enough-to-arrange-a-play-date-with-a-new-friend type of conversations—are equally worthy of praise and recognition because often they require the same amount of pre-planning, effort, blood, sweat and tears as the biggies do.  Last year, the fact that a student actually TRIED his public speaking assignment was a huge victory.  Sure it was way too short, and yes he was nervous, but he wiped the sweat back—literally—announced his title in a clear voice and read his notes, something that was an impossible challenge a week earlier.

As a father, I also get to see inspirational improvement every day with my own kids.  Sometimes it’s academic, sometimes it’s emotional, sometimes it’s through kindness to others, and sometimes it’s just that they finally “get it”.  This weekend, however, it was all about the snow.  I have two young skiers and one young snowboarder in my family.  The oldest is 11 and the youngest is 3, so their learning curves are all very different.  It is quite a moment when a child moves from “pizza feet” to “French fries” over the course of an entire ski season, and then, in three days, can keep up with me, parallel skiing through trees and powder, at the start of this season.  The same is true for my little snowboarding shredder.  He spent the better part of three seasons grinding down the mountain on his back edge, regular and goofy-foot, before he finally started linking his turns.  Now?  His confidence is through the roof and he is willing—wanting—to try anything that I can throw at him on the hill.  The youngest?  Making it though an hour of getting bundled up, clipped into skis, sliding down the bunny hill and home to the hot tub without tears is improvement enough to be proud of.

Popping Our Bubble Filters

Those who know me know that I have been a very active participant and proponent of using technology in the classroom.  I have designed and taught multiple models of online learning in multiple subject areas, I have integrated digital technologies into my own classroom, and promoted digital technologies into my schools.  I have participated on the design teams and in pilot projects with electronic portfolios, tablets, lap top projects, synchronous and asynchronous lesson design, blended approaches to online learning and .  I am well read on educational technology philosophy.  I blog, I tweet, I text, I use Facebook, participate in online forums, and use a blog aggregator to accumulate the feeds that I want to read for me.  I have done this as teacher, as a learner and as an administrator.

In his TED Talk, Ali Pariser presents a very thought-provoking point of view into the way that electronic information is manipulated for us (and at us).  His pointed discussion on our filter bubbles was full of barbs for me that stuck, at first, but that were quickly pinched off.  I think that it is very easy to fear the Big Brother(s) out there as they customize the information accessible to us, and his “balanced information diet” is a clever way to remind us about those things that we learned in school from our teachers:  to research a topic and research it well from multiple sources, and then to sift through that information critically as we move through the process of forming our own opinions.  I loved his analogy of eating a balance of information vegetables and information dessert.

Below are some of my personal nuggets from Ali’s talk, followed by my own beliefs in italics:

·    What you click on first [on the Internet] drives your information diet. Instead of eating a healthy and balanced diet, you may only get served information junk food.  Teachers serve a balanced information diet, and—more importantly—they teach students how to prepare that balanced diet for themselves by helping them to grow into learners that can see when their diet is imbalanced.  It is so important to develop that sense of personal, self-reflection and regulation.

·    Who is our new curator of knowledge?  Teachers are trained, apprenticed and masterful curators of knowledge.  More importantly, they are versed in teaching people how to use that knowledge.

·    [We are living in a time when we are] passing of the torch from human gatekeepers to algorithmic ones.  These algorithms have no embedded ethics.  Teachers have embedded ethics.

·    Information cannot be keyed solely to relevance.  Well-rounded, credible opinions are always based on information that is important, uncomfortable, challenging to us and containing other points of view.  I just can’t see how a computer program can “understand” what is relevant and important, or if something is uncomfortable and challenging to our own points of view.  Isn’t that the beauty of debate, that it illicit, by nature, thorough discussion from multiple sources and from multiple points of view?

I embrace technology-embedded learning because it’s the right thing to do and because I believe that we have a moral obligation to teach children in the medium of their time.  Not to do so, in my opinion, should be considered malpractice.  That’s a strong word:  malpractice.  I do not use it lightly. Yet, I strongly believe that all of the wonderful gizmos and gadgets will never replace the organic warmth of a classroom teacher, that key cog who facilitates the puzzle.  If there is ever a point of view advocating for the role of the teacher in the classroom, this is it.  We need discussion, we need teachers, and we need the ability to think critically.  So far, I haven’t found an algorithm that gives me all of that.

Do I Even Dare?

Alright, it’s January 5^th and I have put off my first post of 2012 long enough.  Every time I start to put something down—no matter how intriguing or personally fulfilling it is—the evil and dreaded hint of another New Year’s resolution begins to creep in and take over.  I try, really try, to push those dreaded New Year’s resolutions away;  they just seem empty to me. 

To lose 15 pounds.

To exercise more.

To find better balance in life.

New Year’s resolutions, at least the ones my friends seem to make, seem like empty promises...wishes that they want but aren’t prepared to work for.  And, because of that, I tend to push them away.  I am simple that way. 

When I want to eat better, I do, and feel better.  When I want to sneak a treat, I do, and enjoy it without guilt.

When I need to exercise more, I do.  And I enjoy it.

But, maybe, I am missing something because I am finding myself really looking ahead this year.  I am feeling a real sense of optimism for 2012 and have one of those deep-in-my-gut feelings that 2012 is going to be a significant year for me.  My evidence:

I will be hitting an age milestone, for sure, and I that excites rather than scares me. 

I feel more in balance that I have before. 

I see myself spending the time to grow myself rather than the things around me.

So I think that I am ready to jump in, both feet pointed down, and make some “year commitments” for 2012 as follows:

·         I will live my life large by taking advantage of opportunities and experiences to make it fuller.  Big Bites continue!

·         I will keep my body and my brain active.

·         I will dig in and complete some of those things that I chronically put off, and instead of listing them I will use my gut and my procrastination alert to guide me as to what I need to get up off of my butt and do. 

·         And I won’t just stop to smell the roses, I will savour them.

There, I did it.

Sort of.