Leadership and Technology

This Padlet represents my emerging vision for education. I have attempted to highlight the biggest values – that could then be further developed into more specific actions. I have been enjoying the "What if" strategy for imagining the possible in education, so I thought I might brainstorm a few more "What ifs" to further develop my vision for education. What if "schooling" wasn't defined by a place or time, but was instead seamlessly embedded at the intersection of school, community, and home life? What if the most valuable "products" of education were self-efficacy and solidarity? What if people of different abilities, interests, expertise, ages, genders, races, cultures and religions could interact, collaborate and learn from each other in a vibrant and diverse community of learning? What if curriculum was like pursuits in "real life" – simultaneously integrative of multiple skills and disciplines, and driven by purpose ...

In The Innovator's Mindset, George Couros concludes chapter 7 with a list of "What ifs" he has used to help him dream big and develop a vision for schools. After reading the ISTE Essential Conditions to effectively leverage technology for learning, I thought I'd try using the "What if?" strategy to identify examples of how some of the ISTE conditions might look. These "What ifs" are inspired equally by bright spots and opportunities I see in my school. Shared Vision What if we engaged all stakeholders (admin, teachers, students, families, community) in developing a shared vision for educational technology? Empowered Leaders What if we had a culture of innovation and risk-taking where teachers were empowered to influence substantive systemic change? Equitable Access What if every students had access to a device with internet connectivity they could use at school and at home? Skilled Personnel What if the adults in our school embraced a...

In Chapter 2 of Innovator’s Mindset, George Courous lays out some critical questions for the innovative educator. Here some reflections on those questions. Would I want to be a learner in my own classroom? This question is important because it requires us to approach our work from a place of empathy. By considering the learning experience through eyes of each of our students, we can better understand and meet their needs. Further, I believe we must strive to imagine students’ perspectives that may be very different from our own. Would I want to be a learner my classroom as an EL student? A student with trauma? A student of color? A student of non-binary gender? What is best for _this_ student? This question gets at the individual nature of learning. Each individual leans slightly differently. We must not blame the student when they do not succeed in learning what we set out to teach them, we must innovate to meet the learning needs of that individual. What is _this_ student’s p...

I made this little video to "pitch" my ideas for a change project. I used: Sketches Pro to make the drawings Pixlr.com for photo editing ExplainEverything to assemble and record the video

When I was first starting out as a new educator, I labored over my "Philosophy of Education" statement. It was first assigned to me as coursework, I'm sure. Later, I massaged it into my professional portfolio. Ultimately, I worried over it in the (many) applications I would submit before landing my first teaching job. Despite all of the energy and time I spent with that statement of teaching philosophy, I don't remember much of what it said – no doubt because it was too long and replete with the platitudes of a new teacher fresh out of college, and the buzz words of the day. Now, after ten years of teaching immersion, I have less to say about my philosophy of education, or at least I can summarize it in fewer words – one, actually. I've rebranded my philosophy of education as my purpose, my 'why' in Simon Sinek's model of organizational leadership. The purpose at the center of the work I do as an educator and leader is to cultivate dignity in my stu...