There in that digital playground with or without us

Tools are always turned into toys.  Tools and toys have converged.

We have outsourced our brain’s typical role of remembering things yet we sever this connection for kids when we deny them a “limb” – they will use this for the rest of their life

Kids can change the world or ruin their lives with a click

Amazing music apps for iphone and ipad. (guitar, harmonica, woodwind)

Awesome!

Unplugd 2011 Conference in Canada where they got together in Algonquin to figure out what matters.

An experience for networked learners to come together and connecting face to face without other connections

#unplugd11

They discussed what matters.  Fill in the blank, _______ matters.

Search this on google

unplugd.ca

Matter together because people matter.

Our story is about connection and places and culture shock

Lessons from Asia for education today

1. mobile
2. just in time – not just in case
3. adaptable
4. quick
5. customizable
6. no fixed values – value of object is defined in the moment and by the people involved
7. always on
8. collaborative
9. blend of old and new – technology is not at the expense of traditional values
10. global

It’s not where you are, but who you are connected to.  Imagine the possibilities.

Have arrived in Shanghai and found all social media that I use blocked other than my blog.  This will be where I post notes and reflections from the conference.  Looking forward to a great few days of learning.

I’ve been out of the game a little bit and so I have to admit that I am incredibly excited to be heading to Shanghai tomorrow for the Learning 2.011 conference.  Great opportunity to reconnect with leaders in the Technology and Learning field, while also re-igniting my passion for learning outside of the traditional subject areas of schools.

I’m going.  Will I see you there?

Pick your tune…

“It’s been a while…” – Staind

“It’s been a long time, since I rock and rolled!” – Led Zepplin

“Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio…” – Simon and Garfunkel

And I’m sure there are many others.  Regardless, they all capture that at a current posting rate of once every 6 months, I can hardly expect anybody to still be at the other end of this.  I have good excuses like “it was my first year as an administrator” and “I have a young family” and “I’m so busy learning that I don’t have time to share”.  They’re all legit, but in a time when we abandon an RSS feed that hasn’t gone bold in months, it would be unreasonable to think anybody’d still be here.

And yet I write.

I write to get my thoughts out.

I write to get my thoughts together.

I write because I need to frame those thoughts – to reflect on where I am, what I’m doing, whether I’m heading in the right direction and maybe to figure out if I’m making a difference.  Maybe not accurate, but somehow it feels like sharing it (even if it’s with no one) seeks validation or at least like-mindedness.

In the end, it doesn’t matter, because the real difference we’re trying to make is with the students in our care.  This is where I look for a difference to be made.  This is where we must find out if learning is better (if kids are better!) because of what we do.

(And apparently I write to go off on tangents.)

“Back to life.  Back to reality.” – En Vogue (that’s right, I quoted En Vogue) (update: apparently I didn’t…I quoted Soul II Soul!)

So I’m getting back into writing the blog.

And I’m getting back into, with the school year underway, trying to Build Understanding at my school.  Supporting and learning from my Principal as we lead faculty and students to better learning, challenge, reflection, and global awareness.

And that’s the key to our school’s Mission – to build understanding.  Understanding of content.  Understanding of self.  Understanding of others (including the global community).

I’m in my second year now as an administrator, so I don’t get the excuse of learning the job anymore.  I’m back.  I want back into the community of learners/educators out here and I know I’m going to have to earn my way back in with contribution.

I’m getting back into it.

image by Mike Rohde, Flickr Creative Commons

I hope that it set a tone for positivity and looking out for each other in our student body.  I admit I had a particular issue in mind as I considered what to say.  We have great kids here – welcoming, warm, and globally minded.  But they are also incredibly privileged teens.  Here’s hoping the students responded well to the message and it continues to build understanding for a positive school community and culture.

What I said:

Welcome back everyone.

As we head off into the second semester, I wanted to remind you that your friends, your school, your community need you. At the start of the year, Mr. Bradley, his geese and I reminded you that your success DEPENDS on the people around you. Your friends, your teachers, your counselors, your parents, even your administrators.

We are all in this together, I said. Well okay, Zach Efron said it in HS Musical, but I wasn’t quoting him at the time.

But as we head into this semester, stay together. Help each other out. Stand up for what’s right. I’ll say that one again. Stand up for what’s right.

We all know how we want to be treated. How people should be treated. And we know when we are being hurtful or teasing or just being mean. There isn’t a person in this room who doesn’t know what that looks like, sounds like, reads like on Facebook, or most importantly feels like (from either side).

So don’t let it happen. To you or anyone else. Don’t be that guy or that girl. It is possible to approach each other with optimism, friendliness, and respect. Idealistic, sure…but all it takes is choice to act positively rather than negatively. To act instead of turning a blind eye. You will never regret helping someone who needed help even if they didn’t know it. But you will always wish you had if you don’t help and something really bad happens.

It is your choice to treat others well. Your choice not to tolerate it when others don’t. It’s your choice to help keep your friends safe and ensure EVERYONE gets the respect we all deserve.

Yesterday, I asked the seniors to make sure that they got to know each other in the next 5 months. To enjoy their last semester together before everyone heads off after graduation.

Maybe the rest of you are luckier…you have even more time to get to know the amazing people that are sitting all around you… think about it…in this room are amazing people… people who sculpt or sing, or write, or run really fast, or make music or poetry or find math as easy as breathing. People who dominate on a court or field or video game … and people who somehow know exactly the right thing to say when you feel sad. You all shine somewhere, somehow. Honestly, this theater is filled with awesomeness.

Some of you are shy and some of you are bold. Some of you talk and some of you listen. But all of you have feelings. All of you can feel proud and all of you can feel hurt.

I can stand up here and ask you to follow rules, but instead on this first day of the semester, I remind you what looking after each other means. It means making sure EVERYONE has a chance to shine, to feel good and be true to themselves. It means not tolerating gossip or hateful comments and catching yourself when you might be making them. It means being honest and fair rather than hurtful and mean. It means understanding that obstacles can be overcome if we help each other. All it takes is for each one of you to decide, “I can do that.” “I can treat people well.”

I’m excited about the semester. Before you know it, it’ll be June. Balance your learning, your school life, your social lives, and your family. Look after yourself. Look after each other. Ask for help when you need it. Stand up for what you know is right and fair.

We ARE all in this together, and you are an awesome group to be in it together with. Learn, have fun and it’ll be a great semester for everyone.

See you tomorrow!

Just a re-blog here (is that the blog equivalent of the retweet?)…

Found this at the Educator’s PLN added by Thomas Whitby.  A Prezi on Todd Whitaker’s book “What Great Principals Do Differently:  The Fifteen Things that Matter Most”, by Jennifer Angel.

A wonderful reminder by (ironically) DTAC Thailand to appreciate our human connections.  Love it.

Woke up this morning, I suddenly realized, we’re all in this together. – Ben Lee

This is a post that has been ruminating in my head for 6 months now.  Wonderful lyrics in a great song and lots of ties into what learning and school culture needs to emulate.  The post is all the more fitting now as I have started the next phase of my career in education – administration.

So at the start of August, it was time for me to introduce myself to staff then later students and parents as the new HS Dean of Students.  What was I going to say?  What am I about?  What will it be like with me in this role?

And this song kept running through my head.

I’m made of atoms.  You’re made of atoms. And we’re all in this together.

What schools need to be is a place where students do more than avoid doing what’s wrong.  Instead they do what’s right.  A school should be a place more than of rules and consequences – it should be a culture of looking out for each other, protecting those being picked on and taking a stance against bullying.

And this doesn’t come from a Vice-Principal or Dean of Students who plays the “bad guy”.  It comes from a community of teachers and adults who understand that setting the boundaries up is EVERYONE’S JOB.  Not noticing or turning a blind eye to infractions, bad language, or inappropriate behavior is equivalent to endorsing it.  I (t)asked our faculty to become part of that school culture.  To help me build it so that students understood that the boundaries are consistent, not haphazard.

And long division just doesn’t matter, cuz we’re all in this together.

But even with that, we are talking about a student culture here as well.  Too often I see school cultures of Us vs Them.  In my introduction to students I reminded them that teachers, counselors, administrators, and students all want the same thing – for the student to have a successful 4 years with us that allows them to be successful beyond those 4 years.  Now right now, maybe our picture of what that success looks like, may be different than the students’ vision.  Even so, they are certainly IN THE SAME DIRECTION.  The boundaries exist to ensure success for all students.  We are all in this together.

Students need to be reminded that we are all working in the same direction, working towards similar in not identical goals.  Adults in the building need to be part of this process and students need to understand that they are.

Every twelve seconds someone remembers that were all in this together.

As I and so many have written in the edu-blogosphere, our students face an unpredictable future.  It’s all changing so fast.  For them.  For us.  Navigating this change and preparing ourselves for that uncertain future is our task.  And “building understanding” requires more than coursework comprehension, more than expertise in communication, collaboration, and creation.  It requires building community.

Building real understanding between people so that we all look out for each other and do what’s right.

The city’s changing, cuz we are changing and we’re all in this together.

This is the role of educators.  It must be the culture of schools.

This is the responsibility of school leaders.

Understanding is strangers and cultures realizing that we are all in this together.  That we need each other to be successful must be the culture of education.

“On the subway, we feel like strangers, but we’re all in this together.”

It is my task to help make this our school culture.  Wish me luck.

Ask a scientist.  It’s quantum physics.  We’re all in this together.

“Mucho Jacks” image by laszlo-photo, used under Creative Commons