Building Your NOWledge and Understanding

What is NOWledge?

No, I didn't spell it wrong, and yes, I used a new "N" word when I was thinking about the meaning of the letters in the SNiCK acronym.  If you are wondering about "why SNiCK?" then have a read here.  I don't think that I am the first to coin or use "NOWledge" (I see there even a few websites and companies that use the word), but I might be the first to use it in the context of educational technology.

In the Ed Tech world, keeping up with all of the changes that are going on around us is more than a full time job in itself, but crucial nonetheless.  So what is NOWledge?  What do I mean by this?  I would describe NOWledge as what we know about a given topic right now, that we can use to make decisions or guide what we do or how we work.  Your NOWledge on any given topic might be current, or out of date by a few minutes/hours/days, but you have to use the tools that you have on hand at the time.

In an ideal situation, you would have the time and opportunity to do your homework and conduct some research, before making a decision or recommendation.  But we all know that this does not always happen, and that the rate of change with technology is just too fast to always keep pace.  More often than not, you have to use what you know right here and right now, to make a decision.  That's just the way it is sometimes.  So keeping as up-to-date as you can becomes even more important.


Building and Maintaining Your NOWledge

Keeping up-to-date is a constant struggle and takes up a lot of a tech coach's time every day.  Finding the right tools that work for you to keep abreast of changes in the ed tech world is the key.  I am not going to get up on a soapbox and evangelize on tweeting, or creating your own PLN through some social networking site, or lament about the demise of Google Reader . . . you have to find what works for you, that you will access and use regularly, and where you can build your NOWledge.  Personally, I use a variety of tools and resources from reading people's ed tech blogs, following educational journals and publications, subscribing to forums and groups through different social media, and engaging in online conversations on topics that interest me or where I have something to add/share.  This blog is a place where I share my experience and ideas, and I am glad that you are taking the time to read it.  So, find the tools that work for you and keep in touch by leaving a comment - contribute to the conversation.  It is virtually impossible to keep up with everything out there, so focus on what interests you and let your connections/colleagues/cohort give you the highlights on the other stuff.  So get connected and involved . . . it's the only way you can keep up-to-date.

I have never been one to jump on the bandwagon of something new, just because it is there.  I have never been one to use tech in the classroom just because someone thinks it is "cool".  And I have never been one to suggest that we use technology in the classroom just for the sake of using technology . . . it has to enhance teaching and learning in some way, otherwise it is merely substitution of a tool.  Maybe it is my high school mentality, where I have to see the "bang for my buck" up front before adapting a new piece of technology into the classroom.  Maybe it is just me being terribly practical in all things - a friend and colleague of mine once told me that the I am really good at "keeping it real" which I equate to being down to earth and really practical at all times.  That does not mean that I am not a risk taker, or don't like to test new technology tools.  On the contrary, whenever I see something new, my mind immediately starts racing and analyzing how/where/when/why this new tool might be used.  My computer science background comes into play then, as I always prescribe to test something new, test it again, and test it further.  Essentially, test, test, and test some more.  The combination and balance between these two approaches (looking/testing/trying while not jumping on the bandwagon) serves two purposes for me: to help build my NOWledge while keeping me grounded and not be pulled in too many directions at the same time (which is always a danger).

Many of us in the ed tech world have worked with faculty or even administration who were always jumping from bandwagon to bandwagon.  Can you think someone like this?  If they are the tech leadership in the school, then you never really know where you are going with educational technology, as you are constantly discarding one tech tool for the latest new thing.  Often in these situations, the faculty are constantly crying out for stability with tech tools, platform, systems, or machines.  Does your school have a pile of technology which was brought in but went unused, and was eventually either forgotten or put aside for something else?  If so, this is the accumulated evidence of jumping on and off various bandwagons, and not having a solid NOWledge base to fall back on.  In my mind, having a good balance between striking out in new directions based on a strong NOWledge base is key to moving forward and sparking innovation.  So how do you maintain or build your NOWledge?  Is your school led by someone who does not have a solid NOWledge base when it comes to educational technology?  How is that working for you and your students?

On Computing Karma

Have you ever thought about your karma with respect to technology? The CK part of SNiCK stands for Computing Karma. Just what was I thinking?! If you think about all of the computer/tech using people that you know (and there should be a lot of them), you can probably pick out a few who fall into 2 special categories: those who can break/freeze/crash a computer just by looking at it sideways, and those who seemingly can fix a problem just by their mere presence in the room. You know this second kind of person - they are the one that you call or go to when you have that problem that just will not go away, and the problems disappears as soon as you show it to them (often without even touching the machine ;-). You might also know of someone who always has a problem with their machine, no matter the time or place (and for a special few, the problems are not only confined to computers but spread to the tv, mobile phone and the gps in the car - anything that has lights and goes "bing"). A select few of these people seem to have a powerful "field of disruption" around them which can mess with various technologies from a distance. Do you know who I'm talking about?

Is your Computing Karma more Yin or Yang?
On/Off?  0/1?

To me, these two small groups of people represent the far ends of the Computing Karma spectrum. Most people fall somewhere in between, but most people know someone who falls into one of these groups. These two groups often have some almost magical qualities about them. I think the word karma aptly describes the magical/mystical aura that surrounds these people. As a tech coach, some people place me firmly on the "fixing/healing" end of the spectrum. I have often encountered situations where the tech problem at hand gets solved or fixed or just plain disappears, just by walking into a room. I quite like the challenge of these kind of problems, as trying to debug what is actually going on without any evidence makes it fun, but that's just the programmer geek part of me speaking.

Furthermore, as a tech coach, I often encounter faculty members who fall closer to the other end of the spectrum, in the break/freeze/crash technology group. Yes, they really do exist, sometimes in large numbers within schools. Working with these staff members is also challenging and fun, as the problems that they bring to me are always unique and complex. Contrary to popular belief, I do not resent working with these kind of people - I embrace it. As the person in charge of our 1:1 laptop program, learning systems and faculty tech PD, the people who have a knack for breaking things often inadvertently find major issues with systems or hardware that were previously undiscovered, or they magically get to the root of an underlying systems problem without even knowing it. In the programming world, they try to make systems and computer programs "bullet-proof" and hire people to test and break software before releasing it. So I have a built in testing group like this, who have an inherent knack for breaking things, to rely on to find the bugs and problems with any new system that we rollout.


Can you change your computing karma? Is it set for life? Personally, I think you can, or else your karma changes from device to device as you try new technologies. I have worked with who could never understand one device (say a particular brand or type of mobile phone), but once they found one that clicks with them, it transformed how they used and interacted with the device. So maybe their Computing Karma changed with the device. Maybe the device has its own Computing Karma and it all depends on how well the two intersect/collide/enmesh with one another like the polarities of two magnets placed alongside each other - attraction vs repulsion.

So what does this have to do with tech coaching? The faculty that I work with all have varying levels of attraction and repulsion with the technology tools and systems that are in their classroom, in their hands, and used within the school. When I am working with a faculty member, whether it is in some kind of prescribed tech training or in a more collaborative coaching role, getting a read on the staff member's comfort levels and affinity with the tech tool is an important clue in how to approach the training session, at what level to offers the training, and what the end goal of the session should be. Getting a quick measure of someone's current Computing Karma with respect to the tech tool or system on hand, can make a real difference in the success of a training session. Sometimes, it's more about finding the right tool for the job which matches the person, then it is about fitting the person to the tool.

Where do you think your Computing Karma falls on the spectrum? What tech tools/systems do you have an affinity for?

Why an EdTechBlog? And why SNiCK in the first place?

Why an EdTechBlog?

Well, this is a slightly complicated question for me to answer.  The first reason behind starting a blog is that my Tech Director (Bill MacKenty) really thinks it would be a good idea for me to increase my online presence and share what I have learned over the years with a wider audience.  I have never been one to stand up on a soapbox and tell people what they should do or what they should know.  I guess that I am just a little modest that way - perhaps it's the Canadian way, eh?  I can blame Bill for pushing/encouraging me to start blogging . . . so here I am . . . kicking and screaming?!?

Practising some self-reflection

The second reason comes from my readings about blogging and reflecting on my own professional practice. One tidbit of advice that I have read numerous times is that you should start a blog for yourself and not for others.  This started me thinking and reconsidering a number of times about whether I should start my own blog or not.  After a few starts and stops and starts all over again, here I am.  I am really writing this for myself as a reflection on my career in educational technology, what I have learned along the way, the things that I am currently working on at my school, and the things that I want to work on in the future.  If someone else chooses to read it and can learn something from me, well, that's the whole point about sharing isn't it?

As I write this, I am in the middle of my 23rd year as an educator, with the last 14 of them living and working overseas with my family in tow.  I started out teaching computer science and IT classes (with a few math classes thrown in) back in Vancouver, Canada.  After 9 years working in the same public high school, we decided to go overseas and teach internationally.  I never thought at the time that I would spend more time living/working overseas than I had already in Canada, but we are well past that point and intend "to stay out" for a lot longer as well.  Over the years, I have taught tech in one form or another from grades 6-12, within the Canadian, American, Turkish, IGCSE, IB MYP, IB DP and AP programs.  Nowadays, I no longer have any classes and instead have the challenging role of Tech Coach which means working with the entire HS faculty and student body as well as managing our 1:1 Laptop Program.  As I have had a leadership/coach/mentor/integrator role in some capacity at every school that I have worked in, Bill has been suggesting that I start a blog to write down my thoughts, ideas, suggestions, questions without answers, and other musings.  So I guess that this is for him in some way as well as for myself - thanks Bill for pushing me . . . over the cliff and into the Blogosphere!

And Why SNiCK?

Well, there's the obvious point that this is my name (my first initial is "S" where I go by my middle name Nick), and sadly, I could not use Nick.Kwan for my account as it was taken a long time ago.  So I went with SNick.Kwan for my account and everything else has followed suit.

So I got to thinking that I needed a catchy title for this blog and I could not come up with anything that really stuck in my mind.  Then I started playing with the letters in my name and how I could pull some kind of meaning out of them, which led to the formula shown above.  Being the geek that I am, I kinda like it . . . what do you think?

Addendum

I recently changed the name of this blog from SNiCK-EdTechBlog to what you see now . . . SNiCK-TechXcursion as I was never very comfortable with the EdTech part.  I wanted something catchier like Lucy Gray's "High Techpectations".  After searching around and finding numerous websites, blogs and  even companies who are using Techpectations, Techpedite, Techsploration and Techceptional, I finally settled on TechXcursions.  I think this merged-word describes my world travels in international schools, as well as my exploration and work in educational technology.  If you are reading this, I hope you find something enlightening, interesting or at least humorous . . . and remember this is all Bill's fault!