Changing in Secret? Module 2 Part 1

The "Six Secrets of Change"... well to begin with I grew up in the Presbyterian church and if you ask a Presbyterian... How many Presbyterians does it take to change a light bulb? they'll look at you... cringe and reply, ")))))CHHHHAAAANNNNGGGGGE((((((" Humor  not good humor, but it does paint a certain picture (not about Presbyterians, but most all people). In a world that is constantly changing it astounds me that the individuals (educators: which includes administrators)  that should be changing the most are the ones that seem to be cemented in from their roots to their knees. Instead of embracing changes and paving the way for how those changes affect and have an effect on their classrooms and students; they let the change pass them by leaving them ineffective and irrelevant. Yet all hope is not lost because the wondrous thing about change is you can always choose to change and catch-up. The author talks about Fullen's, "Six Secrets to Change" as a way revitalize the school environment and start rebuilding student achievement. The two changes that speak to me the most are: "Secret #1: Love Your Employees" and "Secret #2: Connect Peers With Purpose." I think the reasons I like these two most is that both speak to supporting and empowering employees (educators) to make decisions and set attainable goals, while also challenging them to take risks and try new technologies to reach those goals. I know that I can be much more supportive to the overall mission and goals of the school and learning community when my input is Not only wanted, but asked for and valued. I doubt that I'm the only educator that feels that way. Educators that have the support of their administrators and administrators that have the support of their staff build a strong community of learners where student achievement has the potential to flourish. Knowing that being and doing better requires a great deal of effort and learning on everybody's part. I recall the words of an admired past Principal I worked with while serving on the LSIC..."Never let it rest until your good is better and your better is BEST!" it was painted on the lunchroom wall where he did lunch duty everyday (2 lunches 300 students per lunch) spending quality time talking to students and giving his staff time to have purposeful interactions while eating their lunch. He knew how to "love" his staff and they loved him for it, but the students were the ones that benefited the most... that's where true success is measured.

Module 1 Blog Posting

What is your general definition of teacher leadership?

My general definition of teacher leadership is being effective in a variety of roles. I think that teachers that exhibit great leadership skills work well with other professionals within their school, work well with (and understand) their students, and work well with administrative staff. I also think these leaders are well liked and respected by other teachers, staff members, and students. 

 What examples of teacher leadership have you observed or experienced?

Examples of teacher leadership that I have experienced personally are creation of committees within the school to ensure that operations are going smoothly. I also have two new administrators this school year; I have witnessed them being fair and equitable to not only the students but to staff at our school. They have both asked for staff and student opinions and have been willing to consider these opinions based on what is best for our school and our immediate student and working populations. 

How is leadership for meaningful technology integration different from other kinds of leadership?

I think meaningful technology integration is different regarding leadership due to other parameters that must be crossed. These include funding sources, acceptable use policies, etc, etc. It is frustrating to try and utilize technology within the school setting due to all of the limits that are placed on technology within public schools. Example: If I want to school a youtube video to my class I must first log into a website and access the video. Prior to 2014 videos had to be approved by someone within the state department prior to showing them to students in the classroom. This limited 'on the spot' teachable moments. 

 From your perspective, what are the benefits and the challenges of teacher leadership for technology (for teachers, for students, for schools, for the profession)?  

Benefits of teacher leadership re: technology; safety within the school. Due to blocking limits; students aren't getting on social media sites that could potentially cause trouble within the school. 
Challenges re: technology: Blocking; some schools in other states as well as the WV Department of Education have social media sites. These cannot be accessed at school for information. Another big challenge are limits to 21st century tools. For instance, at my school, we have no cell coverage but the staff expressed an interest in allowing our students to utilize their personal devices as tools in the classroom (GPS, calculator, etc). We received permission from our administration to do so but received an almost immediate email response from the central office listing why these was a "bad idea" due to excess use of bandwith on the servers, etc. 

Brandon Haggerty: Module 1

“Digital learners prefer to access information quickly from multiple-media sources, but many educators prefer slow and controlled release of information from limited sources.”

Learners in this day and age are accustomed to getting the information they want instantly. But it is also important that teachers continue to insure that students are given information in a controlled way. This problem can be taken care of by educators reevaluating the speed at which they deliver information to students.

“Digital learners prefer learning that is relevant, active, instantly useful, and fun, but many educators feel compelled to teach memorization of the content in the curriculum guide.”

Here again it is important for educators to teach students what the curriculum dictates, but in ways that are relatable and relative to their lives.

“The principal must provide appropriate professional development time and resources to support effective classroom implementation of technology.”

One of the biggest challenges that digital media in the classroom has is the reluctance of teachers to use technology. It is important that school leaders give all teachers a certain amount of professional development time in order to familiarize themselves with new forms of technology and digital media.  

“The principal must be an active and public champion for all students, staff members, and the school of implementing a vision of fully integrating learning technology for the second decade of the twenty-first century.”

School leaders must take an active role with digital media in the school. Not only to help students with learning and teachers with teaching, but also with the principal with connecting better with the faculty and the students in order to run a more productive and creative learning environment. 

Module 1 Part #2 Chapter Questions

Characteristics of today's learners, as defined in the billets on page 15, seem very different than the learners of yesteryear, but are they really? The points early on in Chapter 2 talk about the educational system of the nineteenth century which was designed for assimilation into the workforce (which was changing at a much slower place than that of today). Which when you really begin the assess the agrarian society we used to be (which influenced and still influences the school term calendar) where 50% of the people worked in Ag (farming) related businesses; to now where large population centers exist and fewer than 3% of the work force is engaged in fulltime agrarian jobs. This leads to what I think is the goal of education, which has always been to teach the next generation some basic core principles, so they can become contributing members of society. Because change occurred at a much slower pace the educational system seemed to adequately prepare each generation, but then twentieth century technology boom hit. Changes, began to change at exponential rates and the change out paced the educational system. The changes also have had a dramatic effect on what types of learners are entering the educational system. I grew up in an era where if you wanted to know the answer to a question (you didn't know) you had very limited choices on how to find that answer.... you could ask a teacher, ask an expert, ask a parent, ask a classmate, or search print media in the library (school or public maybe both). Being the creatures we generally are we want to take the easiest approach, so we ask the nearest person we think has the answer (with no way to verify the answer it was the wikipedia of the 1960's and 1970's [sarcasm intended]) before we were left with researching (often for hours) encyclopedias or card files. Many times the need to really know answer is reduced or at least directly related the amount of work needed to find the answer. This leads to the "New Learner" that has No recollection of that struggle and has always had a variety of technology tools available to answer these questions. The "New Learner" also seems to be willing to Not just be satisfied with learning the content, but also learning how to manage multiple tasks at the same time. Because my unique classroom parameters allow me, a different perspective, I have noticed many students can (if you allow them) attend to multiple things at the same time. Very few times in my everyday life do I have a single thought in my head at one time; it's usually several things that I give varying amounts of time to (usually enough to accomplish the task at hand), while shifting from thought to thought. It seems logical to me, that many of my students are doing the same thing, which is why they want the information faster, concise, relevant, authentic, and in varying multimedia formats. Come to think of it So Do I! I like reading books, but I also like movies. I like reading poetry, but I also love music. I find that, I too, am just like many of these "New Learners" and maybe that's because I graduated high school in 1982 and college in 2013 or maybe learners really aren't that different after all.

Because teachers are tasked with preparing students with those basic principles and possibly jobs that do Not exist yet; change in the educational system is not optional it's essential. As I was reading Chapter 2 I remember the missed opportunity I had as a student in the 1970's, my elementary school was being replaced with a "New School." I would finish the fourth grade in one school and start the fifth in a brand new school with a brand new idea ... "Open Concept"... No Walls...  with the idea that teachers would have learning groups, not classes, we would seamlessly shift from subject to subject sitting on the floor or group tables, self-paced math, and work stations. I remember being very excited to have a sort of freedom for learning and at my pace, but somebody forgot to explain the concept to the majority of the elementary teachers (Except Mrs. Michael the fourth grade teacher that explained what our "New School" was going to be like) because when I arrived the first day all the fifth grade teachers used whatever they could to build barricades and mark their territory. We all had desks (facing forward) and the promise of freedom was replaced with yet more rigid teacher paced learning. I don't know if the "Open Concept" would have been successful, but neither does anyone else in that school system because they never gave it a chance. This is the same problem many teachers have today they seem unwilling to try to integrate technology or develop Problem Based Learning (PBL) for many reasons, but whatever the reasons I, too, agree with the author, "The Time For Excuses Is Over!" All of this leads to what Principals need to do as the instructional leaders of their schools:  they need to support the early adopter and risk takers as well as providing appropriate professional development only then does success have a chance, whether it's technology or some other systemic change.

Module 1: Brianna Jones

What is your general definition of teacher leadership?

Teacher leadership is when teachers go above and beyond their roles and responsibilities that take place outside of the classroom. They become a leader for the teachers, students, and school by being active in different aspects of the school itself.

What examples of teacher leadership have you observed or experienced?

For example, we have departments in our school that teachers are a part of to help build on what is going on in the classroom. We have teachers that are mentors to our new teachers that get hired every school year. Our school also has a hiring committee that meets during the summer and throughout the school year to interview new teachers for vacant positions.

How is leadership for meaningful technology integration different from other kinds of leadership?

Leadership is leadership no matter how you are looking at it. A person is going above and beyond to be in charge of something to help others. The only difference between these two things is that leadership for meaningful technology integration is dealing specifically with technology.

From your perspective, what are the benefits and the challenges of teacher leadership for technology (for teachers, for students, for schools, for the profession)? 

Those that are integrating technology have to know so many different things to work with the technology and make it meaningful in the classroom. There are a lot of aspects to look at when you want to integrate technology into the classroom. Teachers must be kept up to date with the ever-changing technological world. They must see what they need to do to help their students become successful with technology. Sometimes students and teachers are learning how to use different sources of technology together rather than the teacher always being the leader. There may also be a case when the student is the one being the leader because they are more familiar with the technology they are implementing.

Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times (Chapters 1 and 2) 

Chapter 1: The Evolving Educational Landscape

Choose two characteristics of today’s learners and the resulting disconnects that they are experiencing in schools, provided by (Ian Jukes, Ted McCain, and Lee Crockett (2010), and post an agreement and/ or disagreement to our course blog.

1.     “Digital learners prefer to access information quickly from multiple-media sources, but many educators prefer slow and controlled release of information from limited sources.”

I completely agree with this to a point. Students always want the answer right away and sometimes don’t take away the meaning of the answer and how they found it. They have so many ways to getting the answer that they use every source that they know of instead of finding one source that can help them find all of the information at once. Educators want to be in control of what digital learners are doing and how they are accessing their information online. I want to have control due to students understanding the process of finding the information. I don’t want my students to go fast at times that way they know why we are using that source or why we have to do a certain step before we find the answers that we are searching for.

2.     “Digital learners prefer to network simultaneously with others, but many educators prefer students to work independently before they network and interact.”

I can relate to this quote, because in math I want them to understand the concept that is being taught before they work with a partner and get confused. I want my students to have a firm understanding of what is being taught before they reach out to others so that a misunderstanding or confusion occurs. Looking at it with a digital aspect, students need to learn how to do things online on their own before they interact with others. They need to know what they are doing before others get involved.

Chapter 2: Why Schools Must Change

According to The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) ten guidelines have been identified to assist school leaders in integrating technology in their schools and leadership practices.  Which two guidelines seem the most important to you?

1.     The principal must provide appropriate professional development time and resources to support effective classroom implementation of technology.

2.     The principal must do whatever it takes to ensure that all staff has early access to the very same digital tools that students will be using in their classrooms.

I think both of these are very important because before we can implement technology in our classrooms we need to have training on them and time to get comfortable using it. 

Not Required, but a Very Interesting Read! Urban Legends in Education

Urban Legends in Education

The first legend is one of learners as digital natives who form a generation of students knowing by nature how to learn from new media, and for whom “old” media and methods used in teaching/learning no longer work. The second legend is the widespread belief that learners have specific learning styles and that education should be individualized to the extent that the pedagogy of teaching/learning is matched to the preferred style of the learner. The final legend is that learners ought to be seen as self-educators who should be given maximum control over what they are learning and their learning trajectory. It concludes with a possible reason why these legends have taken hold, are so pervasive, and are so difficult to eradicate.

ISTE: Tools to Consider for Your Classroom

ISTE Best Tools in ED Tech