#IMMOOC #InnovatorsMindset Round 2

As I sat down to start re-reading, not only was I drawn in and immersed in the text, but I was reflecting back to my thoughts the first time based on my highlighting and sticky notes throughout. I remember now how inspired I was the first time. I remember the ideas running rampant through my mind. I was not just thinking about being personally inspired, but I was coming up with a thousand and one ways to spread the word and inspire my colleagues.

If you have not seen the video on YouTube "An Open Letter to Educators" by Dan Brown (no, not the author) you really should take the time and watch. I had seen it before I read the book, and have re-watched multiple times since.

"Most societal entities are reinventing themselves to prepare for this revolution ......but what has education done to reinvent itself, in my experience, nothing." (Dan Brown) This is a powerful statement, from an individual who was in direct proportion of how education was happening.  Yes, this video was made 6 years. Yes, you can say he was attending a mid-western university, and you might say we're not as up to date with new things. Or you might write him off as being a person with so much intelligence, that no university would be able to challenge him, he's a prodigy that will only learn best on his own. What ever you want to say, to disagree with him, it would be just an excuse.

I watched this video again (a few times) before writing this blog. What I found profound is not what was said or how he said it, but that today, six years from when he made it, schools are finally starting to look differently at education and what is being expected of students (at least in my district). 6 long years, and we're just getting started. No longer are we being questioned or observed on how much our students can regurgitate when directed, but instead what critical thinking skills are students being asked to use, collaboration with classmates, connecting with people outside of the classroom, school district, even the city or county we live in. These are the life skills needed to survive after it's not longer prudent for Mom to make your meals everyday and Dad to service your vehicle and help you change a tire.

Being of an innovative mindset means we as educators are finding and developing new ways to challenge our students way of learning. We need to take them out of their comfort zone, because the "real life" will, and from my own experience more times than I would like to admit. Students are going to learn in ways their parents never did, so we will have the task of educating parents and defending what we are trying to teach their child, that we have, and always have had, the best interest of the student at the fore-front of all we do. Administration, school boards, community members, they will all need an education of their own that schools today are not the schools they attended. My youngest daughter has only been out of high school four years, and it's not even the school she attended. And my guess is after the next five years it will look entirely different again.

What resonated with me most from the introduction (and probably what pulled me in and got me brainstorming) was this quote:

Many teachers are bored with the profession because they know there is a lot more to learning than what schools offer today., These teachers want to be innovative, but, instead of connecting and learning from others around the world, let alone with colleagues in their own schools, they spend their time in staff meetings that often seem irrelevant to the heart of teaching. They are constantly told that if they want to be innovative, they are going to have to find time to do it. 

 As leaders, if we ask teachers to use their own time to do anything, what we're really telling them is: it's not important.

This screamed to me. I knew how we continued to encourage staff to be innovative was going to have to change if we were really going to make a difference.

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!

Remembering.....

We're one week into school. It's Sunday afternoon, it's a beautiful fall day outside. And as you can read, I'm on my computer, in my basement, looking out at the beautiful day, taking a break from my school prep work to write this blog.  I should have my school work done by now, but I keep getting distracted. It started last night already. I was flipping through the channels and came across a special on the History Channel, 15 Septembers Later.

It's been 15 years since that horrible day. People always ask "Do you remember where you were?" I can, just like it was yesterday. I was working at Eden Prairie High School that year, I was walking through the office/lounge area for some reason I do not remember. The television was on and a few people were watching it. I glanced at it, did not pay much attention because I thought it was some video they had popped in and were previewing for a class. When I came back through after running my errand, I stopped behind the already mesmerized staff, and watched, for just a moment I thought, I'd see what they were so engrossed in. And then I watched some more, and a little more, and then I heard the news anchor begin to report, and not for the first time that morning, or the last, that apparently a plane had flown into one of the twin towers.

At that point no one knew anything, it was an aviation accident, terrorists were not a consideration. I became mesmerized, frozen. I can only assume this is what it's like when someone sees an accident, you can't look away. I stood there, probably with my mouth open, just watching and listening. Then suddenly, as they are showing live feed of the towers, the second plane crashed into the other tower. Unbelievable, it's the only word I have.

For days and weeks after that, everything centered around the events of that day. Now 15 years later,  I can still watch those videos, mesmerized, mouth open, and I can't look away. And as I watched 15 Septembers Later, and listed to first hand accounts from that day, and the days after, I am taken back in time. My heart hurts for the families that lost loved ones that day. I am amazed by the strength of those that agreed to share their first hand account of that day. I am humbled by the acts of heroism that occurred.

So why do I feel compelled to write about this? As I said at the beginning of this post, I should be working on my school work, but all I can think of is this horrific event, that changed our world, occurred before many of my students were born, or they were at an age they do not have a memory of  these events. They do not remember life before we were so viciously attacked. How do they honor those that lost their lives on this day? Or a better question, what can I do in my Business classes to honor this day and help students remember?

Another First

It's another first day of school! Everyone is scrambling to make sure their rooms are ready, seating charts done, posters on the walls, smiles turned on and excitement turned up! Just like the kids we all pull out our new 1st day of school outfits! I love checking Facebook on these days to see all the obligatory 1st day of school posts.

As I reflect back on the tech trainings we did this summer, I'm excited for the year. I work with some amazing people that gave up their summer time to come in and do their technology training. They are genuinely invested in using their classroom devices, they want to integrate tech plans into their curriculum, and they are willing to ask questions if they don't understand something (that's key right?).

After one particular day of training, I reflected on all the pieces of technology we use in our building. Are we overwhelming our staff, particularly the new ones? I thought a long time about this, but when I visited various staff members and inquired what they were doing the first week of classes, my concerns were washed away. I work with some amazing people!! (Have I said that already?) Start the kindling and they will fuel the fire!

No one understands the life of a teacher except a teacher. The preparation we do, the free time we give up, the money we spend out of our own pockets. We have chosen this profession, and on these first days, when everyone is excited to be back and there is anticipation for the new year, we get the best reminder of why. So to those amazing people I work with, Happy 1st Day! Make this year great!

Too Many Calendars!

In our district we have two email accounts, one through Outlook and one through GAFE. Having used both for a number of years now, I can honestly say I love both and I hate both! Like everything, there is good and bad. And I can choose to use one primarily, and forward the other, which I do, BUT, the calendars are not so easy to combine. I used to be able to sync them, but those days are over.

I have a personal gmail account and I have that calendar shared with my GAFE calendars, but it's those pesky Outlook appointments that get me. And in our district, some things just come through Outlook, I can't help it. But I do think I have find a work around for it.

If I have an event for the calendar, I usually start in my Outlook and create the event (because most of our Administration use Outlook I try to start there and include them as needed):

 

I enter all the pertinent information, then I invite people and (here's where I get it to my GAFE calendar) I invite myself, using my GAFE email address! When I go there to accept, it's now on my google calendar (and on my personal one because I have them shared) and in my Outlook because that's where I started!!

Might be a little extra work, but it's an easy fix to get my calendars to (well sort of) "sync". Try it out, see if it's for you. Or if anyone has any other ideas, help me out, let me know!!

Is a picture really worth a thousand words?

The idiom "A picture is worth a thousand words" refers to the notion that a complex idea can be conveyed with just a single still image, or that an image of a subject conveys its meaning/essence more effectively than a description does. (https://goo.gl/Mz63a4) In education pictures can be a useful tool, easily interpreted and understood. But sometimes a student needs more.

Whenever I know I have to be gone from class, I put together my sub notes and try to make sure my students have the knowledge and learning necessary to conduct a productive class hour in my absence. But even the best plans don't go accordingly. 

My go to for leaving detailed instructions (for my students) has been SoundCloud.  There are audio clips there I use in my classes, but even better I can create an audio clip and put the link in my class LMS. Using this I leave my class detailed instructions in a 3-5 minute audio clip, and they are more likely to listen to this then read a lengthy document with the same information.

At this time, I am still about the free stuff, so I am using that version of SoundCloud, but if I were ready to move to a blended or flipped learning environment, I could update to a paid version. So if you are looking for avenues to change the environment of your classroom (whether you're absent or not) I would recommend trying SoundCloud. 

How about this challenge: Create your free account and record 2 or 3 small instructions for an activity in your classroom. Divide the class in half, provide one half with the audio clips, the other with the same instructions in a written format, and let them work and compare the two. Could you see significant differences in the finished work? Which group had more questions throughout the process? Did one group finish quicker than the other? Which group appeared more engaged? 

I'm not advocating for students to NEVER have to read and interpret instructions, but if you know you'll be gone, and want to have things go in a particular direction, this might be the way to do it!

Happy Recording!

Google Tone w/ Mr. Segar

For those of you that have seen or used Google Tone, you already know how great this is! But if you haven't check out these videos. I introduced this to Todd Segar, one of the science teachers in my building, and all around test dummie for any new technology I can find. (Seriously, I find something, throw it at him, and he tries it out, he's the best!)

So he set up a sharing opportunity in his course and invited me to come in and take some videos.  In the first clip, Todd, is giving a short explanation of the lesson and sending the Tone to the students to get the document. If you catch it, he says he needs to make sure he has his speakers on because Tone is based on sound.

 

As long as the class is all logged in when Todd sends the tone out, they get information instantly. As he works to get the lesson started, he encourages students to share with each other using Tone, another collaborative use of the extension. In the clip below, if you look closely at the student's screen, in the bottom right is a message to let them know the shared item is being received through Tone and they can click on it to open.

The lesson begins and all students have the same information. Students worked for about half the class period following Todd's instructions, and then they need some feedback. Are they on the right track, answering questions correctly, etc. So what next? Use Tone again to share the correct data.

This procedure allowed for practice, collaboration, assessment, & feedback.