I’ve been doing reading on flatclassroom projects and reading through Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat. I’ve been intrigued by the ideas presented by Friedman and the whole idea that the world is indeed becoming flatter as we have access to many new and different technologies. My conversations with Missprofe and mscofino are examples of how we can communicate and find new people who are willing to engage with us in a discussion of what is happening around the world. I’m watching the flatclassroom project that Snow Lake, M.B., Canada (Clarence Fisher) is doing withVirginia, U.S.A (Lee Barber),  miscofino and Cartagena, Columbia (Jamie Hide) with great interest as I debate how to get my own students involved in such a project.

Today, while meeting to organize a transitional meeting for our grade 12’s, I threw out the idea that the world is flattening and we are no longer limited to a physical place for pursuing ideas or education or dreams. Well, I’m now doing the opening keynote at the beginning of the day for the students focusing on the idea of the Flat World. Anyone have 45 minutes worth of things to offer?

I’m always looking for an opportunity to talk with students about the need them to be aware how the world is changing and how the society we live in is no longer just our Canadian one but a global society that will reflect the learning taking place in a number of places and will need a whole set of skills that are just beginning to emerge. We are no longer limited to just our immediate social environment but we have the ability to reach different places, some which are real and some which are virtual, all while still being in touch with the one that surrounds us. We are beginning to realize we are connected in many different ways and as those connections are redefined and strengthened, we will see new ways of interaction, discussing and problem-solving.

Seems funny that it has taken me so long to actually give a presentation to anyone about online learning environments and the options that are available yet I finished my MEd. degree in 2001 online, have been working on getting my coaching certificate for Harvard Graduate School of Education in order to facilitate online work and I’ve been working very hard to increase my use and student use of web2.0 techologies this past year.

So, I have 45 minutes, what are some of the key ideas that I should cover? Because the knowledge that surrounds me in the blogosphere is filled with great and key ideas, I figure I’ll throw this out and see if anyone responds (or will it end up like my other book club idea?) Hope no

I’ve taken to heart the comment by Miguel to look for the new voices. So, like Scott McLeod who is doing the same thing, I am going to start identifying various people whom I believe have something to add to our discussion but who have not yet “broken out”, continuing to blog in relative isolation.

Now, I’m not sure I where I fit in this whole blogosphere discussion. I do know that I have begun to spend less time looking at some blogs, especially of those who are a bit too ….. (fill in the blank)  and a lot more time exploring blogs of people who I believe are in the midst of the educational discussion on web2.0 applications and on the front lines with kids

So, my first person to feature is Susan Funk at What Counts!, another teacher from Saskatchewan who has visited my site a few times and left a comment or two.

Susan has some great insights and has written some great entries. I start you off with this:

As I have engaged in the reading and writing which my own blog as has introduced me to I have been introduced to yet another viewpoint, that of the technology specialist.  Again the lens is different but the material is the same. Again I feel like the communities have come to similar conclusions through separate avenues.  How interesting it would be to engage Colin Lankshear and Will Richardson in discussion or to listen in on their discussion of the issues and trends and implications for classrooms.  Or to hear Doug Johnston and Stephen Downes discuss the opportunities and pitfalls of technology in the classroom.  Perhaps this is already happening and I am not yet privy to the conversation.  At this point, I am constructing it for myself, for that’s what learners do and that in part is what I’ll share when I speak in May.  I wonder what I should call it - “the need for collaboration” or “extending the conversation” or “walking  in multiple landscapes”.  Actually, I guess it already has the name I gave my explorations this year - “Living a changing landscape - one teacher on a path towards New Worlds”.

After this little excerpt, you might try the following posts:

Bridezilla and the economy of attention 

Technology, pedagogy and the real story 

Schools in an Information Age 

Enjoy the reading!

I’ve been tagged by missprofe. The question: What are 7 qualities we don’t know about you that help you be a leader?

1. I’m proactive. I don’t like to be in reactionary mode too much. Part of being in a position of leadership is trying to determine what is happening and then, in a positive manner, begin to determine ways that it will be beneficial to your school, students, parents and staff.

2. I am confident in what I do. At one point, blindly confident and it caused me no end of headaches and problems. Now, I’ve learned that confidence does not mean you are always right or always the one in the light or the one being praised. In fact, you might be wrong but it will be your ability to admit the wrong, apologize and move on that will be notices. You may not be noticed at all but you allow others to take credit and are satisfied that the job was accomplished. You may even be the one taking a bit of criticism but you know that it is part of how people react to change and to new things. It is not always easy but you realize that also and are content knowing that you are doing your best.

3. I love learning. Almost spending too much time reading and trying to get through all my feeds! I enjoy stretching myself, seeing things from a new perspective or from an opposite perspective.

4. Failure is another word for opportunity. As a leader I need to realize that not everything I do will be successful but that I can learn from it.

5. I am realistically positive. I know when I’ve reached my limits and when, no matter how much syrup and sugar you put on it, something will taste bad. For times like this, I’ve learned to face the bitter taste, take it and then move on. Love, trust and pixie dust doesn’t work in reality - I have to be able to see things as realistically as I can in order that I don’t raise someone’s expectations too high or create false hope. That’s wrong.

6. I’ve learned to listen - without speaking - for a while -  at least 5 minutes. No, really. It is sometimes hard to do. You want to cut that parent off and tell them where they are mistaken or get the student, who’s mad at someone, maybe me, to quit. But, by letting people talk, I’ve been able to then ask them questions and clarify things. In my time of listening, I can also sense whether there is any chance at dialogue at this moment or, if I say something, will it escalate.

7. I still have some humor. I haven’t lost it all. Not yet. Although I sometimes put it in a drawer and misplace it for days. Kind of like having a heart. I’ve had that surgically removed so that I can deal with the various emotional situations that come my way without getting too emotionally involved. Or that’s what I tell the kids anyway!

So there you have it. My list of 7 qualities I think I possess as a leader that no one, even my evil twin, knows I have.

Tag: Susan Funk,  J Boulton, Dean Shareski, K Cofino , RandomThoughtsofanedadminlifer, Dustin Swanson

Jenny Moon 

Enjoy the reading!

This is blogpost that is a bit different from others I have written. I don’t discuss technology, I reflect on interaction with my family and I get a bit philosophical. Belt yourself in and enjoy the ride
Today was day one of our annual convention. Now, most years, I usually look forward to convention for a number of reasons. First, it is a time for our family to spend a few nights in a hotel, water-sliding and having fun. I enjoy the time I get to spend with my kid on the slide, in the hot-tub and generally hanging out. Second, I get to network with people I usually only see once a year. It is a time to get reacquainted, get caught up, discuss new things and generally socialize outside the normal group. Finally, I usually find a few nuggets that I can tuck away and think about later that will help me in some way.

This year was not to be. First, two of my boys have chicken pox. They broke out on Friday and Sunday so they are not going anywhere but on the couch and in the tub with the old oatmeal sock. This means that there will be no family getaway and I’ll have to drive the two hours back and forth to the convention. It isn’t too bad but I sure was looking forward to the slide (and the hot-tub!!!) Once there, the keynote speaker for today wasn’t that great. Well, in all my years of going to conventions, he was at the bottom. He was downright depressing and almost antagonistic. Then my first session was not what I expected and was another lame duck. 0 for 2!

The third session was a general meeting for our teacher’s association and I ended up keeping my job of vp. Not that bad but there is some expectation I will be president in June. Uh, NO! We ended the day with an executive meeting - which was okay. We still have some groups of teachers who are not happy with the new system but don’t have any solutions to fix things.

Well, after this I was not “excited” about the trip home and then back and then home after this day. However, three of my daughters and a few their friends had made the trek with me to do shopping. We decided to go to Fuddruckers for supper, which is where I met my wife when we were in university, was the beginning of a great 3 hours of fun as we went to McNally and Robinson’s (book store) and then to Walmart to buy DVD players for our school (can’t beat 32.00 C!!) We had a blast. They were fun, goofy, not too loud and just great to be around. Just for the record, in our family, I am the one who likes to shop so I have taken my girls on about 4 shopping trips in the last few years. We go and spend the day browsing shops, looking for bargains and just going through the stores. Sometimes they even ask my opinion!! So there we were in Walmart, looking for shoes, trying on hats, watching a movie, scanning the computer games (I got my Star Wars game!!!! I am so excited - I’ll let you know how I do as I’m going to play a bit after this post!!) They tried on perfume which was disgusting, looked at jewellery and even spent some time in the the fish, toy and appliance departments. They figured a new blender would make a great Valentine’s gift for their mother! (Can you imagine where I’d be sleeping if I did that!)

Our drive home was them going through pictures on my Macbook - discussing the past 6 years and 3 communities we have lived in. So, what was looking like a complete downer turned into a great time. The convention still doesn’t look too appealing but the time I had with the girls and their friends was worth it all.

And I was able to find my wife a Valentine gift - card with bubble bath, cd, and massage oi (the oldest girl was a bit “unnerved” by my gift - “I’m going to need serious therapy after this” were here exact words!) All in all it was well worth the time.

It made me realize that sometimes, if we don’t sift through the sands of our life carefully and allow the unexpected treasures to pop up, we get caught up in the disappointment of what was suppose to be. As an administrator, (see, always thinking about school!) it makes me realize that we need to be open to each and every student we encounter, looking for their treasure that sometimes may be buried deep inside. If we don’t take the time to sift and look, who will? For most of them, we are the last adult they see before leaving school, maybe evening quitting. We really must look deep and sift slowly, especially with those individuals who make it most difficult. In our busy and hectic lives, it is easy to miss an opportunity with one of those students and that is why we must be ever vigilant in looking for those moments and not letting them slip through our fingers. As I have been told “One cannot hold sand but with open hands.”

Disclaimer - this is another entry that deals with how personal experiences are affecting my administrator mind. I seem to be scattered lately, with many different ideas rocketing aroud. Read at your own risk.
Day 2 of our convention was better for me than the first. I attended two good sessions in the morning and the afternoon which left a better taste in my mouth than the first day. There were no real sparkling moments but the information and discussions were good and connecting with some of the resources people will be helpful. The best part was being able to drive and listen to a few different podcasts on my inano.

So I’m now into day 2 of holidays. Yesterday was a complete write off. I did manage to get some blog reading done but it seems that now matter how much I do, the aggregator is always full!! This can mean only one thing, I’m spreading myself too thin in regards to the blogs I read. It’s time to filter. Now, to compound this problem, I signed up for another online conference and the mail from the discussions has been insane. I thought the amount coming from the Connectivism conference was bad but this is just incredible. I usually try to keep up with the conversations in the forums but this is overwhelming. So, there I was, over 100 blogs to puruse and well over 200 emails. I decided right there and then, something had to be done. So, I pulled out the ironning board, opened up the itunes and began ironning.

You see, there are so many things that need attention that one must decide which are priorities and which are, well, luxuries. Having shirts to wear to work is more important than email from a conference. As I ironed away, I listened to a few different podcasts. This allowed me to hear some good ideas and information plus get a necessary job done. I was also able to think about some planning for my classes that are coming up, do some pondering about my upcoming presentation and figure out what we’ll have for supper. It was a productive time!

After I finished this job, I decided that there have been a few things that I have to do and I should really get my planning act together. As I mentioned in another post, if I don’t plan things out, I tend to do what I enjoy instead of what I should do. Out came my new find, SimpleDays planning. This handy little tool has helped me in a few different way. Because it has a todo, reminder, calendar, journal, web search, notes, contacts and calculator, I find that I use it quite often, just to keep myself together. It cost my $18.00 but is well worth it. But I digress. I prioritized my todo, set completion dates and times and started to get to work.

My lesson plans are coming along for my next units. Because I tend to modify all my classes each year, I find that having an electronic version has saved me time. I now use a wiki to organize my lessons and upload my handouts so that I can have access anywhere. I also use a website to host assignment sheets for my classes so that they have access if they have internet. I have added the use of blogs and wikis to my Social class and the use of podcasts to my CPT class. I just need to refine the outcomes a bit and then put together some rubrics.

Why am I here blogging? I haven’t been too faithful lately and I know that there are some people who visit regularly. Also, I seem to be torn between commenting on a bunch of the things going on at others blogs, finding convergence with my own teaching and reflecting on life both in and out of school. Sometimes, I get so caught up in all the different things I do that I don’t really take time to reflect. As I’ve had time to do that these past few days, I see that I am torn between wanting to be on the cutting edge of using the technology, seeing what is new and finding ways to use it and being the administrator that I want to be. As much as I want to do both, I know that I can’t be both. I watch with envy as some of the teachers in my reader do all kinds of amazing things and are really bringing the students and learning together. (I try to do this, don’t get me wrong!) I just know that my role is to support teachers to do this by leading them, sometimes by example, sometimes through mentorship, sometimes through collaboration and sometimes by quietly encouraging. During this period of unprecedented growth in social software, I could spend hours just experimenting with all the different links that I find, testing the different versions of social bookmars, online desktops, podcasting tools, etc but I realize that, for my teachers to become more able with these technologies, I need to bring one or two to them, help them to use it and then allow them time to use it, offering support and guidance when necessary.

I sometimes feel that, as a techno-kindageek, we have arrived at the land of plenty. Then I step back and see we are really entering a land of over-plenty where those not comfortable in this landscape will become paralyzed by the sheer number of choices available, much like I was by the amount of email and enteries when I started this last course. Like me, these people usually just choose to ignore the new ideas and go about  their daily work, making sure that their list of todo’s is completed.

In order to help them, administrators must begin to select some basic skills that each person should know, offer time to learn these skills and expect that teachers begin to use the skills in their daily lives. I know that this may be hard for many, but it needs to happen. Besides, skills with social bookmarking, using different search engines, accessing online information, using online tools and reducing the amount of paper transfer are skills that teachers need to acquire as we move forward. We sometimes don’t want to push teachers too hard but schools need to move from where they are. Now, this doesn’t mean that we push the envelope too far but we need to begin demonstrating that there are tools that need to be used and explored. As for the skills, well I guess each of us will have an idea of what might work best with the people in the building and the tools available. For us, we are going to start with social bookmarking, some new search engines and an online RSS aggregator. From here, I’ll see what people want to do as I will have them do some “homework” after this like finding a few blogs to read, commenting on a few and just plain getting use to using the tools.

I will post about them later.  I want to alert people to some of the pitfalls, like the email invasion I’m having, so that they don’t lose hope and give up.  I know that many school divisions/districts/locals have IT specialists and curriculum consultants that help with technology integration. It’s a good thought but for things to be successful, there must be in-building support as far as I am concerned. I am that support.

Eventually, I’d like to have our staff using some of the tools with their students regularly. I’d also like the administration group to begin using the tools to share ideas. From here, we could branch into grade alike groups and various other forums that would support teacher learning without having to drive, drive, drive. I’m sometimes spending up to 4 hours driving to go to a 3 hour meeting. There must be a better way!! The loss of time, productivity and being away from school could be avoided with the use of a few of the new tools. I just might send out an email with GoToMeeting to someone.

Oh, I’m still very interested in starting a book club online - either a blog or a wiki. I’m thinking a blog that would have everyone interested as an administrator so that each person could “host” the forum - start the discussion. I have three other people plus myself interested. Anyone else? Also, we have a few suggestions for books: David Warlick’s , The Tipping Point, Learning by Doing and Dan Pink’s “A Whole New Mind” Any others?

My second new voice in response to Miguel’s prompt is “…a career middle and high school Spanish TOC (Teacher of Color) of 13 years at an independent school.” found at It’s A Hardknock Teacher’s Life.

I uncovered this blog while going through a blogroll on someone’s site and I’ve been returning regularly since then. I enjoy the way missprofe discusses so many different aspects of her teaching life in a very down-to-earth manner. Enjoy the following entries:

Happy St. Valentine’s Day

A Girl Like Me

Thursday Thirteen #5 

Enjoy the reading.
Previously - Susan Funk

Scott McLeod and Dean Shareski are both doing a similar expose. Check out their posts.