Starting the #IMMOOC Adventure

I first read The Innovator's Mindset last January. I used a time during my school day where I covered the Media Center for our specialist while she took her lunch break to do my reading. It felt an appropriate time to read. It was quiet, I could get engrossed in the book, and many of my coworkers would come through during their lunch time and when they saw me highlighting and making notes it prompted conversations where I could share my learning.

I was encouraged by one particular coworker to lead a book study for our staff. At the time I didn't think I could fit it in along with my other responsibilities and book studies I was already a part of. So when this opportunity came about, I knew this was where I could invite our staff to become part of the group and we could have discussion daily along with the online book study.

Why in "innovation" so crucial in education? 

What impact do you see it having on our students and ourselves long term?

I don't see innovation as an extra in education any more. It's easy to say technology is innovative, but innovation does not center around technology. I think being innovative is doing something outside of traditional education that sparks learning in students and encourages them to learn beyond traditional methods. Traditional education, where the teacher has the knowledge and "instructs" the students, does not exist anymore. Teachers are facilitators. I am a facilitator. I need to be comfortable handing the reigns of learning over to my students. And I have to be comfortable learning from my students (which I completely am).

I think it's more important for me to teach my students how to learn and where to go to find answers, then to prepare everything and feed it to them. Learning of any kind is available 24/7 to anyone who wants to go find it, and from resources far more knowledgeable then I am. I teach a Personal Finance class. I'm comfortable with the insurance portion of the class because I worked in the insurance industry for a number of years before I went into education. I have prior knowledge, and I can usually answer most questions. But do I know everything? Absolutely not. So to do my job to the best of my ability, I will help my class learn how to find the best answers, what questions they should ask, and where to do to find their answers. This is a life skill, long term.

But I know I am only scratching the surface of innovation. I'm excited to read the book again and have discussions with more people about #IMMOOC and continue to share with my colleagues. I work with some amazing people, who I feel are doing amazing innovations in their classrooms. I'm going to bring them all along on this journey with me!