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Digital Learners Need (and Deserve) Digital Leaders #DigiLead

Posted by Unknown Rabu, 12 Februari 2014 0 komentar

I recently read this Education Week post by Jill Berkowicz and Ann Myers titled We Have 21st Century Learners Who Need 21st Century Leaders. I couldn't agree more. They go on the summarize the following:

"Essentially, the 21st century leader has to develop a renewed understanding of how children are learning now. It isn't about using technology because it exists. It is about how the technologies of the world have already influenced how children are learning. Bringing a technology agenda forward with the intention of improving student understanding and demonstrated success is essential. Leading the transition from 20th century to 21st century schools includes attention to the human toll it takes when such large changes are being required. Ongoing professional development, constant review and analysis of successful attempts at the changes in learning opportunities and the increasing use of technology offer momentum."

The world has changed and technology has had a big impact. As the world and our lives have become more connected and influenced by the evolving technology-rich landscape our learners in turn have become wired differently. Not only are they engaged more outside of school then in, but in many cases they are constructing new knowledge, communicating, collaborating, and attempting to make sense of an array of media messages. All of these examples are at the core of essential skill sets that most schools "want" students to possess, but many schools do a poor job of creating a culture that integrates them across the curriculum. Students deserve leaders willing who are willing to extend themselves beyond their comfort zones in order to create a culture that aligns with a new vision for learning. This involves a leader's desire to take calculated risks, adapt, learn, and ultimately evolve in ways to break free of the status quo in order to create digitally rich environments that meet the needs of today's digital learners.

Image credit: http://inspiringtheact.org.au/event/unconventional-gas/

The number one responsibility and challenge for digital leaders is to create a relevant, meaningful, and authentic learning culture that allows students to create learning artifacts to demonstrate conceptual mastery. It also requires an open mind, vision, and strategic plan to allow students access to real-world tools to do real-world work. A common misconception is that you have to be "tech savvy" in order to be a digital leader. Of course it helps, but it is not a necessity. What is needed is a thorough understanding of what constitutes effective leadership and determining how these characteristics, skills, and practices can be improved and/or enhanced with a new mindset that views technology as a tool to support learning as opposed to just a frivolous add on. Some of the most effective digital leaders, or just leaders for that matter, build capacity in others to move the change process further. If you are a leader looking to do so, begin to have conversations with your teachers, and more importantly your students, to collaboratively create a system that works for learners as opposed to one that just acts to control them.

Societal changes as a result of technology now demand leaders to also look at how they perform other essential responsibilities to improve and move schools forward in the digital age. The Pillars of Digital Leadership provide a practical framework for any leader, regardless of technological proficiency, to improve professional practice. The tenets of leadership still apply. It should also be noted that this isn't about giving us more to do in a time when it seems like more and more is being dumped on a leader's plate. The guiding question is how can we do what we do better to become more effective and efficient while becoming improved learners, collaborators, communicators, storytellers, and change agents. If we look at the digital age as an endless era of opportunity to engage students in deeper, more relevant learning then the next logical step is to act.

We can no longer stand by idly while everything changes except for schools and learning environments. View this post as a call to action. If you are a digital leader how will you help support, cultivate, and inspire others to follow a similar path? The Age of Information and Personal Learning Networks (PLN's) provides ample resources for any leader (classroom, building, district) to find success, not to mention my new book on Digital Leadership. The challenge is to get those who do not value the role of technology in learning today, are not connected, or who are blinded by fear, misconceptions, or lack of knowledge on board. Learners across the globe are counting on our success in this endeavor. Are you up for the challenge?

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Why Digital Leadership? #digilead

Posted by Unknown Minggu, 19 Januari 2014 0 komentar

If you haven’t noticed, I have been a tad bit excited over the past couple of weeks leading up to the release of my new book. This is something that I could have never dreamed of prior to social media as I felt that writing was definitely not my strong suit. Social media not only helped me find my voice, but it helped me find the voices of so many passionate and amazing educators from across the country and globe. Surrounding yourself with smart people willing to share could possibly be one of the best decisions you could make whether as a leader, educator, or learner. Almost every chapter of Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times opens up with a vignette that illustrates specific characteristics, behaviors, skills, and mindsets in action.

The Pillars of Digital Leadership

Here is a breakdown:

Forward – Some wisdom from the great Yong Zhao.
Preface – What is digital leadership?
A Day in the Life of a Digital Leader - Summary of what a typical day for me looks like at New Milford High School.
Chapter 1: The Evolving Educational Landscape
Chapter 2: Why Schools Must Change (Pam Moran)
Chapter 3: Keys to Leading Sustainable Change (Spike Cook)
Chapter 4: Leading With Technology (David Britten)
Chapter 5: Communication (Joe Mazza)
Chapter 6: Public Relations (John Carver)
Chapter 7: Branding (Trish Rubin)
Chapter 8: Professional Growth and Development (Lyn Hilt)
Chapter 9: Increasing Student Engagement and Enhancing Learning (George Couros, Patrick Larkin)
Chapter 10: Rethinking Learning Spaces and Environments (Dwight Carter)
Chapter 11: Discovering Opportunity (Robert Dillon)
Chapter 12: A Call to Arms (Peter DeWitt)
Appendix: A collection of reproducibles and resources

Their voices and stories, as well as the work of so many other practitioners mentioned throughout the book, will help guide any educator looking to initiate meaningful change in the digital age. This is not about bells and whistles or smoke and mirrors tactics to preserve the status quo, but rather a systematic approach to transform schools in a way that works for our students and inspire those with whom we work. It is about taking a hard look at the type of school culture leaders are currently sustaining and asking is this really preparing our students for success.

I have witnessed and been a part of a dramatic transformation process at NMHS that began in 2009 when I gave social media a try. The process continues today where a culture has been built that preserves important traditional elements while pursuing an innovative agenda for growth and improvement. We are actively engaging a variety of stakeholders, who in turn have embraced the renaissance taking place. It is my hope that the collective stories, strategies, and ideas in this book will help you become an agent of change.

Three Ways to Get Digital Leadership

Now that the dust has settled since the book officially became available on January 14 the electronic versions are now ready for download. Here are the specific links:

Hardcopy (Corwin Press)
Electronic eBook (eBooks) - PDF replica of the print version and can be viewed on almost any device except Kindle.
Kindle (Amazon)

#DigiLead

If you want to talk about digital leadership at anytime I have created a hash tag. My hope is that we can use this on Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and Facebook to extend the conversation and our learning on this topic. Feel free to use it to ask me questions, acquire resources, or just to chat openly about how we can all become more effective leaders in a digital world.

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Daily Inspiration is the Norm

Posted by Unknown Selasa, 14 Januari 2014 0 komentar

I'm not going to lie, New Milford High School is an amazing place to work. We have fantastic students, supportive parents, a Technology Director that gets it, and a Central Office and Board of Education that provide us with the autonomy to take risks. With these elements in place the stage is set for innovation and the creation of a school culture that works for students in the digital age. Change does not happen when all of the gears are not working in concert. What more could a Principal and learner ask for in a place to work?

Makerspace at NMHS

You know what else I love? The fact that there is so much going on these days at NMHS that it is near impossible for me to know all of the great things taking place. This is where my incredible teachers come into play. Not only are they working extremely hard to adjust to the many new mandates enacted in NJ, but in the face of this adversity they have not departed from what makes NMHS a special place to teach and learn. Instead of shying away from taking risks to improve professional practice, my teachers have readily embraced the autonomy they have been provided. Not only are they innovative and consistently redefining teaching and learning at NMHS, but they readily share their great work on a routine basis. Below is a snapshot of some of their latest work with students:

Mr. Devereaux's AP Biology class used the apps iMotion HD and Stop Motion Studio to create stop-motion videos showing the process of meiosis. They used iMovie to put voice-overs into their videos to describe the process.
Mr. Groff’s US history classes piloted Paperlet, a new educationally based technology platform where students create digital stories that incorporate various multimedia elements including video, sound, and image files. The students worked with Mrs. Fleming on new Google Chromebooks in the library to design their e-books. As part of the pilot program students made recommendations to Paperlet designers on needed changes and enhancements, which were immediately made to improve student experiences.
Mrs. Chellani continues to search for new ways to make the learning environment more engaging and interactive for her students. In addition to playing a review game of jeopardy via the Smart Board in her Calculus classes, she decided to have students use an interactive whiteboard on their phones by downloading the sketchpad app. As opposed to final answers being submitted on paper, Mrs. Chellani had her students use the app to submit the final answers. The learning process was much more enjoyable for the students through the use of the game and much more relevant to them through the use of the phones
Students in Mrs. Groff’s Voices in Poetry and Prose classes have been reading independently since the beginning of the school year. They choose their own books to read based on their interests and reading levels. Students then worked with Mrs. Groff and Mrs. Fleming to create book trailers on their favorite books. Students will use WeVideo, Windows Movie Maker and other available technologies to create their videos. These trailers were then loaded onto an NMHS book trailer.
Mrs. Fleming provided opportunities for the students and staff (and the district) to participate in Computer Science Education Week and the Hour of Code. Students were invited into the media center to used the computer programming tool Scratch to create interactive holiday cards. In addition, Mrs. Fleming collaborated with Mrs. Haskill’s math class as they used coding to create various things including creating their own games.

This is but a small sample of what is happening at NMHS. Each day I can start my morning off with a bang by stopping by our digital journalism class to see what The Lance is up to. I count my blessings everyday that I work in a school where daily inspiration is the norm.

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Writing Scaffolds to Meet Diverse Learning Needs

Posted by Unknown Kamis, 02 Januari 2014 0 komentar

As students work to master the complex reading and writing standards demanded by the Common Core, Mrs. Montecuollo and Mrs. Westbrook collaborated to create writing scaffolds that address the diverse academic needs of their 9th grade students. These teachers believe that differentiation is about access points. Therefore, they used four support activities (scaffolds) to address different areas of difficulty they see their students face.

Image credit: http://www.masoncontractors.org/2010/03/10/the-adjustable-scaffolding-advantage/

Scaffold 1 & 2: Student Generated Exemplars and Writing the “Recipe” for Literary Analysis

First, Mrs. Westbrook created a task that required students to identify and interpret the underlying meaning of a piece of literature and then to make arguments about it. She began by showing a student written exemplar (Figure 1) to demystify the task and give students a concrete model for their own writing. Then students generated a list of the characteristics of literary analysis demonstrated in the example. This strategy allowed the teachers to delineate the requirements for the task and tied those requirements to specific writing moves used in good analysis (Figure 2). It also provided clarity for targeted feedback. For example, Mrs. Montecuollo and Mrs. Westbrook could read student responses and be clear about what each writer needed to add or change in order to meet standard.

Figure 1. Annotated Student Exemplar

Figure 2. Teaching Chart: Rules for Literary Analysis

Scaffold 3: Cloze Writing Technique

Another key to the success of this lesson was the third scaffold The Cloze Writing Technique (Figure 3). This scaffold provided students with sentence starters gleaned from the student exemplar and allowed them to focus on the content of their arguments without worrying about how to begin. As students struggled to articulate their ideas, they worried that their writing sounded “so simple” and “so elementary.” By helping students articulate their ideas more complexly, Mrs. Montecuollo and Mrs. Westbrook honored each student’s thinking. Thus, students were more willing to take a risk and push themselves from summary to analysis.

Figure 3. Cloze Writing Technique

Scaffold 4: Class Blogs as Formative Assessment

Finally, students posted their pieces to Mrs. Westbrook’s class blog (Figure 4). After posting the students received differentiated feedback to help revise their responses. In addition, the blog is public, so students had a real audience and real responses to reference as they worked to fill gaps in their writing/understanding/learning. In this way, these instructors maximized the learning for all of their students and ensured the class met standard.

Figure 4. English 9 Class Blog

English 9 students blogging using a combination of their own devices, Chromebooks, and MacBooks.

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Pillars of Digital Leadership Series: Opportunity

Posted by Unknown Minggu, 29 Desember 2013 0 komentar

This post is the seventh and last in a series that outlines the foundational elements of my new book, Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times. It is set to be published by Corwin Press on January 14, 2014. Currently there is a pre-publication discount of 15% for any orders before this date. Over the past couple of weeks I have introduced what I have come to identify as the Pillars of Digital Leadership, a conceptual framework for leaders to begin thinking about changes to professional practice. My book will focus on each of these elements as part of a change process. It will illustrate them in action through the work of practitioners and provide implementation strategies. To view the entire series click HERE.

Pillar #7 - Opportunity

The interconnectedness of the Pillars of Digital Leadership leads to continuous improvements in school culture and professional practice. As leaders begin to craft a strategy that incorporates social media and digital tools, the shifts and changes in behavior inherent in each of the six previously discussed pillars begin to take shape. Transparency through the use of social media breeds attention to programs, initiatives, and leadership style. Good news travels fast, and social media transmit the news to numerous stakeholders who are embedded in these spaces. This attention eventually leads to numerous opportunities in the form of strategic partnerships, authentic learning experiences for students, professional development, school and professional recognition, and educational technology.

Image credi: http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisperry/2012/05/09/how-to-cure-social-media-paralysis/

Chapter 11 will introduce readers to Robert Dillon and the work that he has done to forge strategic partnerships with an array of stakeholders to provide learning opportunities for his students. This chapter will also provide numerous examples of how I have leveraged social media to discover opportunities for the New Milford High School community as well as myself professionally. The possibilities are endless as digital leaders become more connected, engage in conversations about professional practice, and share the innovative work taking place in their buildings.

As leaders adopt and embrace the Pillars of Digital Leadership, numerous opportunities will arise in an array of areas that positively impact school culture and professional practice. By leveraging social media, leaders can share school and professional successes, build strategic partnerships, present work to a wide array of audiences, and discover authentic learning experiences for students and staff alike. All of this can be done in a relatively cost-effective fashion while improving all facets of education. These opportunities will build a greater sense of community pride in the innovative work being done in education. Once understood and embraced, the Pillars of Digital Leadership will continue to work in concert with each other to bring opportunities now and in the future.

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Pillars of Digital Leadership Series: Rethinking Learning Spaces and Environments

Posted by Unknown Minggu, 22 Desember 2013 0 komentar

This post is the sixth in a series that will outline the foundational elements of my new book, Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times. It is set to be published by Corwin Press on January 14, 2014. Currently there is a pre-publication discount of 15% for any orders before this date. Over the next couple of weeks I will introduce what I have come to identify as the Pillars of Digital Leadership, a conceptual framework for leaders to begin thinking about changes to professional practice. My book will focus on each of these elements as part of a change process. It will illustrate them in action through the work of practitioners and provide implementation strategies. To view the entire series click HERE.

Pillar #6 - Rethinking Learning Spaces and Environments

Digital leadership looks at societal trends as inspirational elements and potential catalysts for change in the structure of the schools themselves as well as the designs of programs. It is a call to action challenging leaders to critically reflect on the learning spaces and environments that embody a school. Do they meet the needs to learners today? Do they foster and inspire creativity, provide flexible opportunities to learn, and address unique and specific interests? Are they reminiscent of what students will expect in today’s world? I will be the first one to admit that the learning environments and spaces at New Milford High School looked nothing like this prior to 2009. Our goal now is to try our best to create a physical space and overall environment that offers flexibility, choice, and tools that our learners will experience upon graduation. With the pedagogical shifts outlined in the last post in this series our success will be determined by the transformation of learning spaces and environments that support these instructional changes.

Clark Hall at GAHANNA LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL (Columbus, OH)

Digital leadership drives school leaders to look past traditional constructs and incorporate trends embraced by Fortune 500 companies to transform learning spaces and environments. When energy and time are spent in this area, school will not only authentically engage students, but also better prepare them for success in today’s dynamic society. The end result will be opening the door to learning while creating global scholars. Chapter 10 of my book provides leaders with a look into how Principal Dwight CARTER spearheaded such change to create Clark Hall, a model for how schools should function and be structured in the Digital Age. Dwight provides invaluable insight on the journey and processes involved to create an environment that students and teachers alike want to be a part of. Schools today need to focus on creating environments and spaces that:

provide an open, bright, and flexible space for learning
provide student choice
integrate technology to engage students
are flexible with time to focus on learning
provide students with the opportunities to express their natural creativity
utilize teachers as facilitators
promote interdisciplinary and interconnected projects
make learning fun

Digital leaders develop a vision and strategic plan to create schools that engage and drive learning. Thanks to social media and the real-time Internet we all have access to design elements and ideas to transform schools into institutions where students use real-world tools to do real-world work. This is were the foundation was laid for the evolving Makerspace at NMHS. In addition to the successes that Dwight has had in this area the rest of the chapter will look at how schools can create their own Academies as well as create pathways to individualize and personalize learning for all students. How have you worked to redesign learning spaces and environments at in your respective district or school?

If you have any specific questions in regards to the Academies @ NMHS, IOCS, or our Makerspace (hyperlinks in the above paragraph) feel free to reach out to me.

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Be Present

Posted by Unknown Rabu, 18 Desember 2013 0 komentar

There is no better way to get the pulse of a school as a leader than to be in classrooms. I have never considered myself one to be tied to a desk and/or office, but the managerial aspects of the position and ridiculous amounts of paperwork catch up to you at some point. This year educators in NJ, like many other states across the nation, are still adjusting to new mandates related to teacher evaluation and tenure changes. Here we call it Achieve NJ. The toll that all of these new directives - from SGO’s, to SGP’s to PDP’s - has taken on administrators and teachers has been quite dramatic. In my case, none more than the never-ending time sap dedicated to paperwork and meetings. This is our new reality.

Image credit: http://algetler.com/executive-presence-is-a-leadership-skill/

One of the mandates in particular has resulted in an increase in observations of tenured staff members. This is probably the one area of directed and mandated change that I have come to appreciate. Why might you ask? It has resulted in my administrative team and I being in classrooms more often and regularly. Now, the beginning of the year was extremely rough as over six of the seven hours that my students were in school were spent conducting pre-conferences, observations, write-ups, and post-conferences. After only a few months, the four of us that comprise the NMHS Administrative team have conducted co-observations, developed a common language and look fors, and have mastered the McREL tool that we use to observe staff. Working together we are not only getting into more classrooms, but we have also developed a streamlined process using shared documents in Google Drive.

The journey thus far has not been easy, but there now is a silver lining. Once we became comfortable with the new mandates and how each impacted our professional practice we were able to lay out a vision for a renewed focus on the work we do that truly matters. The only way to accomplish this was to become even more present by developing protocols to ensure we are in classrooms each day. Even with the seemingly endless burden imposed by state mandates, we developed a walk-through procedure in order to not only know what is going on in our building, but to also better engage teachers and students in learning conversations.

Our walks over the past two weeks have reaffirmed our belief in the innovative work taking place here at New Milford High School. More importantly, they have been a catalyst for positive dialogue on what we can do as a school community to improve and celebrate our collective accomplishments. These rich conversations were just not taking place due to the pressure-filled environment that has been created as a result of education reform in this state. Post-conferences have focused on how one can “prove” that he/she is meeting the criteria contained in a standards-based rubric, especially with uploaded artifacts. On the other hand, our walks have reinvigorated our belief in public education and the amazing authentic and meaningful work teachers and students do each day. Here is just a snippet of what I have seen or experienced in the past week:

An English teacher having every student in her Film Studies class share their presentation with me on Google Drive minutes after I attended a class.
Engineering students showing off the bridge they had just collaboratively created.
A pedagogically sound BYOD lesson in English where an equitable environment was created using both student and school-owned technology.
A History teacher having students use Socrative on Chromebooks.
Document Based Questions (DBQ’s) being administered in a history class.
Digital photography students working on editing the photos they just took on a recent trip to Rockefeller Center, Times Square, and Bryant Park in NYC.
A Math teacher using Poll Everywhere in AP Statistics to check for understanding.
A math teacher diligently working with students as they participated in a cooperative learning activity.
Students in our new Makerspace constantly tinkering, hacking, inventing, and creating.
Numerous teachers assessing learning in both summative and formative formats.

Picture from recent walk: BYOD and equity (student + school owned tech)

I think you get the point. Being present in our classrooms and other learning areas of our buildings cannot be overstated. Even in the face of relentless pressures and mandates that don’t make much sense, it is our duty to be instructional leaders, cheerleaders, guides, mentors, and change agents. This can only happen if we know what is going on in our schools, connect with both teachers and students alike, and provide positive as well as constructive feedback on what we see. Most importantly however is the mere fact that our presence will reaffirm what we do in the most important profession. The work that I am seeing from my staff and students serves as an inspiration. When I go into classrooms I am eagerly anticipating what I will see next. Don’t succumb to the myriad of excuses that education reform provides each of us today not to be in classrooms. Be present!

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World Of Difference

Posted by Unknown Rabu, 11 Desember 2013 0 komentar

In my opinion one of the most important roles in any school is that of Media Specialist. Over the years I have longed to create a position that would serve a multi-faceted role of librarian, media specialist, and educational technologist. The challenge for me though was that Shannon Miller's, Joyce Valenza's, and Gwyneth Jones's don't grow on trees. This mere challenge did not deter me in my search in the least bit as I had my eyes set on one such individual that fit this mold perfectly. That person was Laura Fleming, who in her own right has been blazing a trail in the transmedia world for the past couple of years. Once I knew I had this position available the courting process began.

Luckily for me, but more importantly my students and staff, Laura jumped on the opportunity to become a part of the transformation that has been occurring at New Milford High School the past couple of years. Upon hiring Laura I challenged her right off the bat to embrace her new role as an innovative change agent in a space that is extremely outdated and to collaborate with staff in order to push their boundaries to authentically engage students. Our vision for her was to provide meaningful learning opportunities for our students while supporting teachers in the process of effective technology and media literacy integration. I told her to only come to me with solutions to problems and not excuses as to why something could not be done or implemented.

I write this post extremely proud that Laura has run with the autonomy she has been granted and has joined a cadre of NMHS educators and students who are constantly redefining what education should look like in the digital age. She has become a pillar of sustainable change. Here are a few highlights from her short tenure thus far:

Created a digital badge platform to recognize informal learning being undertaken by NMHS staff. Check out this great article from the School Library Journal on this project. Currently she is now working on a similar program for students here.
Collaborated with Mrs. Westbrook in the English Department on the school's first virtual film festival. Students filmed documentaries based on the New York Times One in 8 Million film project. The film festival took place both in person and on Twitter. Student films were tweeted to #knightatthemoviesfall and as the films were viewed, students tweeted film reviews. Students were taught how to effectively tweet a film review and were encouraged to be smart, be positive, and to focus on content and technique. View the Storify here, which includes all films and tweets related to this festival.
Facilitated a #mysteryskpe with a school in Georgia. Numerous NMHS teachers participated in this educational game. The aim of the game was to guess the location of the other classroom by asking each other questions. This involved using online maps and doing some research. The purpose of this Skype was to expose teachers to a wonderful educational tool that they can use with their classes.
Collaborated with business teacher Mrs. Vicari and her students on developing apps for their small businesses using iBuildApp. Students were introduced to the concept of mCommerce and how it can be used to leverage the marketing and promotion of their products in this digital age.
Collaborated with special education teacher Mrs. Mackey and her students in beta-testing a new writing platform called Paperlet. Paperlet is an online participatory publishing platform that takes the existing traditional writing process a decisive step further by bringing the readers into the creative process too. Writers and readers come together in a uniquely combined effort. Writers gather feedback on their writing from readers and are then able to refine their stories based on this feedback. Paperlet guides students through the process of expanding their writing into this new media form.
Created a Makerspace in the media center. Check out this nice article by the Center of Digital Education on the space that Laura has created.
Collaborated with English teachers Mrs. Groff and Mrs. Westbrook on a research project related to CNN Everyday Heroes. Students researched heroes, curated their research using Pinterest and cited their sources using the online citation maker, EasyBib.
Worked with the IT department to develop a procedure to sign out Chromebooks for any student to use throughout the school day as part of our BYOD initiative.

Laura Fleming is having a substantial impact on the culture here at NMHS. In September she created a new blog called Worlds of Learning. It is safe to say that she is making a World of Difference here at NMHS.

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Leading in the Digital Age

Posted by Unknown Minggu, 10 November 2013 0 komentar

I am very excited about my upcoming book titled “Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times” which will be published by Corwin Press. The entire book looks at leadership through the lens of practitioners in the digital age. Effective leadership is extremely important in any system, but it is even more imperative in schools if we are to provide all learners with a world-class education. This education has to be relevant, meaningful, and applicable. At New Milford High School, we have been working for the past four years to transform our culture to one that is primed for student engagement, learning, and achievement. It is my hope that this book will provide a framework for other educators to begin the change process that will ultimately lead to transformation.

Image credit: https://research.usc.edu/usc-symposium-on-digital-media-research-education-and-innovation/

So how would one define digital leadership? I think it is important to first look at the concept of leadership in general. Wikipedia defines leadership as a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. Kevin Kruse defines it as a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal. Both of these definitions highlight the importance of social influence. This leads me to ascertain that social media can be an invaluable tool that educators can harness to move schools, learning, and the profession forward.

Leadership is no different today than it was years ago. The only difference is that style and focus need to change with the times if we are to accomplish the lofty task of preparing students for a dynamic world that is more social and connected as a result of technology. Leading in a way that supports the status quo, standardization, outdated practices, and misconceptions related to technology, not only does a disservice to our students, but also renders our schools and profession as irrelevant.

Digital leadership takes into account recent changes such as ubiquitous connectivity, open-source technology, mobile devices, and personalization. It represents a dramatic shift from how schools have been run and structured for over a century, as what started out as a personal use of technology has become systemic to every facet of leadership. Digital leadership can thus be defined as establishing direction, influencing others, and initiating sustainable change through the access to information, and establishing relationships in order to anticipate changes pivotal to school success in the future. It requires a dynamic combination of mindset, behaviors, and skills that are employed to change and/or enhance school culture through the assistance of technology.

The basic tenets of leadership are still valuable and needed for our schools to succeed. However, the changing times as well as society’s reliance on technology demand an evolution of leadership practices to create schools that our learners deserve, and need, to succeed in today's world. It all begins with trust. Digital leaders must give up control and trust students and teachers to use real-world tools to unleash creativity and a passion for learning. The time is now, whether you are a building level or teacher leader, to boldly move schools forward in the digital age. What have you done and/or changed to become a digital leader? Where did you begin? How have things changed since this shift?

For those looking to begin this journey or take your work to the next level please check out my book that will be out this January. You can pre-order now and it will be available for Kindle about a week after it has been published. The forward was written by Yong Zhao and the book itself has been endorsed by some of today's most prominent thought-leaders.

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The Best Feedback a Principal Could Get

Posted by Unknown Minggu, 27 Oktober 2013 0 komentar

The following post appeared on the blog of Robert Dillon. In this piece he describes what he saw at New Milford High School during his visit while the students were present the Friday before the Edscape Conference. His reflection has been posted with permission below. Make sure to follow Robert on Twitter (@ideaguy42). I have also added some of my personal thoughts at the bottom of this post.

There have been a thousand stories about the journey of New Milford High School toward being a connected school. All of them contain nuggets of truth that are worth exploring if you are an educational leader searching for a road map to a more dynamic, connected school, but I think that there is a larger story at New Milford that gets less attention, but most likely is the driving engine of change that allows for excellence on a daily basis.

Image credit: http://www.njmls.com/NJ/BERGEN/NEW%20MILFORD-community-information

Recently, New Milford High School hosted their annual edcamp-like Saturday learning conference called Edscape. Leading into this Saturday, I had an opportunity to spend most of Friday in the halls of New Milford with students and staff observing the climate and learning throughout the day. My greatest take away from this informal time at New Milford was the deep sense of trust in the building. The principal trusted his administrative team. The staff trusted that the principal was supporting their work. The students trusted the teachers. The teachers trusted the students. The maintenance crew trusted building leadership. Trust. Trust, Trust. It was everywhere to be seen. From the evacuation drill that had students walking through the community, to the senior flex period that gave them more freedom, to the decisions that teachers were making with their instruction. Buried behind the headlines was this organic sense of trust in the building. I'm certain that there are some teachers in the building that aren't completely feeling this trust, but it is there in a way that is magnified beyond most buildings.

The second piece of New Milford that sits below the surface, beyond the television coverage, blog posts, awards, and energy of its dynamic principal, is the diversity at New Milford. This building was filled with an incredibly rich group of students. I had the opportunity to talk with three incredible students about a project that we are working on together, and they were amazing. I saw diversity under the Friday night lights on the football field, and I saw diversity in the cafeteria. New Milford isn't a sterile environment with a homogeneous population that can succeed no matter the inputs. It is a real school with real problems and real struggles to make success possible. The diversity also breeds a need for innovation. There is a sense of urgency to serve this diverse population, and there is an empathy for the needs of the students in the building.

Edscape was an incredible learning event for me. Getting a chance to meet old and new friends, finding new resources and ideas, and presenting about some of the things in which I'm passionate, but the story of my trip to New Jersey was that success for New Milford and most schools lies below the surface in the deep roots of the school, the roots that honor diversity and the roots that foster trust.

I could not be more proud of the collaborative work being done at NMHS. As a Principal having it acknowledged this way by a colleague from another state and locally is priceless. We do not have all the answers at NMHS. We do not have the funds to do many of the things that we dream about. What we do have is a commitment to build a culture that focuses on our students while providing them with a meaningful learning experience.

This post was the first of a few Edscape reflections that really impacted me professionally and personally. It is always great to receive feedback from colleagues that you admire as their work has had such a profound influence on mine. As today is my 39th birthday I think that George Couros might have provided the best gift from a non-family member with his thoughts on how I lead. His reflection and feedback really put into perspective why I do what I do, how much I love working for New Milford High School, and the vital role that my Personal Learning Network (PLN) has on my professional practice.

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Integration of Digital Badges to Acknowledge Professional Learning

Posted by Unknown Senin, 07 Oktober 2013 0 komentar

The following is cross-posted at Laura Fleming's blog titled Worlds of Learning. Laura is the new media specialist at NMHS and has been challenged to develop innovative ways to create structures to recognize informal learning of both teachers and students.

As a 21st Century Library Media Specialist, part of what I strive to do is to serve as an instructional technology resource for both educators and learners.  In my new position here at New Milford High School, I face the exciting challenge of reaching as many staff members as I could at one time.  I threw around many models in my head until I finally found one that seems right for us.  

I am proud to announce Worlds of Learning @ New Milford High School, a digital badge professional learning platform. The idea behind this platform is to provide professional learning with a pinch of gamification.  For some time now, we have been hearing about digital badges and how they can be used to guide, motivate, document and validate formal and informal learning.  In recent years, Digital Badges have evolved from what were originally static images, to a tool used for capturing and communicating knowledge. Badges can now contain critical metadata that reflects who is issuing the badge, who has earned the badge, the date upon which it was earned, and any relevant criteria for earning the badge.  Digital badges are flexible enough to be able to recognize granular skills that one acquires as well as an individual’s entire learning.   I designed the platform in WordPress using a plugin called BadgeOS - through this plugin, I am able to easily define the achievements and organize the badge requirements.

Worlds of Learning @ New Milford High School provides a framework to allow our teachers to earn digital badges through learning about a range of technology tools and applications.  The platform has been designed so that its resources will help to prepare our educators to fully leverage the potential for mastering digital age skills embodied in the ISTE NETs Standards for Teachers, as well as the seamless integration of technology addressed in the Common Core Standards.  After registering, teachers can earn badges by learning about a tool and then demonstrating how they have successfully integrated it into their instruction. Teachers must register to access all features of the site.  Once completing tasks and earning their badges, they can then showcase their knowledge by displaying their digital learning badges in a number of possible ways:

By putting them onto Credly, the free web service for issuing, earning and sharing badges - Credly is a universal way for people to earn and showcase their achievements and badges.
By putting them on Mozilla OpenBadge.  
By embedding them into their own sites or blogs and pushed out to their social networks.
The badges will also of course be showcased on the Worlds of Learning @ NMHS site.

As technology convergence and integration continues to increase generally in our society, it is paramount that teachers possess the skills and behaviors of digital age professionals. Educators should be comfortable teaching, working and learning in an increasingly connected global digital society.   The real aim of educational technology is to modernize pedagogy and to shape the education of the future. NMHS teachers will be able to take the tools presented in this platform and seamlessly integrate them into meaningful learning that addresses the standards in their respective content areas.

By flipping our professional learning, teachers will receive job-embedded coaching and will be supported by face to face, personalized support.    I will be available to collaborate with teachers on implementing these tools into their instruction as well as offering both face-to-face and virtual support and encouragement. This platform was not designed to be used as a formal evaluation tool. Instead the purpose of this platform is to track, share, celebrate and be given credit for informal learning.

Teachers at New Milford High School document their learning journey throughout the school year so that it can be incorporated into Professional Growth Period (PGP) portfolios (that teachers present at their end-of-year evaluation conferences. The PGP, created by our principal Eric Sheninger, was launched in New Milford High School in September of 2011. As a result, every New Milford High School teacher has two to three, forty eight minute periods a week, to engage in growth opportunities of personal interest. Each staff member has to create and present a learning portfolio at his/ her end of year evaluation conference. This learning portfolio articulates how they integrated what was learned during this time into professional practice. The badges teachers that earn will be a part of their year-long action plan goal.

I hope that New Milford High School teachers will be able to benefit greatly from this sustained initiative because of the professional learning flexibility an online platform provides as well as it being a means to document and showcase the skills they have gained and  putting their learnings into practice in the classroom. With only a handful of badges available to be earned on the site at the moment, I will be adding to the list considerably all throughout the school year.

Needless to say I am extremely excited about how Laura has risen to the occasion and created a model for a program that will acknowledge informal learning of teachers that is aligned to professional standards. Once we have this up and running the next challenge will be to set up something similar for students. In the meantime please share your thoughts on Worlds of Learning @ NMHS.

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Eight Leadership Essentials

Posted by Unknown Rabu, 18 September 2013 0 komentar

The beginning of the school year always renews my focus on how to improve my leadership skills. Each year I critically analyze ways I can improve as well as what I feel I am doing well. To my mind, we all have the capacity to lead. It is through leadership that we become catalysts for positive change. Once sustainable change takes hold, we will see the fruits of our labor in the form of transformed teaching and learning practices amongst learners and in ourselves. This cannot happen without effective leadership.

Image credit: http://www.remissionconsulting.com/management-leadership-action/

In my own experiences and those of the individuals with whom I have connected through social media, I have witnessed patterns of behavior that, in my mind, capture effective leadership. Leadership is a combination of art, science, and human nature. For some, it is an innate process; for others, it evolves and is refined over time. We all have the ability to lead, although many choose not to lead. There is also no perfect way to lead, as leadership strategies and practices need to adapt to the various dynamic environments in which leaders find themselves.

Schools need individuals to establish a collective vision and put it into action to improve professional practice, whether that leadership comes from administrators or teachers or a combination of both. Schools cannot be successful if this does not happen, and the success of our students depends on how well leaders guide the majority to embrace meaningful change. Below are ten essential elements of leadership that I feel can effect change.

Modeling: In my opinion, the best leaders model their expectations for their employees and peers. The best leaders not only talk the talk, but they also walk the walk. Don't ask your employees or colleagues do something that you are not prepared to do. Better yet, show them what the practice can and should look like in action.
Not looking for buy-in: Effective leaders should not have to “sell” their employees and colleagues on a better way of doing things. Intrinsic motivation is the most powerful force we have to initiate and sustain change. Think about how you can get people to embrace a new idea, strategy, or initiative. If you do this, the chances are you will have real results. Start out by simply removing the words "buy-in" from your vocabulary.
Providing support: Support comes in many forms – financial, time, and professional learning opportunities. The lack of any (or all) of these should never be an excuse to not move forward. Support begins with adopting a “no-excuse” attitude and the resilience to always seek out solutions to the many problems that arise. Support should also be differentiated. As we have come to know with our students, a one-size-fits-all approach never works.
Learning from failure: Everyone fails. That is life. The key point, however, is that failure is one of the greatest learning tools we have. We don’t like it, but it should be embraced. If leaders are afraid to fail, then nothing will ever change. Leadership is all about risks and rewards. With every risk there is the potential for failure looming around the corner. Learning from our experiences—including our failures—empowers leaders to be fearless change agents. Admitting when we have failed actually inspires others.
Transparency: Leaders’ decisions and actions are not challenged as much if those leaders are transparent. Effective leaders use transparency to assist with the embracement of change. This is accomplished through a combination of communication, shared decision-making, consensus, debate, and social media. In the end, all stakeholders should know why and how a leader made a particular decision and how that decision impacts the system. Transparent leaders to not micromanage, give credit to others when initiatives succeed, and take the blame things fail.
Flexibility: Stubbornness and rigidity are clear indicators of a top-down approach to leadership. This almost always builds resentment and animosity towards change. Leaders who are flexible listen to other points of view, bend when necessary, and are not afraid to change course if things are not going well.
Resilience: Leadership is fraught with challenges on a daily basis. There will always be people second-guessing, undermining, and ignoring decisions that are made. Effective leadership requires something between having empathy and having a thick skin. This results in resilience. Without resilience, one’s ability to lead effectively will be severely diminished.
Never passing the buck: If you are—or want to be—a leader, you must always remember that there is no passing the buck. When final decisions have to be made, they must be made with confidence, clarity, and decisiveness.

The image below provides a nice summary of many leadership essentials.

Image credit: http://www.intelligenthq.com/business/effective-leadership-how-to-meet-expectation-as-a-leader/

Obviously the image above and my list are not an exhaustive list, but rather a reflection based on experience and observation. What do you think are the essential principles of effective leadership that might fall outside of the list that I have provided?

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Edscape is Coming. Join Us and Innovate Now

Posted by Unknown Senin, 26 Agustus 2013 0 komentar

The annual Edscape Conference will once again be held at New Milford High School in New Milford, NJ on Saturday October 19, 2013. Hundreds of educators from over ten different states and Canada descended upon my school last year to learn together and network in an effort to move their respective school cultures down an innovative path. Edscape evolved out of the need to provide educators with relevant, meaningful professional development focusing on digital learning and innovation that was in dire need for many. This was the case for teachers in my District as well as those throughout the Tri-State area.

Here is a description of the conference:

As the educational landscape changes schools must transform accordingly in order to prepare all learners with the skills, tools, and knowledge to be successful in the 21st Century. This requires a shift in instructional techniques that focus on critical thinking, inquiry, problem-solving, authentic contexts, and technology. Edscape is a conference intended to bring together passionate educators who firmly believe that innovation is essential to increasing student engagement and achievement. Innovation begins with a desire to change. Edscape will provide attendees with the inspiration, strategies, and the confidence to actively pursue a transformation in teaching and learning practices. The theme of this year’s conference is “Innovation Now”. We will explore how learning environments can be established to promote critical thought, inquiry, problem solving, and creativity. Attendees will leave with a greater sense of how to authentically engage all learners through meaningful and relevant instruction. The Edscape Conference will feature presentations and workshops by innovative educators who believe that change is essential to meet the diverse needs of all learners in the 21st Century. They will share best practices, success stories, applicable strategies, and pedagogical techniques that address the following:

Meaningful, cost-effective professional growth opportunities to improve teaching and learning.
Effective technology integration as a means to promote student creativity, apply knowledge, and increase engagement in the classroom.
Design of authentic learning experiences to enhance critical thought, inquiry, problem-solving, and relevancy in the classroom.
Essential leadership practices to articulate a vision for school improvement and begin the implementation process.

Other conference highlights include the following:

60 concurrent sessions
Keynote by George Couros, an internationally-renowned educator and leader
Featured presentations by Steven Anderson (@Web20classroom) and Shelly Terrell (@shellterrell)
Numerous presentations by educators who routinely speak and present at national conferences including Adam Bellow.
Breakfast and lunch
Fantastic networking opportunities
An innovation lab to see firsthand some of the latest educational technology in action
Giveaways

DON'T MISS OUT AND REGISTER TODAY! Check out the schedule HERE.

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What Constitutes Good PD?

Posted by Unknown Senin, 22 Juli 2013 0 komentar

We can all agree that professional development is essential in any profession, especially education. It is an opportunity to become better at what we do as well as gain knowledge on new pedagogical techniques, learning theories, leadership strategies, technologies, and federal/state mandates. With budgets being continuously slashed across the country, Districts are beginning to tighten their belts. When this happens the first line item to get cut is professional development. This has resulted in fewer and fewer opportunities for educators to attend out of district learning opportunities as there is no funding to support travel, registration fees, and expenses.

Image credit: http://theevolutionofeducation.blogspot.com/2011/07/people-development-is-key-to.html

Professional development has now become the sole burden of school districts for better or worse. It has become a tug of war, in a sense, as districts use this valuable time, which equates to only a day or two in many cases, to focus on organizational needs. On the other hand, individual educators have specific needs and passions that they want to explore. They want the freedom to chart their own learning course while receiving support from the organization to do so. Quality professional development rests in the ability of the organization to not only meet their needs, but also that of its constituents.

Something has to give though. The trainings that many educators are now forced to attend are usually driven by whatever the federal and state governments have mandated. The key word here is forced. Educators now have to attend mandate-driven workshops on the Common Core, teacher/principal evaluation, and student growth objectives. Now, I am not saying that these things are not important, but it is hard as a professional to develop a love for learning when one has to succumb to daylong trainings with absolutely no authenticity. Many more questions than answers materialize. Will this help my students learn and achieve? Is this yet another flavor-of-the-month initiative? Is this a wise use of our time?

When the organization dominates the planning, agenda, and implementation of mandate-driven professional development, the end result it often catastrophic. The most important element of PD is missing – the needs, desires, and passions of the learner. Even in the absence of mandates, organizations seem to be out of touch with their stakeholders as session after session becomes death by PowerPoint and stacks of paper handouts. The dominating structure fulfills the goal of pumping as much information as possible into our heads, yet fails to inspire change.

Effective professional development is:

Meaningful
Relevant
Allowing educators to choose what they what to learn about
Accommodating to different learning styles
Providing time to apply what has been learned
Focused on one initiative as opposed to many simultaneously
Organized in a way that time to apply what has been learned is provided
Convenient in the sense that learning can take place at anytime from anywhere
Cost-effective
Embedded into the school day if possible
Accessed through available technology
Resulting in observable outcomes related to changes in professional practice and student achievement

The list above includes some lofty, but necessary, expectations of professional development today. So where do we begin? Below are some effective strategies, ideas, and learning opportunities that will provide you and your school the means to invigorate professional development to get real results. Each is hyperlinked to additional information.

Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s)
Personal Learning Networks (PLN’s)
Professional Growth Periods (PGP’s)
Edcamps (For an introduction to Edcamp click HERE)
Edscape - Saturday October 19, 2013 at New Milford HS (NJ)

In this day and age we must take control of our own learning if organizations are not providing and/or supporting meaningful PD opportunities. The three pathways above provide practical, cost-effective, and accessible means to improve professional practice. Nothing is more important than our own learning if we are to not only meet the demands of the profession, but also the needs of our students. Great teachers do not wait for PD days!

So what did I miss? What are some other issues with professional development? Can you provide other innovative and effective PD options?

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