#IMMOOC 4. Brewing The Magic Potion

Image Sourced From: www.quirkbooks.com

Image Sourced From: www.quirkbooks.com

For nearly five years now I’ve been responsible for creating and delivering professional development sessions for colleagues. Of course, I’ve also attended a large number of such “learning opportunities” which have varied from the woeful to the inspirational. There are some great presenters out there but often it’s more performance than substance.

I know the “fire hose method” doesn’t work … you know those one-off occasions where you blast the 75 people in the room with frantic content delivery in the hope that at least someone is knocked off their feet. Earlier this year I was asked by Australian Teacher Magazine to write a Help Desk article on running great technology PD sessions.  I’m utterly convinced that “fixing the current PD model” is akin to brewing a magic potion.

“Am I about to give you the ultimate secret to success? No, if I had that, I would be bottling and selling it.” (You can find the full article in Volume 14, Issue 7, July 2016)

I did identify five key considerations for developing worthwhile PD … terminology, scheduling, content, engagement and alternatives. Part III of The Innovator’s Mindset identifies the need to provide teachers with personalised, targeted and engaging professional learning. This learning has to be (… and I love this idea, thanks George) about moving each individual from ” … their Point A to their Point B.” This, I’m convinced, has been the missing ingredient in my magic potion. I also believe that I am my own worse enemy and I admitted this in the ATM article.

“There is no value in you rushing on to the next “cool tool” when participants are still creating an account for the previous one. In my passion for technology and sharing what I have learned, I too often forget that others won’t necessarily keep up with me.”

And for now … time to get back to the cauldron! One day I’m going to be a very rich man.

PS: And remember … If you haven’t yet seen my #IMMOOC meme

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Bite-Sized Professional Learning

As some of you would already know, I made a “tree change” last year and headed to the Barossa Valley. As the new eLearning Manager in my school, one of my first initiatives was to set up a fortnightly “newsletter” in the form of a Weebly created site. Each issue contained five items; no more and no less. There was, what I believed to be, an appropriate mix of topics; the latest theory or trend, new apps, video tutorials and a regular “How To…” column. This was an attempt to give teachers the opportunity for some regular professional learning “at leisure.” All the feedback was positive and I saw no reason not to continue in 2016.

For Weebly Pro Users there is the opportunity to access detailed analytics of your website traffic. In the first term this year I noticed that the readership of the newsletter had fallen away dramatically; to as little as five percent of the teaching staff. I wasn’t particularly miffed but did want to know the reasons for the drop-off. I brought up the matter at a committee meeting and I was certainly bemused by the three reasons I kept hearing in various forms …

  1. “People are tech-weary, we’re sick of hearing about it all the time.”
  2. “Your newsletter took too long to read; sometimes it was 15 or 20 minutes.”
  3. “I would have been more likely to read it as a print out.” (Seriously, a printed eLearning Newsletter!)

To me they each seemed like a version of that same old excuse which has long made me bypass miffed and go straight to “bl**** angry.” It surely can’t be acceptable any longer to say “I haven’t got time for this.”

IMG_2055

Pleasingly, it didn’t take me long to come up with an alternative; a Tip of the Week in poster form, created in the excellent Piktochart. (Hell, people can even print it if they want to!) I really enjoy the design process and so I’m happy to do this … in that sense at least. But seriously, how effective can it be to deliver bite-sized professional learning!

*If you would like to use or just check out my first two tips, just use the links below:

https://magic.piktochart.com/output/13743968-untitled-poster

https://magic.piktochart.com/output/14051589-week-2

Screen Shot 2016-05-27 at 1.28.37 PM

It’s All About Design

(#Bloggermore2015 12/26)

Just recently I’ve been consumed by design. In part this is because my wife wants to spend $50000 on a redesigned bathroom. Yep, you read that correctly, $50000! (Like all good husbands, I used the only two words I’ve ever needed, “Yes Dear.”) But, I’ve also been focusing on design aspects related to both this blog and education in general.

If you look to the top of the sidebar you’ll see that I have a newly designed, professional logo for “The Connected Teacher.” (Alix Schuppan is a colleague and a gifted graphic designer, you’ll find her website at http://www.schuppandesigns.com/) Of course, if you’ve been here before, you may have noticed that I also have a new, customised theme. This is all part of a process to redesign and lift my digital presence. In the months to come I will be launching a website under my recently acquired business name, “The Connected Teacher.” Was that a sharp, expectant intake of breath I heard? I make no apologies for setting out to build a “corporate image” online; I believe it is necessary for my future plans.

Buddy the Elf responds to the announcement of a Connected Teacher website Image from www.redbubble.com

Buddy the Elf responds to the announcement of a Connected Teacher website
Image from www.redbubble.com

I have also, of necessity, been putting a great deal of thought into learning design. (see my Simon Breakspear inspired post immediately below.) Next year, my school will be ditching iPads in favour of a laptop program. As I’ve stated previously, my greatest fear is that teachers will not know how to unlock the potential for improved student learning within these, admittedly, very different devices. I’ve realised that the most immediate need is to have teachers (everywhere) accept the difference between digital and digitized learning design. I could go into a long explanation, but here is the distinction perfectly captured in a great graphic from Dr. Tim Clark on www.byotnetwork.com

Digital .v. Digitized Learning Design

Digital .v. Digitized Learning Design

And the other need … accepting that I will now design online, digital learning for teachers. This year, as eLearning Manager, I’ve published a fortnightly newsletter on all things learning tech. I’ve also conducted some (sparsely attended) voluntary after school PD. Teachers are “time poor” and taking our PD digital will provide them with more opportunities to tap in. And that is part of my overall plan; designing online professional development for teachers. I also know that in some education systems, teacherpreneurs are already working to create digital products for others to employ in their classrooms. So, stay tuned for “The New Adventures of The Connected Teacher.” Anyone want to buy a TShirt?

Keep It Simple, Simon

(#Bloggermore2015 11/26)

… Please insert here my usual apologies and weak excuses for not blogging recently …

I’m quite used to being the smartest Simon in the room. But then, I’m also, most often, the only Simon in the room! Recently however, I attended an exceptional seminar conducted by Simon Breakspear (@SimonBreakspear on Twitter) at Prince Alfred College. There were three Simons in the room that day and I have serious doubts that I even ranked number two in the “smart stakes.” Of course, I was easily the best looking! No … well, I was the oldest!

Simon’s chosen focus on the day was “Redesigning Teaching and Learning for Innovation.” He said so much that resonated with me that I know a short blog post will do him a great disservice. So, I’ve decided to focus upon just one aspect here. Simon (the smart one!) firmly believes that any effort to redesign a school must be guided by four key questions:

1. What can stay the same? 2. What should be removed? 3. What needs to be tweaked? 4. What needs to be radically redesigned?

I have long been frustrated with colleagues who seemingly don’t share my passion to harness the power of technologies to transform student learning. Then, Simon introduced the term radical incrementalism, a process of innovation that honours the past, and I had some form of an epiphany. Well, more of a recurrent epiphany. For too long I have wanted to change too much too quickly; and too often I forget this. (Have you ever seen too used four times in a single sentence?) Revolutionaries are rightly known for their passion and enthusiasm but these qualities can be counter-productive. As “Simon says” … JOIN THE EVOLUTION!

“Transformative practices need to be simple, reliable and effective. Don’t aim to change the ceiling until you have the foundation and floor in place.” 

Now all I need to do is work out how I am going to re-imagine and re-design teacher professional development at my school so that we radically transform student learning, a little bit at a time. I just need to constantly remind myself to “Keep it simple, Simon.”

Viva La Evolucion (Created with the PhotoFunia iPad app)

Viva La Evolucion
(Created with the PhotoFunia iPad app)

 

My Turn to #Battt

Over the past few months, I have developed a serious Twitter addiction. I’m certain that many of you know the major symptoms. It begins slowly enough with a sense of curiosity which rapidly develops into a full blown obsession … or is that just me? I do know that Twitter has become my PD of choice. Recently, there has been a suggestion, from some, (I call them the misguided) that educators are not actually learning a great deal from their Twitter interaction. I’m certainly keen to dispute that claim; the vast majority of what I now do in the classroom has been crowd sourced from Twitter. Further, much of my understanding about the key issues in contemporary education has grown from discussions with my tweeps.

The challenge of capturing precisely what you wish to say in 140 characters or less demands that you think carefully. I enjoy the intellectual challenge of succeeding in this respect and have realised that it also appeals to students. Just today I asked my new Year 8 students to describe themselves in 140 characters. I quickly had some complaints along the lines of “… this is so hard!” However, none of them gave in and were working on third or fourth drafts when the all too short lesson ended. Needless to say, I am keen to see what they come to class with tomorrow. I will certainly be tweeting some of their descriptions, anonymously, from my own Twitter account.

Until last week, my pleading with other teachers to join this social media giant had fallen on deaf ears. Many saw Twitter as simply being a platform for social inanities. Then I came across the hash tag #Battt … which, if you haven’t encountered it, is an acronym for “Bring a Teacher to Twitter.” So I set out to do just that by conducting a short PD session which ended in some active tweeting. I now have introduced eight of my colleagues to Twitter. They all remain tentative but I will certainly continue to help in building their PLNs. I have embedded below, via Scribd, my presentation on “Using Twitter to Build a PLN.” I would be delighted to have any of my readers download and use it; especially if it enables you to #Battt.

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Using Twitter to Build a PLN by Simon McKenzie

Personal and Professional Disenthrallment

Well, as hard as I’ve tried, I couldn’t put it off any longer. The summer holidays are almost gone and I’ve been awfully slack on the blogging front. This post is in fact being composed on a flight to South Australia; my wife and I are heading to Australia’s premier wine growing district, the Barossa Valley, for a short break. Surprisingly however, this will not be a post about my favourite wine or winery. (In case you’re wondering, it’s “The Beauty” from the Barossa’s Hentley Farm.)

In an earlier post from December entitled “The New Mind Set and My First Adventure with Haiku Deck” I wrote about my growing love affair with the iPad presentation app. Since then I’ve been appointed as one of the company’s international “Gurus.” (Can’t imagine I’ll ever tire of telling people that.) Creating a deck is simple but the end product is anything but; it’s an elegant, I would even say lyrical way to “set your story free.” The images are high quality and the challenge of using only limited text demands that you think deeply about exactly what you want to say. Yes, I am doing my best to promote the app itself but I also have to give a huge shout out to Catherine Carr and the team at Haiku Deck for their excellent, personalised support.

Finally, I can shift the focus to my purpose in writing today. I’ve recently revised, updated and indeed transformed the deck which I embedded in my earlier post. At that time it was a half-formed idea which Haiku Deck has now enabled me to fully realise. The deck is still entitled “The New Mindset” and it will be the basis of a Professional Development session that I will be delivering to a group of high school teachers on January 24.

Educationalist Sir Ken Robinson
Photo Credit: www.abc.net.au

The well-known TED Talk “Bring on the Learning Revolution” by Sir Ken Robinson will the stimulus for those who attend the session. Robinson believes whole-heartedly that schools all over the world are failing to provide the necessary opportunities for students to explore their natural creative talents. We are indeed following a linear narrative which is based upon the outdated imperative to produce standardised, assembly line university students. For Robinson, one of the greatest needs is for teachers to disenthrall themselves; to break away from old practices. In every school there are teachers who continue to teach in the same old way because “that’s how it’s always been done.” If you’re not amongst the nearly 4 million people who have seen Robinson’s inspiring talk, just click on the link. Trust me, it’s well worth 17 minutes of your time!

Bring On The Learning Revolution

Now, I love the school where I currently teach; after all, I’ve spent 17 years there, which represents more than half of my teaching career. But, for the past 2 or 3 years I’ve suspected that the school has been suffering from what I might call a malaise. Up until recently, I believed the problem was that many of my colleagues lacked the skill set required to teach in a school which has a 1:1 program of Apple laptops. I was wrong; what my school needs is a new mindset; teachers need to be disenthralled. There needs to be a fundamental shift; an acceptance that education and learning can and must be transformed. I can give my colleagues the skill set required to teach in 2013 and beyond but the new mindset must come first; disenthrallment is a personal and professional undertaking, a commitment to change.

I’m pleased to say that in just a few days “The New Mindset” deck has been viewed over a thousand times. I accept that’s not exactly “Gangnam Style”  but it’s surely good numbers for an educational piece. One of the newer features in Haiku Deck is the ability to attach presentation notes to a deck which can then be downloaded as a PDF file. As much as I’d love to do a national tour delivering my presentation, I have to teach for a living! The notes can counterbalance the minimalist nature of Haiku Deck. (Did I mention that I’m a Guru?) “The New Mindset” is embedded below if you should wish to view it. However, if you download it and print the PDF you could easily present it at your own school. To download the deck, follow this link:

Download the New Mindset Deck

The deck is designated public because I believe absolutely in its message; feel free to share the link with members of your own PLN. I know that with the help of my tweeps and blog readers I can send that download counter spinning. I trust you find it a worthwhile and even provocative presentation and as always I would welcome your comments.

Haiku Deck is the best application for creating presentations on iPad
Oh, and Haiku Deck is free, why not download and explore it now.

Social Media: Choose the Bandwagon not the Soapbox

OK, here’s the thing … I’ve finally had enough; enough of colleagues ranting against social media! Yes, I know this sounds like a rant too. Be calm Simon, “get your Zen on.”

The latest edition of Australian Teacher Magazine (Term 4 2012) has its customary “Technology in Education” insert. Feature stories in this particular issue are dedicated to the ever present furore surrounding the use of social media in education. In all fairness, the editors have provided a well balanced view with articles from both experts in Cyber Safety and classroom teachers. Susan McLean, a former police officer who now conducts professional development sessions on the theme of “Respect and Responsibility,” concludes her article with a simple yet powerful statement.

“Education is the key to empowerment – we must act now!”

For McLean it is a matter of establishing “professional boundaries” while still focusing upon the positives of social media. A further story provides the results of an online survey conducted by the magazine with over 3000 school educators. Disappointingly (for me at least) 72% of the respondents were strongly against students accessing social media sites at school. Yet, I admit to having used Twitter (ever so quietly) in class with great success, despite the punitive nature of my school’s social media policy.

Midway through this school year I took on the newly created position of Learning Technologies Coordinator at my school. I feel my success rate so far has been OK with respect to the adoption into classrooms of some cool Web 2.0 tools. Likewise, I’ve had small but willing groups of attendees at voluntary after school professional development sessions. The one area where I know I’ve made no headway … you guessed it, social media. How do I know? Despite my constant campaign to have my colleagues create a Twitter PLN, I have close to 200 followers worldwide and … 2 at my own school. And I receive e-mails including statements like this:

“… it’s hard to guarantee that the Macbooks are being used for educational purposes. In fact, many teachers are already reluctant to use Macbooks within their classroom because of this issue of students accessing Facebook and YouTube … and many more will follow if we are unable to effectively monitor and ban their use in the future.” 

GOD … give me strength! The Australian government’s Digital Education Revolution (DER) acknowledged that social media sites deliver “… educational outcomes, facilitate supportive relationships, identify information and promote a sense of belonging and self esteem.” (Nolene Callaghan, “Embracing Social Media the Key to Student Engagement” in Technology in Education, Term 4 2012) Well, we can’t have things like that happening in schools!

Image Credit: http://bsocial.us/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/social-media-bandwagon-florida.png

So, to conclude, because I’m banging the keys of my Macbook way too hard! Where to from here? I’ve convinced my supportive Deputy Principal to give me the same Year 8 group for two subjects next year and I have “permission” to use Edmodo, Twitter, Twiducate and Smart Phones within the classroom. My aim is to model “best practice” in an effort to showcase for the naysayers that social media can work in an educational setting. A big part of that will be teaching students the respectful and responsible use of social media. (Thanks again for those words Susan McLean.) I know that you don’t throw a 16 year old a set of keys and say, “Here you go, teach yourself to drive.”

But, (and this time I’m really concluding) I would welcome the thoughts and comments of anyone who reads this post. Can you suggest other ways that I might convince my colleagues to get on the bandwagon rather than the soapbox?