Thursday, July 10, 2014

     November and Cuban both give advice to consider prior to implementing 1:1 and bring your own device (BYOD) initiatives in your building. They both highlight pitfalls to be aware of such as professional development for staff, clear expectations for students, and administrative support for accountability. Ultimately, the goal of any new initiative is to raise academic achievement. Without procedures in place and a systematic series of formative checks to ensure progress is being made, the dollars spent on new tech will be for naught.

     The implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is a unique opportunity as educators are faced with the same learning curve for understanding. As many districts are transitioning to 1:1 and BYOD initiatives, it feels like a logical opportunity to bring in blended learning (and the tech of choice) as a tool to integrate CCSS into the curriculum. Professional Development (PD) can be intertwined around the two and hopefully perception won't look at them as two separate things they need to start "doing" in their classes.

     As a building leader it is important to start laying the ground work early on. Collaborating with my leadership team and visiting professional learning communities (PLC's) to create a vision for our incoming tech, set goals for accountability, and a means to monitor our progress. It is something that would require us as a staff to have open and honest conversations about our struggles and successes so my administrative team will know where PD is needed. I would need to anticipate who and where resistance might come from and other potential issues. The key is to keep my site council team (dept heads, parent, classified rep, counselor, open to all staff) in the loop and part of the collaboration and implementation process.

     Below is the link to a short slideshare by Jenna Linskens from 2012.



17 comments:

  1. I really appreciate your comments regarding collaboration with your leadership team. Communication is always important, but especially when something new is being tried out - nice point!

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    1. Thanks Emily, communication is something I think I am decent at but I know there is plenty of room for improvement.

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  2. I love your realistic conversation about what you will do as an administrator. Solid leadership teams and PLC observations are a great first step.
    -Alyssa

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    1. Absolutely, the more we can create a culture of "us" rather than "them" the better.

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  4. Thomas your slideshare will be much more powerful embedded instead of a link...I can show you how to do this tomorrow. Nice work!

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  5. It's hard for me to perceive any of your staff as resistant to tech change; my perception is that the PCSS is always on the cusp of new technology.

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    1. I was thinking of "my staff" in a future building. At PCSC they are very receptive to initiatives. The balance there is 10/11 staff are industry folks who went back and earned their CTE certification. It forces us to prioritize our PD with them so we can get the most bang for our buck as it applies to instructional impact.

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  6. Once you have identified the potential resistance how and when are you going to address it?

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    1. That is certainly the question. There are a lot of moving parts to an answer. It depends on the experience of the staff member(s), my relationship, and what their issue is. Assuming positive intent and doing work that benefits kids, I would like to think we can talk our way through any problem.

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  7. I really like your idea of visiting the PLC teams and talking about technology and the implementation. It is important to know what your staff needs in regards to PD! Great post!

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    1. Thanks Zach, my mentor has taught me that over-communication is the key, lol. I never want someone on my team to say, "I didn't know/hear about that".

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  8. I tried to comment on your blog yesterday but it didn't work for some reason. I wanted to say that I really enjoyed your simple and straightforward approach to a complex issue.

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    1. Thanks David, your comment makes me think back to my SPED teaching days. One of the primary modifications I made for students was to break down larger assignments into smaller chunks. It feels natural to take the same approach with staff.

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    2. Absolutely! I think good teaching practices for children are good teaching practices for adults.

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  9. Well done on commenting back!!!

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  10. Good teaching is good teaching. This summer has helped recharge my courage to try new things WITH the staff. Be transparent about the tech I am learning.

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