Building School 2.0

I was lucky to get to have more conversation with the folks from SLA. Not only are they tackling the tough questions they are taking it on the road...modeling best practice by having CONVERSATIONS about change, rather than just giving a prescription to follow.
Marcie Hull who wears many hats at SLA reflected on the session but here are the notes from the day that we took during their presentation.



Zac Chase made an interesting point...

Aside from blocking the server, these are 20th Century problems. Replace server with "texts," "discoveries," "evolution," etc. and you've jumped in the Way-back Machine.

He made a challenge to his readers and I am going to make the same to mine...read through the list of challenges in our live notes and pick ONE...the one that would really make a difference in your school....start to draft a solution....and post it here.
Perhaps together we could draft a vision that would make change happen.
Thoughts?

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"If we teach today's students....

the way we taught yesterday's, we rob them of tomorrow." John Dewey.

My small group unanimously felt as if they had the opportunity to not rob the students they teach of their tomorrows because they were able to attend this summit--make connections and feel the support to begin to force change in their districts. The Daggett quote that continues to resonate with me is that we cannot and will not be able to change until there is more pressure for change than resistance to change I wanted to share the project that my group created as their vision. I believe that pressure to change is there....from the teachers and students and slow as it may be coming, it is coming...

Connect, Innovate, Explore, Lead...which comes first?

I REALLY need to get things out of my "draft" and out there so this evening I am live blogging our small group discussion. Last night, each group member was given 4 bricks. Each one had one of the following words on it...Connect, Innovate, Explore, Lead.

Each attendee was asked to think about envisioning a school that would meet the needs of students in 5 years. To build this school would require all of the ideas listed on the bricks. They were asked to "build the school" stack the bricks so to say in order of importance.
Here are the notes I took and some of their visions

1. Not linear...You need to connect to lead so that you can innovate to explore new things

2. Most important thing is to lead the way in order to innovate you need to provide opportunities to explore and connect to sources & each other.

3. Connect most important--once you have connected you can explore--look at new things and become comfortable. Once you are comfortable with things you have explored you can lead other and then once you lead you start to become more innovative.

4. Mine was similar...but I BUILT FROM GROUND UP--need a foundation so most important should be at the bottom--connect to explore--you need to get connected in order to explore
innovate and then you can become a leader

5. I built from the ground up too..first you have to explore--go out of your comfort zone and be open--Once you have exposure you can make connections to curriculum and colleagues
Once you have that in a comfortable place, collaboratively you can become innovative
THEN you can be a leader

6. At first I thought of straightline design--then I realized you start by exploring, connect to others so you can innovate and lead which brings you back to exploring new things or teaching others to explore.

7 . Don't think leading can come first--need to explore new opportunities and then become innovative that will create leaders that can help others connect to students

***We got into a little discussion about connection--are we connecting to resources or people...?

9. Explore first and then become innovative connect with others and then lead the way--BOTTOM UP

9. Fingers between because really don't build on others:
Please note this is more of a prediction vs prioritization
As world more competitive--only thing that can be sold is innovation--as the world doesn't let go--education drives economy have to innovate to sell product--no competing country will be content with being second. Innovation is the greatest commodity--as a result there has ot be exploration--explore new markets Connect--people are aways going to have the desire to connect to one another--reaching out to others and are People have been reaching for leadership and not finding it.

What an interesting conversation..
What an AMAZING group of educators...
and I am leading THEM.... wonder if they realize how much the "staffers" learn from them this week...
Please add your thoughts...if you had these bricks to build with, what would your vision include?

What's On your Booklist?

I put a request on my Twitter that I knew some administrators seeking change who wanted to start a book club...to take a look at the wagon and get moving. Chris Lehman came right back with his top 2

• Moral Leadership -- Thomas Sergiovanni &
• The School and Society -- John Dewey

I remembered that Ian Jukes had mentioned some during his session at NECC so I went and looked at his site and he offered the following that seemed to deal with school change:

• Results: The key to continuous school Improvement--Mike Schmoker
• Teaching For Tomorrow: Teaching Content & Problem Solving Skills-- Ted McCain
• A Whole New Mind: Moving From the Conceptual Age to the Information Age-Daniel Pink
• Understanding By Design- Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe
• Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything --Donald Tapscott and Anthony Williams

What else should be added to our list? If we really want to begin a systemic change, what can we read to get everyone on the same page....

What KIDS want to see in schools

The other day Will Richardson wrote about a town in the UK whose solution to HS Reform was to close the high schools and open learning centers instead. This provoked a lively discussion as David Warlick reflected on what would become of his daughter who is seeking to become a history teacher.

I have very strong feelings about this...I didn't go into education because of the summers off. As a matter of fact, the amount of time I spend reflecting on practice, professional personal development, creating workshops....I have very little time off at all. I am in education because I am a lifelong learner. Marcie Hull has a great reaction as well...we need to focus on the kids and not the bottom line. I value the learning PROCESS... not the learning CONTENT. I want my own kids to learn by doing not by my telling them. And so I replied to David's post...

... As an elementary teacher and technology integrator I have had student teachers for as long as I can remember and it infuriates me that they step into my classroom, take one look at the smartboard and say "cool, I have never seen anything like that..." Even in Elementary schools when we are supposed to be differentiating preservice teachers are not taught to use tech tools to collect data, and use data to differentiate. They all use myspace and facebook (and most of them have seen kids use webkinz and club penguin) and don't see the tremendous power these tools can have in engaging the kids they are teaching. If anything they take a technology elective and learn to make powerpoints for their Open House presentation. Edutopia had an interesting article recently about what kids want to see in schools..laptops, bluetooth, cell phones, video cameras...I don't doubt that given the opportunity to create relevant learning experiences for themselves, they would. Think of the inquiry in elementary kids when they have the opportunity to really explore something hands on. Curt, I think many teachers teach as they have been taught because they were the kids that were good at "playing school" when they were in school. However, I don't think we can look at this and say until...until the Universities begin to have the discussions, until the teachers learn the skills themselves, until their is a tech literacy curriculum in place, until....this is a systemic problem and at somepoint in time it has to change. I think the thing that would impact the success is the amount of collaboration time, professional development that is given to the teachers. Would your daughter get a job in a learning center...would she keep the job...? If she was willing to be a lifelong learner herself, no doubt she would. As a lifelong learner myself, I LOVE the idea of learning centers and will surely be keeping close tabs. Thanks for another thought provoking discussion.

Gregg Farr had probably one of the most thought provoking call out to educational leaders on LeaderTalk today. So I can't help but think...what will it take for use to give kids what they want...what they NEED to be successful learners in the 21st Century? I ask not just out of curiosity for the future of my career....but for the future of my own 3 children....what will it take?

Putting a square peg in a round hole...

Or square wheels on a wagon as the case may be...

http://www.squarewheels.com/mainpage/swsmain.html

Right before NECC, I attended a 21st Century Learning Workshop in Harrisburg when I first saw this image, and I have been thinking about it ever since...

And when Steve Dembo in twitter wondered if "After reading a ton of blog posts from NECC and EduBloggerCon, I'm starting to wonder if We (Edubloggers) are getting a little egotistical" Marcie Hull asks a similar question "are we REALLY congratulating ourselves too much & too early?" I must admit, I have been challenged by administrators who when forced to see the big picture....from a district/system perspective ask...do edubloggers REALLY see the big picture? hmmm good question...
The picture I think is the one above...the one where the men keep the square wheels on the wagon when there are round wheels inside. Where there are LOTS of resources that people don't know how to use appropriately. The one where there is there only 1 person pulling and little effort from behind. There are not enough folks to move a really big wagon. The one where there is a REALLY sturdy LOOKING wagon, that is going nowhere.

I think David Warlick hit the nail on the head when he said It Isn't Easy, and Julie Lindsay reminds us there is NECC and there is the Real World.
The thing is Edubloggers can't keep talking to the echo chamber...What do we start with and how do we move (or continue to move) forward? From Marcie's blog I was directed to a new blog that asks this question and says that she is going to try to create a target that her teachers can see...yes, we do get it, we ALL GET IT...but until we work together to change the whole system, I am afraid we may end up like the guys and their wagon. So I ask you all...adminstrators and edubloggers alike, what is your plan to prevent the system, the wagon, from getting STUCK