"To sync or swim?" Thoughts on e-learning...

I wanted to share a response to a learning module I just completed for a course I am taking called "Technology in Administration". This module asked us to think about our experiences of a synchronous e-learning experience (think Skype or Google Hangouts) and asynchronous e-learning experience (think "all online learning"). I am fascinated with this topic because of the potential of online learning spaces and because I believe passionately in the learning experiences that can only be found in a traditional "brick-and-mortar" school. A question I come back to is, "How can we provide both traditional and online learning experiences for students?"

My own synchronous online session experiences have been successful learning experiences for me, overall. There is something to be said about being able to connect with your peers from the comfort of your home. The fact that I can eliminate an hour’s worth of travel from my day is a huge benefit to me and my family. I appreciate that I can get the same out of the content of the course as I could if I were in a classroom. However, the personal connections and social interactions do not seem as real to me as they do when we are able to meet face-to-face.

As I read through the module's materials, one resource in particular jumped out at me. It was the Rubric for Online Instruction from California State University, Chico. Take a look at the “Instructional Design and Delivery” section of the rubric:

What I noticed was that the characteristics of an exemplary online classroom have the same characteristics of an exemplary brick-and-mortar classroom. This was clear to me after reading the Exemplar characteristic for Interaction and Communication: "Course offers ample opportunities for interaction and communication student-to-student, student-to-instructor and student-to-content."

The traditional classroom and the online classroom are striving for the same thing when it comes to interactions. However, if I were to have to choose which of the two formats for learning have the edge in providing connections, I would definitely choose the traditional classroom. While there is convenience that comes with online learning formats, it's hard to replace face-to-face interactions with people in the flesh.

This leads me to believe that e-learning should be an instructional approach - not a way of learning - that is blended with traditional learning experiences. And apparently I am not alone in this belief. Our district recently organized a technology task-force of students, teachers and community members and one of the key findings was that students overwhelmingly said they do not want to sit in front of a screen all day.

We have classrooms in our building as young as 2nd grade utilizing online learning formats. We are using sites such as MobyMax and Khan Academy to supplement instruction (but not supplant it). Teachers have their classroom set up as workshops where students rotate to the online based activity throughout the workshop. I appreciate this approach because it seems like the classroom teachers are seeking out learning experiences for students in a response to student need rather than a top-down directive. It’s an approach that isn't utilizing technology for technology’s sake and is instead keeping the focus on the learner.

School leaders need to keep the learner at the center of any technology conversations. We need to ensure that we are teaching the learner, not the content or the device.

Simple Ideas Can Lead to Big Changes

Photo from http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-09-02/lifestyle/35494321_1_happiness-positive-emotions-signs

Simple ideas can lead to big changes.

I ran across this blog post by Jason Markey that describes how he is developing a vision for his school around the simple idea of being kind to others. Markey says,

"Be Kind, Find Your Passion, and Commit to Excellence. This is my new personal vision for education. This is the sentence that I will share repeatedly with every one of our students and more importantly I will bring these thoughts to every conversation and decision I’m a part of."

I really like this video that Markey included. It features the story of Massoud Adibpour who wanted to make a positive impact. Adibpour got some folks together and put simple messages like "Honk if you love someone" and "Smile" on signs and stood alongside busy Washington, D.C. roads. I love this idea of doing something simple to try and make a big impact.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EwYLZmkUxo

There's been lots of research done to see what initiatives can make the biggest difference in schools, but it seems the best approach may look more like the vision of Jason Markey and Massoud Adibpour. Maybe the most influential school change initiative we can undertake is to show kindness every single day. Simple things like saying hello to a student or smiling at them can make the biggest difference.

Something has got to give. #EDAD688

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="768"] There are many demands that pull on a principal. How can they manage demands and still lead the school?
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This post was inspired by a discussion forum conversation that took place for a class I am taking. The focus of the class is communication in educational leadership and how educational leaders go about building relationships with stakeholders through effective communication styles.

We were asked to pick a communication style that we might employ as building principals. I picked a style that involves communicating with and listening to the stakeholders within the learning community. This communication style fits with my philosophy of leadership that recognizes that it takes a strong team to get things done in schools. Giving a voice to all stakeholders and synthesizing those voices to establish a collective vision and mission for the school will be a powerful force.

I also believe this style fits me best because I tend to be an idealist and I often find myself asking “Why not?”. I like to buck the status quo when the status quo no longer works for the school. The parents, students, staff and community members are the heart of the school and a strong partnership with these stakeholders should be a principal’s priority. If I am able to strengthen the school-community relationship through a two-way symmetrical model of communication, then I will use it because it will enable the school to stay focused on a mission and vision that all of its stakeholders agree to.

A great question that was posed during the discussion was "With all the demands on the table for administrators, and the fact that they are constantly being pulled out of buildings for central office meetings (one-way communication), how can the 2-way model be organized in a time conscious way?" 

I like that question because it asked us to explain what we are willing to do to make this style of communication work for our school. Time is a precious commodity for everyone and effectively communicating with stakeholders will take a lot of time. So how do we respond?

We have to let some things go. There is only so much we can do and prioritizing our time can help us stay focused on what is important. But before we can let things go, we have to know what we can't let go of.

I can't let go of being in classrooms every single day. The interactions between teachers and students are the lifeblood of the school. I need to know what those interactions look like everyday to help my building continue to provide learning experiences that best meets each student's needs.

I can't let go of working with teachers to better support kids. If we want teachers to provide excellent instruction for students, we need to give them support. I need to be able to meet with teachers to find out what they need to make their instruction meet the needs of their students.

I can't let go of working with parents and community members. It takes a team of many individuals with different skill sets and talents to create an excellent school culture. No one can do that alone and working with parents and other community members will be necessary to create a positive school climate and culture.

However,

I will be able let go of time-draining tasks like reading and responding to emails that go on for pages and pages. Chances are there will be a meeting about it anyway.

I will be able let go of being involved with too many activities that take me away from my building. Prioritizing my time and putting my building first will help ensure our progress is maintained.

And I will be able to let go of responsibilities that can be delegated to someone who has a stronger skill set than I do to complete a task. Not every important task or project needs to have direct involvement by the principal. There is a whole building of professionals that I will be able to rely on to get certain jobs done. I will need to rely on those professionals and the strengths they bring to the building.

If you know you need to make something happen in order to improve or enhance the quality of your school, but you aren't sure how you will make it happen, then something will have to give. Know what your "non-negotiables" are and let them guide you to prioritizing your time and resources towards improving the quality of your school for the students, teachers and families it serves. 

Seeking Balance by Asking Questions #EDAD688

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Education seems to be changing at warp speed.

And it seems like everything is on the table when it comes to what needs to change in education: schedules, grades, lesson delivery, professional development - We are taking a "leave no stone unturned" approach to changing schools and looking into replacing it with self-paced online learning instead of classroom learning, passion projects instead of performance tasks, and PLNs instead of professional development.

This is a great development for students. I like how Ayna Kamenetz explained the latest trends in education: It’s never been a better time to be a learner.

However, I find myself asking questions about some of these changes.

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  Is a 1:1 program good for all students? Even Kindergartners?

  
  


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  Is “flipped instruction” the right instructional approach for all students?

  
  


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  Should all professional development happen through a PLN?

  
  

As a parent of a Kindergartner and a 3rd grader, I can tell you that I would not feel comfortable if my daughters learned everything through passion projects. They still need so many foundational skills such as reading, writing and math that will help them get to a point where they can explore an interest and do it successfully.

A hot topic in education in my district is passion projects and how we need to give students the freedom to learn more about their passions. Companies like Google and FedEx do that for their employees through “20% time” programs and it is yielding results.

But don't forget, Google calls it 20% time because 80% of the time there is still work to be done.

Kids should explore their interests, but they should also need to learn how to be literate problem-solvers who can navigate and understand content.

And let’s be honest: Passion projects are really an instructional approach. The successful teachers I know are the ones who vary their instructional approaches in response to their students rather than use the same approach for everything.

So for now, I’m going to continue to ask questions about some of the changes being proposed. I’m not ready to throw everything out because we are doing great work with kids even if it’s not “flipped” or passion-based. As we strive for change, I believe we also need to strive for a balanced instructional approach.

Creating Opportunity #EDAD688

I feel strongly about using Twitter for professional growth.  Each day, I run across dozens of great ideas shared by amazing educators across the world.  Being involved with Twitter really has changed me professionally.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="420"] http://earthandindustry.com/files/2010/02/twitter-screen.jpg[/caption]

Every now and again, someone will share something short and to the point (which is the point of Twitter) that really changes my thinking about teaching and learning and what I can do to help improve learning experiences for students.

This quote made me have one of those moments:

This quote really resonated with me in two ways.  First, this quote is something I'm realizing more and more the older I get:  If you have an idea, go for it.  It may be a risk, but isn't it riskier to never know what might have happened if you didn't try?

Second, and more importantly, this quote made me begin to think of how we can teach the kids we work with how they might be able to create the very opportunities they are waiting around for.  How many of our students are secretly wanting to start some sort of club?  How many are wanting to do a big project, but need more likeminded folks to help out?  What could we share with students to help them get going on their own big idea?

I've just started thinking about how I might help students advocate for opportunities.  Right now I have more questions than answers, but I might just start listening a little more closer to what kids are asking for to see how I might help them get there.

In Case of Emergency, Read This Book #EDAD688

I originally posted this story to HZN165. It's one of my favorite stories from teaching, so I wanted to share it here, too.

Helping Kids Through A Bad Day

This afternoon, I was running 10 minutes behind the time I was supposed to be working with some students on responding to their reading through writing.  I had made a commitment earlier in the week not to let anything stop me from meeting with these students since that kept happening.

As I was getting nearer to the classroom (walking at a pace that is probably not allowable in an elementary school), I saw a student outside of her classroom showing signs of being frustrated.  Now, it's not unusual for this child to get upset easily.  That's just who she is.  So, against what I wanted to do, I stopped and asked, "Is everything okay?"

She blurted out her frustration and said, "I'm going somewhere else," and headed down the hallway.

That's usually not a good sign.  Not just for this kid.  For any kid.

I followed her and tried to get her to tell me where she was going, but all she said was, "I need to get outta here."

At this point, I wasn't quite sure what to do next.  I was worried that talking about what happened would upset her even more.  It turns out, a few kids in her class were reminding her not to use so much lip gloss in that kid-reminding-another-kid-sort-of-way (think poor choice of words and a negative tone of voice).

So I turned to the emergency, never-fail, guaranteed to make a kid laugh book, The Blue Day Book for Kids: A Lesson in Cheering Yourself Up, by Bradley Trevor Greive.  

I told her I have the perfect book for you.  She was interested and wanted to see what I was carrying on about.

It worked.

She loved relating to the different examples of blue days (and the funny pictures of animals, of course).

So if you ever find yourself in a situation where your child is too upset to think about anything but being upset, I highly recommend bringing out The Blue Day Book For Kids.

It works like a charm.

A School's Social Media Account Can Be More Than A Newsletter. #edad688

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8389/8470078968_41e2e803ef_o.jpg[/caption]

This year Hilliard Horizon Elementary established a Twitter account (@HZNElemenary) for our school because we wanted to utilize this social media tool so that we could better communicate with our students, families and our community about the great things that are happening at our school each day.

Many schools use social media platforms such as Twitter to share information about important dates and events. This is a great way to communicate important information, but more can be done with this powerful communication tool.

We have been using our school Twitter account to share information, student learning in action, reflections from staff members and articles for parents that can help them help their child learn.




The point is that there can be many uses for Twitter that can help you not only get your message out there, but also share the great things you are learning about in your building. Just think of what that shows the community - That you value learning something new every single day, and that learning never stops!

Check out what some of our students and staff members have been learning about over Winter Break:

https://twitter.com/HZNElementary/timelines/420635157607886848

What are some ways your school uses Twitter to engage the community?