What's More Important...Computers or Skills?

I can honestly say these past two years have been an incredible learning curve for me. I had an opportunity to change jobs, not once but twice, and took both of them! The first was a lateral move from one school to another in the same division. The building itself was the same exact floorplan of my former school. They even underwent renovations at the same time. The layout was where the similarities ended. Each school had its own distinguishable heartbeat. The students, staff, parents and community members made both buildings amazing in their own unique ways.

Just when I felt as if I had my bearings about me in my new environment, opportunity once again arose. Timing however, was lousy. The position had posted at the end of August, and I was excited about starting the school year where I was. We were scheduled to get Chromebooks for every student, and were anxious to see how this would change how teaching and learning would take place. Regardless, the position was an advancement that was too good to turn down. Needless to say, I got the job!

For the third time in my career, I was starting a new position in a leadership role after the school year had already started. While it seemed really inconvenient at first, I ended up being really glad things happened the way they did. I got to see a school full of students and teachers experience 1:1 learning for the very first time. A week and a half later, I was in a completely different school system working with students and teachers who have known 1:1 learning for over a decade. 

Looking back on the experience, I learned something pretty valuable. Just because you have given every student in your building or division a laptop, tablet, or Chromebook; it doesn't mean you have done anything innovative. How that tool is applied to the instructional process determines innovation. We live in an age during which the majority of our students in the US have access to some form of mobile technology in their daily life. Kids are walking into school expecting to have access to technology to complete their schoolwork, record assignments, and work on projects. Collaborating and sharing online are second nature to them. 

Things like presenting, organizing, problem solving, and working with others, however, are not necessarily second nature. I've seen plenty of people who know their way around a computer who don't have any of the other "21st Century" skills I mentioned above. 

This is a time of year during which many of us in education turn towards the planning process for the upcoming school year. Some of us may be tasked with preparing for a 1:1 initiative. My advice to you? Make sure your teachers and staff are comfortable with teaching 21st Century Skills, or those skills needed to be successful in the modern learning process. If they aren't, you are just going to end up with a lot of kids who know their way around a computer. We have plenty of those already. 

Remember the Past, But Always Be Present

I absolutely LOVE working with kids because it gives me a legitimate reason to keep up with pop culture. If it wasn't for children, I may very well have succumbed to a life of "90s music stations and watching NCIS years ago. Not that there is anything wrong with either...

Today was one of those days that I was happy to be living in Virginia...71 and sunny at it's highpoint...at the beginning of February. I paid homage to the Beetle convertible sitting in the garage by washing her off, shining her up, and driving her around town with the top down in this GLORIOUS weather. At one point, Wil Smith's "Summertime" came on the radio, and it almost felt like summer (if you could forget about the fact that all the trees were bare). I have to admit that I probably did turn up the volume to a slightly obnoxious level at one point today. 

I bring this up because while I enjoy a '90's moment like that from time to time, I also work very hard to live in the present. Why? Because it is what the kids I work with on a daily basis are living in ALL THE TIME.  

It makes me cringe sometimes when teachers and staff members I work with reminisce on old materials they worked with, and wonder why they can't work with them anymore. Living in the now is a very important concept when working with children. It's all they know. The past is "old school" to them, and they treat it as history as opposed to nostalgia. While it is OK to be nostalgic about Cole Porter, Frank Sintra, The Beatles, Aerosmith, NKOTB, or Britney Spears...yes, Britney Spears; as educators, it is so important to have the ability to acknowledge the past, but live in the present. Your students live in the present. You need to be able to relate to them. There are actually organizations in corporate America that encourage it's staff members to to read People magazine. 

Take time this week to truly relate to your kids and the world they live in. You may actually enjoy it! 

Personal Professional Goals

At the beginning of each school year, I have to write a professional growth plan based on the goals of our school and school division. In addition to these goals, I also choose some personal professional goals to reach.

I had made a resolution at the beginning of the new year to maintain a Personal Learning Network (PLN) through Twitter. Prior to that point, I had done very little with Twitter or Personal Learning Networks, and I knew I really needed to. In the months to come, a whole new world of FREE professional development opportunities opened up to me. In fact, my personal professional goals for this year come directly from ideas generated through my PLN.

Goal 1: Maintain Regular "No Office" Days.

I am sincerely worried about the amount of change we are asking of our teachers this year. In addition to working with a new student database system which includes a new electronic grade book and method for posting assignments, we are also giving each one of their students a Chromebook. One evening, a member of #cmsk12chat mentioned the concept of "no office" days. Basically, select days to work outside the office. I'm hoping that in doing this, I will have a better idea of what is going on in classrooms. I'm hoping that by spending more times with teachers and students, I will be better equipped to accomplish my second goal.

Goal 2: Make Sure Those I Work With Experience Personalized Learning

As our school division implements so many new initiatives this year, there will be teachers who will embrace them and instantly thrive in their new teaching environment. Others will need some guidance to be more successful. There will also be a group who will struggle, who will need intensive support and coaching. Using "no office" days will allow me to gain a greater understanding of what our teachers need. I can then seek out resources to help provide them with professional development or coaching that fits their individual needs. I'm willing to bet I could pair them up with a PLN that would help them grow like I have. I know there will also be some tough conversations that will take place as a result of what I see, and that is why my final goal is so important.

Goal 3: Maintain Authenticity

One of my absolute favorite chats, #leadwithgiants, takes place on Monday nights at 7:00 p.m. They discuss trends in leadership. Back in June the topic was centered around authenticity. Being new to a building last year, I was afraid that I had lost some of who I was trying to fit in with the culture there. What I ended up realizing is that in order to best serve those I work alongside, I need to be true to myself.  I am at my most confident when I am true to myself. The teachers, students, and staff members I work along side deserve the very best from me, and I need to be at my best in order to give my best.

As you reflect on your upcoming year, be sure sure that the goals you set help your school and your division. However, make sure to set some goals which help grow yourself as well; because If you stop learning, those you work alongside aren't going to learn very much either. 

Teacher Concerns About 1:1 Learning

So...the school system I work in is going to be giving every middle school student a Chromebook this fall. What's really interesting about this whole thing is that the adults working with these students aren't being given Chromebooks too. As an administrator, I was lucky enough to get one to play with for two weeks. The teachers got to play with them in a "petting zoo" environment hosted by our technology integrator. I made it a point to make sure I did a LOT of classroom observations on it (we currently use Observation 360) and showcased it to the teachers during each post-observation conference. Thankfully, our school system has been very proactive in providing teachers with several experiences to learn more about how Google Drive works.

Since I've found out that students are getting Chromebooks, I've been asking the following question during post-observation conferences:

"How will this lesson look different when every student in your class has a Chromebook in front of them?"

This one question sparked a LOT of conversation. Language arts teachers talked about using Google docs for peer editing. Social studies teachers brought up the ability to research current events, attend virtual field trips, and create presentations without having to book lab time. Virtual labs were the center of conversation among science teachers, and math teachers were excited about using videos like Kahn academy as part of the spiral review process. Teachers have even started administering student assessments through Edmodo and Google Forms.

There were also some very genuine concerns:

• Will I receive additional training to teach in this new way? 
• Will students be able to take their state assessments on a Chromebook? (while laptops are OK for testing purposes, Chromebooks are still being decided upon.)
• What happens when a student breaks/misplaces their Chromebook? 
• Will there be a schoolwide procedure for keeping students' Google Drive folders organized? 
• How much "hacking" can be done to a Chromebook? 
• Will I be expected to teach everything using the Chromebook? 

Two things help ease these concerns:

1. Keep the Lines of Communication Open - Having conversations with teachers regarding their anticipations and concerns over this initiative helps in a couple of different ways. First, acknowledging an individual's concern can greatly help decrease the anxiety that person may be feeling in any situation. Also these conversations are wonderful opportunities to find out what any common fears may be. That qualitative data can then be used to put together professional development sessions that are relevant to the needs of your staff members. 
2. Understand that it's OK to say "I Don't Know" - Depending on how your school division manages its resources and implements its programs, you may not necessarily know how everything is going to work. If someone asks you a question, and you don't know the answer, say "I don't know. Can you give me some time to find out the answer for you?" Your staff members will appreciate your honesty for doing that. Just make sure you do get that answer for them!

This is going to be an exciting time for both our teachers and students. I think it will be a year during which the teachers will learn as much as our students do, and I'm glad to be part of the process! 

When Students Get Chromebooks

This fall, every middle school student in the school system I work for is going to receive a Chromebook. As a middle school administrator, I've been spending a fair amount of time researching Chromebooks in education, and even created a Pinterest board dedicated to the subject to share with colleagues. In my research, two major themes related to Chromebooks in education have surfaced:

• Implementing a Chromebook program within a school or school division
• Ideas on how to teach with Chromebooks

Ironically, there are very few sites dedicated to getting started with Chromebooks once they end up in the hands of the students. I am a firm believer that well-developed and implemented procedures and routines are one of the key components to a successfully run class. Effective teachers have procedures for practically everything: For handing out and collecting work, for whole-class and small group instruction, for keeping notebooks organized, for transitions...I could go on, but if you've been in a classroom, you probably get the idea. When students get these Chromebooks, they are going to potentially become their backpacks, lockers, textbooks, notebooks and libraries all rolled into one. 

 Picture From - http://www.eveningsun.com/

The interesting thing about the Chromebook versus the laptop is that all student work is stored in the cloud using Google Drive. I can still imagine students losing their homework, classwork or projects within their Google Drive if they haven't been properly instructed on setting up folders for each class, with homework, classwork, and project subfolders set up within the class folders. I can also imagine them getting off task while surfing the web if teachers aren't frequently checking in on students. It's my belief that there will need to be an established set of schoolwide procedures and routines in order for teachers and students to be successful with the Chromebooks. That being said, there will still be a group of students who will require some extra supervision. 

The teachers who are going shine brightest through this initiative are the ones who  realize there will be a need to rethink their teaching practices right down to the very procedures and routines they may have been using for many years. This is going to be a MAJOR culture shift. As school leaders, we can facilitate this process by doing the following: 

• "Walking the Talk" - We need to make these apps part of our everyday lives if we are expecting our teachers and students to do the same,
• Conversing with teachers regarding their apprehensions over an initiative so large,
• Providing short professional development mini-lessons to ease these apprehensions during faculty and PLC meetings; and enrichment sessions after school for those teachers who want to take the program a step further, 
• Asking teachers for their assistance in developing some general school-wide procedures and routines to help them get started,
• And carve out time during the instructional day for students to successfully set up their Chromebooks
• I understand I may get some pushback here, but taking some time at the beginning of the year to get everyone on the right page to begin with will make things go a lot more smoothly later on. 

While I anticipate some people getting frustrated and discouraged along the way, I also anticipate some wonderful success stories as well. Lending a sympathetic ear to those who become frustrated will be necessary. However, It will be equally important to celebrate successes, to provide opportunities for teachers and students to share what they have learned, and to keep student success at the forefront of everything we are doing. 

A Different Way to Think of Remediation

I'm all for thinking outside the box.

I'm lucky to be one of three assistant principals in my building of 1400 students. We each oversee a grade level (I have 6th grade this year) and we are each responsible for specific departments. This year I am responsible for the science, math, and SpEd departments.

Our school system gives us algebra readiness funds to assist in providing our students with remediation in math. It's not a lot of money, so we need to spend it wisely. We want to make sure we are getting the biggest bang for the buck so we are trying a different approach to remediation this year. A lot of what we are doing goes along with the Dufour's thoughts on remediation, which include providing students with additional time for intensive instruction.

As we are planning to launch our intensive math remediation program in the second semester, we are currently in the planning process. We are developing remediation sessions according to concept instead of providing "extra help" sessions like we did in the past. This prompts teachers to look at the specific areas of remediation their students need, and also allows students from different grade levels to participate in the same remediation session. In addition, we are looking at web based programs like Buzzmath to provide additional targeted practice for our students.

Here's where the time is coming from:

• Saturdays - Yes, Saturdays. Each Saturday session will be dedicated to a specific concept. Students will also be given a snack break, given lab time, and possibly even have time to play games. Part of any remediation program should include opportunities for students to learn to LOVE the subject they are struggling with. Topics will be revisited as we get closer to assessment season. 
• After school - Right now, we are considering having computer labs open twice a week after school. These labs would be monitored by math teachers. Students can come in, work on the computer, and get small group or one-on-one help. 
• During school - We actually have an advisory period dedicated to enrichment and remediation. This is an ideal opportunity for those students who may have transportation issues. These will need to be mini-lessons which will hopefully act as a "turbo shot" of math information. 

I'm excited about our plan, especially about the opportunity for students to learn to love something they were once struggling with. I may seem overly optimistic, but when working with children, one has to shoot for the stars! 

Brain Rot Can Be A Good Thing!

I try not to post twice in a week, but after spending some time on vacation, I feel the need to make up for lost time. Don't worry, next week will be back to normal.

As a lifelong learner, I really enjoy reading and researching about things to improve on myself. Sometimes, I go a little overboard and end up overlooking the simpler things in life.

This may seem kind of silly, but there was a point when I was scoffing Pinterest, until I spent some time on it one day and became hooked! I'm just as much of a fan of brain rot as the next person, though my brain rot may look a little geekier...is that a word?

Just like other Pinterest followers, I set up some boards and began pinning other peoples' ideas onto my boards. I became excited when someone out in cyber space thought something I liked was cool and "pinned" it onto their own board. I found cool recipes, tips on fashion, wonderful quotes, and great pictures.

Once I got over the excitement of pinning my interests and sharing with others, I let my account sit idle for awhile until I attended my school system's blended learning workshop. Sitting there, I went on Pinterest and started searching for boards on topics like blended learning, education, and teaching. Lo and behold, they exist!!! I came across stuff I could actually use with teachers, and stuff teachers could use to implement blended learning. Pinterest could actually be a form of blended learning for educators!

So...next time you are looking for a little brain rot, try to channel that brain rot into something constructive and search for something you may be able to use later on. Just because I did a search on blended learning doesn't mean I also did a search on funny cat pictures...or whatever floats your boat!

Happy pinning!!!

Check out Pinterest at wew.pinterest.com - You won't be disappointed.

Back to work, back to posting!!!

I'm such a professional development nerd.

Seriously, I go to training any chance I get. I actually loved going to school and getting my degrees. I've been officially back to work for a couple of weeks now (administrators never really have a summer off, but I'm supposed to get July off) and am now going through PD week in my school system. It's that time of year when we get together as administrators in the school system I work in to meet new colleagues, catch up with old ones, and learn about the big ideas and best practices for the upcoming school year.

This year, we are staying on course, continuing our focus on student engagement, fostering relationships, and pursuing the most innovative ways to reach our students. The only component that has changed involved the delivery method, which is blended learning. I have written about blended learning a lot this summer because that is one of the ways I learn best. If I have to write about it, I better do my research so I don't sound like an idiot. It also helps that I have appropriate answers for my teachers, who I know will have LOTS of questions.

I've said this before: It is an exciting time in field of education. How exciting it is for the students we work with depend on how well prepared we are to help them be successful in school, and in their lives.

Introducing Problem Based Learning

It's all fine and good to want our students to participate in lessons which involve critical thinking, problem solving and collaboration; but we as admiistrators can't expect this to happen without properly educating teachers in the execution of these methods.

In researching teacher preperation programs in higher education institutions, I've learned that they do a lot of things well. However, modeling 21st Century skills are not one of them. Though I am certain this is going to change, I'm not particularly certain when this change is going to take place.

The last week of school is a WONDERFUL time to try new things. Teachers don't have the stress of standardized assessments and are willing to try anything that will keep their students occupied during these final days.

This year, we participated in Olympic-themed activities during the final days of school. It was a great event. It included a health fair, athletic events, and a "Cerebral Olympics"which included team-based problem solving activities that excited and engaged students and teachers. These activities were simple: egg-drop, card tower, and marshmallow challenge (www.marshmallowchallenge.com).

Teachers were apprehensive about the project when the Olympic committee decided to incorporate these activities. They were worried about unruly students, making a mess, finding the materials, and having to present the lesson.

If you want your teachers to do something that may take them out of their comfort zone, it is helpful to provide teachers with introductory lessons that result in a positive experience for all involved. I did this by doing the following:

• The entire grade level did the same activitiy. This way teachers were able to share their experiences with one another.
• Teachers received the plans and materials in advance. In addition, they did not have to do any prep work. Materials were packaged in brown paper bags. Teachers simply had to divide the class into teams and give each team a bag.
• Lesson plans were only one page long. Things longer than a page don't always get read from beginning to end.

The activities were so successful that teachers are now eager to incorporate more of these activties into their teaching and learning in the fall. It will be up to me as an administrator to keep this momentum going by slowly releasing the responsibility of developing and implementing these lessons to the teachers I work with; just as the teachers need to gradually release the same process to their students. After all, the best way to learn is to do.

Flipping Out Isn't Always a Bad Thing...Really!!!

Ahhh June...

A time for flipping out in public education. Flipping out over assessments, flipping out over end of year evals, and flipping out over what seem to be the dumbest things! We are flipping out over things we will all be laughing about in a couple of weeks.

Interestingly enough, there are some trends in education that are going to be worth flipping out over: the "Flipped Classroom" and "Flipped Blooms Taxonomy". Just how these two concepts will actually fit into K-12 education are still to be determined.

The school system I work in is really starting to push the concept of blended learning. One way that blended learning is encouraged is through the use of Edmodo (edmodo.com). If you haven't seen Edmodo, it would remind you of Facebook, though the atmosphere is controlled by the teacher. Students and teachers are able to post and respond to questions, collaborate with one another, respond to polls, and submit assignments. It's a good, safe introduction to blended learning and allows teachers the opportunity to introduce Flipped Classroom concepts and methods.

As far as "Flipping Blooms" goes, the most important thing to remember is to start with providing students with a hands-on opportunity to apply concepts, and then allow them to build upon their experiences from there. The hands-on experience is the so-called "hook" to engage them. Once you have them interested, they are more likely to listen to the nuts and bolts of the concept, and better understand it as a whole.

So, you see...flipping out really isn't all that bad a thing after all. It's actually part of an exciting time in the world of education!