Coaches = Givers

Have you watched this recent TEDTalks by Adam Grant which defined Givers and Takers (and Matchers)?  As an educational technology coach, I watched this with great interest and reflected upon Grant's model as applied to my work as a coach.  If you haven't watched it yet, then here it is . . . definitely worth the 18 minutes of your time!



Here are the key moments that I picked out from his talk . . .

• 3:40 - Givers make organisations better . . . Schools need to recognise and acknowledge this.  My previous principal always said that I was a problem finder and would immediately start working on a solution without being asked - something that was greatly appreciated.  But the work of Givers is not always appreciated - please see a previous post about what I call "guilty by competence".
• 5:30 - Protect Givers from burnout . . . As a self-identified Giver, the environment and school culture that I work in has a profound effect on me.  The act of changing schools has forced me to reflect upon this a lot this year.  How school leadership values our role as coaches and change-agents within the school, makes all of the difference with how our day-to-day work progresses and how quickly (or slowly) we "feel the burn".
• 6:30 - Encourage help-seeking behaviours . . . Get more people to act as Givers by creating/building a culture of giving, providing help, and sharing.  Again, this is all about changing the culture of the school, which comes from top through leadership and from the grassroots movements which encourage collaboration, professional sharing and growth.  Without the support for such bottom-up shifts in culture, the Takers dominate the culture of the school and the Givers get burned out.
• 7:50 - Get the right people on the bus . . . To me, this speaks about hiring practices and considering people's Mindset (in my case, mindset towards educational technology).  One way school leadership can address and build a positive school culture is through effective management of hiring practices for faculty and staff.
• 8:50 - Weed out the Takers . . . This is an inherently difficult thing to do in schools, but entirely necessary and vital for school development.  As a teacher for almost 3 decades, I have seen the ineffective/disgruntled/unmotivated/coasting/bully teacher at every school that I have worked in across 3 continents.  Admit it, this is a problem at every school in the world no matter how big or small, how affluent or inner-city, how well resourced or under-funded.  School leadership needs to be able to move someone on who is detrimental to the organisation as a whole.  More easily said then done, I know . . . but just because it is difficult doesn't mean that it isn't necessary.
• 9:10 - Characteristic of Agreeableness . . . I only bring this part up because I am Canadian, eh?! ;-)  Sorry about that . . . 

My takeaways from this?  Coaches are generally Givers by nature (there are a few that I have met who I would classify more as a Matcher though) and they are not the only ones in the building.  As such, schools need to protect them and cultivate a culture of giving/helping which will benefit school growth and development through building a positive school culture.  Would you classify yourself as a Giver?  Have you ever worked in a school where the Takers stand out and dominate the school culture?  If so, how did you survive in that kind of environment?  Or did you hit burnout and move on, as changing the school culture is just too hard or too long of a process?

Reflecting About Tech PD at My School

I recently read this article from eSchool News about 4 common mistakes made when delivering tech PD, which made me reflect on how these 4 mistakes happen in my school.  Have a read through this article and see if anything in it strikes home with you - http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/11/30/tech-based-pd/?all.

In summary, the 4 mistakes (as I interpret them for my reality here at my school, particularly in the secondary school where I work) should be addressed or considered in the following ways:

1. There is not enough support of Ed Tech to do our jobs most effectively, when teacher's priorities are focussed on their classes/students/curriculum.  In my school, Ed Tech is relatively new and has not had a very positive history/track record over the past two years so it seems to be way down on the list of priorities.  We need help from senior admin and through the strategic plan of the school to make tech integration a long-term priority.  Time and resources need to be dedicated to Ed Tech in order to make change, which involves changing the culture of the school as a whole.  And we all know that changing a school culture can be a long and difficult process.  Without the full support and backing of school leadership, this becomes an almost impossible job.  We are all in this together!
2. Offering tech PD outside of the school day just doesn’t work.  I have experienced this in my previous 3 schools and it still applies here.  When I completed my Action Research project for my masters program in my last school, much of the research supported teacher efficacy is directly linked to training/PD being conducted within the regular school day.  PD that is relegated to after school, on weekends, or optionally during lunch/break times might have some initial success but eventually will fail due lack of teacher engagement.  The common argument of “not enough time to do this” will always be there, and we can’t take away planning time or “free” time (like lunch) to do this.  Training and PD has to be regularly planned/scheduled, and preferably differentiated too.  That is why I have found Speed-Geeking activities to be more effective, well received, and showed greater overall growth across the faculty than traditional "coffee mornings" or "tech lunches".  
3. Do not rely on online or video-based self-guided training – it will fail over time as it falls into disuse and becomes out-of-date.  There is a time and place for its use, but it should not be the only means of delivery of training/pd across the school.  I created a bank of "how to" MacOSX videos when we went through the platform change process with the entire faculty and student body.  Initially, I used these videos to differentiate learning and transitioning to the Mac for faculty depending on their experience with OSX.  This appealed to some of the teachers with some experience and who wanted to learn on their own, and to most of the more advanced users who really only needed to fill in some details of the set up of our school machines.  When the rollout moved to the entire student body the following August, I again used the same bank of videos to differentiate student-led training workshops for about 100 of 300 students.  Since then, the videos have been used repeatedly with new students coming into the school laptop program as part of their tech orientation.  Now that some years have passed, I would be surprised if these same videos are still being used as they would be very out-of-date.  Video training definitely has its uses, so my takeaway here is not to rely on it as the sole means of delivering PD.
4. Forcing the integration of technology into the curriculum also does not work – many teachers (especially in the HS who teach content heavy curriculum/courses) need to see the “value added” or the benefits of doing something with technology first, before they will engage with it. The same argument of “I don't have the time” will always come up and can be properly translated into “it's not a high priority”.  So how do you change this mindset?  How can you change the priority level for teachers?  Part of the answer relates back to #1 above where Ed Tech integration needs to be a school-wide priority which is ongoing.  But be careful here - do not connect integration to teacher evaluation or offering contracts as this will undermine why teachers are doing anything with integration at all (it will be seen as just jumping through hoops or checking off boxes as part of the job).  Instead, integration should be directly connected to professional learning, growth, sharing and collaboration through connecting training/PD to professional goal setting, professional learning communities, and support/coaching/training in and outside of the school.

How do you think these 4 common mistakes apply to your school and your personal/professional reality and perspective?  Did the article make you think about PD in a different way?

Things That Must Not Be Forgotten - Google Lit Trip Launch

Just a Short Jaunt to China . . . in the 1930's . . .

It's finally finished and published . . . my Google Lit Trip to go with my father's memoir "Things That Must Not Be Forgotten - A childhood in wartime China" by Michael David Kwan.

It has been over a year since I attended the Google Teachers Academy in Stockholm (GTA SWE 13) and set out as part of my Googley project to build a GLT to go with my father's book.  It has been a long journey that involved a lot of digging into the past, both physically and digitally (you can read more about my journey in a previous posting here).  This is just to announce that the GLT has been published and released online, and that further details and background information can also be found at the accompanying Site that I built here.  Enjoy!

Takeaways from a Short Jaunt to HEL and back

A few weeks ago, I jumped on the opportunity to go to Helsinki to attend a workshop on Collaboration and Peer Observation with expert Fran Prolman.  The one-day workshop was being held at the International School of Helsinki (their entire faculty was attending) and sponsored by CEESA (which made it free for me to attend, thank you very much!).  We had a small crew from Warsaw there, and there were other teachers from Krakow and Riga as well.

Did you know . . . HEL is art deco?

My school brought in Fran this past fall, to work with our faculty on team building and protocols for having those "difficult conversations".  Having worked with Fran before, I knew that this would be something worth going to.  I really like Fran's straight-ahead, tell-it-like-it-is style of presenting, and how she encourages everyone to engage in professional conversations . . . even when they are difficult ones to have.  As I was going to HEL, I had a few "burning questions" (sorry, own intended ;-) in mind for Fran to answer about what I have been doing as a Tech Coach with conducting regular Tech Walkthroughs.

As we progressed through the workshop and got into the meat of Peer Observations, I began to wonder about how my Walkthroughs fit in with the model that she was presenting.  To help build a culture of collaboration in a school, having the trust and shared goals in place first, for Peer Observations to take place, are a given.  Peer Observations should be initiated by the observee (yeah, I know this is not actually a word but I am going to use it anyway), and they should direct the observer on the areas/topics they want data and feedback on, and the observations are typically longer or even over a period of time.

Storm clouds in HEL

So how do Walkthroughs fit in?  That was my new "burning question" that immediately sprang to mind, which Fran answered for me.  She told me that my tech walkthroughs were perfectly fine to do, and serve a different purpose than the more formal peer observations.  Although the observees are not initiating the walkthrough and are not directing what I am observing, they do know in advance why I am there and what I am looking at (technology integration in the HS).  Because the faculty know this in advance and expect me to regularly drop by their class at random times for a few minutes, my Tech Walkthroughs are productive and useful.  They have a clear purpose and understood parameters, the most important of which is that I am visiting their classroom in a non-evaluative role.  And when the walkthrough turns into a check-in with the teacher (because there is no class), then it is still time well spent through making connections with faculty, building currency, and bringing coaching/support directly to them.

Once I had confirmed with Fran that conducting regular walkthroughs as a tech coach was a good practice, I then pressed on with my original "burning questions" - Should I encourage other faculty to come along on walkthroughs in order to see other people's classes in action?  When I observe something in a class where I could suggest a change of approach/delivery/tools, should I give that unsolicited feedback to the teacher?

Yes, it does snow in HEL!  And they do like the colour red!

For the first question, I have been trying to get other faculty members to come with me on a walkthrough but I have not had anyone take me up on it.  Fran set me straight on this though - this will not work as anyone's class that we walked into will change the dynamic of the walkthrough.  In essence, the observee knows why I am there and what I am observing, but they don't know what someone else will focus on or what their goals for being there are.  This is where the Peer Observation model comes into play, where the observee directs the observer in what jot look for, collect data and give feedback on.  Fran cut quickly to the root of why I shouldn't do this and why it wouldn't be productive, so I will no longer suggest or pursue doing this and I now know why.

For my second question, it is something that I have been wondering about - giving unsolicited feedback or suggestions to a teacher about something observed in their lesson.  Fran's basic direction here is "don't do it".  Again, relating back to the Peer Observation model, the observee needs to choose what they want to learn about in their class, and direct the observer in what data to collect and what they want feedback on.  Giving unsolicited feedback can be perilous - Fran's advice here was to tread lightly or not at all.  If you really have to provide some feedback on what you observed in someone's classroom, then you must guide the teacher to think about and reflect upon what you observed.  Do not judge, do not evaluate, do not interrogate, do not ask "why" and do not make suggestions on what to do to "correct" the issue.  All you can do is gently/collegially/professionally guide the teacher to reflect on what happened and to come to their own conclusions about what the problems & solutions might be.  Or just don't say anything at all . . . after all, as a Tech Coach I am not there to evaluate, but to support and coach.

These are my personal takeaways (there were more, but more specific to my school rather than for my role) from a short, one-day focused workshop with Fran Prolman.  Each of these items has a direct impact on my daily coaching practice and how I work with my faculty - that's a big win in my books!  It's a great feeling coming home from a conference experience with your "burning questions" extinguished, and with practical advice which you can implement immediately . . . well worth the trip to HEL and back.

Getting back into teaching Computer Science

This year's Hour of Code event has long since passed, but I am still feeling its effects in my classroom and across the school.  In December just before our long winter break, I held a number of HoC events in the HS, which included a couple of student after school coding hours and even introducing parents to coding.  At the end of the second student event, a number of students hung around to talk about programming, what they should do if they wanted to pursue computer science in their post-secondary studies, and how they could engage in more programming . . . but in a more academic setting beyond what the HoC tutorials offer.

So the Coding Club was born right there on the spot - gestation time . . . about two minutes, tops.  The students suggested it themselves and all agreed that it would be something that they would like to do and would commit to, one day a week after school.  They even would take on advertising the new club and seeking out other like-minded students who wanted to engage with programming in a deeper way.

As I phased out CS in my current school a few years ago, I have not been teaching programming for the first time in about 25 years . . . and I have missed it!  From talking to students, from the responses I have had for programming/CS sessions I have done at Career's Night, and from students who have graduated and gone on to study CS without having taken a single course here, I know that there is a need and hole in our program.  Don't get me wrong - I still think that the new IB DP CS curriculum leaves much to be desired and is not a good fit for our school, so that is not the solution.  Apparently, much of the world agrees with me as the numbers of students writing the IB DP CS exam last May with the new curriculum dropped below 1000 (worldwide) - apparently an all time low.  At my school, we are looking at reforming and changing the HS program to give students more opportunities to engage with programming, computer science, the Maker movement and design.  It will not only take time and energy, but will also require a change in staffing - parts of our HS program is governed by who is on staff and what they are willing and able to teach.

In the meantime, forming a club and getting students engaged in a fun yet academic setting is a good start.  And it has been really fun for me.  I have taken the best parts out of what I used to teach in IB DP CS and AP CS, to work with the club.  Students are committed to their learning and discovery, and devote as much time towards programming as they are comfortable.  There's no grades, no exams, no class notes, no big projects with due dates . . . just a lot of learning, discussion and collaborative exploration.  When we first started talking about forming a club that was more academic in nature, I suggested that we could start with laying a foundation that we could build upon, which would serve them well as they got into programming with a compiled language . . . everyone enthusiastically agreed so that's where we started.

Our plan so far has been really fun - my club don't want to go home each week, and are truly apologetic when they have to miss a club meeting.  What we have done so far, and where we are going, is as follows:

• Why binary?, parts of the computer, storage mediums
• Data representation, file types, how stuff works and how stuff is made
• Logic circuits, Boolean logic, simple computational logic
• Types of programming languages, how the CPU works, knob and switch computing
• 3D Animation and programming using Alice3D
• Programming in Java using Greenfoot and BlueJ
• Greeps programming competition
• CAS project - teaching MS Tech Club students programming and other content above

We are only meeting once a week for about an hour, until the end of the year, so I think this will keep us busy!  It has been really energising to be teaching programming again . . . the club has shown me that I do miss working closely with this kind of student, so this really feels "right"!  So, what is your school doing for teaching programming and computer science?  Have you phased out IB DP CS with its move into Group 4 for experimental sciences?  Are you considering offering AP CS or another course instead?

Hour of Code - Take 2 Recap

Computer Science Education Week is done and dusted, and the second Hour of Code has come and gone.  Last week was busy!  Support for Code.org at my school this year has grown considerably, especially through the efforts of the tech coaches in the ES where every class from K-G5 did an Hour of Code!

As mentioned in my last post, I conducted three HoC events this year . . . one for parents, and two hours for HS students.  I also know of a number of HS students who did at least one Hour of Code on their own during the week, so I am not discouraged by the actual numbers who showed up to do some coding with me.  Here's a couple of photos from the week's events . . .

Small group of parents exploring coding for the first time - this was an interesting group to work with (they loved coding).

First Hour of Code this year for HS students - lots of deep thinking and collaboration.

My MS daughter getting in a couple hours of coding alongside the HS students - she's really into it!

An interesting twist to this year's Hour of Code happened during and after the second student event that I held in the HS.  On Friday after school, a small group of students gathered in my room to explore coding.  What was unusual this time was a "new student" joined us . . . let's call him Mikey.  Mikey is actually our HS Principal who was experiencing a "Day in the Life" of a G10 student for the day, which included going to an after school activity.  I had actually spent the entire day filming Mikey as he went through his day, and then did double-duty filming and hosting the HoC at the same time.  Mikey really enjoyed his coding experience - he went through the Flappy Birds tutorial and built his own game.  You can see in the image below that he finished the tutorial and earned his HoC certificate.

Mikey completing the Flappy Birds tutorial and earning his Hour of Code certificate.

What was also particularly interesting this year, came at the end of this second student HoC.  When everyone was packing up to leave and head home for the weekend, a bunch of the G11-12 students wanted to talk more about coding classes in our school, what they could do to learn more, and what should they be thinking about if they wanted to pursue programming in post-secondary school.  All great topics, worthy of spending more time on.  As my school has phased out the IB Diploma Computer Science course (as explained in this previous post), this conversation turned to alternative avenues for these students to learn more.  They were obviously hungry to learn, ready to delve into programming in a deep way, and asking all of the right questions.  The end result?  This group of students is going to self-form a new Coding Club which we will start in the new year, where we will jump into programming topics that I will draw from IB DP CS and AP CS courses.  I can see the club working through topics such as data representation and how the CPU works, working with some machine & assembly language simulators (knob and switch computers), programming in Python (using Alice 3D), and getting into some Java as well (Greenfoot and my favourite - the Greeps Challenge, plus BlueJay).  Mikey was part of this whole conversation, and it confirmed what we have been talking about for awhile now - that we need to update and change our elective offerings to include computer programming and computation thinking, even if we do not go back to offering the IB DP CS course.  There is obviously a need and a desire for doing programming - we just don't have the elective courses right now for these students to take.  In the meantime, a computing club will fill some of this need but it really needs to be a course for credit.

At your school, do you offer computer programming courses?  IB DP CS or AP CS or some other curriculum?  Do you have a coding club?  How are you preparing students who want to pursue their studies in computer science, programming, electrical engineering, computer architecture, etc.?

One of my HoC certificates from this year's events - thanks to Code.org!

Hour of Code - Reloaded

What is the only thing better than an Hour of Code?  No, not the second coming of the Hour of Code (but that's a good answer ;-) . . . two Hours of Code, of course!

Code.org is again supporting Computer Science Education Week (December 8-14th 2014) and we are making a more concerted effort here to have more students participate this year.  In the ES, all classes from G1-5 will be doing some coding during the week.  In the MS, I know that the MS Tech Club will be doing some coding again, and there might be some buy-in from math or science classes as well.  In the HS, I running an Hour of Code again as an after school activity, but I am offering two different sessions for students on separate days.  I am also offering a parent workshop during the week . . . let's see if any parents show up to try their hand at coding.

This year, to promote the Hour of Code in the HS, I built this short promo video based on statistics from Code.org and modelled after Karl Fisch's "Did you know?" style presentations.  This was just shown to all students in the HS to launch this year's Hour of Code, and it got students talking about it.  Yeah!

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[Music - "Geronimo" by Sheppard] for educational use/viewing only

The 1000th view . . .

When I started this ed tech blog about 15 months ago, I said at the time that it was mostly for my reflection on teaching and learning with/through educational technology . . . and I think that this statement still holds true.  This is my 23rd posting, which puts me right on a 1.5 posting per month pace.  Not bad for a first time blogger.  As I write this short post, I have noticed that I have just reached the 1000th view of my blog.

Now, I am not so naive to think that all of these page views actually came from real, live people.  Over the past year I have noticed a few hits along the way that have come from some automated trolling services in far-off lands.  Plus there's the clear evidence that my postings have only had a few comments left on them, or have had a few people Google+1 them.  So there is some evidence that people have read some of what I have written here, but I still maintain that this blog is for my reflection first, and sharing ed tech stuff with the world comes second.

So which posts have generated the most reads/hits?  Far and away, the clear winner here is my second posting about the Unplugged day that I held last year ('84 on 8/4 Unplugged Challenge - Revisited).  Coming in second was my posting about applying to the Google Teachers Academy (Getting All Googley).  After that, there's a bunch that have similar numbers of hits.  

Do you have a blog?  How long have you been writing it, and how one did it take you to reach a 1000 hits?  Do you know anyone who started a blog which they have since let fall away into the void of the internet?  Why did it fail, or why did they stop writing it?

What does Giorgio Armani, your mobile phone and drinking water all have in common?

No, it's not some story about Giorgio dropping his mobile into a glass of water and destroying it, all caught on video.  World Water Day is almost upon us (March 22nd), and the answer to the question lies therein.  I came across this great UNICEF project this year which coincides with World Water Day, and decided to launch it within the high school a few weeks ago.  Here is the short video intro/promo that I made for the launch during our weekly assembly . . .

Basically, Armani has teamed up with UNICEF to provide clean drinking water to millions of needy children around the world through this simple online project.  Armani has pledged to donate up to $75,000 for water through this project, plus at least half a million dollars through other related projects, to UNICEF.  I hooked into this project as it is a simple yet effective service learning opportunity for students, while also feeding into our school-wide mindfulness movement through having students unplug from their mobile phones for long or short periods of time.  By unplugging from the constant noise of the internet and social media, students can better understand their own wants/desires/needs to stay connected at all times.  For some students, this is a real enlightening exercise in self-awareness and reflection.  And they are raising money for clean drinking water at the same time . . . win+win in my books!  Interestingly, after launching the campaign in the high school, I heard from a number of staff and students about how many days of water they raised in one day.  It was nowhere near my forecasted challenge in the video, but it was a good start.  And a number of students have taken it upon themselves to follow through with this project over an extended period of time as a CAS project . . . a nice bonus and an additional measure for reflection.

How does it all work?  Pretty simple - just go to UnicefTapProject.org on your mobile phone's browser and start the project.  The program will start on your phone and will record the amount of time elapsed before you pick it up and use it.  For every 10 minutes that you left your phone alone and running, UNICEF & Armani will donate 1 day of clean drinking water to a child in need.  Note that you must have a mobile phone which has a motion sensor built into it for the program to work, and no, it does not work on an iPad.  While the program is running your phone can still receive notifications and messages, etc. but the program will end if you pick it up or move your phone.  Even though World Water Day is on March 22nd, the program will run through the end of the month, so there is still time to jump on board.  I raised 41 days of water on my first try at school during the day.  My MS daughter promptly broke that overnight by leaving the program running while she slept . . . smart girl!

Some thoughts on working with the "reluctant tech teacher"

I was just reading an open question on a forum which asked about how to reach/teach the teacher who is reluctant to use/integrate/try technology in their classroom.  It had quite a lively (and long) discussion going which drew me in to reading through all of the postings.  And then I found myself thinking and writing a response myself . . . but I ran out of room in the comment posting!  So here is my entire response as I wrote it . . . before having to cut out some bits to make it fit onto the forum:


Educational technology acts a lens focused on a classroom, a lesson, an activity . . . and the teaching and learning that is going on there.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), the lens magnifies everything . . . . the good, the bad, the ugly, and the awesome.  This discussion began with questions about the reluctant or techno-phobic teachers and how to encourage them to use more technology.  Someone earlier on mentioned that teachers need to "let go of the reigns", which I think is a huge component that sometimes gets missed in this discussion.  Teachers know that technology is a lens on their pedagogy and teaching practice, and many are reluctant to let go of control in their classroom as it could/might/will reflect poorly on them if/when things go wrong.  Some of these teachers frequently experience problems with technology just in their day-to-day work which they cannot solve - why would they want to put themselves on display in front of a class of students if there is a chance of public failure?

Time frequently comes up as a major reason/excuse why a teacher is not using technology in their classroom.  They don't have time in their course to do something different, or the time in their day to look at something new.  They don't have time to learn a new tool.  If they used a new tech tool with their class and it failed, they don't have the time to fix it, time to plan an alternative lesson, or any way of making up for the lost time.  Then there is always the argument where they want to see absolute proof that this tech tool will save them time and will positively affect teaching and learning in their classroom . . . otherwise they cannot see investing the time to learn and implement the new tool.

So I think these two threads are intertwined and connected to one another.  As a tech coach, I frequently hear the "time" argument in all of its different flavours from faculty.  But what I think is really happening is that the time argument is thrown at you as it is hard to argue against or refute - not only is it amorphous and ever-changing, but it is also very personal to each teacher.  The time argument is masking the real underlying reason, which is fear - the fear of letting go, of trying something which might fail, and of stepping aside from being the "sage on the stage" or the expert in the room. As a computer science teacher, I have long been accustomed to not being the absolute expert on everything . . . all of my students typically had a very singular and narrow field of CS that they were intensely interested in and they typically knew more about that one particular topic than anyone within 100 km.  So not being the expert is something that I have long been comfortable with.  However, many teachers are not, and prefer to stick with their tried and true methods to get through their curriculum rather than facing the fear of change.

Change is a powerful and frightening thing.  It can be hugely motivating, yet completely paralyzing as well.  So how do we address this fear?  I once read somewhere that a person will only undergo a process of change if it is easier for them to make the change, rather than to keep with the status quo.  The need to change has to come from within, has to be self-realized and internalized, or else there will be resistance and push-back.  So how do you do that?  Well, there's lots of pieces to the puzzle that when combined, seem to have worked for me which include:
   * Just in Time Learning - providing training individually or in small groups which is directly focused on a tool which will be employed immediately
   * Exposure - showing off a variety of tools to show faculty what's out there and to give them ideas of how they might be used in the classroom (think Speed-Geeking here)
   * Connecting with Others - seeing and connecting with other teachers who are using a particular tool in the same discipline/class/course/grade level as they work in, provides teachers with the evidence they need to move forward
   * Tech Coaches and Peer Coaches - having access to people in-house who are available and accessible is huge; not all schools can afford to have tech coaches, but you can leverage the abilities and talents of those who are already in the building
   * Admin Support - having a built-in underlying support (which could mean connecting tech integration with evaluation) can really help to get things moving . . . some people need this kind of nudge before moving forward.

A Short Jaunt to Learning 2.013 Singapore

Getting to Singapore for the Learning 2.013 conference involved a very long flight, but well worth the effort. After working in Asia for 8 years and attending the Learning2 conference in its infancy, I know that it continues to evolve and simply gets better and better every year. There's certainly nothing like it in Europe, where I am now. And organizing a conference around cohorts who share similar roles, issues, concerns and successes just makes too much sense - how come other conferences do not do this? These are the reasons that I still tell people when they ask me why I have come so far for a conference. Plus the learning - my learning.

I used to say that being an AP Computer Science examiner and going to the exam reading every year was the best professional development that I ever did. I still look back fondly at those week-long trips to South Carolina to sit in a heavily air conditioned room for hours on end, learning a rubric, teaching it to others, and grading a single question hundreds of times over, day after day. Add in the regular feeding times every two hours, and you have a landlocked cruise ship experience where the only activity is grading exams. So why was it so good? Why did I do it year after year until the College Board retired me as an international examiner? Because of the people who were there and the learning that took place. The best of the best CS teachers were all there - trading ideas, talking shop and best practice specific to CS education, and looking behind at the trends and ahead to where we are all collectively going. It was really hard, exhausting and mentally challenging work, but the growth and learning that you came away with in a week was phenomenal. But I don't grade AP exams any more - I no longer teach the course and they cut-back on bringing in international teachers due to costs.

But this is how I see the Learning2 conference now - hard work and a long ways to go, but filled with learning and growth. Last year's conference was special as I was able to take the entire coaching team to my old school in China (Western Academy of Beijing) and show them around the city. This year was the first time Learning2 has moved out of China and I was also able to have reunions with both BISS and WAB folks that I used to work with. Funny that, as I am writing this while on vacation in Istanbul where we are having a week-long reunion with old friends and colleagues at Robert College.

My main takeaways from this year's conference revolved around: finding balance and practising mindfulness with students when it comes to technology use; creating a basic photography mini-course at my school which will help students become better creators and producers; gathering some new ideas and tweaking some old ones for updating how we deliver technology PD; employing cognitive coaching techniques when working with faculty in my role as a tech coach; and giving back to the wider community through two workshops that I presented which were well attended and received. Perhaps the most exciting development from the conference is that Learning 2.014 Africa is now in the works for next year, which I hope to get involved in at the organizing committee level - again, a lot of hard work but with big rewards in the end.  

See you in Addis Ababa and Bangkok next year!

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?

The Day After 1984 - A Short Jaunt in an Unplugged School

Well, our '84 on 8/4 Unplugged Day has come and gone - my original ideas and plans are mentioned in previous posts here and here.  Personally, I took the Unplugged Challenge and extended it to a full 24 hours of no technology that was not available back in 1984.  Yesterday was an interesting day for me as a result, with a few moments of frustration, disconnectedness, and the occasional lapse into boredom.  As I progressed through the day, I made some notes (on an old notepad with ink and paper!) about what I observed of myself, the faculty and the students, as follows:

1. Conducted a walkthrough of the entire HS - many classes were working with textbooks and working on paper (much more than usually can be seen)
2. Starting the day, there were only a handful of students who volunteered and registered to formally take on the Unplugged Challenge, but a bunch more signed up in the morning (much to my relief)
3. Some faculty members resorted to asking for TimeWarp posters during the day, as they could not fully plan all of their classes to be without technology in the end.  This led to my major transgression of the day, as I had to briefly go online to email the poster to these faculty members.  Funnily enough, I didn't know about these requests as I was unplugged all day, until someone asked me if I had seen their email!
4. It was hard for IB Diploma teachers to be truly unplugged with their classes, due to the nature of their courses, due to the time of year (the last day for seniors is very soon), and due to how their classwork is structured in a 1:1 laptop school.
5. The Spirit Day Dress-up (like it's 1984) component of the day was fun and students participated in their typical small but enthusiastic numbers.  In terms of developing school spirit, it was well worth the effort.  Here's some of student posers . . . hey, isn't that Madonna?!?
   
6. Our usual HS Assembly took on an 80's flavour with one of the student bands playing some 80's hard rock . . . nice touch!
7. Most of the faculty/staff had an interesting relationship with the Unplugged Challenge - they planned their lessons to be without technology as best as they could for the day (sending attendance down to the office on paper, bringing in a tv and vcr with an old tape, using an overhead projector, working from paper and textbooks) but very few actually took the challenge themselves (I only know of one other teacher out of 40+ other than myself who personally did the challenge).
8. I collected some student feedback and reflections the day after, which garnered some interesting quotes, such as:

• "I learnt that I'm not that addicted as I believe myself to be at times, and that I actually enjoy a break from technology at least in classes, where you are not forced to sit behind a screen, but I still have a habit of reaching for my phone or computer to check messages for what's going on."
• "The most difficult part was that whenever I was bored, I felt the urge to take out my phone and start playing on it."
• "Yes [I would do the challenge].  I think it was interesting to see how I would function and to see how drastically different life is without all of the [technology] things that we have available. I think it would be an eye-opening experience for my friends as well. "

Personally, I went 24 hours without using any tech over the course of a full day of school.  It was an interesting experience, being the tech person in the school who is disconnected for the entire day.  It made for a pretty big backlog of emails and jobs to do the next day, but it was worth it to support the student body and go through the same experience.  The experience confirmed for me that my role in the school is heavily dependent on technology in general, and on email in particular for communication - no surprises there.  The biggest surprise for me though, was the realization of just how bored I got at different times during the day, as I could not read any articles online, check how my hockey team did last night, or see what's happening with friends, family and colleagues on Facebook or LinkedIn.  This last bit got me thinking that it is somewhat different for me here as an expat living/working overseas, compared to if I was still back home in Canada - the digital links to your own personal world are stretched over greater distances, connect you with a group of people spread around the world in different time zones, and become more important to you as they are the means of maintaining your important relationships with people, places and things which are distant or remote.

Have you ever gone Unplugged for a day?  What were your takeaways or observations?  Was it a mandatory experience in your school, or voluntary?  I wonder if making a mandatory unplugged event would change the dynamic, as those who do not want to participate simply won't and will find ways around any attempts at enforcing a blackout - what has been your experience?

Short Jaunt into the Blogosphere

Reflecting on Reflecting

Just a few short notes and observations that I have had about blogging, starting this blog, and actually getting some thoughts down.

First of all, I never have really seen myself as a writer or blogger in the first place - the reasons behind starting this blog are documented here in my very first post.  About 4 months into this project, 4 pages and about 10 postings later, here I am.  Thinking about the time and effort (it's not as easy as I thought it would be either) that has been invested in my blog has led me to reflect on my reflection.

Teachers need to be reflective in their work, in their pedagogy and in their disciplines/areas of speciality, in order to keep current, relevant and effective.  I have always been a reflective teacher in the classroom, throughout my career as a computer science and technology teacher.  Keeping current with the ever changing technology field was something that was a given.  But the results of this introspection and analysis always resulted in a tangible change in what I was doing in the classroom, what I was doing with students, or working with other CS/technology colleagues.

As a full-time technology coach, things have changed.  I no longer have a regular class of my own.  I am no longer teaching computer programming, applications, problem solving or working through a curriculum.  Instead, I am now working with faculty, the student body as a whole or as a grade level, or occasionally with just a particular class belonging to someone else.  Not that I am completely removed from the classroom - far from it.  It's just the context and focus has changed for me.  Hence, this blog.  By reflecting on the work that I am doing now as a technology coach and putting it into writing here, I am creating the tangible evidence of what has worked and what has failed, for my own use and for others out there in the blogosphere.  As my "class" now consists of faculty, students and staff around the school, I typically no longer have the convenience of thinking "well that really sucked . . . I will do it differently next period."  Writing it down and reflecting on the good, the bad and the ugly helps me to stay current, innovative, and engaged with being a tech coach.

If you asked me as recently as 6 months ago, I would have firmly said that I would never write a blog or have a good reason to do so.  But here I am . . . still writing . . . I am a blogger now!  If you are out there, thank you for listening/reading.  So do you have a blog of your own?  Have you ever thought you would never, ever start a blog, just like me?  Well, maybe it's time to start?!?

Just a Short Jaunt to the Dojo

This is just a Short Jaunt TechXcursion into the mysterious world of the ninja.  At the Learning 2.012 conference last year in Beijing (back at my old school, the Western Academy of Beijing, so I had to make the long trip from Europe ;-) Jeff Utecht demonstrated the Google Apps Ninja Program that he developed based on the official Google Apps Certification program.  I had met Jeff before, in my previous days working at WAB, and his presentation of the Ninja program intrigued me.  He originally developed the program at the International School of Bangkok and has since released it for any school to implement for free.

As you can tell by the name of the program, Jeff has branded it and made it for student consumption.  There are online quizzes and ninja belt levels to work through, as students (and faculty) work through the different belts on their way to becoming a Ninja Master.  I have implemented and launched the program here at ASW, but I have to say that it was no small feat.  It is a huge job!  As another blogger mentions here, it has taken me numerous hours to take the Ninja materials and fashion it into a workable program at my school.  Updating and checking all of the quizzes was a big job, and I took my cues from the materials and logos to make it a little campy as well.  Do you understand, Grasshopper?  In building the program for my school, I also took the opportunity to reorganize the program into 5 Disciplines corresponding to the different quizzes that are available - Search, Communication (Gmail), Organization (Calendar), Collaboration (Docs/Drive) and Contribution (Sites).

I took a slightly different path for my implementation, as my school uses both Google Apps and Moodle as our primary learning platforms, so I built our Ninja Dojo in Moodle along with placing all of the associated materials in Google Apps.  This particular Moodle course is not currently setup for Guests, so I cannot provide you with a link into it here. So you will just have to be content with the screenshot above and the other links at the top of this post.  However, I will say that I have put myself through the entire program (which makes me Grand Master Kwan) as a test of all of the materials, belt tests and processes for grading the quizzes through Flubaroo . . . it is challenging and fun, and there is a lot to learn for staff and students alike.  I have pushed this out directly to a few faculty members who wanted to learn more about Google Apps this year, and have done a soft-launch with the HS student body . . . a few have signed up already so it's gaining some traction.  The other angle that I am playing with this is to turn it into a CAS service project for students, where the idea is to become a Google Apps Ninja Master Sensei after completing all of the belts . . . sounds cheesy, but it might just work.  I have already created a student tech help group in the HS which I have named the AppleCorps to help with in class support for our new Mac 1:1 laptop program, so why not try to build a similar student program for Google Apps?  Have a look at the Ninja Program, and if your school uses Google Apps for Education then you might want to start a dojo of your own.

Do you think becoming a Google Apps Ninja Master can change your Computing Karma?  Have you started a dojo in your school?  What have been the challenges and successes?