Posting to the Global Community

Why has this been so difficult for me? Millions of people have been posting videos of themselves on You Tube and making comments everywhere on the web, but for me, contributing to a conversation has been a goal for me.

Well, I started today with this question on TED Conversations: http://www.ted.com/conversations/499/what_is_or_will_be_the_change.html


What is or will be the change agent for the education system?

Trying to figure something out. 

The world has changed (Disrupting Class) and it is said that education should change as well. 

There are many people speaking to the topic, such as Dr. Ken Robinson and MindShift. 

There are innovative ideas that facilitate transformation as witnessed with the introduction of Facebook and the iPhone to the point that the past way of living will never be the same again.

There are people speaking to what needs to change (21st Century Skills Framework).

All you have to do is search "education" on TED or You Tube to listen.

States are attempting to cause change (such as take away collective bargaining of unions or implement performance pay) 

There are glimpses and pockets of new ideas that are a testament to change (The Third Teacher and Edutopia, The Horizon Report) that include design, game-based learning and mobile computing. 

However, I have not seen anything other than traditional means to get there. 

I've been thinking about an idea and I'd like to hear from the world about what they think will or could be the change agent for the educational system.

I am really looking forward to seeing if I get any responses...

The Dandelion and the idea

I woke up this morning with ideas spinning in my head. I had just answered a question about what I thought was the biggest issue in education for my class last night and for some reason, when I'm asked a question, my mind messes around with it throughout the night and I wake up thinking differently.

Now when I say new, I really mean" new to me" as I know most of these ideas have been around and have just now come to my attention. Plus who knows if someone around the world has had the same thought?

Hence - the dandelion metaphor. An idea is like the a dandelion ready to shed it's seeds to the wind and find a place to take root and grow. The Internet is like the wind that could spread that idea to all parts of the world. The question is like the first gust or the person who picks up the dandelion to blow the seeds into the wind.

So what's the idea, you ask?
It stems from one of the issues I think is holding education back from transforming - the report card. It's a classic symbol of the traditional framework.

The question? Now don't get me wrong, communicating achievement to parents is essential and a very integral piece of education, but can there be another way to do this?

So I got to thinking about information and how people get it these days. In today's world, information can be delivered right to you via RSS. So that's the first part of the equation.

Second, I got to thinking about how one produces information these days - wikis, blogs. And who produces this information? Anyone - including kids!

So my question - why can't there be a reporting system where students and teachers document their learning and then communicate this to parents - right when that learning happens!

Just think - you've just finished a meeting at work and are thinking about your child - you spent an hour studying for the science test the night before - you get a video text - it's your child letting you know that they passed their test and tells you a little bit more about how a green roofs are eco friendly. I'd love to hear more from my daughter than she had a good day at school today.

The gust? 1, 2, 3 - whoosh 
So if you know somebody who knows somebody who might want to take this idea a little further, please repost or send it to them  -  I'd like to meet that person one day and talk.

Staff Development on TV

I have spent the last 2 nights fascinated with watching the finales of reality shows - The Biggest Loser, Celebrity Apprentice (Yah! Bret), Dancing with the Stars, American Idol.

And there's such a strong common theme in all of these - transformation. We use this word in education all the time. "We need to transform this and transform that, transform our instruction, transform the classroom, transform learning."

What does it mean to transform? How do we know we are transforming?

So one of the pieces is change. Change implies a significant difference between before and after, right?

Does it mean that the after is better? That's still to be seen, but based on what I've seen so far, there is evidence that it might.

So what? There's a big difference between something that LOOKS different and something that IS different. What is that???

I think it's deeply personal, emotional and it only happens as a result of challenging oneself and going through, yes, through the struggle. It's not easy to get to a different place, but if we go there together, we can. And that's the second ingredient - having a someone to push you there. I'm not sure if push is the right word, but it's what Jillian does in The Biggest Loser. I can relate to her b/c there are teachers who are afraid they will fail at using technology - they compare themselves to a younger generation, even their students who are more adept at using technology, but what I see when a teacher goes through the struggle of taking that risk - to learn and grow, is amazing. They just need someone to tell them they can do it, hold up the expectation, and hold out a hand if they stumble or fall to help them back up.

Well, if education really does need to transform, then why aren't we looking to what's happening out there? It's right in front of us - we don't need a book, or a manual or a step-by-step guide to tell us how to transform! Sylvia Martinez stated at ISTE last year that the past 30 years of technology staff development has not worked. I think we can look to other sources in our world to receive and provide staff development. Why are we limiting ourselves to only educators when we have Stacy and Clinton and Jillian and Bob and so many others teaching others how to transform? If they can do it, so can we!

Who inspires you?

transformational models

I woke up today with a thought - over the past 4 years, I have been researching education transformational models and have tailored it to fit where we are at (Traditional, Transitional, Transformational - it's always changing and more in depth that this). There are noted benchmarks along the way that indicative in each phase.

The thing I thought about however, was that there isn't one for students. Maybe there isn't a need, but from my observation and work with students, some have been institutionalized to the point that they are quite comfortable with winning in the current system.

There needs to be a shift in thinking for students as well, we lead, they follow, they lead, we follow.

One of the indicators of transitional phase is that the teacher identifies him or herself as a learner within the context of the classroom. Do students really identify themselves as learners - where it's ok to make mistakes and then grow from them? or just receivers of information that they have to deliver back in the proper format?

What are the indicators that our students are moving from traditional learners to transformational learners?

What Not to Wear and How Do I Look?

Have you ever noticed how these shows take one person at a time and transform them in what? two days!

Is there something here that we can use in education? Is there a reason for their process? Why do they go from clothes, to hair to make-up in that order?

Here's what I notice -
1. A group of people recommend or encourage someone they care about who is in need of a makeover.

2. There are strong facilitators throughout the change process -Stacy and Clinton are direct, but supportive and dare I say, even funny!

3. How they go about the change process is basically the same, but tailored for each person. In one episode I saw of How Do I Look?, Jeannie placed the person in an experience to help the person understand how others perceived her and the light bulb went off! Simply telling the woman did not work! Seeing examples did not work! It is deeper.

I have seen value in being engaged in an experience to offer insight into the internal change process. I have heard teachers say they are afraid of technology, so does designing an experience to help them face that fear have value? I think so. I tried this and boy did they get angry! Were there tears? You bet! Some even got sick, but I have never had more respect for a group of people than these teachers who bravely went forth with learning technology because they truly cared about their students. That is what I call commitment!

What I noticed afterward was growth in confidence. The teachers were able to get past the fear and knew that they could face challenges that technology brought - and we know there are many. The cool thing about it was they kept moving forward - at their own pace. It stuck.

If you look at the shows, the transformation sticks, too.

What I am wondering about is how this connects to staff development. If Stacy, Clinton and Jeannie are able to transform a person's point of view in 3 days, why can't we?

National Letting Go of Stuff Day

Did you know that today is National Letting Go of Stuff Day? My teammates designed a really fun way to start "letting go" of the past. Each teacher found an item in their classroom that they really didn't need, wrapped it up as a present and then at a staff meeting, we exchanged gifts! It was hysterical to see what we've been holding on to. What's brilliant about this though is in the design. We hold onto things because there is usually an emotional attachment. Once we gave it away, the other person hasn't built that emotional attachment and therefore had no problem getting rid of this item from the past which we did. We then gave away all of the gifts and they either went to our rummage sale coming up or got thrown away.

Come to think of it just now - I didn't even think twice about missing my old stencils that I used to use to make bulletin boards : )

Does letting go of things from the past open up minds to letting new thoughts about education in?