Day: September 15, 2012
Always Learning, Always Connected
On my first day as a program consultant, I asked my superintendent what was the best way to introduce myself when visiting a school for the first time. His answer made me smile “Just let your reputation open the doors for you”. Whatever you do, don’t say, “I’m here from the board office and I’m here to help you.”
I still remember that conversation. As I was assembling the interview blog post from yesterday, I was really struck by a comment from Brenda Sherry.
When I’m asked to coach in a school, for example, it’s not really just me who visits but my whole network, as these are the resources (people and ideas) that I rely upon in order to maneuver effectively through the learning landscape of today’s world.
What an interesting and appropriate comment to read in the year 2012.
Ask anyone not in the teaching profession and it’s likely that you’ll get the opinion that the teacher is the sole owner and dispenser of information and knowledge to students. I think it’s something to be expected.
For the most part, we (just about anyone who reads this blog) graduated from a system where we expected that our teacher knew everything about the subject matter and our goal was to be able to learn 50% or more of it. The more we remembered and was able to pass back on an exam, the better the mark. To reinforce the concept, we attended college or university where our abilities to soak it all in was truly tested in classes of 2-300. In a way, I think that’s why some of the tenants of video learning are so popular. Watching a video of someone solve a mathematics or science problem reminds us of our classroom experiences – only better. We can replay the video many times until we understand.
Such an environment is far removed from the real classrooms in today’s schools. Even the notion that Brenda’s employer sees the need to hire a technology coach is confirmation that the classroom teacher can’t possibly know it all. In her interview, Brenda acknowledges that she doesn’t know it all but she sure knows where the resources lie. They lie in her network.
There may have been a time when collaboration meant working with the other teacher of the same subject. That’s not enough. Having that “whole network” of ideas, resources, colleagues, teams, dissenting opinions, links, like minds, … is priceless.
In a district the size of Brenda’s, it’s unlikely that she’ll be able return to that classroom working with teachers and students day after day. Yet, the true value will accrue to those who watch and listen when Brenda says “I have an idea from …” or “Let me connect you with …” or “I saw …’s ideas about this”. The true value lies in the connections.
At this point in 2012, I think that Brenda has truly nailed it. If there’s one thing that she can leave behind after one of her visits, it’s that there’s a whole connected world just waiting to be accessed. You just need to make the connection.
I also hope that you, dear reader, are nodding your head as you think about her comment. A connected teacher is the most valuable asset that any system calling itself a 21st Century institution can have.
Are you connected? Are you connected enough? Are you one of the people who Brenda takes with her when she visits schools?
Related articles
- An Interview with Brenda Sherry and Peter Skillen (dougpete.wordpress.com)
- Technology in my ideal school – the marketer’s perspective (bloxhammarketing.com)
- Connected Educator Month Day 25 – Pin all the things! Pinterest as a Gateway #ce12 (ed421.com)
OTR Links 09/15/2012
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Animations: Critical Thinking – Bridge8
“Bridge8 cowrote produced, animated and directed a series of six critical thinking animations for TechNyou, an emerging technologies public information resource funded by the Australian Government Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (DIISRTE).”
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Nodal – Generative Music Software
“Nodal is generative software for composing music, interactive real-time improvisation, and a musical tool for experimentation and fun. Nodal uses a new method for creating and exploring musical patterns, probably unlike anything you’ve used before. You can play sounds using Nodal’s built-in synthesiser or any MIDI compatible hardware or software instrument.”
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Are your #ESL students hearing diverse input? | A journée in language.
“For what it’s worth, the data shows that it might just be important; David Graddol’s report English Next states that 75% of interactions in English take place between non-native speakers.”
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US Schools Seeing More Technology, Better Resource Sharing| The Committed Sardine
“The next stage of digital adoption could be figuring out how schools can better share tech resources within their district, their state and even the country.”
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Netflix exec: Canada’s broadband caps “almost a human rights violation” — Online Video News
“Low broadband caps in Canada put that country close to third-world countries, and overage charges almost amount to human rights violations: Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos blasted broadband caps and usage-based-billing employed by Canadian ISPs during an investor event Thursday afternoon.”
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Test drive: MyHistro | Bright Ideas
“There is a new timeline tool in town! Actually MyHistro is more than just a timeline – it has a built-in mapping tool too.”
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Print out all your saved passwords – OSX | Song Zheng
“Here’s a reason why you shouldn’t let anyone use your computer.”
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If We Actually Taught Math… | ThinkThankThunk
“If We Actually Taught Math…”
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Belkin Develops Classroom Tablet Stands — THE Journal
“Belkin has come out with two tablet stands specifically intended for education use. The new Belkin Tablet Stand and Belkin Tablet Stand with Storage are designed to help tablet users avoid neck discomfort from prolonged use by establishing an optimal viewing angle. The new products are expected to be out this month.”
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How Do We Define and Measure “Deeper Learning”? | MindShift
“In preparing students for the world outside school, what skills are important to learn? This goes to the heart of the research addressed in the Deeper Learning Report released by the National Research Council of the National Academies of Science in Washington.”
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Skitch as a Teaching Tool | Evernote Blogcast
“I love the simplicity of Skitch — using it with my students takes only a matter of seconds, and there are unlimited possibilities. “
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Studyhall Launches A Peer-To-Peer Learning & Collaboration Network For Students | TechCrunch
“Studyhall, which launches at TechCrunch Disrupt SF today, is a peer-to-peer platform and network that is built specifically for students”
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10 Ways to Ensure Parents Won’t Need to Ask ‘What Did You Do at School Today?’ | TeachThought
“I think parents don’t like it, or, at the very least, get annoyed when they ask their children, “what did you do at school today?” and the answer is “nothing.” (I actually know this to be true, not from statistics or action research, but because I am a mom and this is usually what my kids answer when I ask and I get annoyed).”
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course-builder – Course Builder – Google Project Hosting
“Course Builder is our experimental first step in the world of online education. It packages the software and technology we used to build our Power Searching with Google online course. We hope you will use it to create your own online courses, whether they’re for 10 students or 100,000 students. You might want to create anything from an entire high school or university offering to a short how-to course on your favorite topic.”
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What’s Microsoft’s father of C#’s next trick? | ZDNet
“Microsoft Technical Fellow Anders Hejlsberg is working on something to do with JavaScript tools. Here are a few clues about his latest project.”
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12 Things To Do After You’ve Written A New Blog Post [Infographic] | inspirationfeed.com
“12 Things To Do After You’ve Written A New Blog Post [Infographic]”
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Infographics Explained With Legos | Teachers Tech
“Infographics are all over a web these days. Some are useful, some are not, and some are only plain fun. Yesterday, on Cool Infographics we detected an infographic that explains what infographics should do. The fun and rather ominous reason of infographics is done regulating Legos. Check it out below.”
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Map — Google Sightseeing UFO Updates
“Thanks to everyone who commented on the original UFO find, although we’re still not sure what they are, there’s been some interesting developments.”
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12 Mysterious Google Maps Sightings
“12 Mysterious Google Maps Sightings”
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Tracking Cloud Adoption in Schools [Infographic] | EdTech Magazine
“Schools will soon spend close to 30 percent of IT budgets in the cloud.”
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Google Maps Reveals How We Spent Summer Vacation [INFOGRAPHIC]
“U.S. travelers had visiting scenic landscapes on their mind this summer, as the top three Google Maps searches were park regions in the West: Death Valley National Park, Redwood National Park and Yosemite National Park.”
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“Why do bad things happen to good email? Users miss notification emails like friend requests and password resets because they get filtered as spam. Why does this happen and what can you do about it?”
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Back-to-school time is here, but are retailers getting our attention? | The Best Financial Platform
“Infographic – Back-to-school time is here, but are retailers getting our attention?”
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5 Great infographic Creation Tools for Teachers
“Creating infographics is a skill much needed in the 21st century classroom. They can serve a wide variety of learning objectives and they are not really hard to make. They are very useful in the sense that they can be used for illustrative purposes. For instance, teachers can use graphs, diagrams , and colorful templates to present information in such a way that catches students attention.”
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“At CELT, we had a really busy time with courses running cheek to jowl throughout the summer months with no break at all. We had great trainees from all over the world and our results were outstanding!!!!”
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The Shocking Amount America’s Teachers Spend on School Supplies (Infographic)
“Due to budget cuts, public school teachers are dishing out their own money for much-needed books, pencils, art supplies, and more”
doug --- off the record 