Innovating Instruction: Teachers as Designers #SXSWedu

Innovating Instruction: Teachers as Designers
SXSW 2017 Case Study

Teacher need a bridge to navigate the extreme changes in learning and schools.

Instructional innovation is needed. Just adding technology does not change the fundamental way teachers work in the classroom.

One meta-analysis of research shows that

• It takes 49 hours of it to impact instruction in the classroom
• It works best when it is delivered in the situation where it is going to be used.

Teachers as designers is a fundamental component of school change. We often ask teachers to design without giving them the supports they need to become designers.

National Science Foundation worked in two schools over the course of 3 1/2 years. 

• Had a vision for inquiry (elem school), exploration (middle school), and project based learning.
• But were struggling with implementing at a deep level.
• Three cycles of research and design to refine the approach. 

Approach became Design, Situate, Lead

• Design- backwards design, enrich content knowledge, leverage technology
• Situate - No "one size fits all" for curriculum design. Contextualize teacher learning, model effective practice (co-teach, observe, be observed), individualize support based on what teachers need. 
• Lead - administration must envision change so they can support what is happening, empower leadership at all levels, sustain a culture for innovation (what changes need to be made to sustain the work)

Finding 1. Teachers as Designers

• Teachers can be designers. It's a phrase that's thrown around a lot.
• Collaboration, documentation, and reflection on planning increased

Finding 2. Importance of the Inquiry Stance

• Pursue big questions.
• Facilitators need to establish trust

Finding 3. Building Teachers' Capacities as Leaders

• Need support of principals and administrators
• Teachers shared within and beyond their school

Finding 4. Critical Role of Principals - Structural Changes at the School -Level

• Need to encourage and showcase teachers and their efforts.

*********************************************************************************All original work in this post by Sandy Kendell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Please see specifics on my re-use policy in the right-hand column of my blog before re-posting/re-using any of my blog content.

Blog Topic Ideas for Educators

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In recent months I've gotten into several conversations with fellow educators about blogging. One of the statements I often hear in these conversations is, "I'd love to start blogging, but I'm not sure what to write about." I've also seen several blogging challenges or blogging resolutions on Twitter in conjunction with the new year.

It's exciting to see educators' interest in blogging! I like to think of educator blogs as a world-wide ongoing professional learning conference where we can all learn from and support one another. The more people who contribute, the more robust the learning, and the greater the impact on our students.

So what can educators blog about? Here are some ideas from my own experience. No matter what type of educator you are - K-12, classroom, higher-ed, administrator, trainer, etc. - I hope the ideas below help you get past any writer's block you may experience now or in the future.

#1 Topic Tip: Blog About What You Know or Feel Passionate About

This might seem obvious, but it isn't. We often think what we already know is not very important or interesting. Surely if we are already certain of something, others already know about it, right? Not so fast! Take a moment to view this video. Then scroll down for some more ideas!




I love this video, and share it as often as I can. I hope it gets you thinking about things you know and how valuable those "obvious" things might be to others!

More Specific Topic Ideas

As you think about content for your blog, here are some topics you might want to consider writing about. Links are to example posts on my blog.

• A technology tool (program, app, website) you have trained others on or successfully used yourself or with your students. How did you use/implement it and what were the positive outcomes? Linking to or posting specific directions if you have time is a benefit to other teachers.
• A reflection on your own learning. Have you read a great article or blog post that got you thinking? Are you reading through a book on educational practice? Attended a conference or webinar? Taking a class or working on a degree? Or has life taught you a new lesson? The benefit of blogging about these experiences is it helps you retain your new learning and opens learning opportunities up to others. It also creates an opportunity for conversation. Our experience tells us that the majority of people learn better in community rather than in isolation.
• Notes from a webinar or conference you attend. I started putting my conference notes on my blog a couple of years ago, and it has been a huge benefit to me! Not only has it spread the learning to others who could not attend, it's also made it easier for me to find my own notes and opened up the conversation beyond the day of the conference. My notes posts are some of the most read on my blog. 
• Resources that have been helpful to you. If you've been gathering resources for a unit you are going to teach or a professional development session you are planning, simply listing those resources can be of great benefit to you (you can easily find them the next time you need them) and to others who will appreciate the time you saved them and might become regular readers of your blog as a result!
• Information about a professional presentation you are making. Whether the presentation is being done at a conference or in a faculty/department/grade level meeting on your campus, posting the resources to your blog keeps them in a place that is easily accessible to you and your audience. It also lets others know where your areas of expertise lie.
• Advice. As you grow in your experience, you accumulate plenty of knowledge that can help others through challenging times. Don't keep all of that to yourself!
• A request for assistance/ideas. Starting a new project/unit/initiative and not sure where to begin. Even if there are tons of resources out there, it's often helpful to have folks who've gone before you give a little guidance. Don't be afraid to ask questions! (Having a Twitter presence really helps with this one, as you can send out a link to your blog post to get it some more attention.)
• A video that taught you something valuable. Chances are, if you learned something from a video, others will too! A blog post with the video embedded and a few thoughts on its value is a great way to spread the learning to others.

More Ideas & General Tips

• If you are still needing topic ideas or want support in establishing a blogging habit, try this 20 Day Blogging Challenge from 5th grade teacher Kelly Hines.
• Be careful not to reveal specific information about students, including their names, pictures, or work they have created. This is especially important if your blog is one not connected to your school district. Even if parents have given the district permission to post photos or other information about their students, that permission does not carry over to your personal blog. If you doubt that parents can be concerned about this, read or watch this news story.
• Also it is prudent not to speak badly of your employer, colleagues, students, or parents on your blog. Even in general terms with no names associated, you will lose respect from the education community in general and your immediate education community if you post on the negative side. Here is the story of a teacher who lost her job because she made comments on her blog which denigrated her students. Be professional and don't blog about anything that you wouldn't want colleagues, your students, and their parents to hear. Because chances are someone from those realms will find your words and read them.

Want Some More Advice?

Here are some valuable posts on the topic of educator blogging:

• And This is Why Teachers Should Have Blogs by George Couros
• Top Five Mistakes Made by New Bloggers by Sue Waters
• First Five Tips for Writing Better Blog Posts by Sue Waters
• Blogging Tips for Teachers by Angela Watson
• 11 Things You Should Know About Blogging by Richard Byrne

Now, Go Forth and Blog!

I hope you read something here that inspired you, whether you are new to blogging or have been at it for a while and just need some encouragement to pick it up again. If you are an educational blogger, I hope you'll share other topic ideas and a link to your blog in the comments below.

*************************************************************************************************************************
All original work in this post by Sandy Kendell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Please see specifics on my re-use policy in the right-hand column of my blog before re-posting/re-using any of my blog content.

Crafting Quality Teacher Professional Development

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Used with permission under a Creative Commons license

I've been thinking a lot lately about educator professional development. As an instructional technology specialist, I have the privilege of helping my colleagues grow in their knowledge and implementation of technology in the classroom. This happens in a myriad of ways. In just the last few weeks, I have taught planned sessions to groups of teachers, I have made one-on-one appointments to assist individuals with specific needs, and I've even helped to design and facilitate my district's first completely online PD experience.

As I design these learning opportunities, I am constantly thinking about how to make them meaningful for teachers so that in turn the information shared will make an impact on student learning. Regardless of the topic, I've found that there are some consistent practices on my part that seem to contribute to making the sessions successful.

Before I delve into what I think those consistent practices are, I have to share what started my wheels turning on this topic. It goes all the way back to this year's summer staff development in my school district, where a colleague and I who often plan and teach PD together received some of the highest compliments either us could remember receiving. We received these comments from several teachers who took time to speak to us face-to-face, rather than just leaving their thoughts on the end-of-class surveys, which is why they made such a profound impact on me. I will have to paraphrase a bit because I've slept some since then, but the gist of the comments was that my colleague and I were greatly appreciated because we were knowledgeable in the topics we were covering, organized in our delivery of the content, and we were not arrogant in our manner of presenting the material to the teachers.

I distinctly remember one teacher telling me, "You haven't forgotten what it's like to be in the classroom." That last comment touched me deeply because of a personal/professional commitment I made when I moved out of the classroom into a full-time instructional technology position in 2001: For as long as I held a position supporting instruction, I would never forget the perspective of the classroom teacher and the realities of the environments they work in every day. I worry sometimes that despite my resolve, the longer I'm out of the classroom, and especially the longer I am not stationed on a campus, I will lose touch with reality as teachers know it. The colleague who made this comment to me this summer has no idea what he did for my own professional morale.

So now you know what got my wheels turning. Although it is important to seek continuous improvement in our professional practices, I think it is equally important to reflect on what you already do well so you don't throw out the good stuff when seeking improvement. Here are the things, based on my own observations and participant feedback, that I think contribute to impactful professional development experiences for teachers. They are not listed in order of importance, because I think they are all equally important.

• Begin with the end in mind when planning a PD session/experience. Ask yourself, "At the end of this session, what should teachers be able to accomplish back in their classrooms?" Then work backwards in planning the content and activities for the session. A valuable skill I've learned from my colleague is to make an agenda for myself with allotted time frames for each section of the presentation. This helps me keep focused on sharing just what is needed to accomplish the goal.

• It is highly unlikely that in one face-to-face session anyone is going to become a total expert with a tool. I try to keep in mind the goal of helping the participants become comfortable enough with the tool to be able to start using it and be able to explore further from there. Whenever possible, I provide additional resources for them to use in further exploration, and one of those resources is always contacting me. The mantra is "Comfort, not expertise," and I often share this goal with the participants to set their expectations as well.

• Participants need time to practice with or process whatever we are learning, especially if it is a brand-new-to-them technology tool/concept. When at all possible, I try to plan a session as 50% "show-and-tell" and 50% "hands-on." The longer the session is, the easier this is to do. When I have the flexibility, I plan for a longer session to build in more "hands-on" time. For example, last summer we offered a session on digital storytelling using Microsoft PhotoStory. I knew from experience that an overview of digital storytelling (at a high level) and the basics of the software could be covered in three hours. So I asked if we could have an all day session - six hours. The entire afternoon was left for the teachers to create their own stories, something they could use back in their classrooms if they wanted to. This was one of our most highly rated sessions of the summer because of the time we gave teachers to create a product.

• No matter what tool/topic/concept I am presenting or how convinced I am of its value, I never present it as "the silver bullet" or "the most amazing tool ever" or "if you don't learn this and use it with your students you are a bad teacher." I will not hold back on my enthusiasm for the topic or the benefits I believe it will have, but I also do not make promises about the effectiveness of its use. There are variables in each classroom, including the teacher's style/strengths and the educational needs of the students, which can render an otherwise effective strategy completely useless, so promises of efficacy/outcomes are highly risky. I think this is an area where PD presenters can be perceived as arrogant if they are not careful.

• Instead of planning a chunk of my presentation to be "How this should be implemented in the classroom," I trust the teachers to figure a lot of that out for themselves. I do interweave suggestions for use with students throughout my presentation, and at points I will stop and ask for feedback on when/where/how they might use a certain approach with their students. I don't, however, proscribe exact implementation plans. The teachers know themselves and their students needs/learning styles intimately; I do not. I will serve as an "idea bouncing board" if they want me to, though.

• Remember that regardless of their ability or confidence level with technology, everyone in the room is an intelligent, capable person. The fact that they are professional educators with college degrees is evidence of this.

• Everyone has something valuable to contribute. We love it when PD participants contribute new knowledge, insights, or enthusiasm over something learned. But even complaints, frustration, or other "negative" contributions can create learning opportunities for all involved. Especially me!

• At least one person in the room is smarter or more technology capable than I am in one way or another. And that is ok! If they can share something with the rest of the group that I couldn't have, we are all now a little smarter. Corollary: If the smart person starts to overwhelm others because they are way ahead of the group in certain aspects, it is ok and necessary for me to redirect the flow of the learning so the majority does not become discouraged. I usually offer to pursue the "advanced" track with this person one-on-one at another time.

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As I've been ruminating about what I do that contributes to quality professional development experiences for teachers, these are the things that came out on the top of the list. I hope these are helpful to you if you are in a position to plan professional development. I also hope you will share your own insights in the comments below so we can continue to develop our professional practices together!

Finding Hidden Talent in the New School Year

Summer break is over and schools are starting up again in the U.S. over the next few weeks. As you contemplate the upcoming school year, I want to issue you a challenge. But first, sit back and watch the video I have linked below. Watch it from start to end (six minutes isn't a lot to ask). Watch even if you've seen it before - it's probably been a while. Embedding of the video is disabled, so you'll need to follow the link below. Please come back after you've viewed it, I have some more to say to you when you get done watching...

Link to Video

I hope you didn't skip the video! :-)

Did that not blow you away? I have the Susan Boyle video favorited on YouTube and I watch it from time to time when I need some inspiration. Seeing so many people go from cynical as they see a person whom they perceive to be a frumpy middle-aged woman to completely overwhelmed by her talent after a few notes come from her mouth is a thought-provoking experience. For goodness sake, even the ultimate mean guy Simon Cowell looks amazed and gives a contented sigh during her performance!

Susan, an admittedly socially awkward woman, has an amazing talent that is now a gift to the world because a few people looked beyond the awkwardness and encouraged her along the way and gave her a chance.

So, what's the challenge I have for you (and for me) in the upcoming school year?

Look beneath the surface of people in your life to find and encourage their hidden talent.

Your Students

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As those new faces walk through your classroom door, try to look beyond the first impressions, favorable and unfavorable. You will make judgements and assumptions from moment one of meeting them (we are all human; we all do this), but try to rise above those judgements and work to get to know the kids and their interests and passions. Maybe focus on the ones like Susan who have a few social or academic strikes against them. Make efforts to draw them out, listen to them and encourage them. The area where their talent/gift resides may not be in your subject area, so be willing to help them move in a direction that will help them be more fulfilled in life and perhaps even enrich the rest of us with their gifts.

Your Colleagues

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In your sphere of influence, there may be a new to the profession teacher who is enthusiastic but uncertain of  themselves. Check in on him or her. Watch for things they are good at - motivating kids, planning hands-on lessons, interacting with parents - and compliment and encourage them in these areas. Ask them about an instructional approach they are using; I can remember being so flattered when I was a young teacher and a "veteran" would ask me about something I was doing!  Also, let them know through your actions that you will be an uncritical but helpful ear if they need to bounce ideas off of someone during the year. Even if they seem over-confident, there may come a time when they realize they really don't know everything, and your interest in them will make you more approachable, especially if their over-confidence is off-putting to others.

Your experienced colleagues may have some hidden talents and need encouragement to pursue them, too.  Is there something you admire about the way one of your team members teaches? Have you told them that? Have you asked them for advice or wondered aloud with them how the technique could be applied in other areas? Maybe their talent could benefit children beyond their own classroom.

Teachers are an isolated lot, so when we notice each other's talents, we need to build one another up. Vicki Davis at the Cool Cat Teacher Blog recently posted an inspiring peace about how we as educators need to be each other's cheer leaders. Read Vicki's piece, then choose a teacher or two on your campus or in your district who might need extra encouragement this year. Here's a hint: they might be some of the harder teachers to care for.

Used With Permission Under a Creative Commons License
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Yourself
Don't forget yourself in all of this talent seeking! It's harder to find "new" things about ourselves, but asking a few questions of yourself might help. What's something you've always wanted to try but have never taken the opportunity? What's something others often tell you you're good at that surprises you? What's something you already enjoy doing and know you have a talent for, but wish you could take to the next level? Is there an organization you belong to that you've desired to take a different or larger role in? The answers to any or all of these questions could help you discover an area of talent for you to pursue at the next level.

If you still can't identify the natural talents in your life, ask a trusted friend or colleague. It might be an awkward conversation, but you can preface it with the fact that you are looking for some new areas in which to grow in your life. You can couch the question this way: "How would you finish this sentence: 'One thing that insert your name here does really well/or is really talented at is ________________.'" Ask it in an email if having the conversation in person might be too awkward for you. It also will give the other person a little more time to think.

Here's another hint: The hidden talent in you may have nothing directly to do with your educational role. And that's ok! Discovering a talent/gift in yourself, or pursuing something you've always wanted to try, may help make you a more fulfilled person, and that new level of contentment will translate into bringing more balance to your life which will in turn flow into all parts of your life, including your teaching. Being a "student" of something, if that is part of the hidden talent path, will also help you relate more to the people in your charge each day.

Susan Boyle
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Susan_Boyle_Nov_2009.jpg

Lessons from Susan
Susan Boyle had learning difficulties in school and was bullied as a child. She dedicated her life to caring for her elderly parents until her mother finally passed away in 2007, just two years before she came up with the courage to appear on Britain's Got Talent.

And courage it took. She was mocked twelve years before in an audition for a different British television show. She lived only with her parents until the age of 45 and rarely worked outside her home. She had singing experience in her church and a few local venues, but nothing as big as Britain's Got Talent.

It also took encouragement for Susan to step out. Her mom encouraged her before she passed away. And then her singing teacher.  Her Britain's Got Talent performance was the first public performance she gave after her mother's passing.

And how very blessed and fortunate we all are that people spoke into Susan's life and encouraged her.

Who are the Susan Boyles in your life? Does a colleague's name come to mind? A former student you might see in the halls this year? Perhaps it's a new student you've yet to meet. Or maybe it's you. Regardless, someone you know or are about to know needs encouragement to share their talent/gift with the world.

In the coming school year, you have the amazing privilege and opportunity to provide that encouragement.

Are Technology Trainers No Longer a Need in Education? - Part II

Last month when I first posted on this topic, I stated I would share my own thoughts in the comments or possibly in a follow-up post after giving readers a chance to comment. (Reader comments were wonderful for adding to my perspective; thank you!) I did share some thoughts in the comments, but I'm not done, so here I am with a follow-up post as well. You may want to go read the original post to gather some context for what you are about to read below.

Cutting to the chase, I believe technology trainers are still needed in education. Of course technology training is part of my day job, so I am obviously not unbiased. But I think some insider bias is ok in this case, because it is my investment and experience in my work that gives me insight into this question. Read on for my reasons that tech trainers are still important in education.

Facebook Fallacy

In my previous post, I related a story about a CTO who implied that the fact most of us learned to use Facebook without ever having taken a training class on it is a perfect example of why teachers don't need technology trainers. In his example, teachers have proven by independently learning about Facebook that they can train themselves. 

I'll grant you that teachers (really, most members of Facebook) have learned the basics on their own. Filling out your profile, making posts, and adding friends are pretty easy to figure out independently. But without any formal training, how many people are using Facebook well? Consider these points:

• How many of your friends have ever dug deeply into their privacy settings and/or frequently check their privacy settings? Several of my Facebook friends do this only occasionally, usually when I or another one of their connections takes time to post something to Facebook about privacy concerns or changes.
• How many educators have lost their jobs because they shared unprofessionally on Facebook?
• How many of your Facebook friends have created strong passwords to keep their information, and ultimately your information, safe? (Corollary question: How many of your Facebook friends have ever had their accounts hacked or clicked on links that started sending spam out from their accounts?)
• With credit to Ann Witherspoon's comment on my previous blog post, how many of your Facebook friends "have created groups, fan pages, or events within Facebook"? In other words, how many of them have used Facebook at a deeper level?

These questions regarding self-taught users of Facebook, who have not received or sought further training resources to help them understand safety measures or dig deeper into the platform, can be asked of any program or platform an educator uses for productivity or instruction. The answers to those questions when applied to educational applications are far more critical. How many people dig beyond the surface of technology tools on their own? How many of them are ultimately encouraged to do so because they receive some basic level of training?

Learning Styles

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In the education field, we recognize that our students are individuals and that each of them has strengths and weaknesses, or at the very least preferences, in the way they learn. Likewise, adults in all areas of education from the classroom to the administration office have different learning styles. If we ignore all we know about learning theory for the sake of expediency or because providing in-person training is more expensive, we begin to ignore the heart of our mission - to reach people where they are and facilitate them moving to the next level in their learning, regardless of whether they are a student or an educator. Whenever possible, we should offer online or print materials on using technology tools for those who are able to learn in this way, but we should also offer in-person training on technology resources as well.

Some people learn better in in-person settings. They need to be able to watch someone else or have a chance to ask questions on the spot as they experiment with a new program or tool. The face-to-face training can give them the start they need to explore a technology tool further on their own.

I know people who feel intimated or even "stupid" when they are reading a manual or watching an online demonstration, but in a show-and-do Q & A session with an experienced trainer, they pick up everything they need to gain a little confidence and get started. When the trainer has more experience in the tool being taught, they can also save the teacher the hassle of getting stuck on tricky parts because they can steer the teachers around those spots. And there are always going to be people who won't make an independent effort to learn something on their own because it is not in their area of interest; requiring a face-to-face training is the only way to ensure they will be properly exposed to the material.

Support the Mission

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In educational technology departments, there is usually a mixture of staff whose background is on the education side of things with teaching experience as well as staff whose background is more technical without teaching training or experience. The "educator vs. technical" background is not a distinction I like to play up much, because in my mind no matter what your background, we're all on the same team with the same mission - to support educators and students in teaching and learning. If there is something technical I need to understand to help with the mission, then I rely on the technical people on the team to help me understand it. And I hope that if the technical people need to understand an educational purpose or practice behind something we are doing they will rely on me and my teaching background as well.

Teacher training is an area where I hope CTOs will rely on the experience of the educators on their team. When I hear of statements like "It's just part of their job to know how to use the tools" without the follow-up statement "So let's design the training to teach them," I become concerned that the lack of teaching/training  experience in some members of the technology team is impacting the quality with which a new program or tool is rolled out and implemented. If your school or district acquires or upgrades technology for the purpose of positively impacting student learning, then I believe it is the responsibility of the school or district to provide appropriate training in meaningful use of the technology.

Students Deserve the Best

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Yes, this post is about teacher professional development, but ultimately, it's about impacting learning. Just as you and I expect our peace officers, firefighters, paramedics, doctors, nurses, and lawyers to be "up to date" on all of the latest techniques and information for performing their duties to the best of their ability, and therefore impacting our lives for the better, we should expect teachers to be well informed on the latest instructional practices so they may provide the best educational experiences possible for the students in their charge. In today's classroom, being well informed includes being versed in the use and integration of technology.

I think this quote from an Edutopia article sums it up best:

It is critical for veteran teachers to have ongoing and regular opportunities to learn from each other. Ongoing professional development keeps teachers up-to-date on new research on how children learn, emerging technology tools for the classroom, new curriculum resources, and more. The best professional development is ongoing, experiential, collaborative, and connected to and derived from working with students and understanding their culture.

"Learning from each other" includes learning from dedicated specialists in instructional technology. It is a given in our personal and professional lives that technology evolves constantly and rapidly. For the sake of keeping student learning relevant and having our pedagogical practices benefit from the latest technology infused approaches, I believe it is critical that schools and districts place an emphasis on technology training for teachers, and that part of the training menu includes opportunities for face-to-face staff development experiences.

Face-to-face is how the majority of educators still teach. It is not unreasonable for educators to continue to expect similar opportunities for their own learning, with a healthy dose of online learning experiences thrown in. Keeping instructional technologists on staff is a valuable investment in bringing multiple opportunities and styles of learning to today's teachers, which is ultimately in the best interest of today's students.

Remember and Reflect on Your High Calling

Credit goes to Vicki Davis, the Cool Cat Teacher, for inspiring me to write this post. She posted the video below to her own blog this morning, and although I had seen it in the past, I was encouraged to revisit it. I'm so very glad I did, too. As someone who does not work directly with students very often, I need reminders like this to keep me mindful of why I do what I do and help me "keep on keepin' on" during tough or discouraging times.

I think this video is a very timely reminder in the States where we have just begun the second half of the school year. We've just come off of a bit of a break, but now we begin the push into high-stakes standardized testing season. Here in Texas, the stakes are even higher this year because our school ratings will stand for the next two years as our state testing system undergoes a dramatic revision. Adding to the stress right now are stories of the looming Texas state budget shortfall and school districts who are already making plans to reduce their teaching forces in the coming school year.

In multiple ways, it's a tough time to be an educator.

It's times like these when we need to remember why we are educators and why we got into education. We need to remember our students aren't just statistics on the next round of tests and our colleagues can be resources whom we can lean on. We need to remember, too, that every member of the school community - students, teachers, administrators, support staff - needs to encourage their peers as well as one another.

We need to remember our high calling.

Many of you here in the U.S. are off today in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Whether or not you are from the U.S. or you worked today, take five minutes to relax and refresh with the video below and allow it to recenter your focus on what is important.

Teachers' Hierarchy of Needs

If you’ve been around education for very long or ever taken an educational psychology course, you’ve probably heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. His theory, in a nutshell, contends that human beings have levels of basic needs, and until the needs at the lower levels are met, we don’t even feel the needs at the next level.

Teachers in my school district report back to duty for the new school year on Monday morning. As we have been making preparations for their return, I’ve been struck by the thought that educators also have a hierarchy of needs, and meeting the needs at certain levels is important if we want to set up teachers, and ultimately their students, for a successful school year. Certain basic needs must be met before teachers are even “aware of” or ready to move to the next level of planning for student learning.

Class Schedules, Rosters, and Gradebooks

Take, for example, class schedules, rosters, and gradebooks. Now, this might seem pretty obvious as a basic need. But you might not have a real idea of how having access to those lists is truly, truly essential for teachers to be able to mentally “move on” in preparing for the upcoming school year. You’ll catch an idea of that if you're ever involved in a new student information system implementation as we are now. The number one questions in my school district at the moment are “When will I get access to my gradebook?” and “Is the new gradebook/attendance/student information system easy to use?” Teachers need to know their schedules, the number of students they are going to have, and they just want to see the names of the young people who are going to be in their charge for the next year. Having those basic facts in front of them, and knowing they are going to be able to easily access data on their students, provides a sense of grounding. Once they have access to the information, they can focus more effectively on their next stage of planning.

Time

When I was a classroom teacher you probably could not have given me enough time in the world to really get ready for the school year. And because I knew I wouldn’t have enough time, I spent “my own” time in the week prior to the official report-back date as well as late into the evenings during that first inservice week getting my classroom ready for my kids. It got even more complicated when Open House was moved to before the start of school. My classroom had to be ready for learning (or at least look ready for learning) before parents and students came to see it for the first time. So my focus in any unscheduled time I had was on the physical classroom with no brain cells free to think about the quality learning experiences I wanted to have with my students in those critical first days and weeks.

Sitting through meetings under those circumstances was torture. I tried my best to focus on the important information that was being communicated to me usually by my principal or department chair. Hard as I tried, I’m fairly certain I discovered the backchannel before I even knew there was a name for it. I had a “backchannel” conversation going on in my own head with myself for much of the time I was in those meetings, thinking of all the things I still needed to get done in the little precious time I had before the kids came. Later, when I became a campus technology facilitator and was given an hour each year of the teacher’s time to update them on technology resources on our campus, I tried really hard to keep things simple and to the point, giving them only the most important information – and handouts which covered in detail everything I was saying. I was fully aware that everyone in that room had a backchannel going on in their heads as well, even if they were making eye contact and nodding. The handout could be referenced later when they had settled into the year a bit. And I gave my best effort to not get frustrated when they came back later and asked me about something I knew I had covered in that meeting.

Those of us who are charged with sharing back-to-school information with teachers should keep all of this in mind. Yes we have agendas and important information, but does all of it have to be communicated NOW? Or in two solid days of meetings? Could we give teachers work time in the morning and meet in the afternoon? (They might listen better if they can knock some things off of their lists first.) Can some of it wait for the first few faculty meetings? Can some of it be communicated through email or a website or blog? If you think about it, you are wasting your own precious time as well if 50% of what you are covering isn’t making an impact because your audience is distracted. Be mindful of your teacher’s needs, focus only on what is of critical importance for getting school started, and then give them the valuable time they need to plan for quality instruction.

Being Valued and Encouraged as Professionals

“I am a professional educator and I am good at what I do.” I do not think we can reinforce this for teachers often enough. Teachers who are confident in themselves as professionals are going to approach teaching with more enthusiasm and be more open to new ideas that will help them grow in their practices. Teachers have plenty of opportunities to hear that they are not good enough – “The test scores were not where they needed to be at the end of last year.” “Here’s a new program/lesson delivery method/planning system and if you aren’t using it you are short-changing your students.” Implied in both of those types of messages is “You aren’t good enough because you aren’t doing ____________.”

I’m going to point the finger a bit at my own educational technology community and say that we can be very guilty of this whether we mean to or not in our excitement over the latest new technology tool or research. When sharing this information with teachers, we can easily come across as “If you aren’t using this tool/method/etc you are not giving students a quality education.” Do we honestly think they are not educating their students at all? I don’t think that. I know teachers who are behind the curve when it comes to technology but who are still giving their students excellent skills in their subject areas. Teachers whom those students love despite the reports that kids are turned off by having to “unplug” at school. I am, of course, an educational technology advocate. I recognize, however, that quality teaching existed before technology hit the classroom and as a result quality teachers from “BC” (before computers) still exist in our schools. And I’ll venture to say that just because you are using computers doesn’t mean you are teaching in a quality manner.

The bottom line is this: If you want to take those quality teachers, or even those ones who aren’t so “quality”, and help them develop into better teachers, you should to give them some strokes for the things they are doing well. And you should present your new idea/strategy/program as an opportunity to add a tool to their pedagogical tool belt to increase the learning that is already going on in their classrooms. Couching it this way helps increase the receptivity of the teachers to new approaches. The old saying “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar” should be applied far more often in teacher professional development.

New Possibilities

In education we are fortunate to be able to make a new beginning every year. The start of school is the best time of the year in my opinion, because the possibilities are wide open. As administrators, department or grade level chairs, technology specialists, providers of professional development, or anyone who has anything to do with helping teachers launch a school year, I hope these thoughts on basic needs will help us frame the first experiences we are planning for our educators. Let's set them and their students up for success! Here’s to the possibilities that are before us…

 
 
 
All photos used with permission under Creative Commons License Agreements:
Teacher & Gradebook
http://www.flickr.com/photos/83955435@N00/2803559483
Clock
http://www.freefoto.com/preview/11-22-18?ffid=11-22-18
Teacher & Student
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40838054@N00/3545797
Lockers
http://www.flickr.com/photos/houseofsims/2732604677/

Meeting and Encouraging Teacher Learners Where They Are (Or, Hands off the Mouse!)

When you work with adult learners, especially adult learners who are teachers, it’s easy to forget that even though they are adults, they are also our students. And like any student, we have to meet them where they are and encourage them to move forward in their learning without frustrating them, judging them, making them feel guilty, or enabling them.


Having been comfortable with technology from the start of my career, I admit to having been frustrated at times when I observe teachers who have been around for a while but who have embraced technology on only the most basic, required level. These are the teachers who learn the online gradebook or learned how to use their email because the school required them to do it. Without those skills, they would not be able to function in their jobs. So they make an effort to become minimally functional, but they stop there.

I have realized in the past year or so, though, that I am partly to blame for the people who stagnate at a very basic technology skill level, because as their support person I have done things FOR them for so many years. There is often a time crunch when assistance is needed and it is usually faster to just do something for them instead of WITH them. But I have enabled them to stay at their basic levels by opting for the faster solution.

To become a better teacher of teachers, I'm learning (and it's HARD) to keep my hands behind my back and away from the keyboard and mouse even with the most basic (and sometimes slow) computer users.

This past year I helped several folks in a workshop copy a URL from their web browser into a spreadsheet so they could revisit good lesson plans they found online. (Yes, I know Delicious would have been a better solution, but these folks were not ready for that yet.) I talked the participants through the process instead of doing it for them. They thought it was the coolest thing in the world. For them it was, and that's ok, even though many of us in the edtech world would say that was just a basic skill. Hopefully those folks have acquired this basic skill and will be able to accomplish the task again on their own.

Recently, I was fortunate to receive first-hand testimony that my “no hands on the mouse if at all possible” rule is paying off. Within the last month during a workshop on digital storytelling using Microsoft PhotoStory, we had a couple of teachers who obviously were not super-comfortable with all of the computer skills it took to put a story together. My co-facilitator and I coached them through it. We coached A LOT! Toward the end of the day, one of them looked at me and said something to the effect of, “Thank you for all of your help today and your patience. And thank you for not taking the mouse from me. I learn so much more when I get to control the computer myself.” I wondered how many times impatient (but well intentioned) people had accomplished technology tasks for this teacher. And I felt myself grinning from ear-to-ear, because this teacher was excited about what he had learned, I was excited that my “hands-off” philosophy was working, and as an added bonus, the PhotoStory they turned out was well done and had all of us in stitches at the end of the day.

I'm also learning in more informal circumstances when calls for help come to make appointments with people if at all possible and teach them how to do the task they are struggling with. Talk them through it no matter how basic or complicated the skill. When they see they are capable, they often start to try more on their own. Or at least their questions change from "Can you do this for me?" to "Can you show me how to do this?"

And, yes, all of these folks are amazed when they learn what we more savvy users of tech think of as basic skills. But that’s where they are. Where I am, I’m amazed when I edit audio or video (and it works) or figure out what’s wrong with a web page that isn’t displaying properly. No matter what our baseline is, there is great power in amazement and wonder. Amazement and wonder are closely linked to curiosity, which is the doorway to learning. They create opportunities to for us to say, "You think this is amazing? You want to know what's even more amazing? You can learn to do this. Take the mouse. Let me show you how."


Image Source: http://mrg.bz/yqG8ia (used with permission)

My Twitter Journey So Far: Using Twitter as a Personal Educational Resource

Like many of you I started hearing buzz about Twitter this year. Everyone was on it. The local news station. The radio station. Technology gurus. Celebrities. But I didn't see any use for Twitter for me, an ed tech specialist with nothing to sell or promote. I signed on in March of 2009, but didn't do much with it.  I thought it was a mini-Facebook, with people constantly updating what they were doing, no matter how mundane. I really didn't need that much information about people I know, let alone strangers. I was getting that info from the people I wanted on Facebook already. The little I did explore led me to view Twitter pretty much like this.

Then, a couple of things happened. A friend of mine started getting into social media and using Twitter in the tourism and to a small extent the personal realm, and I heard her mention it once or twice. So, I followed her on Twitter. Interesting, but still not my thing, I didn't think. I logged on once a month, if that.

Next I attended a TCEA workshop on 21st Century learners in June. And they encouraged us to use Twitter to share brief thoughts on what we were learning that day. Then my previously mentioned friend sent me a link to a blog post on educational uses of Twitter. (And we made a bet about "if you'll try Twitter, I'll try this...." I won't out her on what she had to try, but it's innocent and fun!)

And before I knew it, I was hooked! The main way I am using Twitter is to find edtech resources. Organizations I trust, like TCEA and ISTE tweet (that's a Twitter post) resources all the time. And sometimes they RT (re-tweet or re-post; kind of like a quote) someone else's Twitter posts. So I started seeing who other good edtech resources were based on re-tweets and learning how to do Twitter searches for other edtech posters and followed them.

Eventually I got brave and did a couple of RTs. I even found resources independently and posted them. It's pretty exciting when someone re-tweets you for the first time...it means they found value in your resource. I'm a sucker for positive feedback and reinforcement!!!! I've even gained a few followers, which is fun and reinforcing as well.

So Twitter has become part of my toolkit for furthering my knowledge of my profession and sharing resources I find to be valuable. I'm tracking some folks who work with Moodle like Mary Cooch and Moodlerific as that is an initiative our district is just starting. I also looked for ed tech gurus I already knew about like Wes Fryer, David Warlick, and Miguel Guhlin. And I've discovered more ed tech leaders I personally hadn't heard of like David Ligon and John Evans. The people I also highly value are the folks who are classroom teachers and on-site K-12 practitioners of teaching and technology integration. There are too many to list and I wouldn't want to leave anyone out. They pass along the practical things that I know can be immediately useful to my colleagues.

And, just so I'm not all work and no play, I did stumble over a celeb I like to follow, becuase he posts pretty authentic stuff. You might recgonize Nathan Fillion from Firefly or Castle.

My latest Twitterventure has been experimenting with a couple of third party solutions for making Twitter more manageable. I am trying TweetDeck and HootSuite. You can see evidence of my HootSuite experiment in the right-hand column of this blog, where I've embedded code to track my latest Twitter posts as well as posts mentioning me.

I'll close this post with a list of websites that have been helpful for me in figuring out how Twitter works when I have questions. (As an aside, I found most, if not all, of these sites via posts on Twitter...)

• Introduction to Twitter for Educators
• A PowerPoint that breaks Twitter down into easily digestable bits!
• 100 Terrific Twitter Feeds for Teaching Advice
• A few suggestions for people to follow if you aren't sure where to start.
• The Ultimate Guide for Everything Twitter
• Twitter Demystified
• 5 Great Search Tips for Finding Cool Links Shared on Twitter
• 10 Basic Rules of Twitter (And How to Avoid Being a Twanker)

Hope this is helpful and you enjoy your own journey on Twitter, wherever you may be in the journey. Feel free to check me out on Twitter as well!

More on Social Networking Guidelines for Educators

A couple of months ago I posted ten social networking guidelines for educators that I had come up with in response to a request from colleagues in my district. Today I came across some more detailed guidelines in the making. One is a blog with several thoughtful comments, and the other a wiki that is being collaboratively created. A great amount of detail in both and much food for thought.

Guidelines for Educators Using Social Networking Sites
http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2009/8/7/guidelines-for-educators-using-social-networking-sites.html

Social Media Guidelines for Schools
http://socialmediaguidelines.pbworks.com/

Top 10 Social Networking Guidelines for Educators Who Wish to Keep Their Career Intact

I put this together about two months ago at the request of some educational technology professionals I know who were curious about boundaries when it comes to what to post and do on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. I tweaked it just this week to present to a group of elementary (K-5) teachers. I'm not a lawyer or legal expert, but based on my observations over the past few years, here's my suggestions for teachers, particularly K-12 (but higher ed isn't exempt) who want to participate in social networks but still keep their privacy and their jobs.

1. Investigate the privacy settings on your social networking sites and USE them.

10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Knowhttp://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy/

How To Be Safe Online (MySpace) CBS News Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo3SOb8GFZY

MySpace Safety Tips and Settings
http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=cms.viewpage&placement=safety_pagetips&sspage=4


2. Be mindful of what the things you post on your profile say about you – not just words and photos, but groups you belong to, “fun” items posted to your profile, etc. Would you want to discuss those things in person with your boss, students, students’ parents, or co-workers? What first impression does your profile pic give?

Keeping Face on Facebook: CBS News Video
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4906238n%3fsource=search_video

Everyone Video from the Ad Council
http://tinyurl.com/everyonevid


3. If you wouldn’t say it or do it or view it with your grandparent/parent/spouse/child/
students/clergy/boss/coworker, don’t post it anywhere on the Internet (or send it in an email for that matter…)

When Young Teachers Go Wild on the Web
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/27/AR2008042702213_pf.html


4. People’s standards differ – you might not care if people see a photo of you in a bar tossing one back with your after-work attire on, but the people (students, parents, colleagues) who see your profile might care.

Say Cheese: 12 Photos That Should Never Have Been Posted Online
http://www.pcworld.com/article/150920/say_cheese_12_photos_that_should_never_have_been_posted_online.html


5. It’s called the WORLD WIDE web for a reason. Courts have ruled that once you post it on the Internet, you have given up your expectation of privacy.

MySpace Musings Aren’t Private, Appeals Court Rules
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202429677896

6. Do not become online friends with students. Yours or anyone else’s. Period. Don’t become online friends with any minors you are not related to.

7. It is OK to not accept someone’s friend request. Or put them in a very limited group in your profile. Don’t succumb to a false sense of guilt!

8. Bashing your current or former workplace, coworkers, or supervisors online is a bad idea. It will bite you in one way or another.

9. Colleges and employers are Googling potential students and employees. Something posted 10 days or 10 years ago can come back to haunt you. Your digital footprint grows larger every year and it really is permanent. (Google yourself occasionally. You might be careful what you post, but are your friends or others careful? Think Michael Phelps.)

Social Networking Sites Can Affect Employment Searches
http://www.esubulletin.com/articles/news/2009/01/29/social-networking-sites-can-affect-employment-sear

10. Your job and/or career may hinge on the decisions you make about what words and photos you post, whom you are friends with online, how well you protect your online profiles, what others post about you, and what kinds of photos you allow to be taken of yourself.

NOTE: I published a brief follow-up to this post in August 2009.


Above List Copyright ©2009 All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for use in educational settings not-for-profit. Please credit the author and let her know you're using it. Permission NOT granted for electronic reposting or publishing in any other medium without written consent of the author.