Seeds, Serendipity, Sustainability

Change.

It's the one constant in life, yes? And yet human nature seems to be such that many of us will cling to the old ways like a life raft in stormy waters. Why? I don't know. What I do know is that, my own issues with change aside, I have worked hard for change in schools. My twitter profile, until recently, read "wannabe change-agent." I changed that the other day, as I realize that I am no longer a wannabe. I am an agent of change.

Looking back, I realize that my school has changed. This is year 4 for me, and I am amazed at what is taking place. Are we firmly, solidly planted in 21st century, learner-centered, relevant education? No, not yet. Have we glimpsed the future and it is now? Yes.

I thought I would share my story in hopes of encouraging other wannabes out there. Keep

plugging away. Change does happen.

Seeds-

First, you plant the seeds. Do what you do. Talk to everyone about your ideas. Keep it upbeat. Don't expect people to get it. They won't. Keep learning. We are so lucky to have our online colleagues who do get it. Talk to them. Network, network, network. You need your network! You are planting seeds, and it will take time before you see growth. Keep planting and nurture whatever growth you see.

Serendipity-

This is when things begin happening of their own volition. You can't control the winds of change, and you can't do it all on your own. As one person you can only do so much. Hopefully, at some point, change itself takes over and helps you find the support you need. The way this happened for me seems amazing, but maybe it's really not. Maybe it's what happens when you plant the seeds and let nature run its course.

My personal story of serendipity started with a chance (and extremely short) meeting two years ago at FETC. Because of that meeting, the PLN, and a person with vision and leadership, a new position was created at my school this year for a 21st Century Learning Specialist. The position was created specifically for Silvia Tolisano, not as an abstract concept, as in "let's hire a 21st century learning specialist."

This, in itself, seems unusual to me, but correct. People make all the difference. The position was much less important than the fact that we recognized Silvia's skills, experience, passion and visionary leadership as something good, something worth having, something worth trusting.

Sustainability-

This is the chapter still to be written. Silvia's blog tagline "Langwitches -The Magic of Learning" says it all. She has worked magic, and she has done it by embedding PD into classroom teaching. Our students are engaged in global communications and other relevant, exciting learning, our school has a new website, teachers are blogging, we've implemented google apps for education. We have tasted the future, and there is no turning back.

My concern is that, while Silvia is truly an incredible teacher and we are extraordinarily lucky to have this time with her, I worry that we are putting all our eggs in her basket. Silvia is an agent of change, a support, someone to lead the way -- but the teachers MUST begin to develop their own PLNs, we must learn to be better at collaborating, sharing, supporting and teaching each other. That is the only way for these changes to be sustainable.

Image thanks: first seeds planted http://www.flickr.com/photos/pictoscribe/430716741/

Where to share?

I have a lot of student work that I'd like to share. 

Of course, I want to share it with parents. 

I'd also like to share with interested people in the education community. I know that for me, one of the best ways the Internet has completely made teaching easier and more enjoyable is by giving me access to what other teachers and students are doing. When I see student work that I like, I am quick to think of ways to adapt it to my students and my school. 

While I want to share, I also really want and need to be efficient. Share smarter not harder.

I'm here to tell you that I have tried several strategies already including blogs, nings, wikis, a password-protected site called edline for which our school pays a yearly subscription fee...

I'm starting to feel like an online litterbug of sorts, putting my things all over and not keeping them neat and organized. That is one issue for me, being organized and having things make sense in terms of navigation and layout, as well as being visually appealing. The other issue I face is that no matter where I share their children's work, very few parents take the time to go look at it. I think that this is because technology is not yet fully integrated at our school; it is seen as an "extra." That is a topic for another post, though.

I decided to ask my PLN on twitter what they do.

Here is what they said:

It looks like everyone is finding different things that work for them. 

Here are some examples I like. 

Langwitches    I like how organized this site is. Everything in one place and easy on the eyes. Silvia has multiple blogs and places she shares, but they are all linked here to the main site. You could probably spend days reading this amazing blog and following links, and get yourself a thorough education in technology integration at the elementary level. 

Cliotech's wiki This wiki impresses me with the way it is organized. It also seems to be a really complete site with so much in one place.

A table of contents Here's an idea. Put all your stuff all over the place, but then catalogue it with links in a "Where's all your stuff?" place. 

Vicky's wiki Another excellent example. She really uses the wiki and linked blog to communicate to students and parents as well as to show what they're doing. It makes sense and is all in one place and easy to navigate. This is the idea I was trying to emulate when I started my school wiki this year.

All of these examples represent an amazing amount of work!

I have this blog, which I really want to keep as a professional space. Obviously it is public and any parents can easily find it, but its purpose is not to communicate to parents. I also started a blog (which I will not link to because I haven't kept up with it)to share lesson plans and projects with students/parents, as well as a wiki in progress(with the same intended audience- students and parents). I also post work on edline and share samples on various nings. I suppose it is part of my desire to focus that I want to have all of my work in one place or at least all linked to one place. Or maybe I should just let go and post things all over the web and let google take care of it for me.

Where do you share?

My Daring Dozen...Part 2

It was great writing the first half of my daring dozen list. It made me focus on people I have been lucky to encounter who have inspired my love and passion for teaching. I realize that my list could easily go on and on....Here are numbers 7-12 of my daring dozen, teachers who are doing amazing things in their own corner of the world. 

7) Silvia Tolisano AKA Langwitches: I met Silvia only a few months ago, but in a short time, she has made a large impact on me. She doesn't know it, but I have adopted her as my mentor. She and I have similar jobs at similar schools. I met her serendipitously at FETC. I had only recently started my blog. I don't think I would have connected with her had I not started blogging, as I don't know that I would have paid attention or known to leave a comment on her blog. 

Since starting my job as tech coordinator, almost 2 years ago, I have spent a lot of time teaching and tutoring other adults to use all types of technology applications. Of course, I've learned plenty myself in the process. But Silvia is the first person who has actually taught me. And I can not believe how much she has taught me in a short period of time. I've learned a great deal through her excellent blog, not only have I learned from reading it, going back again and again, but I've been amazed and grateful for her generosity in encouraging me as a new blogger and mentioning and linking to my blog. It was Silvia who told me to join twitter and encouraged her network to welcome me. I've learned so much there, and who knows if I would have discovered it otherwise. When I went to visit her at her school, Silvia generously sat and taught me, much in the way I teach the teachers at my school,  so many useful things: google reader, gmail, google docs, igoogle. She shared with me the idea for the afterschool blogging group she had started, which I immediately copied at my own school and which is now the highlight of my week. Having someone in a similar position, who goes through similar challenges, also makes me feel less alone. 

I find her to be quite brilliant, and hope she realizes what a difference she is making, not only at her own school, but at my school as well! I'm sure she has impacted many teachers and students through her blog and the work she is doing. 

8) Fredda Kaplan. I used to work with Fredda at Domincan University in San Rafael, CA. We taught a technology integration course for pre-service elementary and middle school teachers. Fredda is the tech coordinator at the Brandeis Hillel Day School in San Rafael. It's funny, because when we worked together at Dominican, I used to jokingly say to her, "I want your job." (meaning her job at Brandeis Hillel) In one of those strange "be careful what you wish for" types of things that happen in life, I got almost her exact job when I moved to Jacksonville, even down to the detail of it being a Jewish Day School. Fredda is an artist who went into teaching, and she transfers that creative energy fully into her job. The work she brings forth from students is simply amazing, and I've used so many of her ideas and projects with my students. 

9) Melinda Kolk. Melinda is the Director of Professional Development at Tech4Learning. Tech4Learning is a company that makes, in my opinion, some of the best software available for education. They are a company that strikes me as having a true passion for education and, more importantly, understanding what education is all about. I was amazed when I met Melinda at FETC, and she told me that she wasn't a former teacher. Tech4Learning has really well-developed resources for teachers and is incredibly responsive to teacher needs. I feel that through the things she does in her position at T4L, Melinda is really paving the way for the changes that are happening in education. She presents at many of the edtech conferences around the country, and also impacts educators in that way. 

10) Nomy Szoychen. Nomy is a Judaic Studies teacher at my school. Nomy thinks so far "outside the box" that I don't think she could even find the box! She is an artist who truly approaches teaching as a craft. Every time I see her, she is overflowing with some new idea or project or some new "amazing" thing she has discovered online. I just love her enthusiasm for teaching.

11) Edith Horovitz. Yet another teacher at my school. As I'm writing this, I'm realizing how many great teachers I am blessed to be around. Edith couldn't be called a "tech reformer, " she is one who approaches tech as something that must be conquered, but I am sure it is not her great love. Here is why she makes my daring dozen: She LOVES her students with all her heart. That may not sound daring, most teachers love their students, right? But, Morah Eta is different. She seems to live for them, not in a pathetic way, like someone who doesn't have a life, but in the way of someone who was born to be doing what she is doing. She shares all of herself with them, all the time. She sings with them, dances with them, takes them to her house for breakfast...she has created the Mitzvah Program, a service learning project which our middle school students participate in throughout their middle school years. As for technology, Edith is so thrilled every time she learns or figures out something new, she truly delights in learning. She has been one of my best students, as well as someone from whom I have learned a great deal. 

Number 12....There are many more people to whom I could give this last spot. It's hard to choose, and I don't want to inadvertently leave anyone out (not that anyone reads this anyway...even the people I wrote about for the first daring dozen post and told I wrote about them,  didn't read it. ) But for the last space, I am going to award it to myself. I hope that doesn't come across the wrong way. But I do believe that I am a reformer in education, and that this is what I am meant to be doing. Let me tell you, it brings with it plenty of frustration and self-doubt. But I believe that meeting these other 11 people was no random accident, that it is not just luck, but that I am supposed to be where I am, doing what I am doing, at least for now. I like to believe that I, too, am making a difference.