Multi-faceted Refractions

One of the project that I am heavily invested in is the transformation/renovation of our existing computer lab space. To tell this story, I am going to break this up into several posts, as it would be too long winded to explain in one mega-post. Today, I am sharing the pedagogical background to explain why we are doing what we are doing.

Make, Hack, Build

If you look around a classroom in the lower grades, you will most likely see a flurry of activity around centers, students building and constructing structures, experimenting with materials and structures. However, as these students get older, especially in middle school and high school, this dynamic changes. These once confident students now begin to raise questions such as, “Why are we doing this?” , “Am I doing this right?”, and “Is this on the test?” This then morphs into statements like, “I am not good at this.”

Now, however, there is a new movement which has emerged. The Maker Movement. The Maker Movement challenges to become the learner we once were, a person who has a willingness to try, confidence in your ability to learn new things, often with the help of others, and a willingness to prototype, fail, reflect, and rebuild. It is:

School Projects + Embedded Technologies = Makers

We strive to create an environment where students have the opportunity to make, hack, and build. Students will have the opportunity to design, program, mine, and build. They will be able to do so in an environment which supports their passion and interests and not be required to progress lock-step through the same sets of examples and projects within their curriculum. We will provide opportunities for students to cultivate a maker mindset in a variety of curricula from the humanities to STEM or STEAM.

Our desire is to  unleash each student’s inner kindergartner once again.

This is an updated post for 2013. As an introvert, I find ISTE can be overwhelming. Here is how I try to keep in balance.

ISTE can be an overwhelming conference with over 10,000+ attendees. I have been to the conference 14 times previously, and ISTE seems to get larger each year. Coupled with the advent of social media, there is a celebrity-like buzz and excitement  that has evolved, especially with the growth of Hack Education (formerly EduBloggerCon/SocialMediaCon). This is so unlike the first ISTE (then the NECC conference) I attended in Orlando twenty years ago in 1993.

My goal for ISTE is to maintain a balance between my own learning, connecting with others while living a rounded lifestyle. In order to achieve those goals, I am sharing the 8 tips which I try to follow:

1. Meet new people – It is easy to stay with friends and colleagues with whom are familiar and comfortable. It is easy to live in the Blogger’s Cafe or other ISTE Playground. However, in order not to stagnate, it is important to meet and have a meaningful conversation (15-20 minutes) with people who you have never met or are on the extreme periphery of your Learning Community. Go hangout in the newbie lounge to encourage and welcome new users into the mix.

2. Seek Out a Diverse Set of New Voices- It is also easy to go through the conference program and select either the spotlight sessions or sessions given by other members of your Learning Community. However, also find two to three people who you don’t know, either in the poster or paper sessions. Sit, listen, or converse with them. It is amazing how much this can benefit your learning. Seek a diverse set of voices.

3. Celebrate Connections and Friendships - Yes, it is important to reconnect with those who most of our communication is done virtually, through Twitter, Skype, Google Hangouts, or other networks. It is important to celebrate those friendships face to face while you have the chance. Take time and really connect with great friends and colleagues.

4. Exercise and Sleep - It is important to keep moving. Sitting in seven sessions, for over 6 hours, is not what most of us normally do. We wander and move. So find the time to exercise. Walk to the conference center, rather than take the bus. In both Washington D.C and Denver, I found a bikes that I could rent for less than $10 per hour. Take a ride, go for a run, step away from the conference to recharge your internal energy stores. Likewise, it is important to get sleep, at least 6 hours. Your body cannot stand the increased stimuli from the ideas, sounds, lights that you will be experiencing.

5. Eat balanced and healthy - Your mother told you to have a variety of colors on your plate, not just fried foods. It is important to eat your fruits and vegetables to maintain yourself at the conference. That is not to say that I am going to skip Mexican food or a margarita this week in San Antonio. But find a way to balanced set of meals, which includes breakfast. Even if this is not a normal part of your routine. In D.C., I found a great Asian place  just outside the conference center, with a great noodle and tofu dish and in Denver, I found a great salad place (I usually disdain salads) that provided the balance to the heavier foods eaten later.

6. Don’t be afraid to share – even when you may have a contrary idea. Don’t let network celebrity get in your way and keep you quiet. You have great insights to share and ideas to test and build. That is why you are going to ISTE in the first place, right? This one is I really have to work on. I tend to be be quieter and shy in larger conferences. Don’t be shy and afraid to ask.

7.  Look to the periphery - on the vendor floor or in one of the cafes or playgrounds, look to the periphery. This is where I find the best new ideas, products, and people.

8. Stay true to yourself - I know that I am more introverted. I have to get away from people and enjoy some solitude. It is perfectly fine just to go off by yourself sometimes. Don’t try to be something that you are not.

Bonus (via Tim Stahmer) - Take some time away from the conference and visit San Antonio. See a little of the town. Go to the Alamo, walk to the various missions, spend some time on the Riverwalk (while not going to the variety of ISTE parties). Make sure that you don’t leave thinking that San Antonio consists of only the convention center.

I look forward to the ISTE experience. I hope we can connect. I will be hanging out at the ISTE Independent School Special Interest Group booth on Sunday from 3:00 – 5:00 during the open house, at the Liberty Bar (1111 S. Alamo)  on Sunday at 7:30 with members of the Independent School community, the SIG Birds of a Feather Meeting  on Monday at 8:30 a.m. I will most likely be hanging out at the Newbie and Bloggers spaces on Tuesday morning and Wednesday. Please stop by and say hello.

On the first day of my summer vacation….

It has been awhile since I have published anything via this channel and with the demise of Google Reader and the seemingly slow demise of RSS (which I hope I am misreading), fewer and fewer of you may actually find these posts.

While I have not been publishing, I have been extremely busy and sharing tidbits of what is upcoming in my life through other social media channels, primarily Facebook and Twitter. Via IFTTT.com, I am going to have to make sure that these posts are visible to through may other channels.

This morning, on the first day of summer vacation, if an administrator on a 12 month contract had a summer vacation, I have been fortunate enough to be invited by Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School to be one of the keynote speakers for their new Emerging Technology and the Learning Brain Conference. Over the course of the next two and a half days, I will be presenting alongside Dr. Jay Giedd from Johns Hopkins University, Elizabeth Helfant from MICDS, and Phyllis Klein, founder of FabLab DC. This is quite an honor.

I hope to be able to have some time to share what I have learned from this conference plus what I have shared. I also, hearby resolve to share with you soon about the two major initiatives I am leading at my school, the new technology planning framework, and other thoughts and ideas I have “clipped” that I am hoping to share with you.

Harvard Business School professor Willy Shih:

“The ability to make things is fundamental to the ability to innovate in the long term.”

Each year, I eagerly await the release of both of the New Media Consortium’s Horizon Reports, the Higher Ed Report and the K12 Report. I enjoy seeing what new items are added to the list and which items move up or quickly accelerate upwards on the list. In years past, they have identified the move towards cloud computing and the shift towards mobile devices including tablets (iPads, Androids, etc.). As an educator and technology leader, I feel that it is important to not only focus on what we are doing today, but to keep mindful of change for the future.

In March, the Higher Ed Report was released. Here was their list:

Adoption 1 Year or Less - Massively Open Online Courses and Tablet Computing

Adoption 2-3 Years - Games and Gamification and Learning Analytics

Adoption 4-5 Years - 3d Printing and Wearable Technology

MOOCs (Online Learning), Tablet Computing (iPads, Andriods), Games and Gamification (Badges), Learning Analytics (Individualization and Personalization), 3d Printing and Wearable Technology (Innovation Lab) made the list. What is exciting is that these are the same areas we have identified in the Vision 20/20 Technology and Learning plan we are working on this year. It is nice to get affirmation that the areas of investigation and study are those which we selected in October are the same ones that NMC is suggestion that universities and colleges keep their eyes on.

This past week, the K12 Advisory Board announced its short list as presented at the COSN Conference. Here is the list released:

Near Term, 1 Year or Less - BYOD, Cloud Computing, Mobile Learning, Online Learning

Mid-Term, 2-3 Years - Adaptive Learning and Personal Learning Networks, Electronic Publishing, Learning Analytics, and Open Content

Long Term, 4-5 Years – 3d Printing, Augmented Reality, Virtual and Remote Laboratories, and Wearable Technology

Again, these are the same areas we have identified for investigation for our Vision 20/20 Technology and Learning Plan, plus several of the areas we are implementing for the 2013-14 academic year.

I look forward to sharing our plans for the upcoming year.