Slight Shifts and Tweaks
By SCM
Clarity often comes in moments when a word, an insight, or a thought connects with another and moves us to a new place. Things have been a little muddy for me lately. But conversations I had over the last two days with Sheryl and Amber, our new marketing guru, made me pause, tilt my head, and say, “Yes, that’s it.”
I’ve been struggling in my role as “social media strategist” for PLP. Some days I didn’t even know what that meant. Was I a community builder on Facebook? Was Twitter where I should spend all my time? And that newsletter….not happy with that.
So for two days, we talked, kicked ideas around, and pondered–mostly about what matters to us, to the company, and what, we hope, to you. I’m excited. One, Amber’s going to offer us lots of creative support. She’s got a great eye for design, and she knows her marketing stuff. Two, we now have a plan. Plans are good.
What you’ll see here soon– is more. Our blog will be the repository of all our solid PLP work–stories about PLPeeps, announcements about the company, and just cool ideas we’re thinking about. The newsletter will change, too. But more on that later.
For now, know that we are going to continue talking and learning with you. This work enriches us, makes us better teacher leaders, and gives us all opportunities to grow and change.
For me, it doesn’t get much better than this.
flickr image: By antonychammond
I Can’t Change the World, But…..
Susan Carter Morgan
I once told Sheryl Nussbaum Beach I didn’t feel moved to change the world.
We were chatting about all things education–and how some folks are comfortable presenting to large crowds (I’m not), and some feel compelled to change the world of schooling (I wasn’t).
At the time, I felt that my personal line in the sand, which I drew in the sandbox of a classroom, was enough. I could individualize instruction, buy netbooks for my kids, create an inviting atmosphere, offer a variety of ways to assess children, and focus on what worked.
I became comfortable in my own small, corner of the world.
And then last spring, I found myself taking over conversations in department meetings, dinner parties, and family gatherings. Whenever the chats turned to school (and specifically social media), I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. My frustration with how we “do” schools bubbled over. During our last week of vacation, my uncle turned to me mid-rant and said, “Ok then, how do we fix it? How do we make schools better?”
I didn’t have all the answers, but I found myself listing everything that matters to me: giving students voice; empowering teachers to work together and reflect upon their practice; offering choice in curriculum and ways to learn; allowing charter schools (with proper direction and guidance) to flourish; changing the way we sort and rank students.
Ok, so I care. Changing the system seems overwhelming at times, but it’s worth it. Our kids deserve more from us.
These are the folks I’m following these days, watching and learning from them:
Coalition of Essential Schools
Not perfect, perhaps. But at least they are doing the work and not just talking about it. Who else should be highlighted?
cross-posted to scmorgan
Forest Hills Celebrated for Project
By Susan Carter Morgan
We’ve written about this team before. And now THE Journal has, too!
PLPeep Cary Harrod, Instructional Technology specialist for the Forest Hills District in Cincinnati, was featured in a recent article in the magazine. Their BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop program is an outgrowth of her team’s work in the Ohio Consortium last year.
The district had been struggling to fund a 1:1 laptop initiative for a number of years. Finally, after their work with PLP, Cary’s team developed a plan, which THE Journal describes here:
Known as the Partnership for Powerful Learning, that “angle” is now coming to fruition, and will soon find the majority of Forest Hills’ seventh grade students toting their own laptops to and from school every day. Harrod said her team settled on the BYOL idea after researching similar programs–”what few that there are out there,” she said–at other schools.
The team’s project video made the rounds earlier this year, and one good thing leads to another. Her work then got the attention of David Truss from Vancouver, and soon a new online group was formed to expand the network of folks interested in this 1:1 program. Plus this wiki is another great gathering place.
Cary points to PLP as a turning point for getting this project off the ground.
“Quite frankly, we couldn’t have proceeded with this project without having had many of our staff involved with PLP. While we have understood for quite some time that putting technology into the hands of students was important and vital, PLP helped deepen our knowledge of what it means to be a learner and how these tools can be used to support and enhance our learning,” she said.
Four people played a leading role in this: Cary, who was in her third year of PLP; Natasha Adams, a middle school principal, who was a year one participant; Ellie Preston, a middle school curriculum coordinator and year one participant; and Trisha Underwood, a middle school Instructional Technology Coach, year one participant, and fellow for two teams for the 2010-2011 school year.
Furthermore, 10 of the teachers involved with the project will participate in PLP during the 2010-2011 school year.
And check this out–Natasha Adams, Principal of Nagel Middle School, has planned for the entire year of professional development to be focused on what was learned in PLP: Building personal learning networks, understanding the differences between today and yesterday, and using web 2.0 tools to deepen the learning opportunities for our students.
“We want to lift the barriers to creativity and help create a more personalized learning experience. There is no doubt in my mind that this project has the potential to completely change the way in which students learn,” said Cary.
Connecting f2f-Finally!
By Robin Ellis
PLPeeps from all over the world found each other f2f recently, and for many it was like coming home!
ISTE 2010 this year was held in Denver, Colorado and for the first time PLP attended and participated in the conference as a vendor.
Our booth on the floor allowed us the opportunity to see the conference through a different lens. We enlisted the help of former and current PLPeeps to help us interview and film those in attendance on their thoughts and beliefs around 21st century learning. We shared the booth with Barbara Barreda, Michael Walker, Susan Davis, Lynn Ochs, Denise Waalen and Jerelyn Nemanich, along with many others who stopped by.The responses to the questions were fabulous. Check them out!
Jenny
VID00015 from Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach on Vimeo.
Helen, Anna (The Tech Chicks!)
VID00002222 from Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach on Vimeo.
Nancy
Nancy from Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach on Vimeo.
Jessica
VID00008 from Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach on Vimeo.
Dean, Diana
Dean from Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach on Vimeo.
Jerelyn
VID00006 from Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach on Vimeo.
Be the Leader
By Susan Carter Morgan
Scott McLeod over at dangerously irrelevant is calling on all bloggers to once again participate in his Leadership Day. Using whatever response form works for you–blog, podcast, photo–he asks you to join him in discussing “whatever you like related to effective school technology leadership: successes, challenges, reflections, needs, wants, etc”
He asks some great questions to get you started:
- What do effective K-12 technology leaders do? What actions and behaviors can you point to that make them effective leaders in the area of technology?
- Do administrators have to be technology-savvy themselves in order to be effective technology leaders in their organizations?
- What are some tangible, concrete, realistic steps that administrators can take to move their school organizations forward?
- What are some tangible, concrete, realistic steps that can be taken to move administrators themselves forward? Given the unrelenting pressures that they face and their ever-increasing time demands, what are some things that administrators can do to become more knowledgeable and skilled in the area of technology leadership?
- Perhaps using the new National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators(NETS-A) as a starting point, what are the absolutely critical skills or abilities that administrators need to be effective technology leaders?
- What strengths and deficiencies are present in the new NETS-A?
- What is a technology tool that would be extremely useful for a busy administrator (i.e., one he or she probably isn’t using now)?
- What should busy administrators be reading (or watching)?
- How can administrators best structure necessary conversations with internal or external stakeholders?
- How should administrators balance enablement with safety, risk with reward, fear with empowerment?
So head on over, fill out the form, and be part of the solution!
PLP Open Mic, Where Sharing Happens
By Susan Carter Morgan
How does the role of teaching have to change? Does it?
Last night’s PLP open mic discussion rocked! Will Richardson challenged the group of assembled educators at the second Open Mic session to discuss the role of teaching. And assisted by @teachpaperless Shelley Blake-Plock and many PLPeeps, the conversations exploded.
The topics ranged from testing to fear, to empowering teachers and students and more. Do we need to redefine the profession? Where does technology fit into the picture? And though these comments lose something without the audio, here’s a sampling:
@ChristianLong: Not sure the ‘role’ of teaching must change. The real focus — I think — is for the ‘focus’ of the work and the importance of the audience/evaluators to direct the role(s) of the teacher. Does that make sense?
@dlaufenberg: I also would like to see a more nuanced conversation in the reform world about the challenges of urban/suburban/rural… as not as though one size fits all for reform.
@Ann L: In the urban schools, test scores determine if school will remain open or be shut down and re-structured. Admin are under great pressure
@LauraDeisley: kind of to the argument of what are the characteristics of an excellent teacher? Less content-experts (as we find in indep schs) and more highly skilled connectors, researchers, creators, innovators, adapters…sherpas
@cfisher: I often talk about teacher as network admin. My job is to connect kids to info and people
@EricSheninger: Forcing mandates upon staff can often be counterproductive; empowerment better routeand even more questions:
@mrsenorhill: How strong is your modeling when all other teachers in your school model the opposite?
PLP hosts and supports these conversations, much as we do during the Powerful Learning Practice model of professional development. The practice of introducing educators to the transformative online technologies that are challenging the traditional view of teaching and learning will help us all answer the questions and create the kinds of classrooms that work. Please join us again next Thursday, same time, same place.
image: Uploaded on May 16, 2010
by dkuropatwa
PLP Lends Support to Teachers’ Voices
By Susan Carter Morgan
Community building and developing teacher leaders matter to PLP. And once again, we were happy to provide a resource for teachers to have a voice.
Diane Ravitch, author and professor of education and Congresswoman Judy Chu spoke to a group of teachers gathered from Facebook’s Teachers’ Letters to Obama last night, focusing on getting teachers’ voices out in opposition to current educational policies. The Elluminate gathering, hosted by PLP’s room, was the third such event to gather grassroots support in fighting testing and school-closing practices.
PLP Community Leader Nancy Flanagan was a host and many PLP members joined the discussion, including Community Leader Lani Hall. Voices from around the country have met three times in PLP’s Elluminate room to share ideas and promote ways to organize. Last night’s discussion is archived here if you missed the live version.
Anthony Cody, one of the administrators for Teachers’ Letters, said this earlier this summer:
We are determined to break through the facade that covers Race to the Top and the ESEA Blueprint. Teachers do NOT support these policies, and we must be heard now, before NCLB is renewed.
Powerful Learning Practice shares with educators around the world the desire and hope that teachers will be heard in policy-making decisions.
Matters of the Heart
By Sheryl Nussbaum Beach
(cross-posted on 21st centurycollaborative.com)
A good friend told me that he heard another friend whining about how he wished educational bloggers would get back to blogging from the heart. It struck a cord with me. While I am anything but aChicken Soup for the Soul kind of blogger– (more emotion than substance in posts) I do think there is a place for emotional intelligence when addressing educational reform and change.
Michael Jansen, the first black person to serve as dean of the University of Pretoria in South Africa outlines seven themes that I think encompass leadership with a heart. I pulled these from Fullan’s new book, Motion Leadership (2010).
1. We must recognize the politics of emotions that energize behaviors.
2. The change strategy cannot create victims.
3. The problem must be named and confronted.
4. Leaders must exemplify the expected standards of behavior.
5. We must engage emotionally with students in their world.
6. Teachers and principals themselves are sometimes actors.
7. The environment must accommodate risk. (Jansen, 2009b, p.189)
The basic message Jansen gives and Fullan underscores is that we need to learn to combine love, trustworthiness, and empathic but firm handling of resistance, to quicken the pace of the change we wish to see.
In their book Switch, Heath and Heath (2010) suggest that for change to occur in behavior you have got to influence not only the environment but also hearts and minds. Direction and motivation together make the biggest impact, and motivation comes from the heart.
Seth Godin in Tribes says, “Leadership is very much an art, one that’s accomplished by people with authentic generosity and a visceral connection to their tribe” (2008, p121). Tribes is filled with emotion. In the first chapter he challenges us with – “All that is missing is you, and your vision and your passion” (Godin, p. 5).
I wonder if what my friend was longing for was passion. Maybe his own? Maybe that of others? I too have felt it. As the compelling case for change message has been repeated and repeated through many different voices, could it be that it has lost it’s effectiveness for some? With the fervor of Gregorian monks we all chant collectively … Connect– Commit– Collaborate with a constant hum of tools, tools, tools resonating in the background. But for what cause? To what end? We know the culture needs to shift– but to where? All that seems to be missing is leadership. Leadership that has a command of direction and motivation. Leadership that understands how to leverage- not only the wisdom of the crowd, but also the technologies needed to connect tribes and amplify their work. Which takes me to the real point of this post– my motivation, my passion, my blogging from the heart.
ISTE Revelation
While at ISTE several of the folks in my network suggested that Powerful Learning Practice had become too “vendor” like because we had a booth. Many snide remarks were made which I am sure were intended, at least in part, to be in good fun. However, many a truth was spoken in jest and to be honest the comments sort of floored me. Here is why.
PLP
1. PD as we know it (sit and get) with a tool focus is not shifting educational culture.
2. To provide the kind of job embedded, long term, team based PD that research suggests works in providing transformative change- you got to have strong leadership. The kind of leadership that requires time, commitment and a laser like focus (ie. a full time commitment). And to support full time commitment you have to have a funding model.
3. Schools require PD hours. Schools have a budget that is devoted to PD. The PD can be more of the same which we know doesn’t work or it can be something unique and built on what we know does work in providing change and shift in a world of fast pace change.
4. PLP enables teams of educators to connect, commit, collaborate and to understand the shifts needed. It helps educators from around the world to stay connected long after their PLP experience is over. It launches great ideas that result in substantial shift on the local level. PLP builds capacity. It provides leadership.
5. In order for PLP to provide that kind of PD we have to be visible. Not in a “step right up..buy our gadget” sort of way. But in a here we are- we want to build a relationship with you and help you leverage our network to build your own. We want to connect you together with others who share your passion in the hope that together you will create something more powerful than you could alone. And then we want to help you amplify the great things you are doing in your local context (schools & districts). Not to promote PLP, but to show others that this PD model works and if you need leadership in helping to build capacity for change and toward planning and applying your school improvement ideas through a 21st Century lens- we can help.
PLP is a brand that holds the potential to build a huge tribe. A collective of caring educators who get it and who understand the needs of the 21st Century learner. A tribe that empowers each other to carry on meaningful projects that relate to transformational change in education. I am changing PLP’s mission statement to It’s not about us. It’s about something bigger than us. It is about a collective us. We simply provide the leadership that Godin and others suggest is missing.
So there it is– my blogging from the heart. Yes, having a booth at ISTE to some may seem “so vendor” but if you stopped by, I think you you might understand why having a booth is actually a very positive thing for a company whose premise is building community, connections and helping school leaders manage change.
So I am curious- What’s your passion? Are you willing to share? PLP needs your ideas, your leadership, your commitment, your collaboration. We are all in this together. Let’s leave education better than we found it.
“A good company is one whose mission is to improve the lives of everyone in its footprint.” Tim Sanders
Teachers: Let Your Voices Be Heard
We are determined to break through the facade that covers Race to the Top and the ESEA Blueprint. Teachers do NOT support these policies, and we must be heard now, before NCLB is renewed.The Summer of Teacher Discontent is under way! We hit the ground running with a fantastic Teach-in last Monday. Yong Zhao, Monty Neill and Doug Christensen brought some much-needed clarity to the issues we face. You can hear the recorded session here.
The energy is building for our first Teachers’ Round Table forum, coming up this Monday, June 28, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm Pacific Time, 8:30 to 10:30 pm Eastern time. We will hear from a powerful group of educators, sharing the hard-won wisdom of the classroom teacher. It will be sharp, focused and constructive. You can register here:And there are even a couple of slots open for speakers, so if YOU want the be heard yourself, join the discussions here, and send me a note telling me of your interest.Summer is here, and it is time to recharge, relax, and re-focus. But keep a bit of fire lit, so we can make sure our public schools do not go down the tubes. Join us in making sure our voices are heard.
Only 20 slots left
Anthony Cody, administrator for Facebook’s Teachers’ Letters to Obama, has announced that there are only 20 slots left for the Elluminate Teach-in on Monday night. Be sure to sign up here, or get more information here!
Here is part of his announcement:
We still have about twenty slots left for our first Virtual Teach-in, “Testing, Testing, Too Much Testing!” this coming Monday night. Our guests, Monty Neill, Doug Christensen and Yong Zhao have some fantastic information to share that will enrich our conversations and focus us on some clear alternatives to the current policies. You can register here.
I got a phone call this week from a representative from the Department of Education, and they remain interested in hearing our views. We are organizing a follow-up event to the Teach-in which will be a Teachers’ Roundtable, featuring representatives from the Teachers’ Letters to Obama group. This event will be held Monday, June 28, from 8:30 to 10:30 pm Eastern time.
A word about process. This group that started as a means of collecting letters to send to the President has grown to over 2,300 members. It is my intention to have it function in a democratic manner, but that is challenging when we have such a loose affiliation and do not meet face to face. Marsha Ratzel and I were responsible for identifying the 12 people who were involved in the call to Secretary Duncan, and this group is now functioning as a loose steering committee, helping to plan the events we have coming up.
If you would like to be one of the speakers at the Teachers’ Roundtable, or would like to nominate someone else, please let me know. We will be working on the roster over the next week.
Exciting things are happening. This grass roots effort to have national leaders in conversation with each other has taken hold. PLP is proud to partner with this great organization. Don’t you want to be a part of it?
