Jul.
12th
43 hours of class in 8 days . . .
Friday, I completed seven and a half days of intensive learning at Carnegie Mellon University. I have to say, that I really like the condensed format of instruction, especially as a working teacher. I can get an entire 3 credit course done in two weeks. It is exhausting. But in the end, I come out with more than I expected to get in that time, every time. The course was: The Principal's Role in Instructional Technology. But it was really more than that, it turned into an exercise in defining my personal vision of technology in education.
The format of the course was entirely non-traditional in the fact that it was personalized - inquiry based learning. It was difficult to grapple with as a student from a traditional background, and if I had to do it over again I would prefer to use a more disciplined-inquiry based course. I would have set concrete goals for my learning outcomes and focused my own research, questioning, and thinking along these lines. On reflection, I could have done this myself and held myself accountable. In fact, to some extent, I do (and did) this in an informal way. I accept that as part of my own programming, I still expect a university course to be highly structured, with expected deliverable on a fixed time line. I suppose if I had been more trusting I would not have stressed about having some kind of surprise at the end.
This minor criticism aside, I experienced a great deal during the two weeks. The fact that the class consisted of five students made the discussions a major part of the learning process. Several times we chewed on topics, from the way that Google is changing our reading (and thus thinking) style to the difference between our own personal time-management styles (and some dangerous talk about the differences between men and women's brains - time-management-wise).
(The following two sections were lengthy enough to break out into their own posts.)
PA CYBER CHARTER VISIT REFLECTION
On Thursday, we had basically the entire day to work on whatever learning targets that we set for ourselves. I chose to hone my personal vision for technology integration in education, and work on organizing my academic e-portfolio for my program. I also spent some time digesting the learning experiences from two days spent outside the classroom (see above)
As part of my own learning I am reading Made to Stick, by Chip and Dan Heath. I'll blog later when I'm done, right now I've churned out about three chapters (I'll miss riding the bus to class!) The basic message is about how to make an idea 'sticky.' The acronym SUCCESs (Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional and Stories) describes the six elements of a an idea or message with the potential to stick. Part of my challenge was taking my 'vision' statement sticky. I first decided that my vision had to be a living document, capable of change, nothing that could be tied down, or completed in these few days. As I poured my thoughts into a Google Doc, second guessed, questioned, reflected and discussed my notes and thoughts, I realized that my vision is less about technology, and more about change. The shift in mindset needs to be from resisting change, to looking at (and teaching) the skill of becoming nimble educators, embracing the positives that come with change, and acknowledging the risks. Most of all, when change suits our curricular goals, it should be called for from below, instead of forced down from the top. Eventually, I hope that the scare quotes are dropped from "technology" and these tools become integrated into the teaching and learning process.
(dragged in from Zotero)
Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2007). Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die (1st ed., p. 291). New York: Random House.
Finally, I had an opportunity to experience a professional-grade teleconference first-hand. We spoke with a program alumna, Madell Dobrushin, retired from 35 years in the Pittsburgh Public School System and now, director of distance learning in the large school district of Richland One in South Carolina. First, it was very cool to use the teleconference, even though we had a small portable unit, not a big screen like in the movies. Better still was the chance to discuss a leader's career path, challenges, vision and goals. Hopefully she will be able to put me in touch with a German teacher in her district for some exciting use of teleconference this year.
Today I spent seven hours in a conference room being trained on the new LMS that my school is in the process of adopting.
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