Filed under: Change Agent, Instructional Leader, Leadership | Tags: 1:1 Laptop Programs, 21st Century Schools, Action Plans, change, Learning, Risk taking, Technology Plans
Flickr by Edge of Space
In December 2009, I used this photo in my Leadership and 1:1 Bus post and last year I used it with the Graded faculty to describe our journey to provide students with a relevant education for today and the future. This journey includes going 1:1 in August 2012. For me the photo conjures up excitement and fear. And while some people are adventurous enough to sit on top or hang on the side, others feel more comfortable inside. It doesn’t matter where one sits, the important thing is that we’re all together on the journey.
When is it exciting and often magical? When our students are using technology for learning, creative and original thinking, communication and collaboration, research and information literacy and critical thinking and problem solving.
When is it a bit scary? When we are uncertain of what is coming next or when we have to step outside our comfort zone to try something new.
We have so much to be proud because we have traveled so far in such a short amount of time. This year we have done the following to prepare for a full 1:1 rollout in August.
- Support professional development at conferences by providing faculty with the opportunity to attend the Laptop Institute at Lausanne Collegiate and Unplugged at the American School of Bombay.
- Provided all of our teachers and administrators with laptops so that we all get used to working anytime, anywhere.
- Using digital tools to help us with our work and our learning. The idea is that we will experiment and figure out what works as we do the same in our classrooms.
- Created PLCs around assessment in today’s digital environment.
- Reviewed and redesigned our curriculum in science and English with a 21st century lens.
- Encouraged students to bring in laptops to ease the transition for August.
- Defined our Information Communication and Technology standards that will be integrated schoolwide next year.
- Provided teachers with a full-time academic technology coordinator to support them with integrating technology and professional development.
- Developed our acceptable use policy and LARK guidelines so that our community members can be responsible digital citizens.
- Developed a digital toolkit that will provide us with some software standardization in our bring your own laptop environment.
- Upgraded facilities so that we have electrical power throughout the campus.
We realize that the journey is not over yet. In reality, we’ve really only traveled a short distance. The key is that we are well on our way to transforming the learning experiences for our students.
Filed under: Change Agent, Visionary | Tags: 21st Century Schools, change, Facilities, Future, Vision
It has been a blast participating in the process to help design the Graded of the future. Our school is embarking on a major rebuilding project that is expected to take 8 years to complete. During our conversations we are continually asking ourselves, “What will education look like in 2020?”. We have to keep this in focus as we help design a multi-million dollar facility. Here are just a few ideas that come to mind.
- Based on the the current model we project that the school will be able to house 1600 students. If Clayton Christensen and Mike Horn are right in Disrupting Class, then many of our students will be studying online and they may not even need to be on campus. That means that a “Graded student” may not even live in Sao Paulo. If this is the case enrollment may be much larger.
- We are designing an integrated science program in the high school and we are using this to imagine the science labs. By 2020 we’ll have already completed another science curriculum review and our courses may look totally different. What features will be needed in these new labs?
- We are committed to creating collaborative space that we’re calling “collaboratories”. These are flexible spaces that teachers can use as needed. While we are sure that these will be used in the future, I wonder if this is really true. Will we need to develop strategies for learning that take advantage of the space? A test to the idea that, ”If we build it, they will come.”
- We have decided to not increase the size of the MS/HS library even though the number of students will grow. This is based on the thinking that the bookshelves will take up much less space and that users will continue to use the resources from off site. Will we even need a space labeled “Library” when access to digital resources will be available from anywhere?
- Our athletic and physical education facilities look much the same as they do now. Well, of course they’ll be upgraded significantly. In the back of our minds we keep wondering if we should be considering adding facilities for wellness, health and life fitness. Maybe we should be considering a mountain biking track, a huge rock climbing wall, and a swimming pool.
Considering that we’re planning facilities where there are still many questions regarding education in 2020 we keep coming back to the idea that we need to plan flexible spaces. Spaces that can be modified and converted to meet the needs of students and teachers. Fascinating when you think that the buildings will be completed in 2020 and they’ll have a lifespan of 50+ years.
Filed under: Change Agent, Instructional Leader | Tags: 1:1 Laptop Programs, 1:1 Laptops, 21st Century Schools, Conferences, Graded, Innovate2013, Learning, Professional Development
In October, we enthusiastically agreed to join forces with Lausanne Collegiate, The American School of Bombay and Frankfurt International School as a member of the Laptop Institute team. January 19 – 21, 2013 Graded will host the Innovate 2013 Conference. Since then we have had a blast working to plan a meaningful learning experience for all participants. We started by determining a name and a theme and then took ideas from some of the best conferences that member of the planning group had attended. We considered The Laptop Institute, ASB Unplugged, Learning 2.011, K12 Online Conference, Educon 2.4, and a few others.
Our committee still has a long way to go as we strive to break the conference mold but we are excited about the direction that we’re heading. Below is our current stance on our learning structures.
Innovate 2013 Learning Structures
In an effort to combat the Education Myths That Shape Conferences, Innovate 2013 is committed to providing a variety of learning structures to support participants in investigating innovation and planning for transfer in ways that are powerful for them personally.
Two-hour Open Space Slot: Open Space Technology was created in the mid-1980s by organizational consultant Harrison Owen when he discovered that people attending his conferences loved the coffee breaks better than the formal presentations and plenary sessions. This block of time is designed to hand over the conference to participants to determine what kinds of dialogue need to happen that we at Innovate 2013 missed in our planning.
Cohort meetings: Scheduled three times throughout the conference, cohorts are a group of 20 – 25 individuals that gather regularly to exchange ideas, reflect on learning and create connections that result in meaningful, personalized outcomes from the conference. Organized and focused by a facilitator, participants are encouraged to choose into a cohort that best defines where their driving question about educational innovation may reside. This learning structure is designed for participants to build a plan for taking learning back to their organizations.
Cohort strands to choose from include:
- Leadership
- Instructional Technology Facilitators
- The People Behind the Scenes: Infrastructure
- Digital Citizenship
- Differentiation/Special Needs
- Assessment
- NCTE Twenty-First Century Literacies
- The Arts
- Collaboration in local and global communities
- Physical Education
- Student
90 minute workshops and three-hour institutes: We invite YOU, our participants, to share your work and ideas with everyone by presenting at the conference. Come and share how you or your school are integrating technology in the classroom, challenging the status quo, or pursuing strategies that place students in the center. Share your experiences launching and implementing a 1-to-1 program, utilizing digital tools to support assessment practices, building collaborative communities, or examining strategies that add to the dialogue of educational innovation.
We’d love to hear your ideas on what makes a conference valuable for your own learning. If you had the chance to plan your own conference, what would it look like?
Filed under: Change Agent, Leadership | Tags: 1:1 Laptop Programs, 21st Century Schools
Alan Schwarz’s New York Times article, Out With Textbooks, in With Laptops for an Indiana School District highlights the the new 1:1 laptop initiative in Munster, IN.
I’m a bit shocked by the focus of the article and the way that the program is portrayed. Take a look at a few of the quotes from the article and you tell me what you tell me what you think.
This is the quote from Ms. Stafford that ends the article. “This wasn’t a technology initiative — this was a curriculum initiative,”
OK, but look at these other ones.
- “The day all have seen coming — traditional textbooks being replaced by interactive computer programs…”
- “The material we’re teaching is old but everything around it is brand-new,” said Pat Premetz, chairwoman of the math department at Wilbur Wright Middle School
- “Uncuffed, Angela Bartolomeo’s sixth graders spent a recent Wednesday rearranging terms of equations on an interactive Smart Board and dragging-and-dropping answers in ways that chalkboards never could. (In between, a cartoon character exclaimed that “Multiplying by 1 does not change the value of a number!” in his best superhero baritone.)”
- “When Ms. Norman told the students to take out their ear buds to watch a video, two in the back yelped, “Cool!””
- “With a textbook, you can only read what’s on the pages — here you can click on things and watch videos,” said Patrick Wu, a seventh grader. “It’s more fun to use a keyboard than a pencil.
Are these the main reasons that we advocate for providing students and teachers with access to technology? Are these examples of higher level learning in a 21st century classroom? I applaud the efforts of the school district and teachers. I just think that this article fails to capture the real reason why the district decided to go 1:1.
Filed under: Change Agent, Instructional Leader, Leadership | Tags: 21st Century Schools, change, Leadership, Vision
During a leadership team discussion on Graded in the future, one of my amazing colleagues came up with the quote of the year. She was explaining how she made the decision to develop the skills and knowledge necessary for leading in today’s 21st century landscape. She decided that she either needed to “learn or retire”. Her testimonial provided all of the members of our leadership team with inspiration and motivation to move forward. For educators, it doesn’t matter what stage of your career, you either “Learn or Retire”.
Filed under: Change Agent, Instructional Leader, Modeler | Tags: 1:1 Laptop Programs, 21st Century Schools, Future, Risk taking
On Tuesday I made a presentation to the entire high school student body and it did not go exactly as I had hoped. We’ve had a task force working on plans to implement a 1:1 program in 2012 and the timing seemed right to introduce the students to the initiative. The purpose of the assembly was to create an awareness amongst the students of Graded’s plans to start a 1:1 program in the high school in 2012. I also tried to go beyond the idea of just a 1:1 program by focusing on Graded in 2020. To provide all students with a voice in the discussion I asked all students to bring their mobile devices so that they could participate in a back channel chat.
It’s very interesting because I really thought that the problems would be different in nature. I did not expect that the immature acts of a small number of students would dominate the discussion on the back channel chat. I had asked a colleague to turn it off if someone posted anything inappropriate and about half way through he shut down the computer. This happened even after I gave them three clear rules: 1. Use real names; 2. Conversation has to relate to the topic; and 3. Think before you post. Here are my thoughts on the risk, my learning and the future.
The Risk
As I mentioned, The purpose of the assembly was to create an awareness amongst the students of Graded’s plans to start a 1:1 program in the high school in 2012.
I was certainly nervous and knew that there was a certain level of risk going into the presentation.
- Will students be receptive to the message?
- Will the technology work?
- How will I effectively communicate the message?
- Will anyone actually participate in the discussion?
- How will the teachers respond to the topic?
- What will happen when I all give students voice?
With these questions in mind I set out with purpose. When putting together the presentation my focus was on the topic and I tried to use a mix of text, videos and images to convey the message. Like every good teacher I rehearsed my speech and made sure that the Prezi slideshow, videos, and the back channel tool, Today’s Meet worked.
While I may not have been successful in creating that discussion on the back channel chat, I have anecdotal evidence that discussions are happening. Our film teacher told me that his class had a “interesting” 15 minute discussion right after the assembly. and our PFL students shared their comments with their teacher. I even find a sense of contentment in the fact that a few stragglers on the back channel chat session posted relevant comments as late as 8:35 pm on Tuesday.
“But Graded is trying to be a pioneer in the area in Brazil. I really admire them for that.”Liberalism Rules at 8:19 PM, 4 May 2011 via web
“And as for the maturity, if this technology was something that we were rather used to, people wouldn’t be so “obsessed” over it, and…” troll at 7:57 PM, 4 May 2011 via web
“I think that although laptops would provide more interactive learning experiences for the students, it would also hinder their concentration”: D at 7:45 PM, 4 May 2011 via web
I’m in search of more stories from students and teachers.
My Learning
Every good educator processes the lesson and whether or not students learned to identify improvements for the future. In this case, let’s think in terms of risk management.
- It’s probably natural for high school students to get a little giddy when they are introduced to a new tech tool and some will want to play around more than others. Maybe I could have tested the back channel out on smaller groups before doing it with 350 students.
- Next time I’ll plan to use a back channel tool that shows the identity of the participants. This will take longer to set up but it will be worth it. I can use the expertise of our Academic Technology Facilitator to help me with this setup.
- I’ll make sure that every student has access via the wireless network. I found out just prior to the presentation that this could have been arranged. I believe that there were students in the audience that wanted to respond to the topic and they were not able to. These students could have turned the conversation. In a 1:1 environment it is so important to provide everyone with the opportunity to participate.
- I’ll ask the faculty members to bring their mobile devices so that they can participate in a positive manner. Since this is a community discussion their voices are important.
- I’ll also continue working on building relationships with students so that there is a level of genuine respect between us. It’s my first year and the school and I have much work to do to build stronger relationships with the Graded student body.
- You can bet that I’ll also set up a way to measure whether or not I was successful in raising awareness.
What other suggestions do you have for me?
The Future
Will I do it again? You bet!
Will I do things differently? Of course.
In today’s learning environment it’s imperative for educators to try new approaches to teaching and learning. I think that it’s actually OK to fail every once in awhile. I’ll probably do a more thorough risk assessment in advance next time. I’m saving the transcript of the back channel because I want to go back and review it in the near future. I envision a time when everyone will have a voice at our assemblies in a meaningful discussions. I would have loved to have seen back channel chats when we had MV_Bill and Nando Reis speak to our community.
Photos: Risk Taking Quote by useitinfo
Risk Assessment by Blue Square Thing
Filed under: Change Agent, Instructional Leader, Leadership, Visionary | Tags: 1:1 Laptop Programs, 21st Century Schools, change, Essential Conditions, Planning, Vision
Something very exciting happened when our leadership team met for a leadership retreat to work on our vision for Graded. For the longest time we have been focusing on our 1:1 initiative in the middle school and amazingly enough, during the entire retreat, technology never entered the conversation. We even framed our learning around five of ISTE’s Essential Conditions to Effectively Leverage Technology for Learning. The five that we chose were Skilled Personnel, Curriculum Framework and Student Centered Learning, Ongoing Professional Development, and Assessment and Evaluation.
I think that we owe the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and their “A Guide to Becoming a School of the Future” for this accomplishment. I highly recommend it as required reading for any school that is planning for the future. I think that we spent so much time focusing on the core of a our school in the future, that it was just assumed that technology would play a major role in the teaching and learning process.
What does the guide have to offer?
The first section is entitled, “Making the Case for Schools of the Future”. Even if you don’t need convincing, I suggest that you read it and share it with those who need to be convinced.
“We can choose to adapt, accepting that we do not know this world as well as our children and look to them to help us learn. Or, we can be infexible immigrants, focusing on how good things used to be. If we are to reach our children and help them learn, we must adapt, we must face the fact that our students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.”
The second section is, “Essential Capacities for the 21st Century”. We linked this to a curriculum framework where the main categories are Analytical and Creative Thinking and Problem-solving; Complex Communication —Oral and Written; Leadership and Teamwork; Digital and Quantitative Literacy; Global Perspective; Adaptability, Initiative, and Risk-Taking; Integrity and Ethical Decision-Making. There are many frameworks out there that describe what students should know and be able to do. This is just one that provides food for thought.
I love the third section and think that it is the core of the guide because it provides schools with a variety of models and resources for change. It’s great that they start the chapter off by saying:
“The intention is not to provide a formulaic approach to the challenges of teaching and learning in our times but rather to encourage exploration, innovation, and transformation within each school in a manner that is consistent with the school’s mission and the needs of its students.”
One can spend hours in this section exploring the ideas and the links to resources from a wide variety of school and teachers. The Stories of Excellence guide has examples of classroom units where technology is used (unfortunately, It looks like they have blocked it to non-members). This is one resource that is teaching and learning with technology focused.
The authors identified the following unifying themes:
- The schools are academically demanding
- Project-based learning, as an integral part of the school’s program, is woven throughout all grade levels and disciplines
- Classrooms extend beyond the school walls, actively engaging students in the world around them
- Digital technologies and a global perspective infuse all aspects of the curriculum
- Vibrant arts programs help promote creativity, self-expression, self-discipline, and fexibility
- The adults are actively engaged with one another and with the students in a process of continuous learning
- A culture of engagement and support invites participation, innovation, and a “growth mindset” on the part of teachers and students
- Transformational leadership challenges the status quo, draws out the issues, navigates through confict, and mobilizes people and resources to do the adaptive work necessary to create and sustain effective change.
Finally, the appendix has additional resources to use in your planning.
If you haven’t studied this guide, you’re missing out. It’s a must in my book.
Filed under: Change Agent, Leadership, Visionary | Tags: 1:1 Laptop Programs, 21st Century Schools, Collaboration, Communication, Planning
While our middle school has a 1:1 program in grades 6 and 7 our high school is planning to roll out a 1:1 program in August 2012. We have created a 27 member task force comprised of teachers, students, parents and administrators whose job it is to get out in front of the learning and to make recommendations for the 2011 school year. The task force leadership group decided to structure the group, which has a December – June lifespan, around these ideas and goals.
Goals
- Develop recommendations/action steps for the high school for the 2011-12 school year. Recommendations will be based on the International Society for Technology in Education’s Essential Conditions.
- Share information on 21st century education with the Graded community.
The group meets monthly for 4 hour chunks of time so we realize the importance of communicating and collaborating virtually. There are three tools that we are relying on heavily for communication and collaboration.
1. Ning - The 2012 Task Force Ning is our hub for communication. While there are 27 members of the task force, there are 56 members on the Ning. We have opened it up to our entire community. We started by posting notes from our initial meetings in the discussion forum and are encouraging video uploads, ongoing discussions and blog posts. We use it as a portal for discussions and an archive of our process. Recently, we asked our high school leadership team to review the Ning so that the members could gain a sense of what the task force is doing. While we’re never satisfied with the level of participation, the amount of information that has been generated after 3 months is fantastic.
2. Diigo - We have created a group called Graded 21st Century that members can use to share web resources. Members can also share highlights and notes with the rest of the group. We are finding that the long tale property holds true with a very small number of members contributing multiple sources. It will be interesting to see how participation improves over time.
3. Google Docs – We use Google Education tools to collaborate and present information. These tools are available 24/7 for members to use and we have a rich archive of information.
So, what have we learned in rolling out these tools?
1. Building the Ning doesn’t mean that people will automatically start using the tool. We found that we had to provide support to help the teachers, students and parents to get started. Sending the information out via e-mail only worked for some of the participants.
2. Using the tools during the face to face meetings is a must. Aside from the obvious reasons, this allows the participants to discuss the tools and they can get help, if necessary.
3. We’re working with an outside consultant and she is able to track our progress and participate in the discussions. On a recent Skype call with her I asked her to guess which direction the group took in a recent meeting and she had already seen the work and was able to comment. It’s so efficient and effective to have her linked in with our work.
4. Making a monthly post an assigned task has had mixed results. Some were more comfortable with expounding on their ideas that related to specific online resources and others just shared resources on the Ning. We’re hoping that with feedback and discussion that posting will become a habit and that the quality of the posts will improve.
5. We’re constantly looking for ways to increase the chatter on the Ning. We are optimistic that we’ll develop a culture of online collaboration but it seems to be something that we can’t give up on.
We’re very excited about the work that this group is doing and it will be exciting to see how this online culture evolves. What suggestions do you have for us?
Filed under: Instructional Leader, Leadership | Tags: 21st Century Schools, AASL, Digital Citizenship, Educational Leadership, Remixes, Support Policies
I feel strongly that, in today’s world, students need to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviors that will help them to be model digital citizens. While I like to think that it’s black and white, I’m learning that it’s much more complicated than that. Our school librarians have been working on organizing the American Association of School Librarians Standards for the 21st Century Learner so that we can use them throughout the high school. Below are several of the benchmarks that are related to academic integrity.
- Understand what constitutes plagiarism and refrain from representing others’ work as their own.
- Demonstrate understanding of intellectual property rights by giving credit for all quotes, and by citing them properly in notes and bibliography.
- Abide by copyright guidelines for use of materials not in public domain.
- Legally obtain, store, and disseminate text, data, images, or sounds.
- Abide by the Acceptable Use Policy in all respects and use Internet responsibly and safely.
- Explain First Amendment rights and the process available to defend them.
- Demonstrate understanding of intellectual freedom and First Amendment rights.
- Demonstrate understanding for the process of copyrighting their own work.
- Analyze the consequences and costs of unethical use of information and communication technology (for example, hacking, spamming, consumer fraud, virus setting, intrusion); identify ways of addressing those risks.
OK, these seem to make sense and, after all, they are designed with the 21st century student in mind. Wait, before you decide, take a look at this documentary, entitled RIP! A Remix Manifesto. (it’s 85 minutes long, but it is worth the time).
What do you think now? Funny that the 21st century standards don’t even mention Creative Commons. If you want to explore the topic more, check out the Everything is a Remix site.
Filed under: Change Agent, Leadership | Tags: 21st Century Schools, change, Creative Tension
I know that Scott McLeod has cornered the market on the Irrelevancy of education today, but here is what Dilbert had to say this week.
Related to the theme of relevancy. Take a look at some of the top supplemental videos that students included in their application to Tufts University. Are we preparing our students for this type of presentation? It won’t be long before other schools follow suit.
