Educational Collisions: How Connected Educators Are Creating Positive Change #CanFlip14

Editor's Notes

• #2 Honoured to be here Slides will be online with links to resources
• #3 I have to tell you.. I am no expert. I have been honoured to connect with many educators through social media … doing amazing things for kids. I have been privileged to meet many of them and hear their stories.
• #4 Principal – VP – intermediate teacher – high school teacher Land of Dora and Diego Frozen – dance dad – elbow, sink Story of connecting social media started in 2009 Why do I want to share my journey… like you, I want to see change.
• #5 what do I want for MY kids? I want educators to meet my kids where they are and not cram them into some standardized view of schooling. Joy in learning. Stay curious. Authentic learning. Portfolio of growth and assessment. Tap into their strengths and interests. Love learning and NOT be defined by a number to a hundredth of a decimal point.
• #6 We are here today because of our need to connect with others. If we did not have this need, we could just stay at home and read. At conferences I always ask myself “what will I change as a result of me being here today”. This is important but more important is what Dean Shareski talks about
• #7 Leaving here with 1-2 people you can continue to learn with When we learn, It is all about relationships… all about connection.
• #8 People want to help… especially when there is a relationship and a purpose. There are downsides of tech… but Tech can connect us in ways that make us MORE human.
• #9 In a connected world, people ask for help. And people whom you have never met will often reach out.
• #10 A stranger helps… something they will cherish forever. People love stories. Stories that touch the heart and bring us together.
• #11 Crowdsourcing. 1988-92-94-98-2002…. And 2014 Good stories draw people in. Kent. Raise money for people in a fire.
• #13 Powerful movement right now to share the positives of BC teachers… We are seeing the power of social media to bring people together… to enhance human connection, And there is no age limit for this
• #14 82 year old Aunt Pat. My nan and papa both passed away years ago so she is our elder from my mom’s side. Grew frustrated when everyone else knew about family immediately and she had to wait for a letter or pictures to be mailed or dropped off. A message she sent me on my first day at my new school. Social media can bring us closer… and they can bring communities together as people rally around a story… a person.
• #15 Lilee Jean Putt – born 5 days before my girls Family used social media to help share her story and deal with the struggle and pain. She started to beat the cancer. Just after she turned 2, another tumour formed. This is when it became inspiring and incredibly sad at the same time. They decided to, instead of sit in sadness… to dance in the rain. So many others danced with them. Span of 3 months – bday party, Christmas, Halloween, 1st day of Kindergarten Last summer… she got really sick. Many of us, who were friends with Andrew and Chels but had never met… made a video together to send her strength and love.
• #16 16 MINS Social media can bring us together to help. We are tapping into this in education.
• #17 Social Media is NOT changing education… but the people who are sharing, reflecting, growing ARE changing education. And these changes make some people scared.
• #18 You have likely experienced this. Instead of quickly judging something as good/bad or right/wrong… Explore, ask questions… move deeper. When we talk about technology in education, the focus often becomes on the devices… but is it really about the devices?
• #19 19 MINS It is less about the devices… Less about technology
• #20 Helping others, sharing ideas – sending them out for people to use and improve upon… and send back HUMAN CONNECTION
• #21 Effective teaching is hard work… we need to connect and work together to support each other, share ideas, and share stories A connected educator is anyone who works with other educators to grow – professional learning community, personal learning network. Does not HAVE to be online… but being online can expose us to endless ideas to consider, reflect, use, and improve. Steven Johnson talks about how being connected helps ideas grow… check this out.
• #22 David Weinberger says “The smartest person in the room… is the room itself.” “It’s not that we ignore our weaknesses; rather, we make our weaknesses irrelevant by working effectively with others so that we compensate for our weaknesses through their strengths and they compensate for their weaknesses through our strengths” Stephen M. R. Covey This idea has a huge impact on professional learning.
• #23 We need to model learning – not confined to libraries, offices, classrooms. Embrace it. DIY professional learning – any time, any place Read, take time to reflect and digest, respond, share. People I learned from used to be the people on my staff. Important… we want to keep this. But now…
• #24 u can access many thoughts, links to articles, videos, on Twitter BUT More importantly it is the PEOPLE, the relationships with others that is the key impact of social media. Not just about what you know. Not just about who you know.
• #25 Accessing the wisdom and experience of others… with them accessing the wisdom and experience of YOU. People in my network helped me make the move to a new school, new district that much better.
• #26 Already had relationships with many in the district (ex. Victoria Olson) and in the school through social media. Shawn Davids – become great friends. Brian Kuhn and Cale Birk
• #28 “It is no longer enough to do powerful work if nobody sees it” – Chris Lehmann OPEN WINDOWS to your classrooms and learning environments – let people see in and steal some of the great things you are doing in your class.
• #29 Often hear – what am I going to share that is worth sharing? Why don’t you find out? Share. Tweet. Blog.
• #30 How do we make progress in education if nobody shares? How do we create momentum if nothing goes out through those doors? Who would we learn from?
• #31 30 MINS As you listen to the student, he is asking for feedback. Sharing his technique and asking for feedback. What if we all did THIS? What if we shared our ideas and asked for feedback? Would they grow or would they shrink? There are many structures in education that have made isolation the norm – with social media, this is no longer the case.
• #32 With so many educators connecting with each other online… and with the ease in which this can be done We could argue that we are no longer forced to work in isolation… it is a choice that is made. As leaders – teachers, admin – we need to bring our organizations and communities together. HASHTAG
• #33 One of the best ways districts can do this is through the power of a hashtag. #sd36learn is a great example of how the largest school district in BC has come together and expanded these pockets of innovative practice. #bcedchat #flipclass Each organization - district, a school, or a subject area – needs a hashtag to bring people together. When we are connected, we have our network with us to support and challenge when we need them
• #34 Zero sum…. Competitive. Beat out the competition. Winners and losers. We go back to thoughts of John Seely Brown on surfers competing and collaborating to raise the bar using technology.
• #35 35 mins We are no longer in a world where majority of people hold on to their ideas…. They share them and watch them grow. Edcamp
• #36 Conversation with Karl Lindgren-Streicher at an edcamp about awards and schools. Continued this conversation on Voxer with Scott Bedley positive aspects and negative aspects of competition. When someone shares an idea – raises the bar – success Examples… surfers, dance Dance teachers sharing – much like surfers(dance is very competitive) but people are taking ideas and making them better With so many people sharing their work online, many are driven to reach or exceed that bar. I am not sure we can redfine competition but I do know that the world has changed. Ideas are not as owned as they used to be. People now think, share ideas, and create opportunities for growth and reflection.
• #38 Educ change is hard. It is slow…however, when we connect ideas, collide hunches, share what works When we use technology in a purposeful way to enhance our connections When we all open up our hands and share our ideas, we can see in the windows of minds and classrooms of others. Question moves from “Can We?” to “How can we?” We can take the ideas and build on them and share them to increase the rate of real, positive change.
• #39 Top down solutions: school choice, standardize tests, curriculum. “Pedagogy Trumps Curriculum every time” Dylan Wiliam Real change comes from teachers- teachers who aren’t waiting for the new curriculum. They are reflecting, taking risks, connecting and sharing “We can raise the teaching profession by sharing what works, by taking the best of what we do and hanging it on the virtual wall.“ Will Richardson
• #40 an important task is to take the pockets of innovation and effective practice and help create the conditions for these pockets to spread. We have silos in education through classrooms, subjects and other structures. Through technology, we can seek out and share great things so it becomes less of a pocket and more of the norm.
• #41 Remix… mashup… create.
• #42 Stole from good friend George Couros One of the most powerful events I have ever been a part of - staff and students do a project about themselves Kids bouncing ideas Changed this child’s life as she was able to share her pet artwork.. Instead of being the shy girl that nobody spoke to, kids started to ask her to draw pictures of their pets. Confidence soared.
• #43 One tweet about PLC research in BC Janet Lauman, principal in Delta shared her doctorate thesis and what she was doing at her school Living Systems Model based on the needs/wants of staff Create space for teachers to tinker, be curious, and work their magic. Not only is it about sharing ideas… but also being challenged and respectfully challenging the ideas of others.
• #45 Clayton Christensen – seek out intellectual collisions – seek ideas that challenge and support. Develop a network of critical friends This critical friends are so important as they give honest feedback and engage in respectful dialogue. Often when we have challenging conversations, we need to be clear on what we are saying… define our terms. Communicate well.
• #46 44 MINS Are we communicating clearly when we connect? It is not what we say and write… it is what is heard and read. Be clear on what you are saying and seek to understand. These intellectual collisions can be so powerful… they can help us move forward, innovate, create. REMIX and MASHUP ideas. When using terms, we have to be clear on what we mean. An example of this is the flipped model and a conversation that changed me.
• #47 It is a bit ironic that I am here today. I have been VERY critical of the flipped model. Access. Homework. Lectures. Kahn Academy Then I started to see past the term “flipped” and look deeper into what was really happening when some teachers were flipping. Yes, some were just having videos for HW or using Kahn Academy but others like Graham , Carolyn, Brett Clarke (Indiana)… were creating change in the classrooms. Flipping so much. When we have these conversations, we need to take the time to seek to understand what the other is saying…
• #48 dichotomies, Dualism, polarized views – make people feel like they are outright wrong – committing educational malpractice These statements like “worksheets harm kids” are stated to grasp people’s attention… but we need to move deeper than that. The conversation often ends. Very few issues are black and white… there are so many shades of grey (mom’s book) Flipped, grades, tech, classroom walls, homework Binary thinking often steers the conversations away from the issues… become personal. Because the gap is so wide on the issues, people attack the person and say things online that they would never say Face to Face. Robinson Cano – Yankees
• #49 49 mins Also Fallon has done a great job of using social media to connect with people. Meeting people where they are He uses social media to share the stories he wants shared…
• #50 When we share stories of education, we share ideas
• #51 Be less concerned about ownership of ideas Good ideas, good stories need to be shared so they grow and impact more students. Share ideas. Seek out ideas that have been shared.
• #52 We love being in a community and learning from sharing stories. We have shared stories since the beginning. Good Stories capture our hearts… they move us.
• #53 Who is telling the story in your school? District? Province/State? Country? Media? We need to tell the story. Students need to tell the story. Share your stories of positives in education. Be part of the movement to create positive changes in education.
• #54 Sharing the positives Viral
• #55 Social media is like having a small window in to other’s classrooms, schools, conferences… it is not the same as being there but it does give us a small glimpse of what others are doing This can help those hunches to collide, ideas to grow, and innovation to be shared. School in Brazil had a problem and an idea. Students who wanted to speak English… and USA, seniors who wanted to speak to someone.
• #56 55 mins Hugs, Love, Care, Connection. Learning. Using technology to something that could not be done without it. These connections speed up change… speed up innovation
• #57 when ideas have sex tools that were used by prehistoric man.... hand axes were around for a million years before anything really changed. Now, something is around for about 5 yrs and tends to become obsolete – because of connected people, connected ideas. People work to benefit others... Innovate and share. Through connections - we can all have ideas meet and mate to be more innovative and create REAL positive change in education.
• #58 Comfortable being uncomfortable
• #59 What are you going to do as a result of you being here today? Do something now... Stay connected with people you meet here.
• #60 People want to help. We are hardwired to connect. Reach out. Share your stuff, share your stories, and share those of others. Create educational collisions both in and out of the school. Be a connector. Connect those across the hall, down the hall, across town, across the globe in areas of passion and curiosity. The world is your refrigerator Sheryl Nussbaum Beach – this isn’t Vegas – what happens in your classroom shouldn’t stay in your classroom Do one thing now… take a risk. If this kid can do it…
• #61 Do one thing new. Start small. Start with a tweet. Do something to stay connected with some people you met here. I want to thank you so much for having me here today and allowing me to share my journey with you. I will let my daughter have the last word.