Life brings challenges…

“Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”—Christopher Robin to Pooh, A.A. Milne

Life brings challenges. They simply can’t be avoided.  The moment we are born the challenges begin. Rolling over. Taking our first steps. Learning to talk. As we get older, the challenges progressively get more diverse. Some are simple. Others tax the limits of our determination.  Sometimes we fail and other times we succeed. In both cases, we do them gloriously or un-noticed. This is life.

One of the ongoing challenges faced by humanity is that of civility. Technology seems to have magnified both the good and bad of human interaction.  News spreads at the speed of light. Even the most minute interaction can be shared around the globe via social media. “Fake news“ can be created by anyone with a desire to mislead.  It has become easier to use technology as both a buffer and an eliminator of distance for communication.

In the past, writing a letter by hand was a thoughtful process. In some cases a letter might be started, stopped, and started again over a period of days before it was completed.  Technology brings “instancy”  to communication eliminating (in many cases) thoughtfulness and sometimes, restraint, in the communication process.  Civility, courtesy, reflection, etc. are becoming extinct.

(CC image courtesy of Red Stamp on Flickr)

During the opening keynote of the ISTE conference, ISTE CEO Richard Culatta spent a few minutes emphasizing the need for a focus on digital citizenship that goes beyond copyright and the legal use of materials to include a focus on the positive attributes of communication that are necessary for online communication and discourse.  The lessons have to extend beyond the classroom. In other words, we have to provide our students real life experiences related to positive and effective communication in all types of situations.

(Image from Katherine Heywood tweet)

In the end, Culatta challenged every attendee to determine “one thing you will commit to doing this year to promote digital citizenship?”  I forward that challenge to each of you. If a single person commits to doing one thing, will their influence encourage or enable someone else to also do one thing? “One thing“ could start a revolution.

This past weekend I started seeing a few tweets from friends, colleagues, and students from my university painted a picture of tragedy. I knew something was wrong. One of our students had committed suicide. There are very few things I can think of that make one think “was  there something I could have done?“  I only knew of this young person. I never had her in any of my classes. I watched her play on her college athletic team mainly because some of my students were on the same team.  I knew the effect of the student’s action would be far reaching.  I don’t know why it happened and will probably never know.  What is important at this point is what happens now.

Just as Richard Culatta pointed out, effective and thoughtful communication is in such need right now.  More than ever, we need to enable students to engage in thoughtful discourse, having compassionate exchanges, and supporting one another rather than tearing down.  As teachers we see our role as one that includes helping students to learn and grow.  More than ever we need to include thoughtful communication and building the capacity to care about others and to express that caring.  One message of caring and hope might change the world or it might change one life.

A Full Mind is a Happy Mind

“I like to be in locations that I kind of feel are very creative, that stimulate me in a creative process” ~ Marc Benioff

When I walk away from an event like ISTE I hope that I’ve gained at least one new insight, learned one new thing, or have gained one idea for use in my classroom. Even better is when I leave filled to the brim with the creative and inspirational. Today was my last day at ISTE and thanks to the many people I interacted with, I am filled.

The morning started with an early breakfast with representatives of every ISTE PLN and the people they selected as their outstanding member of the year. We celebrated those who received the President’s Service Award and shared an appreciation for the fantastic work done by the volunteers who make ISTE tick.

The Teacher Education Network had one of its biggest events Tuesday morning with its Playground. There were stations representing each of the ISTE Standards for Educators and these were represented by over 40 volunteers who shared exemplars of each standard. The Playground was packed and the information shared were helpful to all involved. Visitors saw demonstrations of such things as Swivl and the audiences’ creative representations of the designer standard.

The final presentation on Tuesday  by members of the ISTE Teacher Education Network occurred after lunch to a nice crowd of higher ed folk eager to learn about what others were doing to integrate technology into their classrooms. The team shared information about mentoring, collaborations, augmented reality and more.

For me, the last session of the day was a great way to end my conference. I was able to get a ticket to attend the Apple workshop titled, “Unleash Student Expression through Video, Photography, Music, and Drawing.” Apple has announced a new curriculum that is to be released this fall and it is exciting! We worked through some of the lessons using apps like Clips and GarageBand and they were fun, well thought out, and incredibly engaging. I’m looking forward to the curriculum guide’s release this fall.

A perfect ending to any trip to Chicago has to include pizza. Julie and I were joined by our colleagues Sam and Peter as we tried out another new restaurant – Flo and Santos. It was definitley worth it as their thin crust pizza was delicious and the company fantastic. Just as members of the TEN leadership team always do, we came up with some very cool collaborative lesson ideas over dinner. 

So, another conference comes to a close. Thanks to my friends who work with me on the TEN leadership team for making this a home away from home. Thanks to all of the inspiring educators who come to this event to share and learn. A special thanks to Dr, Torrey Trust as she ends an amazing term as the TEN president. Your leadership has been energetic, uplifting,and impactful. Well everyone, it’s been fun. See you next year.

Inspiration is a Powerful Tool

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader. ~John Adams

Day three of ISTE 2018 has come to a close and the ending was incredibly inspiring. At the end of the day the Teacher Education Network celebrated examples of what is best about education. Awards were given to Liz Kolb (Excellence in Teaching), Mary Ledford (Video in Action) and to Rhonda Christiensen and Gerald Knezek (JDLTE Outstanding Research Paper). These awards epitomize the hard work and dedication to excellence educators around our world exhibit each and every day. They are inspiring to us all and I’m thankful for what they do.

Long lines continued to exist outside of many sessions usually associated with something Google, project-based learning or Apple. What these lines show is that there are topics of interest that educators believe have a positive impact in their classrooms and on their

students. An amazing group of Teacher Education Network leaders presented the “Top Ten Tools Every Teacher Needs” to a large group of attendees. Apps such a Adobe Spark, Seesaw, Flipgrid, and others were shared along with stories and examples of creative applications of the apps. Attendees left feeling reaffirmed in their use of apps and inspired to try “at least one new thing” based on what they learned today.

In the morning, a large group of about 90 higher education representatives met to discuss the pressing issues associated with preservice education. Some common threads emerged with all voicing the need for ideas that might somehow get peer faculty to embrace the need to regularly integrate technology into their curriculum and pedagogy. Another thread focused on the need for support from ISTE in providing regional professional development opportunities. ISTE leadership announced some exciting new programs including a new text for ed tech classes, “Edtech for the K-12 Classroom” that includes a free ISTE student membership. This was met with great excitement and honestly, I’ve never seen a text so perfectly organized and with easily digestible material. The discussions brought strangers together and gave them a shared voice. A community was created and all left uplifted and hopeful.

From a personal standpoint I have to write about something that inspires me. It’s the people of ISTE. There are people like Teacher Education Network President Torrey Trust who provides upbeat and energetic leadership to a PLN of over 4000 members. She inspired me to become engaged with TEN and my life changed. Those incredible people that make up the TEN leadership team give me energy and renew my passion for teaching. They are more than a community. They are family. The folks that are currently members and those who are becoming members of the TEN community remind me we are not alone. There are twenty-five thousand people at this conference who all believe in the difference teachers make in children’s lives. Finally, I’ll mention one person who I was overjoyed to see this evening. Everyone deserves a mentor who inspires those around them to be their very best. They inspire their mentees to strive to want to be like their mentor in some fashion. When you look at the quote this blog started with there is one person it describes. My mentor was Dr. Ann Thompson. She set me down the path my career has  followed by instilling a sense of passion and a belief that I could make a difference. Each of you surely can name that one person who inspired you as a professional. When you get the chance say, “thanks.” Because of them, WE are changing the world. So, Dr. Thompson, “Thanks” for believing.

Disappointment is the Fuel for Tomorrow

“Don’t let today’s disappointments cast a shadow on tomorrow’s dreams.”
~ Unknown

Some days we are faced with hurtles that must be conquered or, after we trip and stumble, be reset so we can try again. It might be the realization that the restaurant you chose to eat breakfast in wasn’t quite up to snuff or that a lesson we teach wasn’t the best we could do. We have to accept that frustration/disappointment exists and we will experience it in some form every day. The big question is what do you do with it?

Sunday, was when ISTE 2018 really took off. Julie and I had our schedules ready and mine began by waiting in line for an hour to get a ticket to an Apple event I truly wanted to see. I attended a wonderful session about using the Clips app to empower students to create amazing products and to use their creativity to make things that are original and engaging. If you haven’t played with this app on your iOS device you’re missing out. It’s easy and incredibly powerful.

One of the things we (educators) don’t always do a good job of is celebrating the accomplishments and service of others. I was honored to attend n ISTE luncheon that did exactly that. I saw numerous educators from around the world recognized for the fantastic work they do. From a personal note, it was pleasing to see so many folks I work

with on the Teacher Education Network’s leadership team recognized for their service with the Presidents Service Award and our president, Torrey Trust, being recognized with the Making It Happen! award which is one of the top recognitions given by the organization. Torrey is such an inspiration to us all!

Remember that session I stood in line to get a ticket for? After racing across the center I arrived two minutes after they opened it up to the public and I was unable to attend. Oh well…as I mentioned, disappointment just leads to opportunities and off I went to another presentation.

The day included a wonderful opportunity for attendees to check out all of the ISTE PLNs. I joined my colleagues at the Teacher Education Network and enjoyed meeting and chatting with so many people interested in growing in their profession. Then it was time to head to the event’s first keynote speaker. So much was shared and there a few points worth sharing here. A big theme was the concept of truth and the ability to discern it. Richard Culatta said, “Our ability to separate truth from fiction is critical to the survival of our society.” This was a lead in to the concept of the ISTE standard about digital citizenship and what it means to all of us. Richard posed a challenge and requested us to physically write down our responses to “What is one thing you can do to promote digital citizenship in your school this year?” Good food for thought.

Neurobiologist David Eagleman delivered the keynote and presented some new information about how children today process information differently than ever before. The takeaway for me is that we must engage students with higher order thinking styled questions that ask our students to apply their understandings to these queries.

Powerful stuff and tomorrow promises even more…without the disappointments.

 

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

The day is finally here. One of the dreams shared by a small group of people was to create something good, something helpful for preservice educators. So, this year at the 2018 ISTE conference this small group of dedicated and visionary professionals is hosting the very first “Un-Conference” titled, “Tips, Tools and Techniques for Redefining Teaching and Learning. Become an Educator of Impact!” The day is finally here and I’m so excited to be a part of this. I couldn’t wait to see the results of all the hard work this group, led by Randy Hansen, has accomplished. 

The event started with a steady flow of people entering the beautiful facility at National Louis University. The hum of conversation, laughter, renewal of old friendships and making new connections filled the room. The event is based on the Ed Camp format and promised to be an engaging event. We started with some idea generation focusing on what attendees wanted to learn about and shifted to a series of Ignite sessions about each of the tech standards. I’m always reminded that doing an Ignite presentation can be a nerve wracking experience (for the presenter!). One just needs to put yourself out there and give it a try. 

We learned about being leaders, being present, collaborating, and asking questions. We were asked to ponder and to consider who our tribe is? One of my favorite quotes was, “learning is creating not consumption.” What a wonderful challenge for not only our students, but for ourselves. If you haven’t experienced an event held in the Ed Camp format you’re missing out. This format allows for the event’s topics to be ground sourced allowing the event to specifically meet the needs of the attendees. A series of 12 topics were synthesized and divided into three time blocks. The discussions were active and the sharing of ideas and resources plentiful. This was truly a successful venture and I hope it continues and grows  in the coming years.

My day was headed to a more relaxing afternoon as Julie and I headed to Grant Park to enjoy the beautiful weather and some welcome sunshine. During this time I was periodically checking my phone as I was coordinating plans for members of the Teacher Education Network leadership team to have dinner together. We eventually headed back to the hotel and after arriving I realized I left my phone at the park. This was only a block away, but alas the phone was gone. I took the time to open Find My iPhone and put the phone into lost mode and posting my wife’s phone number. Then I waited.

The leadership team was up for some classic Chicago deep dish pizza and we were headed to Lou Malnati’s for some tasty slices of the good stuff. While we waited for everyone to arrive ?Julie’s phone rang. It was my iPhone. It had been found and after paying a worthwhile finders fee (or ransom…whatever you call it was worth it!) I had my iPhone once again. Back at the restaurant, eight of us gathered and thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company. We renewed friendships, made new acquaintances, and fell into comfortable conversation. The delicious pizza pie soon filed our stomachs and it was time to end the day with a walk back to the hotel. 

ISTE has begun. A gathering of thousands of educators from all over the world who come together to share, learn and grow. It’s an amazing feeling to be here with those I view as my “tribe.” I cherish these moments, the people who are in them and the process of re-charging my batteries with ideas that will change my students’ lives. Until tomorrow…