Educational Discourse

Well, I’ve been tagged by Brian over at Snacks and Staff Meetings about my best productivity tips. It’s taken me a while to get to this one so maybe my tips aren’t really that effective. But, I’ll throw them out there and you can see if they might work for you.

Tip #1 – Find an all-in-one organizer and stick with it. This took me some time but I really like the Zoho planner and now it stays open on my laptop all the time. I just like how it works. Now, when I am not able to access it, which sometimes happens, I use simpleDays 3.1. I have learned to organize my items and deal with them right away. That has been my key to productivity. Like Brian, I try to deal with whatever is going on right away. So, I plan my day and give myself time in the morning to do different “office” items before the day begins. I then return my first set of emails, add to my phone call list and eliminate the things I have finished. I have one section for tomorrow and this week. Beyond that, I add it to the calendar with a reminder. That way it is not sitting around for too long and I can focus on what needs to be done.

Tip#2 – I’ve learned to use my computer to reduce my workload. I add to my contacts, use phone lists, mail lists and other such items. My RSS produces a plethora of things to read – I pick 10 to read and respond to each day and copy the URL’s into my Notebook (Zoho again) and access them at different times during the day. I read and then quickly respond. Once the RSS has been read, I mark them “ALL READ” and move on.

Tip#3 – I use my wikis for planning and communicating with people. This way, I can access them from anywhere. I have also had the staff begin using a wiki to communicate various things so that things are not coming as a surprise. We are slowly getting better at this which has information disseminating at a quicker rate.

Well that’s my three tips. I hope they help someone. My next step is to purchase a PDA to sync with my laptop to keep my days and meetings with me so I don’t end up double-booking myself. Maybe next Father’s Day!

There has been a great discussion going on over at Bump on the Log and We Live in Interesting Times about whether we should or should not be preparing our students for the “business world”. Now, in reading through the posts and the comments, I began to wonder what exactly we are preparing them for? I mean, I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone say

Wait until you get into the real world. They won’t put up with that or you won’t get away with that or something to that effect.

I always wondered about that whole line of thinking. Now, if we are preparing them to work in the business world, then what we do in school really should follow, in some way, what is happening in the corporate sector. For me, it’s reading blogs like Changing Way , The Bamboo Project blog and Connecting the Dots. They help me to see what is going on elsewhere. I have also hooked up with some blogs that deal with training like Janet Clarey and Donald Taylor . I am able to see how what they discuss should have overlap in our educational systems. Sometimes it does and, well, sometimes it should.

Now, if we aren’t preparing them for the business world, then we had better be preparing them to be productive citizens in our supercharged, superchanging society. Really, we have no other option, do we? But hold on, if we are doing that, where are all the tools and technology that are changing how society looks at almost everything. From fastfood to virtual worlds, we are experiencing a time when change is the norm. Yet, for all the changes that have been directed at schools, we continually see that, in fact, they haven’t really changed all that much. They are still very similar to what they were in past decades where learning is controlled and dolled out in small measures at appropriate intervals. Where those who excel at taking tests continue to rise to the top and those who don’t fit the system are skimmed away.

So what exactly are we preparing them for? Does the comment about entering the real world hold true? Have we become so removed from what is going on around us that we are now petrified into inaction? Is this why teachers and others refuse to change the present system? Are we afraid to become relevant? Do we fear that in doing so we would be found lacking? Should we not be saying something like “This is a trial run of what life will be like?” “We’re here to help you build your skills for life tomorrow.” Unfortunately, at this point, we don’t seem to be doing that at all. So, although the conversation at Tim and Brian’s is very interesting, it might be more theoretical than real. Unless, of course, our school systems begin to change in dramatic ways. Well, it could happen!

The school year is drawing to a close and for many people the prospect of time away will mean time not doing any school work. Unfortunately, that scenario will put some teachers further behind when it comes to web2.0 integration. In fact, teachers who are already having trouble with seeing how these tools can enhance their teaching will be farther behind once the new school year begins.  As teachers who are using these tools have observed, the introduction of new tools continues to grow. With little time given to teachers to explore these tools, they are having to pick and choose what tools they will use. With summer vacation coming, it might be time to explore some of the ones that were put to the side during the year.  As someone who tries to keep up with the various tools that are being introduced, I have realized that I need reorganize my time in order to make time for exploring and trying new tools. I then need to assimilate them into my teaching strategies, using them to enhance what is already going on in the classroom.

So, with summer vacation on the horizon, I realize that I won’t be able to take time off from learning. Not that I ever really did take time off but this summer will be a bit different because instead of taking in a summer course or going to a class, I will be plotting out how I can use new tools to enhance my teaching and leading and learning about the various tools that are available. The idea that teachers have two months off, which was always a fallacy, is now completely without any merit since teachers will need to invest time throughout the summer months in exploring and learning new strategies for delivering the curriculum to their students. In fact, there is a great need for teachers to use some of this time to reflect upon their practice and evaluate where new tools would best serve their students.

To add to this, there is a growing number of books that teachers might be interested in reading as they try to become more informed about how this digital shift is affecting various sectors of society. Such books as The World is Flat, A Whole New Mind,  Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything and Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder a just some of the many titles I’ve seen floating around that seem interesting and relevant to what is going on in education and society. Coupled with this will be my further exploration of SMART goals, reading concepts and PLCs which are the three main areas our school division is focusing upon. Whew, it already seems a bit overwhelming! So what does one do without suffering severe burnout?

Well my plan for the summer is to lay out some priorities for myself and then fill in the blanks with resources that will help me achieve those goals. Since SMART goals and PLCs are two areas of focus for the school division, I will focus my early reading on these two areas. I am going to use a wiki to track my reading and do my planning for the school year. One of my goals is to create a few videos to assist teachers in using some of the tools. Now I know that there are a few RSS videos available so that will be one less video to do! I’m considering a video on how to create a wiki, set up a blog and working within a network like Ning. Again, I think that I will use a wiki to host all these and build up various tools and ideas.

I will also be working on developing my teaching units, going through them and eliminating things that are no longer useful and adding information. I already use a wiki for this so it will be a process of adding and subtracting. Finally, I am hoping to do a presentation for administrators at the beginning of the year and will be focusing on exploring tools that deal with PD and finding information to help administrators gather information for PD. I will be using the pbwikis to do this. They have generously supplied two packages as prizes for my presentations.

Now before you think that this is way too much, you have to realize that I have also planned a few long weekends away, a week long camping trip with my family and I take several afternoons a week to go to the pool, on bike rides or just hang out and watch our newly planted grass grow! I also work for a contractor building houses so I will have quite a few different ventures to occupy my time. Yes. I am a workaholic, to some degree. I don’t sit idle very well but like to be doing something, even if it is reading a book. Afternoon naps are also a highlight of my summer activities. However, the reality is that unless I spend time reading, trying, practicing and using, my skills will not be what they should be and I will not be ready for the year that follows. As a father of seven children, I know that learning is a key to their future and I will spend time with them doing all kinds of wild things (we have a new glide and slide tube to try!). I am also a leader of educators who are responsible for the learning of 200+ children and this is also important. So, without shortchanging my family, I need to work so that I can be my best once the new school year starts.

So, what are your summer plans? Are you going to be exploring new and wondrous tools for learning? How will they fit into your schedule? Will they?

Well, like many teachers and administrators, the end of May and June are times when things get a bit hectic. It seems that each year, no matter how much I plan, I always seem to be crunched for time. So why am I writing this blog if I don’t have much time? Good question.

Since I began on this web2.0 journey in January, I’ve begun to rely on this blog as a place to discuss important ideas, sound off about things that are bugging me and ask for input on ideas that are bumping around inside my head. I sometimes develop an article based on the entry on another blog but most of the time I use this as a place for my own thoughts. And this is why I’m using my valuable time to blog.

As this year comes to a close and I reflect on what has happened over the year in regards to technological advancements, I wonder what and where I should go from here in relation to staff development. I’ve developed a staff wiki that has a calendar where staff are to post events that pertain to the school. At last look, it seems most staff are now using the calendar to post events so that everyone is in the know. We are still working on developing some grade 1/2 podcasts of reading. In fact, we have most of them recorded – it’s getting them posted that is causing me difficulty! We have access to one SMARTBoard but it is in the lab. I’ve requested that it be hooked up and the projector be ceiling mounted to avoid moving and I’ve asked for a second board to be installed in a classroom. We are fully operational when it comes to email and electronic paper transfer for the staff and we have the system ready for student use.

As I plan my opening day with the teachers, I wonder if it is now time to put forward the ideas that we need to begin using the tools that are available and begin planning with them. Do, we as a staff, take the step towards 21st Century teaching? Should we explore different pd opportunities as a staff, developing our understanding of technology and teaching? As leader, I know that we need to build the communal knowledge regarding technology, helping each other to develop strategies for using technology in the classroom. With the upgrade of our computer system and the availability of more computers in classrooms, we will be able to do much more without relying on the computer lab.  So, if you were in my place, where would you start? What would you begin with and where would you go?

I have been doing quite a lot of reading and commenting over the long weekend. This has given me a chance to read and contemplate what others are saying which is always good. Also, I’ve been thinking about what the new school year will bring. With only 5 weeks left, the new school year is approaching quickly while this school year is racing towards its end.

I came across an interesting piece over at Harold Jarche’s site. What is weighing down learning? looks at some interesting ideas concerning the inertia of our modern educational system. Now, I agree with some of what is being said about the school systems. My comment went something like this:

I would agree with some of the underlying assumptions. However, we are still very much driven with by a society that hasn’t moved out of the industrial mindset. As much as we say that things are flattening and changing, much of what happens in the day-to-day life of many N.A. people is still following the same system as it did years ago. Until society changes its view of what schooling is all about and we can come to grips with a youth population that thinks very differently, the present system will prevail with all its flaws. As I deal with students and parents as an administrator, we are seeing a different type of parent – one that wants to protect their child from all ills and consequences to the point where they will take the blame for what the child does. At present, compulsory education now allows both parents to seek employment without incurring the cost of childcare and, with the advent of school extra-curricular programming, provides parents with after-school care so that there is little out of pocket expense. With the advent of childlabour laws, there is little that children can do but go to school unless one parent stays home which, in our society of excess, isn’t necessarily the norm. Marco Polo asks “Who gets to decide?” Is he implying that children get to decide whether they go to school? As I’ve wondered in other discussions, have we entered an era when adults, wanting to enjoy the wonders that our society is creating, are wanting to divest themselves of the responsibility of raising the youth therefore giving them the choice of what they do with the idea that society, with its market mentality, will provide the appropriate consequences if the decisions are not in line with what society will tolerate based on the ideals that society, with its morales and values, will dictate what is allowable and not allowable. Of course, I could be out to lunch!

Now, I could be out to lunch. However, if I am, I’m hoping that I’m at least able to order a clubhouse on brown. If not, then our discussion needs to focus on how we move a system that is embedded in a societal mindset contrary to what we know our students will need to be successful in the future? We also must take into account that the students within the system no longer see things in the same manner that many of the adults do. As I study more about the youth culture, a recurring theme is “It is ________ because I believe it is” where you can substitute a variety of things including truth, right, wrong, good, bad. This individualistic look at societal issues will definitely influence how our schools and education systems will need to adapt and change. So, like the ant with the rubber tree – we cannot move the system alone. We cannot move the system without bridging the societal divergence that exists between those in the system and those in the society in which the system exists. Many of us see that the system must change but, like that ant, we cannot change the system. We must get help from the rest of the society or that plant will stay put. Changing the system, I think, will only come about when we see a change in the way society views the role of schools. People can say they think schools do many things but until they are able to agree that the current system does not fit those within and that learning is something that extends beyond the walls of any institution, we’ll continue in the current industrial mode. It fits our two income lifestyle which we don’t want to lose as it provides us with the necessary income to have the luxuries that our industries produce. Of course, I could be out to lunch – clubhouse on brown, please with a tall glass of ice-water.