October!

You know that it must be a busy beginning of the school year when I turn around to write my September post and the calendar says Oct 3!  But, under the category of "better late than never," here goes...

The school year has been off to an exciting start!  I have had the chance to see firsthand our students and teachers in classes and during co-curricular activities that have clearly demonstrated the meaning of Bison Pride.  From classroom teachers, student services staff and assistants going above and beyond to meet the academic and social emotional needs of our students to our administrators working with staff to set high academic expectations for all students, to our coaches and sponsors working with students to provide vibrant and rich extra curricular experiences.

Last night's Varsity Football win summed up the past month and a half of school for me so far - full of heart, spirit, perseverance and dedication  - a description that is befitting of our entire BGHS community!  I am so proud to be a member of this winning team!

Happy October!

Being a Digital Leader

We've all heard the expression talking the talk and walking the walk.  As educational administrators, we are often too busy to walk the walk and I think that with technology, it is our greatest shortfall.  We model leadership, vision and communication, but so many are still not modeling digital leadership.  There are countless ways to get started as a digital leader!  Use social media, Tweet, blog,  post pix on Instagram.  Use an online response site at your next meeting, use Google docs to collaborate on an agenda and share minutes from a meeting, post a YT video of a school event.  If we don't model the way for our staff and our students, how can we expect them to effectively use technology for teaching and learning?

When Scott McLeod posted this #LeadershipDay14 Challenge to blog as school leaders, the first thing I did was post to Twitter to challenge my fellow administrators in my PLN to join me!  It's nice to know that we are not alone as admins - a sometimes lonely job that requires hard work and commitment from those of us in the roles.  Educational administrators SHOULD inspire and encourage each other to do more and be more, to take risks, to celebrate successes, to learn from mistakes and to model the way on all fronts.  We want our students and teachers to be lifelong learners and digital leaders - then so must we.

ISTE, PLN's and How to Continue the Conversation

I just returned from the ISTE conference last night and wanted to sit down and reflect on the experience while it is still fresh in my mind...

I made the trip to Atlanta with 30+ other educators from across D214, and while there were some frustrations (long lines, closed out sessions and weather-related flight delays) there were some very powerful takeaways from the experience.  Many of the sessions reaffirmed that great things are already happening across D214!  It was great to expand upon my knowledge of topics such as the SAMR model (presented by Dr. Puenteduera) and Flipped Learning (Presented by Aaron Sams and Jon Bergman)  To learn about these ed tech topics from their originators was both unique and engaging!

I was able to stretch my thinking about race, class and gender during a session about breaking down the barriers to college and careers, although the session didn't stay as focused as I would have liked, my Twitter exchange with one of the panelists (@chrislehmann) was engaging.

But the best part of the trip was the conversations with new colleagues from across the district.  These gatherings, both formal and informal allowed us to process new learning, discuss ideas, share philosophies and plan for the future.  We covered everything from Twitter 101, to effective ed tech integration strategies, to instructional coaching, to leadership, to standards based grading and learning to planning effective professional development.  Finally, we built the connections and relationships as a team to continue the conversations once the school year begins!  This, I think, will be the key - how do we maintain the momentum for what we started over the summer?  How do we communicate and engage colleagues who were not at ISTE? What structures can we put into place to share information, best practices and successes across buildings?  Often, we used the #D214PLN hashtag to track our learning.  Check it out!

I was very glad to be a part of the D214 team that went to ISTE this year and look forward to continuing the conversation over the summer and throughout the school year!

Organization and Google Apps

It's so interesting when you start a new position and have to re-think or re-create systems of organization that you are used to depending on day to day.  It's such a nice opportunity to "clean house," so to speak.  One of the things that I've done right away in order to start off in an organized way is to create a folder structure in my Google Drive that will house any docs I create or that are shared with me. I assign each folder a different color, too. As docs come in, or as I create new docs,  I immediately place them into a folder, or create a new folder to accommodate a new topic/theme.  When people share Google docs, it can sometimes be challenging to keep track of them all, but by adding them to a folder in my Drive, it is easier to locate and organize them.  On a side note, if they were "shared with me" they will also be cross-listed under the "Shared with Me" tab as loose docs, but each doc will be  labeled with the new Drive folder it's filed in.  The best thing about Google Drive is that, no matter what, I can always search for a doc with a keyword, author or phrase.  As we become more and more paperless, it is even more important to have a system to organize the vast amounts of electronic files and documents we create.

I'm a huge fan of Google Drive, especially the ability to create and collaborate on documents, eliminating the tangle of versions when a Word doc is shared and edited (Who has the latest version? Did I save it? Did I re-send it to everyone who needs it?)

Finding the right tool for the job is the key to effective technology integration.   Teachers and administrators alike are very busy people, so by having a collaborative space to work, we can all save time and energy for the important tasks of teaching and learning.

ISTE, Innovative Learning and Being Self-Directed

This post is going to try to capture some of the enthusiasm that I have for innovative learning.  Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting with the D214 ITF's and API's to discuss innovation and our upcoming trip to the ISTE conference.  ISTE is the International Society for Technology in Education.  Their standards for Students, Teachers and Administrators have all been a guiding force in my career over the last five years in my role as Director for Innovative Learning at DPS109.  How can we, as educators, both teach and model these standards to improve learning?  How can we more effectively integrate technology into instruction so that students can be both engaged and self directed?  These essential "21st century skills," those of creativity, communication, collaboration, media literacy and self directed learning need to be evident in today's instruction.  I am looking forward to attending the sessions at ISTE2014 and then bringing the conversation back to D214 and BGHS.

Yesterday, one of my sons researched a new computer program, read the reviews online, downloaded it, tried to use it, realized he needed to know more before he could really use it, so he found several tutorial videos on You Tube, watched them and then returned to the program to keep working.  He's 10 years old and in 4th grade.  I was so proud of his self-assessment, perseverance and determination to acquire the skills he needed to complete the task that he wanted to accomplish with this new program. More importantly, he experienced success at a challenging task that was both innovative and engaging.  I would love to see more of these types of learning opportunities available in school for them.  Whether it is during a 20% Time/ Genius Hour segment or during regular instruction, we need to encourage innovative learning opportunities for students and teachers.  As lead learners in our classrooms and schools, we can own our own learning, create professional learning networks to support continuous growth and work to engage students creativity and innovation.

Reflections on Building an AP Culture Conference

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to attend Stevenson High School's first "Building an AP Culture" Conference with Math/Science Division Head Chris Marks and several mathematics teachers from BGHS.  The mission statement of this conference was: "An Advanced Placement school culture represents the cumulative impact of a rigorous, college level course of study that prepares students for creative contributions, interdisciplinary study, and lifelong learning.  Advanced Placement tests are a starting point, not an ending point."

The opening keynote was delivered by Dr. Tim Kanold, a leader in the field of both mathematics and educational leadership (Dr. Kanold is also a former professor of mine from Loyola).  He presented the audience, which mainly consisted of high school AP teachers from around the area, with the notion that equity and access to AP courses is a social justice issue that, research shows, has a positive impact on a student's college success.  Dr. Kanold also mentioned the work of Dr. Carol Dweck and Kathleen Cushman.  One of my big takeaways from his keynote was that "every time a student makes a mistake, they grow a new synapse."  This notion, from Carol Dweck should support a learning culture that allows for mistakes and growth opportunities in school.  Students, like all of us, learn from their mistakes and we must create a culture that encourages academic risk taking and growth.

Dr. Kanold shared that "a good AP culture is really just a good school culture" and that we must establish high standards of learning that we expect ALL students to achieve.  AP culture should be a culture of learning and not of performance.  What supports and interventions do we need to put into place in order for every graduating senior to experience at least one college level course?

Later, during the conference sessions, I learned about the essential role that extracurricular activities can play to support and extend the learning of AP courses.  What after school clubs exist to support student interest and learning in AP courses?  How can we make explicit the connections between AP success and extracurricular participation?

I also learned about collaborative, interdisciplinary opportunities in AP courses that foster growth for multiple disciplines.  The example shared was of an AP Statistics teacher teaming up with an AP Psychology teacher to help students connect their learning of research and experimental design in both subjects.  There are countless opportunities to connect curriculum in order to make learning deeper and more meaningful for our students.

The students panel discussed how they felt their education had benefitted from the AP culture and reminded teachers that students want to be engaged in learning and not just copy notes from a lecture.  They each felt more prepared for their upcoming college experiences as a result of having taken AP courses.

In another session,  an experienced AP teacher suggested that all HS courses can contain elements of AP style questions and assignments, building a solid foundation for AP success.  Another presenter suggested that schools should take a close look at course sequencing in order to facilitate access to AP courses.

I am very excited to learn more about the AP Culture at BGHS and to support success for all students in this new role.