Sticklers - NECC Edubloggercon

Based on Will Richardson's post - I'll Be In The Hallway
And Jeff Utecht's post - EdubloggerCon and my need for Beta Time

First, I hope Will will have a sense of humor about the character. Yes this in homage to one of my favorite people to read and from whom I learn. When I sat in his class at the GAETC in 2006, he wore a long-sleeve T-Shirtlike shirt. I did too.

Second, let me be clear. I wish I was in San Antonio. Although I have received 0 credit for Professional Development by reading and interacting with my educational colleagues from around the world through blogs, Twitter, Ning, and other services the web affords us, I choose to spend a lot of time with these people. I think many of us feel there is a sense of camaraderie, collegiality, understanding, and...family. For this reason I hope for the day to shake hands with my teachers.

With that said...

Like Will and Jeff, I wondered how the edubloggercon would go this year. I think Steve Hargadon's leadership is outstanding. He seeks to help educators, and does it regularly. Thank you Steve.

But, the one thing I know, deep in my heart, that when something happens that was not truly planned (like the description of the 2007 edubloggercon and blogger's cafe in Atlanta) people do not want the experience to end.

And sometimes the worst thing to do is try to PLAN for it to happen again.

It simply won't. That's why we must learn how to live in the moment...because they seldom, if ever come again.

Teachers -- we cannot plan spontaneity.

It was the atmosphere of spontaneity that made 2007 successful. Go back and read what the attenders wrote last year. It was what we wish could happen in our classrooms...that people would "get it" and want to discuss it, learn from it, and go move mountains.

Is the experience this year void of value? Absolutely not. Attenders and absentees alike will come away better in some way.

I do wonder something though. I have read about the number of people in the edubloggercon and the blogger's cafe increasing. Some have suggested that more people (and Pearsons's disruptive recording) made it difficult to have conversations. This could be a space issue (which I have also read), but could Tim Holt (June 2006) and Jon Becker (April 2008) have made a point about this earlier? I hope this is not the case. But I do wonder if the "buffet table" was too crowded.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Don't Plan for the School of the Future...Here It Is!

Clay Burell and Jeff Utecht show the landscape of 21st century teaching.  It is not a "what could we do if..." wouldn't it be cool if we could..." "If only..." world anymore.  It is not something to consider doing in a 5-year plan.

And, by the way...I learned some things I want to do too.  Thanks Clay and Jeff.

Blogged with Flock

Interview Question Teachers Might Want To Ask

I have a son who has 18 months of college until he seeks his first classroom. We talk frequently about the joys and struggles of teaching and coaching.

Today, Jeff Utecht (any relation to the Indianapolis Colts player?) posted questions admins of tech-focused schools should ask potential teachers. It's that time of the year when schools begin to fill their opening, and teachers seek to fill openings. It is truly a beautiful thing when the school and teacher are in sync.

In that vein, I offer some things I have told my son he may want to consider when selecting a school in which he will commit his time, effort, and life. First, a few words of clarification: a) it is next to impossible for a new teacher to have any idea what they should ask, especially if they are in the early 20s, b) new teachers in need of a job usually don't have the time to be too picky, and will likely take a first job just because it is offered -- nothing wrong with that the first time around, c) it takes courage to ask questions of a potential boss, and if this is not your personality then try to find out this information from a different source, and d) this list assumes that the potential teacher truly knows that teaching is their life, not just another job in the line of under-five-year temp positions.

Anyway, here are the questions I would want to have answers to before committing to a school.

1 - What is your leadership style? Do not smile or break eye contact when you ask this question.

If the administrator pauses for more than a couple of seconds of shock, the admin probably does not really know. You need to find out. Some teachers need a principal who will stop in their room frequently (weekly) to provide support, or sometimes just say 'hi.' Other teachers would rather have a principal who "trusts" teachers will do their job within constant supervision. Other teachers prefer participatory leadership wherein faculty have a say in the policies of the school. New teachers may not know what they prefer, but the wise one will know what they need in a leader before the first semester is completed.

2 - What is your level of risk-tolerance? Do not smile or break eye contact when you ask this question.

If the administrator says "the higher the risk, the greater the reward" know that they are probably afraid to risk anything. Yes, I said that correctly. Any cliche used to answer this question likely proves they are not willing to risk thinking of something unique, and must therefore rely on the cliche.

Regardless of what the administrator says, follow up their response with...

3 - What is the riskiest thing you have done to improve student learning since you have been in your current position? You can smile when you ask this one, because you need to lighten the mood anyway. show that you're not always so serious.

For me, this is not so much a question of risk as it is a way to gather information on the leadership view of learning. If the administrator mentions test score anywhere in the answer, learning is secondary, at best, when it comes to the objective of the school. You do not need test-score information, it is already online and available to the public. High or low test scores do not equal the amount of learning. I'm still not convinced that test scores are even an indicator of what was learned either, but the jury is still out on that one.

4 - What is your greatest fear about the role of Internet-based technology in your school?

If their fears focus only on the poorly written byline "students must be safe from predators," then know that the any networked computer you see is for show; either to appease parents or the review committee that come by for accreditation purposes every five years. No need to ask about filtering, permission to blog, create wikis, or implement a global project, because it will not happen, and as the newby, you will not make it happen anytime soon.

On the other hand, if they mention student safety AND any of the following ideas, you might have something positive on which to build: a) Internet-based technology is the language of the students we serve, and we have to figure out how to speak their language, b) Internet-based technology opens up a world our kids may never get to experience first-hand, so we encourage teachers to find ways to bring the world into their classrooms, c) Internet-based technology allows for student and teacher collaboration here and around the world in ways that students can become engaged in the material they are presented, d) Internet-based technology is the primary way we use to help our kids become information literate. The amount of information that will be available to them is staggering, unfortunately not all the information will be accurate, useful, or appropriate and we must teach students how to make distinctions between what can be valuable to them in their process of making decisions. [NOTE: If the principal says anything remotely close to the last one, I'll arm wrestle you for the job!]

5 - What were the topics of your last three Professional Development opportunities for the faculty, and was it mandatory for all teachers?

By getting an answer to the PD offerings, you will find out what is important to your potential boss's boss...either the Superintendent or the School Board. If it was mandatory for all the teachers, then you must discover what you will be missing in your practice, and more importantly what you might still be accountable for knowing and/or doing. Schools are bad about expecting everyone to know "this is how we do things" yet never informing the people who weren't there when the policy was implemented.

Conclusion - Obviously there are dozens of other questions that could be asked, but you won't be given much time to ask questions. I have tried to ask five highly-loaded questions that can give the teacher an idea of what they could be getting into if they become a part of the faculty. If you are in the presence of a quality administrator, they will not feel threatened by these questions. They may not agree with the answers they have to give at this time, and they will likely tell you that too.

What questions would you ask if you were in the market for a new/different teaching position?

Image: by dullhunk from http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=202872717&size=s

Want a New Job? Play It Smart or Play Stupid?

Dateline - December 5, 2007 - Jeff Utecht "Let Your Presence Be Known"

Jeff writes an outstanding piece about how schools get your network when they get you. Based on a TWIT episode, Jeff suggests the power/depth of your network should help you get a job with a school. If you haven't read Jeff's article...do it now! If you haven't listened to the TWIT episode, do it after reading Jeff's article.

Jeff makes a strong point that the stronger your network, the more valuable you are to the school in terms of bringing knowledge, opportunities, experiences, research, etc. In effect, your network impresses potential employers. Jeff's interview situation is presented this way:

“Could you please share with me the extent of the learning network that you would bring with you to this job?”

An answer:

“Well, I bring 1500 readers from my blog, over 400 Twitter contacts, 30+ Facebook friends, 50+ Skype contacts, and a Ustream.TV station that at the last live event saw 40+ people attend. I bring with me one click access to a knowledge base far greater than any single hire can bring.”

Dateline - December 6, 2007 - Miguel Guhlin "All Things In Moderation"

Miguel writes an outstanding piece about how schools get your network when they get you. Based on personal experience, Miguel suggests the power/depth of your network could keep you from getting a job with a school. If you haven't read Miguel's article...do it now!

Miguel makes a strong point that the stronger your network, the more intimidating you are to the school in terms of bringing too much knowledge, too many opportunities, too many experiences, too much research, etc. In effect, your network scares potential employers. Miguel's interview situation is presented this way:

I spoke to a friend yesterday morning. As we spoke, he mentioned,
"Miguel, you won't believe it."
"What?" I shot back. He had dropped his voice into that conspiratorial whisper signalling gossip...you know what I mean.
"The superintendent handed out required reading to all his directors. In chapter 3 of the book, you were quoted."
"Hot dog! Really?" I exclaimed. "Think they'll hire me now?"
"Not a chance."

This is not an issue of who is right...Jeff or Miguel...it is an issue of finding out what the school system in which you would like to work is looking for in an employee, doing some research to find out where they are in terms of technology use, openness or fear of web 2.0 (especially their views on student and teacher content creation and extra-school collaboration), and the expertise/philosophy of those in authority within the district as it relates to instructional technology.

If you find a school like Jeff mentions, then "play it smart." Let them know your network is diverse, extended, deep in quality, and significant.

If you find a school system like Miguel mentions, then "play it stupid." Let them know you are familiar with these ideas, but that the your focus is on helping your students be successful (which probably means you can prepare them for the big standardized test in the Spring). Mention that you are willing to learn about any new methods the system may implement in the future, and that you are a life-long learner who assimilates information quickly. Then, when the system does something new next year, like show Karl Fisch's "Did You Know" at the system-wide convocation, you can catch up on the sleep you missed the past few nights while you stayed up late catching up with your Google Reader feeds.

In my experience, in my neck of the woods, I have to play it stupid if I want to move or stay. No kidding, last week a central office technology "leader" asked me if I had heard of...are you ready...TeacherTube. I said yes, I was one of the first 100 people to create an account there because I read about it in one of my networks (either RSS, Classroom 2.0 on Ning, or something over a year ago). The next statement to me was, "There are a couple of teachers who want to get it unblocked, but we don't see how this site would be helpful to them in school. What do you think?"

I played it stupid. I asked which teachers wanted access (because I wanted to know who knew of TeacherTube - they were ones I told about it). I said the teachers should follow the protocol for getting sites unblocked and the Tech Dept should follow through with administrative decisions to unblock it. I hated myself for that response. But guess what? They thought I was a genius for suggesting that policy be followed.

Sometimes, playing it stupid is the smartest play you can make when it comes to technology in educational settings.

Image Source: http://onemansblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/Idea_Light_Bulb.jpg