Reflections from the Trenches

Student Agency

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 16:29:00 +0000

I’ve recently been involved in a complex and challenging partnership. Lipscomb University’s College of Professional Studies and the Ayers Institute for Teacher Learning and Innovation is in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Education on a project supporting teams of educators from all over the state of Tennessee with the implementation of competency-based education (CBE) components. These teams are doing some of the hardest work I’ve ever seen from K-12 educators. They are implementing CBE-aligned components into a standards-based education system. That’s definitely like fitting a square peg into a round hole.

Some of the components focused on include mastery-based grading, developing competencies, project-based learning, inquiry learning, and student agency. All of this is part of a bigger effort within the state of Tennessee to develop models of personalized learning.

Student agency is something I have been passionate about for some time. Simply put, student agency is the capacity and propensity for students to take purposeful initiative. It is evidenced by students responding actively to circumstances, seeking meaning, and acting with purpose to achieve the conditions they desire in their own and others’ lives.

Why am I so passionate about student agency? The development of student agency empowers students to influence their own path to mastery (something really important in a CBE system), enhances their cognitive ability to work proactively, increases motivation, and allows students to hone active and self-directed learning skills. Simply put, student agency builds self-efficacy.

What we can do in schools to encourage the development of student agency include providing meaningful and relevant learning activities, considering students’ interests, giving space for self-initiated learning while providing developmentally appropriate guidance, and raising the awareness of students toward mastery of learning benchmarks.

How do you see student agency being encouraged and developed in your school?

More information about Competency-Based Education

One example of Student Agency

Educators are the most optimistic people...

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 22:47:00 +0000

I am very blessed to work with some amazing people. One of my colleagues, Karen, always says, "Educators are the most optimistic people on the earth. We just keep coming back to school." There is so much truth in what she says. Teachers can have a bad day and leave school incredibly drained and the next morning they get right up and go back to school saying, "Today's the day! This is the day that things will work and I will make a difference in the lives of kids." This was no more evident than this past Saturday.

On a Saturday morning, educators gathered from all over middle Tennessee to spend a few hours connecting, discussing, and learning about effective use of technology in school. #TechIgnite is put on by Lipscomb University's College of Education and the Ayers Institute for Teacher Learning and Innovation. We had 15 different educators leading sessions and over 100 people registered to attend.

All of the materials for each session are found on eduTOOLBOX.

If you didn't attend Ignite! and are in driving distance of Nashville (within 2-3 hours), be sure to join us for the next Ignite. Follow the Ayers Institute and Lipscomb University's College of Education on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest news.

#OneSmallThing

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 22:48:00 +0000

Those of you who have read my other posts know that I am a fan of twitter. I know, I know, some of you really don't see the point of twitter. Keep reading! This may just change your mind.

As I was going through my twitter feed, I saw a mention by @gcouros about #onesmallthing. This intrigued me so I investigated further. An instructional coach and a librarian came up with the #onesmallthing movement which refers to implementing one small change at a time. It's brilliant in its simplicity. How often do we as educators get overwhelmed by the enormity of what needs to be done? Speaking for myself that happened often when I was in the classroom. The day to day urgent matters tend to drown out the important matters. All need to be tended to.

I applaud Melissa White (@melissajkwhite) and Lacey Snyder (@lacey_librarian) for putting this together. So I am sharing my #onesmallthing here:

Melissa and Lacey have set up a website complete with a tool for sharing and a "how-to" guide for implementing #onesmallthing in your practice.

About twitter: I consider twitter to be one of the best professional learning tools available. The key is in who you follow. I follow people who bring value to my educational practice and life in general. One trick is to follow someone who has a recognized name in the area of education you are involved with. Then go see who they follow and follow some of the same people. You might even start with following me, Julia Osteen (@josteen), Melissa (@melissajkwhite), Lacey (@lacey_librarian), and George Couros (@gcouros). Give it a try! You'll be glad you did!

Why Higher Education Faculty Should Attend ISTE

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Fri, 30 Jun 2017 13:49:00 +0000

I’ve been a K-12 educator for over 27 years. Four years ago I made the transition to higher education. I was surprised to find the conference I got the most from as a K-12 educator wasn’t even on the radar of most higher education instructors and professors. I’ve just finished attending the International Society for Technology in Education’s (ISTE) annual conference and I wanted to take this opportunity to outline some of the benefits to higher education.

1. Technology isn’t going away. I used to DVR the Regis & Kelly show and was very amused when I would hear Regis Philbin say, “This computer thing is just a fad.” Unfortunately, the “computer thing” is not going away, instead it is evolving. One thing we know for sure in education is that there are always changes. With technology, the change cycle is accelerated. Coming to a conference like ISTE allows us to keep up to date with the new tools and discern for ourselves the usefulness or not to the learning process.

2. We are all learners. Many higher education professionals look at themselves as experts in their field, and rightly so. However, even “experts” need to be learners. ISTE puts everyone who attends on the same level – learners. Students, teachers, professors, vendors and big name experts like Angela Maiers and Jim Knight have an equal opportunity to attend sessions as well as present sessions. There are various formats (snapshots, research, poster sessions, interactive lectures, bring your own device, etc.) that allow each person to personalize their own path in the conference. I find this is one of many areas ISTE is attempting to “walk the talk” in providing personalized professional learning.

3. Today’s K-12 students are tomorrow’s higher education students. Yes. The students being exposed to all of the innovative uses of technology in K-12 classrooms today will demand that and more of higher education in the near future. Will we be ready? Attending the ISTE conference helps higher education professionals adopt a future-focused stance. Our country and possibly even the world is watching how we will prepare our students to contribute to the American way of life and the global economy.

4. Connections with other higher education professionals. I was really impressed with the number of sessions offered specifically for higher education instructors and professors as opposed to last year’s ISTE conference. Every year there is more offered. In addition, I attended a meeting of only higher education professionals who belong to ISTE’s Teacher Educator Professional Learning Network. (TEN) I was impressed with the number of people who attended this meeting, it was standing room only, and the passion of the people who shared during that meeting. We discussed issues that were specifically important to higher education. I left that meeting hopeful for the future of higher education.

5. Learning is most important. Reading through the descriptions of the sessions you get the sense that the ISTE conference is really a learning conference, that just happens to have a focus on technology. In this way, ISTE gets it right. Learning comes first, and always should! Technology is a tool that allows the learning process to bloom, to thrive. But the most important part is always the learning, not the technology.

One way higher education professionals can learn and grow at the ISTE conference is by presenting at the conference. I was fortunate enough to present this year and gained so much from that experience. I encourage you to consider presenting at next year’s ISTE conference in Chicago! Higher education professionals have much to share with other educators. Let’s be an active part of this learning ecosystem.

I’m sure there are many more benefits that I’ve not highlighted here. This list is what was foremost on my mind as I leave this year’s ISTE conference.

One last thought: Technology is a vehicle for learning, a tool to help us connect new concepts and ideas as well as connect to people. Join the adventure!

Access the supporting materials from my session at ISTE.

More information on the 2018 ISTE conference.

Looking back at the 2017 ISTE conference.

A Blended Approach: Literacy and Technology to Engage Learning

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Fri, 23 Jun 2017 10:55:00 +0000

I had the opportunity this week to work with rising 1st - 3rd grade students this week at Camp Explore, a Tennessee Read to be Ready camp. Camp Explore is organized and led by the Lipscomb University College of Education faculty. Both Dr. Jeanne Fain and Dr. Sarah Duncan do an amazing job with the students, teachers, interns and volunteers involved. They make sure the kids have a fun, safe, and engaging summer learning experience.

I was asked to lead one of the choice classes. In addition to the literacy emphasis, they incorporate classes on lots of different topics that kids can choose from. Each week kids choose which classes they want to attend. I led the "Technology Rising" class this week. We worked all week exploring storytelling on the iPads. We used apps such as Care for our World, Draw and Tell HD, Animals 360, Google Slides and Bloxels.

Bloxels was probably one of the biggest hits of the week.

Bloxels is a hands-on platform for kids to build, collaborate and tell stories through video game creation. With Bloxels, kids are the artists, game designers, storytellers and programmers. This is a great tool that blends the arts with science and technology. With Bloxels, the blocks kids add to their game design have different functions. The white block is a story block. This is where kids can add text to their game and the character can read the text. So the kids in camp added at least three story blocks to tell a story within their online game, a beginning, middle and end. These kids worked intently for a full hour two days in a row and I believe they could have worked even longer on it. They were so engaged with this process.

Kids can also build their characters and game boards using the Bloxels set which includes a grid board and blocks. They then take a picture of it with the app and the app digitizes their creation to put in their game. Way cool!

One of the kids asked me, "So I can download this app on my iPad at home and make stories any time?" My response, "Yes, if your parents say it is OK. It is a free app." Oh and this was the same kid who came into the technology class on Monday saying she didn't like technology. I think she might have changed her mind.

Learn more about Camp Explore.

Bloxels is a FREE app, available for Apple iOS, Android and Kindle phones & tablets.

SCARF: The Ultimate Accessory

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 22:34:00 +0000

If you are not really into fashion, keep reading anyway! 😁

Working for the Ayers Institute, I have the privilege of working with a lot of different groups of educators. Sometimes I take on the role of facilitator of learning and at other times I work with teachers and leaders as a coach, a thinking partner. No matter what the role, David Rock's SCARF model serves as a foundation for those interactions. Yes, it is another acronym because, well, we just don't have enough acronyms in education. This acronym, however, is one I use every single day in my work.

Status - This is relative importance to others: what I think you think about me.
Certainty - This is the need the brain has for predictability and clarity in any situation.
Autonomy - This is the need for control. Choice and voice are part of autonomy.
Relatedness - This is the ability to relate to one another, a sense of safety and belonging.
Fairness - This is the perception of fair exchanges between people. Transparency plays a role with what is perceived as fair.

Using this as a framework, I can consider how an email might come across to someone. I can also use this to consider the source of a conflict or even how to be proactive in minimizing opportunities for conflict. In short, SCARF helps me to maximize my influence with others.

How do you see this information impacting your work?

Blogging Buddies

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Fri, 09 Jun 2017 18:37:00 +0000

As I prepare to attend this year's ISTE conference, I ran across the opportunity to be part of a PLN called Blogging Buddies. The concept is pretty simple, really. You are part of a group where everyone in the group has their own blog. "Blogging Buddies groups will be made up of about 5 ed tech coaches bloggers who come together to commit to posting on their blog at least once a month, read one another’s blogs, comment on one another’s blogs, and share the posts with their own networks." (bit.ly/etcbloggingbuddies)

In the group I am part of there are educators from South Carolina, Iowa, Illinois, New Jersey, and Tennessee (me). I invite you to join in on the fun by reading the blog posts and commenting. We will all be posting on our blogs at least once a month.

The Promise of Technology or is it Good Teaching?

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Thu, 04 May 2017 19:36:00 +0000

An article published by the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) passed through my twitter feed today and I couldn't help but take notice. The article written by Jeremy Meredith discusses the use of technology by two particular schools in Tennessee, Mt. Pleasant in Maury County and STEM School Chattanooga in Hamilton County. Both are using technology to personalize learning for students.

Meredith writes, "research tells us that technology is most effective when its use is guided by a highly effective teacher who takes care to understand individual student needs. Personalized learning involves teachers using diagnostic information to guide student supports, students exercising choice and autonomy in learning activities, and use of project-based learning to encourage student collaboration and critical thinking." Yes! This is what we all need to understand. Technology is as good as what we use it for. Student achievement can be positively effected but not by technology alone. It takes that mature learner (the teacher) to guide students as they work through learning experiences. I'm so proud of schools like the STEM School Chattanooga and Mt. Pleasant for leading the state of Tennessee in this very important direction.

For more on the Role of Technology in Education, access the free MOOC provided by the Tennessee Governor's Online Innovation Fund and the Ayers Institute.

To read the entire article, visit the SCORE website.

Innovator's Mindset and Energizing my PLN

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 16:21:00 +0000

I started today much like any other day. After leaving my house for work and enduring an hour commute, I settled in to take stock of the day. As is often my habit, I perused my twitter feed and found a golden nugget! The golden nuggets are what makes twitter so valuable to me as a professional.

This message led me to read the blog that was linked which led me to investigate the Innovator's Mindset MOOC. After all of that, I was so excited that I signed up to participate in the MOOC. It starts next week and runs 6 weeks. Sounds like a timeframe I can commit for. Now, I've not read George Couros's book yet, Innovator's Mindset, but I have ordered it and due to the magic of Amazon I will be able to read it beginning Monday night.

I keep reflecting on why I am so excited about this. It's yet another book to read, which I have plenty to read working in higher education! I'm anticipating new ideas from reading the book but also from the subsequent conversations that will no doubt occur within the MOOC. I don't know who will be part of the MOOC nor do I know what attitudes and dispositions those people will bring. What I do know is that there is a great potential for new thinking and new ideas.

On the Innovator's Mindset blog you can find the benefits of participating:

So what are the benefits of this?

There are no badges or credit for this program. This is for your growth and will hopefully help you develop a network of like-minded innovators that can take your learning, teaching and leadership to the next level. Isn’t that why we are all here? To become better at what we do?

I am looking forward to adding to and energizing my PLN in the process of participating with the MOOC. How about you?

You can learn more about the Innovator's Mindset MOOC experience by accessing the blog and following on twitter #IMMOOC #InnovatorsMindset.

Building Your PLN

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Sun, 07 Aug 2016 23:16:00 +0000

As another school year gets started, I reflect on the value of my Personal Learning Network (PLN). Just in the past couple of months, I have learned about Bloxels and Breakout EDU from my PLN. Both of these are learning tools I want to explore further this fall. It gets me excited all over again about the value we can bring to kids and how the benefits will serve kids well for their future.

This past week Keith O'Neal @iTeachLipscomb came out with a 50 states in 50 days challenge for educators to build their PLN. I've really enjoyed getting to know Keith as a colleague @Lipscomb and I think this challenge is brilliant. I really wish I had thought of it!

If you are looking for a way to build your PLN using Twitter, I encourage you to take a look at this challenge and join in! Not only will you get the benefit of the thinking and sharing of educators from across the country, but you will also find yourself with a renewed following to encourage you to share your own expertise.

Happy twittering!! Or is it tweeting??

Oh and follow me @josteen and @ayersinstitute!

I'm Back

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Sat, 02 Apr 2016 15:26:00 +0000

It has been about 21/2 years since I have posted on this blog. I can't believe how time just flies by. It reminds me of the quote, "Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans." (John Lennon)
While I have never stepped away from the work of education, my work has taken on a different shape in the past 21/2 years. During that time I have worked for the Ayers Institute leading the College Access Project program and the Teacher Preparation MOOC program. Both of these have been very important professional learning initiatives; however, they have taken me away from the day to day in the classroom.
Now that both of those programs are requiring less of my time, I find myself in the classroom more mainly observing teachers and coaching teachers toward their goals. I find this new chapter of my work to be very rewarding and challenging all at the same time.
I plan to share some of my learning through these new experiences with you in future blog posts.

One of the things I am most proud of through my work in the past 21/2 years is the content development and instructional design of the Role of Technology in Education MOOC. If you have any one at your school who is struggling with understanding the proper role of technology in the learning process, I encourage you to share this FREE resource with them.

Why I Love the K12 Online Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 13:08:00 +0000

Every year for the past 5 years I have gleaned incredible ideas from the greater education community through the K12 Online Conference. At this point, it is one of my favorite conferences to attend. Never mind that the cost is free, never mind that there is no travel cost or the fact that I can attend in my pajamas but what keeps me coming back are the educators that talk about teaching and learning and truly transforming education.

This year's theme for the conference is Transforming Learning. This year's strands are Open Learning, Outside Learning, Building Learning and Leading Learning. Take some time to enjoy the Keynote to this year's conference. The title is Transforming Learning . . . One Voice at a Time. I personally found it very powerful.

I was fortunate to be a presenter for the Leading Learning strand. My presentation is on The Promise of Leadership. Leadership is something I have thought a lot about. I believe that traditionally in education we have had a false idea of what leadership really is. If we are truly going to transform education (make something new in the place of something old) instead of reform education (improve the old), then we need good strong leadership at every role including students. We need to tap into the students as a source of leadership and partner with them to truly transform our society into the global leader America can be. This is, after all, their future.

I hope you will take a few minutes to watch and provide me with feedback through comments on this post. I would love to hear your ideas on leadership.

An Idea for Engaging Students

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 15:33:00 +0000

I love it when my Twitter Network serendipitously provides me with a creative idea. One such moment occurred this morning. A tweet came across mentioning CityHunt.org. This is a site with an interesting concept: scavenger hunts for the purpose of team building, experiential marketing or social adventures. While that sounds like all kinds of fun to me, I began thinking about how to capture the concept for K-12 students. Each hunt, the site says, is jam-packed with clues for your team to uncover, sent in unexpected ways and placed in various locations. There is a photo challenge that encourages creativity and out-of-the box thinking. There is a team challenge, a guide on the side and a wrap-up reflective activity. Am I the only one out there that thinks this sounds like the beginnings of a lesson structure? The missing pieces are the learning targets. What if we could design a lesson plan that incorporates a similar scavenger hunt structure while uncovering resources/information that will help students answer essential questions? I even began thinking about how someone could provide clues using Aurasma, a leading augmented reality platform app. I really must find some time to put a lesson together while this concept is fresh in my mind. Thanks @scitechyedu for sharing this with @boadams which allowed me to eavesdrop and provided me with excited contemplation!

Learning-Literacy

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 14:32:00 +0000

Over the years, I have followed many great thinkers in the realm of Education. One of those great thinkers is David Warlick. It is sad to me that he is "retiring" from the Education Consulting business. Don't worry, he mentions on his blog that it just means he won't be writing/speaking as often as he has in the past. I enjoyed reading his latest post on Learning-Literacy. Think about that a minute. There is a literacy to learning. I have always been a fan of teachers being "chief learners" in their classrooms. I will never forget one teacher who mentioned to me after a professional development experience that the biggest thing he gained from it was the fact he would have to be always learning. Wow! I took that as a huge success.

In Warlick's blog post, Schools that Practice Learning-Literacy, he mentions several indicators that characterize schools that practice learning-literacy. Some of the indicators like the lines between teacher and learner are blurred and reliance on learning taking precedence over reliance on textbooks might be indicators you would expect. One of the indicators Warlick mentions is "The library magnifies the world outside, but also reflects the culture inside, curating collections of learner-produced media products." I love the idea of libraries curating collections of learner-produced media products. One of the emphases during my K-12 education career has been to give students a sense of audience and purpose that goes beyond the classroom and the teacher. A good way to curate these student produced projects has been a challenge for a lot of teachers. What if part of the school media center transformation was to have a system for doing just that? Take a look at Warlick's indicators and let us know, how does your school measure up?

iSummit 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 20:57:00 +0000

I was fortunate to work with a great group of educators again this year on the steering committee for iSummit 2013, the annual conference for the Coalition of Lighthouse Schools. Two incredible keynote speakers kicked off each day of the conference. We had numerous breakout sessions on a variety of topics. Again I was fortunate to be asked to facilitate one of the pre-conference workshops. We had close to 30 participants in an iPad Workshop. Other workshops offered were on Technology & the Brain, Google Earth and Design Thinking. The great thing about the iSummit conference is that it really facilitates the networking of educators from primarily Independent Schools all over the United States, and even some international folks. To see supporting documents from all of the sessions offered, visit the Presenters' Wiki at isummitconference.wikispaces.com. iSummit 2014 is set for June 10th - 12th. Plan to join in on the fun!

Some Google Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:10:00 +0000

Our school is currently in the middle of a pilot for Google Apps for Education. What's really fun about this are all the things that we are uncovering as we work alongside our students. Elementary - High School students are trying out different parts of GAFE (Google Apps for Education). Now it is not like we haven't been using the Google apps with our students or that our students on their own hadn't been using them. But now we are utilizing those tools within the GAFE environment and learning how it can facilitate communication, sharing, student submission of work, etc. One thing that we have uncovered is the ability for anything in your Google Drive to have a URL. Then, anyone within our Google Apps environment can access it to view. Students are working on ePortfolios using Google Sites within GAFE. They can upload their created videos to their Google Drive, go to edit a Google Sites page and go to Insert -- Video -- Google Docs Video. This will allow you to choose the uploaded video file and embed it within a player right on the Google Sites page. Wow! Makes doing this type of thing so much more seamless for the kids. I'm excited about the doors this could open for the GACS students. Please share your experiences and "aha" moments with Google Apps for Education through the comments on this post.

I believe . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:29:00 +0000

I believe that education is an ongoing process. We are all learners, some more experienced than others. As a teacher, it is my responsibility to foster the total growth of each individual student with his/her own unique needs: socially, emotionally, intellectually, physically and spiritually. Students should experience solving real-world problems from a Christ-centered world-view and prepare to communicate with world-wide audiences. Learning should occur within meaningful and authentic experiences. Education should prepare students for a global world, emphasizing opportunities to grow in creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking.

I believe that education is not something “done” to the student but rather something that students do. Students must be active learners within a community environment which is founded on belief in God, mutual respect, trust, collaboration and shared responsibility. Learning should occur in concert with others and encourage all members of the community to look for and fulfill God’s purpose for their lives. I believe that students should be empowered through their educational experiences using the tools that are current and most appropriate for the learner. Students should experience rigor through regular writing experiences that require a deeper level of thinking, regular reading experiences that allow them to connect to the material, asking questions in the pursuit of knowledge and skills, and following investigations in the pursuit of understanding.

I believe that teachers are the more mature learner in the learning community and as such should guide students. Teachers are motivators, communicators, adaptors, visionaries, leaders, collaborators and risk takers. Most of all, teachers are connected learners.

Staying Connected

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:49:00 +0000

As part of my own professional development, I participate with a group called Atlanta Area Technology Educators. This group is made up of classroom teachers, technology specialists, tech directors and administrators from the greater Metro Atlanta Area, some from even farther away. This past week we had our very first Twitter chat. I was blessed to be the facilitator for this first chat. We had 8 people participating and had some great resources shared. These chats are an effort for the group to stay connected even when we can't physically meet together. How does your PLN stay connected?

Tweets about "#AATEchat"

Students Amaze Me

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 15:40:00 +0000

The more my students are active in their learning, the more they amaze me. Today was one of those days. Toward the beginning of class, two of the students led the rest of us in thinking about an important topic for our weekly devotional. The guys talked to us about the wise man and the foolish man and helped us make the connection to our own lives.

Then in one class period, students went from using a mobile app for French language exploration called Busuu to using AirDrop, Google Docs, Keynote and Pages to pull together an interesting presentation that teaches the rest of the class about their researched topic.

The most amazing thing about this is that most of those applications were their ideas to use. They simply knew they had a task to complete and chose the tools most applicable to them in order to accomplish the task at hand.

I really can't wait to see the presentations next week. Why would I ever "pour out" information to my students when this level of engagement can be achieved through students working? Besides I really do want my students to work harder than I do!

Love to Learn

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 19:23:00 +0000

This weekend I am immersed into a learning environment/experience that is challenging me to think, reflect and learn. I am here by choice. I love to learn. In fact, I even brought with me an administrator that loves to learn. In each session (called conversations), a facilitator paints a picture and sets the stage for deep discussions. Then participants discuss and collaborate. This is not your ordinary educational conference. It is called EduCon. And, no, people aren't dressed up as superheroes or other characters. They all come as themselves with their unique perspectives and understandings. Walking around I pass by people I have followed on twitter for years. This is one of only a few times a year that I get to connect face to face with my online Personal Learning Network. The Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia (host for the conference) and EduCon have an energy that is not often found in education. Now, how to bottle that energy up to take it home with me! If you haven't checked out EduCon, follow the conversations on twitter - #educon or #educon25. It's worth the trip to Philly!

Adaptability

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 01:14:00 +0000

Fall is a time for change. Change is often hard but is also a natural part of life. If you are not changing, you are not living. Being adaptable is being able to adjust to new conditions. Day in and day out, the good teachers adapt and adjust what goes on in the classroom to the needs of their students.

The State of New Jersey defines adaptability as "The ability and willingness to cope with uncertain, new, and rapidly changing conditions on the job, including responding effectively to emergencies or crisis situations and learning new tasks, technologies, and procedures." In this 21st century, our kids will need to be able to adjust and adapt to a rapidly changing world if we are to be competitive in a global economy.

So how do we teach our kids to be adaptable? A curriculum that focuses on decision-making, performance, group work, self-evaluation, and autonomy. What we need is a balance between learning how to work in a group and being an independent thinker. Balance. Change. Collaborate. Adapt. Adjust. Think.

As a teacher, how adaptable are you? In 1991, Jamie McKenzie came up with an Adaptability Quotient Scale. I think it is still a good reflective tool today. Take a look.

EdCampATL - Relax, Converse, Learn

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 22:43:00 +0000

Approximately 100 educators met this morning, Saturday, at Woodward Academy for the first ever EdCampATL. What makes that many educators get up on a Saturday morning to meet? The opportunity to connect, network, relax, converse and learn! EdCampATL was designed after the other EdCamps that are occurring around the United States and beyond. EdCamp is an unconference. I have attended other unconference events before: Educon, Edublogger Con, TeachMeetGA, just to name a few. I really liked the EdCamp format. As we arrived, people began proposing session discussions. Each person chose which discussion to be part of and it was understood that at any time you could leave to join a different discussion.

Sharing was the key word of the day and the pervasive atmosphere as well. That's something that most educators don't get enough time to do . . . share with one another. There were people from public schools, charter schools, independent schools, and Higher Ed in attendance. In addition, folks from Alabama and Florida attended as well as Georgia residents.

Some of the things I learned about are represented in the tagxedo image above and the list below.

Tagxedo (works great in Safari)
hashalbum.com
zoomerang
Together We Can Change Everything
biblionasium
Science360
Towel Elephants
Class Dojo
Songify
videolicious
nearpod
Qwiki
dialmycalls.com
zippslip
Scoot Pad (K-5 Integration with Common Core)
Knowmia (another resource for a flipped classroom)
Knowmia Teach
Celly
3dgamelab
Historical Scene Investigations
udacity.com
flocabulary
socrative
pinnacle studio
mixinginmath.terc.edu

Shelley Paul, one of the organizers of EdCampATL, said it best in a tweet.

To learn more about EdCampATL, follow the hashtag on twitter, #EdCampATL.

Leadership is . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 15:31:00 +0000

Leadership is a word that people often use but how many people really reflect on the meaning? Leadership is a concept I have been studying for some time. I have a passion for education and as such am passionate about school meeting the needs of our school kids. The problem is that for a long time in education, we've viewed leadership in regard to position not influence. The first time I read the book Developing the Leader Within You by John Maxwell, I experienced a moment of clarity as I learned that leadership is really influence. As I look at my own life and the people I am blessed to live life around, I notice some common themes emerging.
1. Leaders lead by example. I am blessed to work with some incredible leaders. Men and women who believe they should live the walk as well as talk about it. What we do speaks so much louder than what we say.
2. Leaders are committed to a cause greater than themselves. When we feel connected to a much greater cause, then we become passionate about the work and it shows.
3. Leaders are genuine. Real people working in real ways that show integrity.
4. Leaders are self-motivated. Because they are connected to a cause greater than themselves, then motivation comes naturally. Even if leaders have bad days (which we all do), they "fake it until they make it" knowing that others are looking to them.
5. Leaders don't quit. Sometimes it is so easy to give up on something. But true leaders pick themselves up and continue to move forward even after experiencing disappointments.
6. Leaders are others focused. When we do things for the benefit of others, then blessings naturally flow into our lives. "What we pour into the lives of others, comes back into our own."
I am sure there are many more characteristics that you can think of. What do you see from the lives of the leaders around you?

#leadershipday12

Leadership Day is Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 11:46:00 +0000

I ran across a tweet on twitter about Leadership Day being this Wednesday and thought it was no better time than now to break my unseemly silence on this blog. I am thankful for folks like @mcleod (Dr. Scott McLeod) who spearhead and host events like this for folks like me to participate in. It is a good time of year to reflect on school leadership and what makes good leadership. Won't you join me in participating on Wednesday? http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2012/08/leadership-day-2012.html

Professional Learning Redefined

noreply@blogger.com (Julia Osteen) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:32:00 +0000

At our school, we are going through a reflective process on what it means to redefine the way teaching and learning occur. That process is yielding some innovative yet research-based plans. So it occurred to me that we also need to redefine professional development. How often have those leading professional development sessions espoused active learning while lecturing to a group of educators? I dare say too often.

Then a serendipity occurred. I saw on a tweet where Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach was talking about her new book titled The Connected Educator: Learning and Leading in a Digital Age, co-authored by Lani Ritter Hall. I obtained a copy of the book and read it, marking it up from cover to cover. The book offers theoretical explanations for the assertions made but bridges to everyday life by providing application activities at the end of each chapter. This is not just another technology book however it encourages technology awareness through the activities provided. The book offers ideas such as unlearning and relearning. “Unlearning is necessary, although it is often difficult and painful because it involves grieving for what we leave behind.”p.49 It also goes through how to build a collaborative culture and connected learning community as well as the issues of sustainability and assessment.

There have been a lot of books recently that get at some of the points made in this book but none provides the bridging and scaffolding for the average classroom teacher that this book provides. I am recommending that all of the teachers from our school read The Connected Educator. I am sure that will be the start of some important conversations!