Building a culture of sharing

One of my professional goals as you know is to begin sharing more.  This morning, I attended a roundtable discussion on the connected educator paneled by 10 of the greatest minds and authors in educational leadership today.  The session was filled with ROCK STARS and they rotated through our smaller groups to share with us and allow us to glean from them their 'pearls of wisdom'.  It was awesome session...almost perfect...I say almost for a reason.

Two of the presenters who rotated through were Pernille Ripp and Peter Dewitt.  While speaking of ways to build a culture of sharing in schools, I posed a question to Pernille via twitter.  I also tagged another blogging hero of mine, Tom Whitby.  The response I got made me do the Homer Simpson style 'Doh'...

Initially, I was looking for a quick answer.  This response, though caused me to pull together all the tidbits of knowledge that I have gleaned from a myriad of sessions here at ISTE.  Well, played Pernille, well played.  So here goes a few of the ideas I have to foster a culture of sharing at our school this coming year.  

Call out the elephant in the room:

Admit that sharing is hard and scary, and even more scary in front of your peers that you respect.  Start there are then move on. 

Modeling

Model sharing and living your passion for those around you.  Starr Sackstein (@mssackstein) may have said it best 'None of us start as experts'  Couple this with quote attributed to Angela Maiers (@AngelaMaiers) 'The smartest person in the room, is the room' 

Shout out sessions in traditional and virtual meetings

Take the time to stand and recognize the genius and skill of those around you and encourage them to be recognized and share with the group in that moment the great things they are doing.

Create a brand and write your own story

I don't remember where I heard this one from or who I am stealing it from, but 'Tweetable Moments'.  I hope to make it a habit to find tweetable moments everyday.  I hope to inspire my peers to do the same share out 1 tweet a day with our school hashtag and use the already existing hardware in our commons area to showcase the awesomeness that is taking place in our school everyday.

Speed Geeking

This idea is one that a colleague of mine, Patty Wolfe (@wolfep).  Speed geeking, or organizing a regularly scheduled time for our staff to share 3 minutes of genius with other staff members in a rotating speed dating style session.  I see some potential for this to fit into our weekly breakfast club meetings we have on Fridays.

Walkthrough Wednesdays

This idea is inspired by Tony Vincent (@tonyvincent) while he was walking through the poster sessions at ISTE.  I am hoping to use the Periscope app to record videos of students every Wednesday as they are answering the question 'What is the greatest experience you have had this week in school'.  I then plan to upload these to YouTube and curate these experiences over the course of the year and give teachers some 'lift' as they hear the joy kids are experiencing in their classrooms.

 Start a Blogging Clan

This is an idea I had a little over a year ago.  One of the obstacles most people find when blogging, is not having a dedicated time to get it done.  Life happens, right?  This idea is to create a blogging clan that meets regularly to blog, and help others who are wanting to start blogging.  I know we have several people who want to blog but just need the input of activation energy!

 Mini Ignite Sessions

This is an idea that I am going to bring to our administration for the kickoff to our school year.  Have our fellow teachers get up and share 5 minutes of passion with the rest of the staff.  It is time to drop the self consciousness and self defeating talk.  We wouldn't tolerate it from our students, so why do we tolerate it from ourselves.  Lets share our talents and passion with the world.  You never know the impact you will have.

So, this was my list of ideas.  The challenge I give to you if have read this far:  What ideas do you have to build a culture of sharing?

ISTE 2015 Reflection: Part 1 of ????

One of things I love about my job is the opportunities I get to engage in quality PD with my peers.  The last 3 summers I have been lucky enough to attend the ISTE conference and this years ISTE in Philly is just as great as the last two I attended.  Here is my David Letterman style top 10 list of take aways from ISTE...so far...

10. HackED 15  The all day conference as part of the EduBlogger Con event.  It was a full day Ed Camp style presentation facilitated by some big hitters like Adam Bellow (@AdamBellow), Angela Maiers (@AngelaMaiers) and more. The  smackdown portion of the day showcased those of us in the audience who shared our 3 minutes of genius smackdown style.  Click here to see the link of topics covered this day or click here to see the list of smackdown showcases

9. #SatChat This event featured your typical twitter chat, but was held in a meeting hall and then streamed on Periscope.  It was awesome to hear the voices of those tweeting and speaking in a panel type discussion.  My takeaway from this was, it is all about connections.  Not just connections in the digital sense, but connections with people.  I believe a CORE VALUE of our school ought to be RELATIONSHIPS.  It was powerful to see the multiple layers of conversation that take place during a twitter chat and see the authentic interpersonal relationship building that was taking place.  One of my goals for #TYIW is going to be to bring this to our school and community.


8. There is no 'Arrived'- Feeling like a rock star one minute with your grasp of technology and educational practice and turning around to seeing those around you and realizing your are but a grain of sand on beach.  The diversity of the professionals who attend ISTE is a key ingredient to what makes this experience so great.  It humbles you, it inspires, and motivates you make connections and 'Be More Awesome'

7. The Expo - About the time you are thinking you know what is out in the world for tools/sites/apps/providers/etc a walk through the expansive expo will blow your mind and prove you don't know jack about the who or what is out there for EdTech and education in general.  There is tons of swag to be had (and for us cheepos a great place to pick up a toy to take back home for our kids).  It is also a nice place for a change of pace of learning when visiting vendors like the Google Booth.  Google and many other exhibitors are conducting learning sessions on the use of these educational tools, pedagogy, or have show and tell sessions from teachers.

6. Social Media as instant PD - The idea of using social media, such as twitter, for professional development is not new.  My PD at ISTE  via social media can only be summed up as: PD on steroids, hyped on caffeine, all while experiencing a sugar high.  At ISTE it is easy to immerse yourself in the 'social media thingy' and expand your PLN.  My twitter feed was blowing up and Tweetdeck made it simply to follow a focused stream or my general stream.  It was a constant barrage of links, articles, blogs and tidbits of PD.  I honestly feel like I grew as much through my social media reading as I did in actual sessions while at ISTE.

5. Quips & Witticisms Piggybacking on the social media is the overwhelming number of quips and sayings you see in the form of meme's and cool pics.  These are great graphics that have been doctored to inspire and make you wonder and THINK.   And better yet, it happens in your social media feeds without you needing to do anything. These small tidbits of info and thoughts are great little mental pinups to keep you centered for the other 361 days of the year when not at ISTE.

4. Debreifing and Connecting Some of the most powerful conversations that happen at ISTE are those that take place after the doors to the conference close. ISTE powers the gears inside your head and those gears stay in motion well after the conference ends.  These reflective thoughts and passionate experiences lend themselves to great conversations.  After the sessions each day our group meets up and enjoys some food and great conversation.  The ideas that come out of these sessions are 'priceless'.  They are the ideas that will transform our classrooms and schools.  They are the ideas that will make our classrooms the place that will be transformational for students.  

3. Ignite Sessions  This fast paced inspiring session gave 15 presenters only 5 minutes each and 20 slides to share their message and inspire the audience.  Some of these were presented by average Joe's who wanted to share their genius but the most remarkable one was without a doubt the BE THE CHANGE message shared by Pernille Ripp (@PernilleRipp).  Her energy, passion, conviction and message sent chills up spines and tears streaming down cheeks.  I couldn't help but wonder why couldn't we bring and IGNITE style session back to Cozad to kick off our school with our teachers sharing their 5 minutes of genius.  Click here to  watch the video of the ignite sessions.  Pernille Ripp was the 2nd one and is about 5 minutes into it and it is worth the watch.


2. 'Fanboy'itis' Having the opportunity to rub elbows with some of the most respected educational leaders in the world today.  Adam Bellow, Angela Maiers, Pernille Ripp, and Chris Lehman are just a few of the 'Rock Stars' I had the chance to meet, talk with and most importantly listen to!

1. The opportunity to recharge my batteries and be grounded once again in my pursuit to change the world one student at a time.  Cozad is lucky to have such great educators and I wouldn't trade the world for the time I spent collaborating, laughing,  dreaming,  and sharing with those who attended ISTE.  Thanks to Cozad Schools for believing in my professional development and caring enough about me as an educator to help me get better at making a difference.

Here is a link to a folder containing some selected resources from the conference.

Showcasing students work...Is it time to rethink the focus of schools?

Once again this summer, I am blessed to have the opportunity to travel to a couple of national conventions/conferences.  As such, the wheels of thought are spinning as I have had the opportunity to engage in great conversation with our schools leaders as well as witness some presentations and showcases that humble me in my own work as an educator.  I am eternally grateful to the #CozadMakers schools system for believing in my work and investing in my professional development, so that I can work to enrich the experience our students have at Cozad Community Schools

The first of these conference has been the Skills USA National convention in Louisville Kentucky.  Sixteen thousand attendees have gathered to watch students engage in an authentic showcasing of their technical skills across the spectrum of vocational, technical, and academic areas.  Students from high school and post-secondary institutions across the country have earned the right to compete and showcase their skills in every competition from industrial technology to robotics to health care and beyond under one roof at the Kentucky Exposition Center.  A national champion will be crowned in every competition, scholarships and prize winnings will follow, along with job offers from America's leaders in every industry as they jockey to secure the next Michael Jordan of their field.

Don't be fooled that these vocational competitions are for the 'other' kids.  These are the best and brightest in schools across the United States.  The worlds demand for workers with the skills to apply the theory they learn in academic settings is insatiable.  The world  needs people who can perform.  Their earning potential in many cases is higher than those who work in what are typically seen as the 'prestigious' jobs in America.

Unfortunately today, schools and our society seem to think that career and technical education is the 'ugly duckling' of education.  These STEM opportunities, may be receiving a great deal of press due to the buzzword phenomenon, but few schools are taking the leap to make these new programs the common occurrence as opposed to being the rarity in new program implementation.

So why is that so?  Why are schools so remiss in putting these CTE classes and programs as their flagship?  Why are we resistant to the experiences that are driving growth and innovation in the world?  Tom Whitby (@TomWhitby), an educational leader, blogger and 34 year veteran of education published a blog today, where he proposed an answer to all these questions: Because innovation is change, and we are afraid of change.  

To focus on career and technical education, in the same way we focus on the core areas, would be to change from what we have done for decades in education.  It would be to resist the forces that are mandating standardization and quantification in education.  It would require that we admit education can be done differently and it can be better.

After this week at Skills USA National Convention, I can assure you that I will be bringing some new ideas back to my alma mater where I work.  A few of the thoughts and questions I will work on finding answers to are:

• Lets rethink the course offerings we have as a school.  They nearly identical to the classes we offered 20 years ago when I was a student.
• Can we envision a school where we tap into the hidden genius in EVERY student?
• What opportunities can we offer our students by partnering with our business community that engage students in real world learning and application of skills and knowledge?
• If we believe that the word FAIL stands for First Attempt In Learning, then lets not be afraid to try something new and Bobbi, thanks for the reply. The booking reference is one that I ready a few years ago and I agree it's a great book. Your question at the end of what you do to turn those teachers around her still reluctant to change, in my opinion focuses on the concept of creating the shared vision. Once you have that  thanks for the reply. The booking reference is one that I ready a few years ago and I agree it's a great book. Your question at the end of what you do to turn those teachers around her still reluctant to change, in my opinion focuses on the concept of creating the shared vision. Once you have that 

It is easy to sit behind the keys of a blog and post these thoughts.  It is another to delve into the muddy waters and work to find a solution.  I can assure you, that I am vested in what is best for our students.  I can assure you, that I will never be satisfied with good enough.  I can assure you that as I watched the best and brightest in the nation competing here at Skills USA, I was pompous enough to believe that our students could be on this national stage.  I was confident enough in our teachers to believe with a focused and shared vision, we could be the best in the nation.

I am excited to head out to ISTE in Philadelphia Saturday and continue my journey to answer the existential call to improve the great education our students at Cozad receive.  I look forward to once again learning with my fellow #CozadMakers teachers.  I look forward to the great ideas that arise, the hard questions we will have to ask ourselves that will follow, and heart and soul of work that it will take to make things great.

There are two quotes I think about often.  The first one is one that is also a favorite of great friend Jed Droge (@ibejed)

The second one is a quote I use while with athletes as a coach.


I am excited to see the #CozadMakers teachers, students and community join me in moving from good to great and making our better best!

Topping off the tank

Summer time is a time for fun, sun, and relaxation...or a little PD to refuel the passion for education.  This summer I have had the opportunity to attend two very powerful conferences.  The first was ISTE in San Antonio and the second was the Great Plains Google Summit in Lincoln.

           

 As it turns out, these would be some of the best days of summer.  I am sure that all educators can relate to the fatigue we feel at the end of the year.  It is that fatigue of caring too much throughout the year and not having the emotional dollars to spend that makes us long for the days of summer.  However, as summer passes we feel rejuvenated by time away from our passion and become hungry once again to teach and learn with kids.

We need to cure what ails us, and...

...collaboration is the best medicine

These two conferences were instrumental in rekindling that fire in me. The sessions I attended solidified my beliefs that we are on the verge of crisis in education.  National mandates pushing the testing agenda are coming up against what we know are best practices of collaborating, creating, sharing, and making education relevant.
       
At the ISTE Conference, the closing keynote was delivered by Adam Bellow (Adam's entertaining talk starts 23 minutes in) who invited us to change the world by making education relevant to the lives of our students.   We were reminded that technology shouldn't be the icing on the cake, but rather mixed into the batter.  But the most striking point he made was that we as schools need a startup culture. We must move towards problem based learning and come to RESPECT FAILURE AND EMBRACE CURIOSITY.  As a system we have become almost systematic in killing the natural curiosity kids while teaching them the game of school.  If you want to rethink what we are doing as profession, take the hour to watch that closing keynote.  If it doesn't inspire you to do better, then you may not have a pulse!

The at Great Plains Google Summit opening keynote was delivered by Chris Lehmann is the founding principal of the Science Leadership Academy, a progressive science and technology high school in Philadelphia, PA. In a room filled 500 educators he lamented us to answer this question regarding the efficacy of the high stakes testing environment we are currently in compared to inquiry driven models we are discovering to much more effective. His exact question was: "By a show of hands, how many of you think we are getting it right in school today?" Not a hand went up. My first reaction was shame. Shameful that we are wasting our only chance with the kids of today. We don't get any mulligans. These kids don't get a second shot at the best we have to offer them.  That shame however morphed into a resolve to do what I can do to change the world as Adam Challenged us to in San Antonio.

Learning about turtles was one the best lessons of the summer with my kids.

This day and age of pervasive technology has given us so many tools, that we have no excuse for why we can't have kids engaged in inquiry based environments. My two and four year olds at home still love to learn about bugs, shapes, colors, how things work.  They are sponges without a saturation point.  Why?  Because learning is relevant to their world and it is fun.  I hope we never kill that curiosity.  It is my hope that we can shed the shackles of high stakes testing to engage kids in real world problem based learning.  Lets make school and learning a place where things are done with kids, not to kids.  I am ready to tackle the 2013-2014 school year with as much zeal as I have ever had.  I will seek to change the world.  Who is with me?

Dustin Favinger