Sharing is Caring

Tonight, on this evening prior to the official start of summer, I'm feeling inspired.  Ironically, it has to do with a staff meeting!  (You weren't expecting that, were you?!)

This afternoon, I attended a building staff meeting where we were asked to reflect on the school year and discuss our thoughts in small groups.  Here are some of the questions upon which we reflected:

• What are some of the things you have accomplished this year that you are proud of?
• What is something you found particularly frustrating this year?  How would you change it if you could?
• How were you helpful to your colleagues this year and who amongst your colleagues was most helpful to you and why?
• What is one way that you grew professionally this year?
• When was a time this year you felt joyful and inspired about the work you do?

It was nice having the time to reflect with colleagues!  Everyone had so many things to share, and it was rewarding to be present to hear their accomplishments.  Teachers clapped for their peers, gave each other compliments, and shared success stories.  Finally, a chance to celebrate our hard work and dedication to students!

Here's my question - How can we continue this sharing year round?  It shouldn't have to wait until the second to last day of the school year.  Yes, schedules are packed, meeting agendas are too long, there are too many items on the "to do" list and we barely have enough time to scarf down lunch.  But we need to find time to share our successes, our struggles, and our appreciation for one another.  It's through these moments that we grow closer as a community.  What ideas do you have for supporting this type of sharing throughout the school year so that we can continue to inspire one another?

My PLN to the Rescue!

Recently, I've been working with a fourth grade class on a Google Earth project.  Students were tasked to find two landmarks in the country that they had just finished researching.  They had to gather information about these landmarks and locate them in Google Earth, creating a virtual field trip for their classmates.  Despite my preparation and troubleshooting prior to introducing the project to students, we experienced some difficulties along the way.  It was difficult for students to locate landmarks in vast areas (i.e. Amazon Rainforest), explore locations in Pakistan and North Korea, and even view locations in Disney World!  Overall, we had trouble obtaining and viewing the images we needed to create an enticing virtual field trip.  I tried to explain these problems to the fourth graders, but I was unsure myself as to whether or not I was providing the right information.  I looked online for video explanations of how Google Earth gathers data and imagery, but I was unsuccessful in finding something that was suitable for fourth graders.

Enter Twitter!  I put a call out to my PLN to ask if anyone had enough Google Earth expertise to assist my students.  I received a response from John Phillips, asking how he could help.  (Note:  I had never interacted with John before). After describing our situation, he agreed to join us via Google Hangout to answer our questions about Google Earth.  We chatted briefly on Sunday evening and I sent him an email with speaking points that I wanted him to address.

As soon as the Hangout started on Monday afternoon, I knew that we were connected with a passionate educator who wanted to ensure that my students learned from this experience.  He interacted with my students as if they were his own, questioning their statements and assessing their knowledge along the way.  He prepared over a dozen placemarks in Google Earth and shared his screen so my students could make sense of why they were experiencing trouble.  He spent 30 minutes with us...30 minutes of his planning time...and I'm sure he spent just as much time preparing for this session.  To top it off...he ended the Hangout by giving hints about his city in Michigan, promising that he would send a souvenir to the first person who guessed correctly.  How awesome is this guy?!  Can you imagine the excitement of the fourth graders?

Moral of the blog post:  Never be afraid to ask for "help" when it comes to educating students on topics outside of your comfort zone.  You never know who might respond to the call, and what you might learn through the process!  Thank you, @bcgeek, for your dedication to children, both near and far!  You went above and beyond to make this a memorable experience for these fourth grade students. 

The Power of Conversation

I feel very fortunate to have been selected through a random lottery to attend #edcampUSA on Friday at the U.S. Department of Education.  It was an inspirational day, and while there are many topics that resonated with me, one stands out in my mind when I reflect on the day as a whole.  There is power in conversation, and it is most meaningful when the conversation involves people of diverse perspectives.  

The first session that I attended, "So We're Here....Now What?," involved a passionate conversation amongst various edtech leaders - Tom Whitby, Steven Anderson, Tom Murray, Adam Bellow and many more.  Back and forth dialogue while sitting in a conversational circle encouraged attendees to discuss their beliefs about leadership and motivation.  The important fact is that all voices were heard and people challenged each other respectfully.  Everyone had the opportunity to contribute and together, we continued to refocus our conversation on solutions instead of harping on the problems.

At lunch, I sat with a Superintendent from Indiana, a teacher from California and a colleague in my own district.  We discussed everything from state funding, School Board support, 1:1 and parent involvement.  We can get caught up in the woes in our own settings, so it's important to hear what is going on elsewhere!  These conversations give us perspective, and I don't believe I would've crossed paths with these women or had as in-depth conversations had it not been for the networking lunch at #edcampUSA.

Many people attended a session on Voxer - an application that allows you to connect with people via VOICE.  

Question:  Why is it that we're seeking an application that allows for audio communication?  
Answer:  140 characters is not enough to have a continuous conversation about a topic without having a message get lost in translation!

Voxer allows you to send a typed message or a recorded message to a group, allowing everyone to hear the inflection in your voice, leading to a better understanding of the message you were originally trying to communicate.  There's fluid conversation and minimal misconceptions since you can discuss topics w/o the abbr. that r often requird thru Twitter to mt the 140 char limit.

Reflecting on my role as a regional director in Pennsylvania's ISTE affiliate, PAECT, I believe that we (as an organization) have a commitment to our members to support in-person events that allow people to connect and learn from each other.  We support online communities on Edmodo, Facebook and Google+, and they have value, but we must not forget about the value of face-to-face conversations as a means to build relationships.

The U.S. Department of Education opened its doors to allow teacher leaders and policy leaders to come together and have meaningful, results-oriented conversations about issues in education.  While online conversations can be effective when all parties have the opportunity to participate, periodic face-to-face events that allow for open, respectful, results-oriented dialogue and action also are also crucial in moving forward.  I hope the U.S. Department of Education can influence State Departments of Education to replicate similar events to open the lines of communication and welcome diverse perspectives in the decision-making process.  At a local level, this is something that all leaders can act upon in order to make schools true communities!

Thank you to everyone who played a role in making this event possible!