Cluminating Experience - A Blog Down Memory Lane

As one of the final exercises for the Master of Education in Instructional Technology program at Cardinal Stritch University, I went back and re-read all of my blog posts since the program started 18-months ago. Here are some of the things that stood out for me.

Early on in my class-related blog I made the observation that "...in order to effectively serve my school families, I am going to have to up my game and expand my knowledge base. That's what led me to the Instructional Technology masters program at Cardinal Stritch University..." That was 18-months ago and that statement proved to be spot on. This program has definitely increased my understanding of educational technology and the knowledge and experience I have gained has already allowed me to better serve the students and parents at my school. I have no doubt that I will continue to build on the foundation I have established through this program.

Back in November 2010, I blogged that "The most direct benefit so far has been the experience of taking an online class myself. It has really helped me relate to some of the challenges my students and families experience such as self-motivation, setting up a study area, staying on pace, communicating with instructors and dealing with technical issues." This continues to be a valuable aspect of this program for me - particularly the sense of satisfaction that comes from completing the class.

Several posts contained references to my early frustrations as a non-teacher with texts and assignments that referred to lesson plans, rubrics and standards. It took me too long to work through and move past that mental roadblock. I am less intimidated and far more comfortable with those concepts now and I am able to discuss them intelligently with other educators.

An April 2011 post noted that "Throughout this class we have demonstrated that incorporating technology to support proven learning strategies can greatly enhance student achievement." This remains the key concept and focal point of the program for me and the thing that I have incorporated directly in my work at eAchieve Academy.

Given my broadcast communication background, it is not surprising that I really enjoyed the work we did on digital storytelling. It is refreshing to see that many of the concepts I learned as an undergrad have resurfaced a quarter century later in the digital age. I particularly enjoyed "Presentation Zen" by Garr Reynolds and continue to use the concept presented in that book and the related videos when I create presentations for work.

As my school made the transition from a managed program to an independently run virtual charter school this year, I was able to set up and manage our social network presence including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr a blog and a private social network. I would have had a much more difficult time with that had it not been for the work we did in this program on Web 2.0 tools.

We looked at a lot of ed tech resources including, but not limited to, Blogger, edmodo, ThinkQuest, EduBlogs, Xanga, WikiSpaces, WetPaint, PB Works, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket, Google reader, Bloglines, Google Sites, Screenr, ScreenJelly, EyeJot, Jing, Ning, Diigo, Delicious, Oovoo, micromobs, Posterous, WetPaint, RSS Feeds and Facebook.

Our work on data driven decision making and managing change validated a lot of the work I have done in the past. I will approach these situations with a clearer understanding of the dynamics involved as I move forward.

After more than 50 posts, I can say I have really started to establish my online identity as a blogger. While at times, blogging for this class has been a chore, I have come to appreciate the process as a good way to reflect and express my opinions (even if no one else reads them). I have started a blog for work, and I will likely continue this blog as a way to catalog my personal and professional development.

Final Project Update

In a testament to the fast changing nature of educational technology, we have a late entry into the private social network sweepstakes I've been working on for eAchieve Academy and my final project. I researched BigMarker, Edmodo, SayWire, Schoology, Google Circles, BlackBoard Learn, ePals and MaxClass before settling on Ning as the platform for our enclosed school social network. All those sites have some attractive features, but none are designed specifically for the purpose of creating a school social network. Ning is the closest, so I received preliminary approval for the project from the district and set up a social network environment on Ning.

http://eachieve.ning.com/

I recruited a small group of students to test drive the site and things were moving along smoothly.

Then out of the blue, I get a Google Alert about a brand new ed tech resource - new software for schools that want to establish a private social network for their students. Stop the presses! That's exactly what I'm trying to do. The new contender is called K12 Kit and since I wouldn't feel right if I ignored this possibility, I have scheduled a demonstration for next week. One of the intriguing features of this site is that it allows for a school yearbook and school newspaper integrated right into the program. That would be a really attractive feature for eAchieve.

I will continue to build on the Ning site and incorporate the feedback from my student focus group, but K12 Kit looks like it could be a game changer. Stay tuned...

Creating an Enclosed Social Network

One of the misconceptions about virtual schools is that students miss out on the social interactions that occur in a traditional brick and mortar school. That is undeniably true. There is no way to replicate the social experience of a face-to-face school in the virtual environment. That's not to say that virtual school students have no social life. Most of my students get plenty of social interaction, they just don't get it at school. Instead, they join community organizations, 4-H clubs, church youth groups, performing arts organizations or club sports teams. They do volunteer work or work for pay. And yes, they still have other friends who they interact with both in person and online.

That said, surveys we have done with our virtual school students show that many of them do appreciate opportunities to interact with their classmates. We sponsor some in-person events, but because our students are located throughout the state, it is rarely possible to get them all together in one place. A student from Hayward will probably not attend a pizza party in Kenosha, so even though students from those two locations may be in many of the same classes, they are not likely to meet face-to-face until graduation day.

So the question becomes what can the school do to facilitate social interaction between students that are geographically separated? Technology based social interaction is nothing new to middle and high school students. We could simply encourage all our students to connect with each other using a platform that already exists (like Facebook or text messaging), but some parents object to their children being on Facebook and some of our students are under the minimum Facebook age of 13. The solution we came up with a few years ago was an enclosed social network that we called iQuad. It was hosted on the Ning platform which, at the time, was free to use. The site was very popular because not only could students share messages, pictures and videos with students in their own school, but also with students at sister virtual schools throughout the country. That experiment came to a screeching halt when Ning announced they would no longer host the site for free and we had no budget to pay for it.

For my project, I want to create a new, enclosed social network for my students to "hang out" and interact with one another - sort of like a common area or cafeteria at a brick and mortar school. The site should be similar to Facebook in that it should allow students to have converations, post updates, share pictures, links and videos, etc. Unlike Facebook, it would need to be password protected so only eAchieve Academy students can participate in order to allay the concerns of parents. The site would also have to be monitored for appropriate content since it will be school-sponsored.

Creating an enclosed social network for virtual school students won't replace the social interactions that happen in brick and mortar schools, but it will provide a safe, controlled environment where they can get to know one another and feel more like classmates.

Leadership Lessons Learned

When I was an undergrad, I don't remember learning anything specifically about leadership. Almost 50-years of life experience including community involvement, marriage, parenthood, 20-years of schooling and 25-years in the workforce shaped my understanding of leadership. That definition will continue to evolve and change with every new experience, including this class. In that sense, my definition of leadership has been both altered and reinforced.

I am not a teacher per se, but I certainly have become more aware of the impact I can have as a school leader, and how the application of my leadership skills may have to change in response to the realities of the education environment. In most other fields, leaders can assess situations, gather information, analyze that information, make a decision, then communicate that decision to his various constituencies. This class has reaffirmed my observation that that strategy does not apply in the world of public education.

While the textbook laid out some useful strategies for teacher leaders, it also revealed the biggest obstacle to implementing systemic change in public schools - the entrenched establishment system and the power of the public teachers unions to influence school policy. The unions have created and continue to propagate a culture in which there is no incentive for teachers to lead with the intention of changing things. In fact, teachers who "rock the boat" are often criticized and ostracized. Examples of the prevailing mindset of teachers as "martyrs" are rampant in the text and serve little purpose except to perpetuate the stereotype many teachers try so diligently to shed. Here are just a few:

Pg. 23: "With the dearth of quality teachers available because of teacher turnover and the profession's meager pay..."
Pg. 25: "She could manipulate the situation by fomenting teachers' frustration in order to rally them against the administration, especially if she had an axe to grind."
Pg. 32: "Teachers are usually only required to work seven and a half hours a day, but we are all familiar with the reality of the job's demands."
Pg. 44: "A colleague was in a situation where she was asked to give an ineffective teacher-one who was simply punching the time card until he retired-advanced classes because it was assumed he would do less damage to those students. There is no easy answer to the predicament of what to do with such a teacher."
Pg. 61: "It's not that people don't want to give up their time; teachers are the most self-sacrificing professionals who exist."
Pg. 77: "Understandably, (administrators) can forget the most essential element to achievement: the well-being of the teacher. In the current frenzy of high-stakes testing and accountability, teachers are stressed, over-worked and underappreciated (sic)."
Pg. 86: "They provide some solace when we are forced outside our comfort zone and help us cope when faced with our daily Herculean tasks."

And by far the most egregious example:
Pg. 102: "The holidays are sharp reminders of just how little society values educators. Even though we may be comfortable with our salaries and the fact that we will never be wealthy, when we hear friends or relatives bragging about a Christmas bonus or bemoaning a smaller than normal year-end bonus, it is difficult to sympathize; no such reward system exists in schools."

I hate to break it to you Mr. Gabriel, but if you had bothered to do some research for this "text," you would have found that the vast majority of people do not get an annual bonus. Teachers often get token gifts from their students. They also get a week off from work at Christmas, another week off in the spring and 10-weeks off in the summer. That's something I have a hard time sympathizing with.

The text also makes several assertions and gives some advice that I just flat out disagree with. such as:
Pg. 29: "If you decide to match your practicum students with several different teachers, it might cross your mind to include a weak teacher in the mix so that they can learn what not to do." It might cross your mind, but don't do it!
Pg. 33: "Students crave structure, routine and discipline. They want to follow their leader just as a dog wants to follow the pack leader." No they don't. Students crave freedom and opportunity. They want a teacher who will help them learn.
Pg. 35: "...meet with your teachers beforehand to see what kind of person they believe the team needs." Bad idea. You will merely poison the interview process. Interview the candidate and find out what he/she can bring to the table.
Pg. 77: "There is very little we can do to get our teachers to act how we want or how they should. That is the job of an administrator. It is his role to bring the hammer down when necessary, not yours." If you are an effective team leader, it is never necessary to bring the hammer down. And there is something you could do to get them to shape up - fire them if they don't.
Pg. 79: "One of your myriad responsibilities as a leader is to make your supervisor look good." No, that's not your responsibility.
Pg. 126: "Few educators enter administration because they are eager to deal with discipline and irate parents; administration is appealing to them because they enjoy seeing good teaching and helping teachers grow." Be honest. Most administrators do it to make more money and do less work.

In my opinion, this is not a Master's level textbook. It is based almost entirely on the author's personal experience in one department chair position at one school. I expect a Master's level textbook to include researched, proven, documented information from a variety of reputable sources. This book has virtually none of that. Of the 18 people who reviewed this book on GoodReads.com, it got and average rating of 2.89 out of 5. That's 57.8% - clearly not a passing grade.

Having said that, I do agree with Gabriel's assertion about "improving education from within"? In fact, given the prevailing climate and the inherent challenges of changing things from the outside, improving education from within is the only approach that makes sense and has a reasonable chance of success. There are a few ideas and suggestions in the book that I would be comfortable and confident to present to the department leaders in my school as ways to affect improved academic achievement and teacher effectiveness.

This Blog is Subject to Change

I turned on the radio the other day and was greeted with the infamous words of David Bowie, "Time may change me, but I can't change time. Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes." We've been hearing a lot about change recently; hope and change, climate change, spare change, change your mind, change of clothes. It's been suggested that change is the essence of life, or that the only constant in life is change. So exploring the process of institutional change in class seems like a timely topic.


In exploring the topic of change, I came across some quotes that I thought were particularly relevant to changes in education. American author and journalist Gail Sheehy notes that, "If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living." Educators often talk in terms of seeing and measuring growth in their students. They are primarily concerned with intellectual growth, but also social and emotional growth and maturity. It's a necessary component of human development. One of the teachers in my school is fond of saying, "To get something you don't have, you have to do something you haven't done." In other words, if we are really committed to improving student academic achievement scores and teaching 21st century skills, we have to be willing to change the way we educate our young people. We will never see any change in the results if we continue to educate young people the same way we have done it for decades. 


The institutional change simulation activity we participated in included several characters who resisted a proposed change. I think the change leaders would have to ask those people if they are satisfied with the results they are currently getting. If the answer is no, then the only logical conclusion is that something has to change. 
“Life can either be accepted or changed. If it is not accepted, it must be changed. If it cannot be changed, then it must be accepted.” is a quote that is often attributed to Winston Churchill. If we cannot accept high drop out rates, low achievement, low engagement, high absenteeism, low graduation rates, etc, then our education system must be changed.


Chinese philosopher and father of Taoism, Lao Tzu, wrote that, "If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." I think we all know where we are heading if we do not make some fundamental changes in education - and the outlook is not pretty. The good news is that the situation is not hopeless. The infusion of digital learning strategies, for example, is one way educators are changing the educational paradigm for the better and are already seeing positive results.


As we saw in the simulation change can come from within. Our frustrations with the game demonstrate how that process can be frustrating and challenging, but it also showed how with strategy and perseverance, positive change can be accomplished. Mahatma Gandhi encouraged his followers to, "Be the change you want to see in this world." I think that really applies to today's educators. Change shouldn't be imposed by the federal government (read No Child Left Behind), it should start in the classroom.

So as the title of this post says, this blog is subject to change - and so is everything else in life. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Using Data to Drive Proactive Decisions

I recently attended a webinar titled "How Districts Can Use Data to Drive Proactive Decisions." The presentation was hosted by Education Week and featured presentations from the Consortium of School Networking, two school districts that are currently using data-driven decision making processes, and a company called SAS (which originally stood for Statistical Analysis System). The information dovetailed perfectly with what we have been talking about in CEDO 565.

Image from http://smi-online.co.uk/_Media/graphics/X08image.gif

One of the presenters likened data to a flashlight for all stakeholders to more clearly see what goes on within an organization. I thought that was a great image. They also talked about how extracting and analyzing data used to be a painstaking process, but has become much more user friendly thanks to advances in technology and software, and a better understanding of how data is collected and utilized.

One of the big topics of discussion was the concept of creating a data rich culture. Not all that long ago, organizations would ask themselves, "How did we do last year?" Today, it is much more common for organizations to ask themselves, "How are we doing right now?" The presenter talked about the seven steps necessary to foster a data rich culture, which are:
1. Clear vision
2. Learning from colleagues
3. Self-review and analysis
4. Ensuring commitment and trust
5. Fostering professional development
6. Establish data meetings (data retreats)
7. Limiting barriers to effective data use

They talked about establishing and leveraging support for a data-driven culture and using standards-based measures to inform instructional decisions (a concept I have blogged about previously). Once a data rich culture is established, it becomes possible for the organization to adopt a continuous improvement model that tracks key indicators and design and implement a data governance strategy to ensure data quality.

This all sounds great but as we all know, implementation in a school environment is never that easy. The presenters addressed this reality by going over several considerations schools or district will have to face:
1. Is there commitment by all stakeholders to use data for continuous improvement at the district and school level?
2. Do district and school leaders model data-driven decision making as a key aspect of their roles and responsibilities?
3. Are people held accountable for the use of data at the district, school and classroom level?
4. Is time provided for teachers to examine data to inform their instructional practices (i.e. through PLCs)?
5. Are teachers open to adjusting instruction based on data about student learning?
6. To what degree are district and/or school decisions made based on the data (i.e. instructional decisions at the school level or curricular decisions at the district level)?
7. Do district policies exist for the use of data, data management and/or data analysis?

I think my district has already started down the path of building a data rich culture. Many key personnel have already bought into the concept - especially those associated with the virtual school where data is particularly easy to access. What those who may resist this shift need to understand is that data is a tool (think flashlight) not an attack. It is not a criticism or a judgement. It's about understanding the reality as it is right now so we can make things better. Data is all about replacing hunches with evidence and identifying current and future trends for better decision making. It empowers stakeholders by giving them the information they need to impact curriculum, programs and what and how students are taught. This was a fascinating presentation and I only wish everyone in my district would have been able to see it.

Data-Driven Decision Making

There's been a lot of talk about using data to "make" decisions, but I prefer to think about using data to "inform"  the decision making process.

Take for example the process of buying a car. You could just buy the first car you see, the one that's most popular, the same kind you always buy or the one the salesman recommends. Or you can start by collecting some data. You may look up information online, solicit advice from friends or relatives, visit a dealer, research auto loans. Once you have gathered some data, you have to evaluate it and decide what is most likely true, what is most valuable in making a decision, whether you need more data and if so, what kind of additional data and where can you get it. The data doesn't necessarily make the decision, it informs the decision making process.

The same process can be applied in schools. For example, instead of blindly using the same textbook year after year, you can examine the data related to the use of the textbook like test score is that subject area, research alternative course materials like online educational resources, compare them to current standards, research best practices in other schools and districts and then make an informed decision on whether or not to continue to use that textbook.

My school is currently in the midst of the open enrollment application period - a critical process that will determine how many students we will have next year and consequently what our budget will be and how many teachers, laptops, server space, online textbook licenses, etc. we will need. Since we cannot wait until the application period is over to do our budgeting and staffing for next year, we analyze the available data on the number of applications that are coming in compared to prior years to inform our decision making.

The blue line indicates the number of applications received to date this year. At this point in the application period, we are ahead of pace compared to last year, but slightly behind compared to 2010 and 2009. We had to make some assumptions and adjustments to this year's projections because in previous years, the application period was only three weeks long and this year it is three months. Even so, analyzing this information will help us make some projections about enrollment numbers that will really help our planning for next year. It will also help us make midstream adjustments to our marketing efforts. If application levels go up compared to other years, we can cut back on our Internet marketing expenditures. If application lag behind, we can shift some funds to pay for an additional direct mail campaign. In either case, the data informs the decision making.