Been a while since I wrote anything on this blog! I think that will all change soon.
Once again, I am taking a new job. Those who have known me for a long time know that this isn't new.
But this time is really different. I am leaving public education to go work in the private sector. I will still keep one foot in the door by working for a company with ties to districts across the state. And I will also maintain my status as a teacher by working as a trainer for the products this company provides to districts across the state. I will be going to work for Eduphoria and my ties to this company stretch back to the same 15 years I have been in instructional technology. Eduphoria was started by a teacher I knew in Wylie ISD back when I was a classroom teacher in Allen ISD. He and I shared the same assistant principal who went to Wylie and introduced the two of us at a conference. We didn't keep in touch after my time teaching but I was able to see his program come to life in the company Eduphoria which was used in every district I have worked in since I was teaching. My new job will involve traveling and training districts all over the state and this is really exciting to me.
It was a hard decision to make. I am currently working in the only district that has given me the creative space and backing to try new ways to provide innovative professional development. In Crandall, most of our professional development is done completely online using iTunesU, Google Classroom, Twitter, Eduphoria Workshop, and whatever else tools I can hodge-podge together to create tasks for learning. In only two and a half years, we rolled out iPads to every teacher. Every classroom has a ceiling-mounted projector with Apple TV so teachers can wirelessly stream content on screen (most places require a cord). We have multiple iPad carts for students to use. We have WiFi access in every classroom. All computers in the schools are less than 2 years old. We have BYOD at every campus. We are testing out HD/4K wall-mounted TVs now. And we just rolled out Chromebooks to the entire sixth grade. We went to a brand new website where every staff member can add their own content. Our BrightBytes annual survey data shows that teachers are excited about new technology and staff development is meeting their needs. We have teachers getting certified by Google, Apple, Nearpod, SeeSaw, and more for their individual time learning and taking the certification exams. We have teachers presenting at local and statewide conferences about what they are doing in Crandall ISD.
These things usually don't happen in such a short time. They only happen when there is support from the board, the administration and leadership, along with a great technology infrastructure department. Any type of new professional development idea I had was completely supported by my supervisors. They never said no. They let me be as out of the box and creative as I could ever want. And people who know me know that with me....there is no box.
So why am I walking away from this great gift I have here in Crandall ISD?
Years ago, I had this big idea to build a space where any teacher or any public educator could go to receive interactive professional development in multiple levels that are tracked in a statewide system. A system that would track their hours even if they move to other districts. Originally, Project Share seemed like the tool that was going to do this but it didn't work out so good. I have tried coordinating efforts with multiple vendors who provide pieces of this puzzle to build something together but I get pulled in too many directions in my day job. So this kernel of an idea just keeps popping up every now and then without really going anywhere.
This school year I haven't felt as connected to work as I have felt previously. We were still making great strides with innovative instructional technology and staff development. I was even granted the opportunity to get new teachers set up in our systems before the contract to get them into summer staff development and to get their iPads to them. Everything was moving forward fine but I just wasn't feeling it. I can't blame situations or others for this. I just wasn't connected. I didn't feel like I had anything more to offer.
The opportunity to apply for a trainer position seemed interesting to me so I applied. I really wasn't expecting anything to come out of it. I was hoping to have an interview but I figured I would blow them off if I even got that far. I scored a phone interview and we spent the hour talking about training vs working in public education. We talked about what I am doing in grad school. We talked about big ideas. I hung up the phone thinking "I should have told them I was kidding" but then considered what we discussed and how what they were saying was kind of interesting.
Second phone interview we discussed what the job would be like. I discussed my hesitancy about leaving a profession I love so much. We discussed mutual respect for educators. We shared the common language about wanting to support teachers. Again, I expected to tell them I wasn't interested and ended each call thinking that what they were saying was really interesting. This reluctance continued throughout the interview process and I would often kick myself at the end of each call for not discontinuing the conversation.
Several phone conversations later, I met in person and shared my big ideas, their big ideas, the same ideas, and ways to grow bigger ideas. I was really honest. I used the only kind of honesty you can provide a job interview when you really don't care if they hire you or not because you are perfectly happy where you are and don't need a job to go to. I know that my honesty hooked them in because of our big ideas and my ability to illustrate how to put them into effect. At this point, it was too late to be reluctant.
All of this is to say that I am totally freaking out because I am leaving a great job and district to do something I have never done before! I thought Crandall was going to be my home. It has been such a great place to work. I have a family at every campus, every building. I moved from the bustling city of Rockwall to a house right around the corner from my office because this district, this community has become my family. And those who have known me over the years, I needed a district like this to heal wounds inflicted by other districts. And Crandall really healed me.
But this new job offers me something more timely and effective to try to implement beyond what I could ever do in one district. It offers the idea of a larger canvas to develop something that can impact statewide.
My colleagues across the state have lots of comments about Eduphoria and questioning my sanity (again) for wanting to go there. Oh, I have heard those comments and/or seen that look you gave me (and I have eyes in the back of my head). I am going because they need me like I need them right now. And we are going to develop the best training resources the state of Texas can offer.
Before I close this out I want to genuinely express my truest thanks to my family and colleagues in Crandall ISD. I have enjoyed visiting you in your classrooms, your libraries, your offices, and your cafeterias. I might have been annoyed when you referred to me as your technician, your technology director, or your "guy who fixes stuff" but I loved all my interactions and appreciated you for just knowing my name. It is hard to start in a new place but I always felt welcomed. I will miss your smiles and waves in the hallways. I will miss calling you out in front of all staff for your feedback on surveys (Daniel Gambill!). I will miss Open Labs, the Recharge Cafe' I built for you, Techpalooza, uploading certificates into Workshop, and all the times you needed your Google password reset or that kid added to your iStation. Thank you all for the fun memories.
Now just call Eduphoria when you need some training. Crandall is in my territory!
I hope to blog more about this transition so stay tuned.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
The Concept of Peer to Peer Learning
Last year, I started watching a show called "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee". The Internet show is produced by Jerry Seinfeld and the concept is incredibly simple: Jerry picks up a comedian in a vintage car and they talk about comedy while getting coffee and driving around. As Jerry opens each video on the features of the vintage cars, you get a peek into why he picked each car for each particular comedian as if the features describe the comedians themselves. The show is really a great look inside comedy as it isn't an interview format but a conversation between peers about what they do and why they enjoy what they do.
I wanted to see something like this for educators. I have known and worked with great teachers, librarians, principals, superintendents, etc. but I haven't seen a way to curate their knowledge base while really getting to know them and what makes them tick. What if there was a place where educators shared about their profession with other educators? What if instead of a comedian interviewing a comedian, we had a librarian interview a librarian about their ideas and vision for the future of libraries? Would there be an audience for this type of program?
I wanted to see something like this for educators. I have known and worked with great teachers, librarians, principals, superintendents, etc. but I haven't seen a way to curate their knowledge base while really getting to know them and what makes them tick. What if there was a place where educators shared about their profession with other educators? What if instead of a comedian interviewing a comedian, we had a librarian interview a librarian about their ideas and vision for the future of libraries? Would there be an audience for this type of program?
As a fan of one-on-one interview shows, I wanted to try to build that connection to the conversations between peers to a greater audience and to curate the knowledge base of the current experts in our field. Instead of our own hype (I lump myself in here too), I wanted to establish an interview-style show to to go more in-depth with educational specialists on what makes them tick, where they get inspiration, and about our profession in general.
During TCEA convention, I discussed the idea with Tim Holt in hopes of getting him to be the on-camera interviewer while I worked behind the scenes on generating bio information and questions for him to ask. I just wanted to produce the show. In a Google document, I outlined the basic idea for the show where it would be a one-on-one interview style with multiple camera angles. I wanted it to have "seasons" where a series would focus on specific education roles. I wanted a season just for Ed Tech Directors, a season of Teachers, a season of Superintendents. And I also outlined a type of questioning similar to talk-show formats with introductory (softball questions) then flowing into hard-hitting (hardball questions).
Sadly, the idea just dropped out of my sightline for a few months. It became one of those long drive ideas only popping up during a long road trip but never becoming more than an idea.
Then in early May, I had the opportunity to visit with Carl Hooker to chat and catch up. Carl and I have known each other from when we were both campus technology coordinators at separate campuses in Eanes back around 2004ish. We were not allowed to sit together in meetings because we were too disruptive together and we were often separated (thank God for Skype!). I like to talk with Carl because we have similar attitudes about things and he is one of a very few select group of people I can be completely honest about in regards to similar experiences in our field and how they affect me on a personal level. Most people don't get to see that side of him and so the idea of the interview show came up in our conversation.
After an hour of sharing and catching up, I opened my idea crate and shared about this interview-show concept I was mulling over but added the idea of the "pay it forward" interview style to open it up to multiple hosts providing a larger list of questions to share. The idea was that I would interview Carl first then let him select the next victim to interview and then it would keep moving forward.
It solved an issue I was looking at regarding a second season: who would I get to interview Superintendents? It also helped me get over my own issue of not wanting to be on camera. By opening it up as a chain of interviewers, it would create a life of its own. It also opened up the idea of creating a pool of interview questions created by the interviewers and shared for future interviewers to use or adapt for their own use.
There are many more talented people than me to host a show like this. There are far more better questions than I could ask. And many, many, many more popular people to carry this out to their social networks than I could hope for.
I had Carl's blessing on it (#kissthering) so that was enough for me to create a name for it and reserve the domain. And now we have P2Plearn.org or Peer to Peer Learning Network which is really a shell to hold the conversations between our peer groups.
I hope we can keep the idea of "seasons" and let librarians interview librarians, teachers interview teachers, principals interview principals, etc. to share not only the video or audio conversations but the questions to help guide other interviews.
Honestly, this could completely bomb and blow up in my face. No one may be interested. It may be a really dumb idea. I would lose the $65 I paid for the domain and web hosting. It may be a punchline like Project Share.
But I am proud to see it jump from concept to attempt. I will just be glad if it starts a new conversation.
Our conversation starts today at 3:00pm CST.
If you are interested in kicking off the season for your peer group, let me know and I will create your account to contribute to the site.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Home Automation - Really
I am moving into a new place in a few weeks. I've started pre-programming my home to have some automated features tied to it for personal security and convenience. I thought I would share what I have been building. It has been an interesting learning experience and one that will allow me to automate basic features for home.
In gaming, there are rules and physical components of the game system. I use those elements to describe what I am doing in order to program my world around me to react using my things connected by the Internet (IoT). In the same way that games have location-based systems (the board or video game space), artifacts (game pieces or objects), and variables (rules, interactions), I use these to define what happens when these elements all collide.
Locations
Exiting home
Entering home
Artifacts - connected in my home
Lights
Audio
Video displays
Video players
AC
Security camera
Window/Door locks
Vehicle
New tools:
iBeacons: http://estimote.com/ - location based programmable hotspots
Nod https://www.hellonod.com/ - ring for connecting to devices and managing them.
Variables
Time of day
Opening/Closing doors
Playlists used
Tasks completed
Assumptions:
1. I will carry my smartphone when I leave and enter my residence.
2. My vehicle has Satellite/Internet-connected WIFI capability
3. All Internet-connected devices have the ability to connect and share data in similar silos.
4. All devices can be programmed with time settings for turn on/off.
So here's what we have on our menu of automated delivery in the Adkins' home.
Lights - programmed lights will light or dim automatically either by programmed time or when smartphone (Bluetooth ID) is in or out of range of wireless router.
*Would be interesting to have location-based system of car or phone to home to turn on/off home features as I am driving home.
Music - Satellite radio or Beats Music playlist continues from smartphone in car to home Sonos system. Apple and Beats working on developing more integration between playlists and curation to tie music to "emotive characteristics" posted online by users. Could be a way to tag home automation to apply to emotive context. Meaning: I tweet I am happy before getting in car, then car playlist and home playlist complies to emotive context.
TV - TV powers on with home screen of latest headlines and content downloads from day's events on TV main screen. With Xbox One, command access features with voice commands. Program TV to view daily tasks from synchronization with email and task lists.
AC - Home temperature is usually programmed but could have added function to turn on when smartphone bluetooth is on same WIFI network.
Security system - Webcam and motion detectors turn on when smartphone exits range of WIFI. Also can be programmed to turn on automatically at set day/night times. Motion detectors on windows/doors also turned on.
At some point, I will have an Internet-connected refrigerator tied in with grocery apps to help me track the contents of my fridge with tasks to replace consumed items. Those prices need to come down a bit and the interfaces need to be accessible by open source APIs.
But the hack around that is to use apps that let you track your food intake matched with a task generator list with reminders built-in to serve as a predictor over time of when you will need to replace something. For example, entering in that you purchased six eggs and a reminder in six days that you will be out of eggs is a way to automate your store shopping experience.
And that is the Internet of Home Things for my house. It is my personal Jetson's home and my own version of Tony Stark's Jarvis.
In gaming, there are rules and physical components of the game system. I use those elements to describe what I am doing in order to program my world around me to react using my things connected by the Internet (IoT). In the same way that games have location-based systems (the board or video game space), artifacts (game pieces or objects), and variables (rules, interactions), I use these to define what happens when these elements all collide.
Locations
Exiting home
Entering home
Artifacts - connected in my home
Lights
Audio
Video displays
Video players
AC
Security camera
Window/Door locks
Vehicle
New tools:
iBeacons: http://estimote.com/ - location based programmable hotspots
Nod https://www.hellonod.com/ - ring for connecting to devices and managing them.
Variables
Time of day
Opening/Closing doors
Playlists used
Tasks completed
Assumptions:
1. I will carry my smartphone when I leave and enter my residence.
2. My vehicle has Satellite/Internet-connected WIFI capability
3. All Internet-connected devices have the ability to connect and share data in similar silos.
4. All devices can be programmed with time settings for turn on/off.
So here's what we have on our menu of automated delivery in the Adkins' home.
Lights - programmed lights will light or dim automatically either by programmed time or when smartphone (Bluetooth ID) is in or out of range of wireless router.
*Would be interesting to have location-based system of car or phone to home to turn on/off home features as I am driving home.
Music - Satellite radio or Beats Music playlist continues from smartphone in car to home Sonos system. Apple and Beats working on developing more integration between playlists and curation to tie music to "emotive characteristics" posted online by users. Could be a way to tag home automation to apply to emotive context. Meaning: I tweet I am happy before getting in car, then car playlist and home playlist complies to emotive context.
TV - TV powers on with home screen of latest headlines and content downloads from day's events on TV main screen. With Xbox One, command access features with voice commands. Program TV to view daily tasks from synchronization with email and task lists.
AC - Home temperature is usually programmed but could have added function to turn on when smartphone bluetooth is on same WIFI network.
Security system - Webcam and motion detectors turn on when smartphone exits range of WIFI. Also can be programmed to turn on automatically at set day/night times. Motion detectors on windows/doors also turned on.
At some point, I will have an Internet-connected refrigerator tied in with grocery apps to help me track the contents of my fridge with tasks to replace consumed items. Those prices need to come down a bit and the interfaces need to be accessible by open source APIs.
But the hack around that is to use apps that let you track your food intake matched with a task generator list with reminders built-in to serve as a predictor over time of when you will need to replace something. For example, entering in that you purchased six eggs and a reminder in six days that you will be out of eggs is a way to automate your store shopping experience.
And that is the Internet of Home Things for my house. It is my personal Jetson's home and my own version of Tony Stark's Jarvis.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
IoT Dive in
In a previous post and in several presentations I have given, I've talked about the Internet of Things and how business is gearing up for an estimated over $358 billion dollar industry. Education alone is predicted to reach a $258 million market share for IoT usage by 2018.
While IoT is a buzzword in business, in education few are talking about it. Maybe we are waiting for Pearson to build the apps for us??
If you haven't heard, Apple has developed iBeacon as an indoor positioning system that sips (low-power use) from Bluetooth to send push notifications to smartphones running iOS or Android. If you have the Apple Store app on your device turned on when you enter their stores, you get a notification from their hidden iBeacons. They first greet you and then give you a menu of service options to help you before someone in the store may get to help you.
iBeacon was also used in SxSW Interactive as a way to help with navigation in the large Austin Convention Center and downtown area. As convention attendees moved, the SxSW convention app would push notifications about session cancelations, exhibitions, coupons for local diners, and even group people going to the same session in their own backchannel.
In schools, think about the possibilities for location-based interactive notifications from a beacon. If you could post a beacon on your campus, where would it go and what could it do?
Here's a quick show of how a beacon could be used in a classroom.
It is pretty simple. The device is hidden and it directs kids to it based on the "Hot/Cold/Warm" notifications as they move towards the beacons. Simple. But what if the beacons were programmed to do more?
For example, in a library you could add a beacon that provides a greeting when people enter. The greeting is like the home page of a library site but limited to the very basic information you would want a visitor to see: names and photos of staff, a map of book sections, and information about the library itself.
As visitors move toward the center of the library, the beacon could push more direct location information regarding sections of the library (fiction, non-fiction, biographies, etc.). Perhaps even integrating with augmented reality so a user could hold their camera up to view an overlay map on their camera view of where to go for a particular type of book or access to a computer.
As visitors near a specific section of books, they could be notified of book reviews available right through their device they could access by simply tapping on the book cover showing in the app.
And then you could develop an area for their own ability to create content. Perhaps they submit their own book review or a personal guestbook entry to share with other visitors.
Storyboarding an iBeacon is pretty straight-forward. In my high-tech diagrams below, I position the beacon in the center and then surround it by spaced location interactions. At the outer circle, you have the first interaction so you define what happens. Then as the person moves closer to the physical beacon, the interaction changes.
Outside of a library, perhaps a cafeteria could use iBeacon technology. First interaction could help divert traffic to the different serving lines by asking the students to choose if they want a hot or cold lunch. Second interaction could provide the menu. Third interaction could provide images along with caloric content of what they are eating and healthy food choices. Fourth interaction could be....pay by phone.
In classrooms, we talk about having centers. What if centers were built upon location and the interaction with devices as kids move around a particular space?
What type of beacon information could be attached to a fire alarm? An emergency exit? A campus front office? The practice gym? The football field or basketball court?
This is Internet of Things. This is IoT. This is #iotlearn.
Are we waiting for companies to build these for us?
I'm not. I'm diving in by ordering my first set of three beacons from Estimote - http://estimote.com/ for $99. I am learning programming to setup my beacons when I start in Crandall.
I'm also reading what others are talking about and hoping to continue the conversation with other educators. I'm keeping up with market research (following #iot #internetofthings) and what new technology is being bought up and added to devices in the market (Samsung, Apple, Microsoft, etc.)
Conversations about beacons and IoTlearning:
Beacons for Education blog - http://www.jnxyztraining.net/beaconsforeducation/
Mrs. Pepe.com - http://mrspepe.com/ibeacons/
Beacon Sandwich - http://www.beaconsandwich.com/
iBeacon Learning Zone - http://www.appsbypaulhamilton.com/#!learning-zone/c15gt
Join the conversation. What uses do you see for iBeacon?
While IoT is a buzzword in business, in education few are talking about it. Maybe we are waiting for Pearson to build the apps for us??
If you haven't heard, Apple has developed iBeacon as an indoor positioning system that sips (low-power use) from Bluetooth to send push notifications to smartphones running iOS or Android. If you have the Apple Store app on your device turned on when you enter their stores, you get a notification from their hidden iBeacons. They first greet you and then give you a menu of service options to help you before someone in the store may get to help you.
iBeacon was also used in SxSW Interactive as a way to help with navigation in the large Austin Convention Center and downtown area. As convention attendees moved, the SxSW convention app would push notifications about session cancelations, exhibitions, coupons for local diners, and even group people going to the same session in their own backchannel.
In schools, think about the possibilities for location-based interactive notifications from a beacon. If you could post a beacon on your campus, where would it go and what could it do?
Here's a quick show of how a beacon could be used in a classroom.
It is pretty simple. The device is hidden and it directs kids to it based on the "Hot/Cold/Warm" notifications as they move towards the beacons. Simple. But what if the beacons were programmed to do more?
For example, in a library you could add a beacon that provides a greeting when people enter. The greeting is like the home page of a library site but limited to the very basic information you would want a visitor to see: names and photos of staff, a map of book sections, and information about the library itself.
As visitors move toward the center of the library, the beacon could push more direct location information regarding sections of the library (fiction, non-fiction, biographies, etc.). Perhaps even integrating with augmented reality so a user could hold their camera up to view an overlay map on their camera view of where to go for a particular type of book or access to a computer.
As visitors near a specific section of books, they could be notified of book reviews available right through their device they could access by simply tapping on the book cover showing in the app.
And then you could develop an area for their own ability to create content. Perhaps they submit their own book review or a personal guestbook entry to share with other visitors.
Storyboarding an iBeacon is pretty straight-forward. In my high-tech diagrams below, I position the beacon in the center and then surround it by spaced location interactions. At the outer circle, you have the first interaction so you define what happens. Then as the person moves closer to the physical beacon, the interaction changes.
Outside of a library, perhaps a cafeteria could use iBeacon technology. First interaction could help divert traffic to the different serving lines by asking the students to choose if they want a hot or cold lunch. Second interaction could provide the menu. Third interaction could provide images along with caloric content of what they are eating and healthy food choices. Fourth interaction could be....pay by phone.
In classrooms, we talk about having centers. What if centers were built upon location and the interaction with devices as kids move around a particular space?
What type of beacon information could be attached to a fire alarm? An emergency exit? A campus front office? The practice gym? The football field or basketball court?
This is Internet of Things. This is IoT. This is #iotlearn.
Are we waiting for companies to build these for us?
I'm not. I'm diving in by ordering my first set of three beacons from Estimote - http://estimote.com/ for $99. I am learning programming to setup my beacons when I start in Crandall.
I'm also reading what others are talking about and hoping to continue the conversation with other educators. I'm keeping up with market research (following #iot #internetofthings) and what new technology is being bought up and added to devices in the market (Samsung, Apple, Microsoft, etc.)
Conversations about beacons and IoTlearning:
Beacons for Education blog - http://www.jnxyztraining.net/beaconsforeducation/
Mrs. Pepe.com - http://mrspepe.com/ibeacons/
Beacon Sandwich - http://www.beaconsandwich.com/
iBeacon Learning Zone - http://www.appsbypaulhamilton.com/#!learning-zone/c15gt
Join the conversation. What uses do you see for iBeacon?
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
The Small Things
I've already started working in my new job in Crandall ISD. I don't officially start until July 1 but we are going to a 1:1 iPad rollout with teachers in May and there is some work to be done. I have a six-hour drive when I go to work now. It is quite a bit more enjoyable with the tollway between Seguin and Georgetown where I can open up and go over 85 mph.
In the time of the drive today, I feel the same sadness I used to feel when I left summer camp. I made new friends but I won't get to see them until the next time we are all together.
This new job for me is a great place. And I can tell because I pay attention to the little things. Here's a few little things I saw:
In the time of the drive today, I feel the same sadness I used to feel when I left summer camp. I made new friends but I won't get to see them until the next time we are all together.
This new job for me is a great place. And I can tell because I pay attention to the little things. Here's a few little things I saw:
- Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent giving kids high fives as they pass in the hallway.
- Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent giving teachers and support staff hugs while taking the time to ask (and listen to the response) on how they were doing.
- Introducing me to any person in the hall or classroom we went into.
- Introducing me to a new person and then telling me how each person goes beyond their assigned duty and what they are an expert in.
- Board meeting taking an extra hour long because we have over 105 teachers to honor for achieving more than 45+ hours of professional development on their own time. These teachers received a certificate and shook hands with each board member and director in line.
- Assistant Superintendent and I visiting campuses to check testing security but also to deliver the annual Sonic drinks to principals during testing times.
- Walls covered for testing in classrooms but wall coverings covered in positive messages to kids: "We believe in you!"; "The STAAR is strong in this one!" (Staar Wars themed hallway); and other very positive messages.
- Joy - visible joy in people working day by day. People happy at work.
- Fun - people enjoying the people they work with and generally having fun with each other. Lots of laughing and everyone is in on the joke.
Maybe this is the power of working in smaller districts that I just didn't see in the larger ones that seemed too professional or wrapped up in policy?! Or maybe I just wasn't in on the joke?
But I like this new place and can't wait to get started. It is the perfect fit.
The icing on the cake were the texts from administrators while i was driving today wishing me a safe journey and excited that I was coming to work with them. They have no idea how much more I am excited to work with them.
Monday, March 17, 2014
SxSum Up: The StartUp District
I thought I would take a few sessions and merge their ideas here in one blog post. One of my favorite threads in the SxSW conference is the theme of workplace retention and design. As someone who provides professional development, I want my districts to provide more chances for innovative professional learning and SHARING. Often, the best one-day workshops are the ones that allow teachers to provide personal feedback on failures to develop better strategies as a group for going through obstacles. The feedback I generally receive from teachers is that this is the best part of technical training and they wish other pd opportunities gave them time to share and grow from the experiences of others.
I remember in one district where we were all trained on appropriate email communications and we had to remove the all campus or all district posts about garage sales, items for sale, and those anniversary notifications to our colleagues. I decided to create an online space using a wiki to create a virtual "staff lounge" for teachers and staff to access where they could post the things that email would limit. It was successful for not only opening a dialogue place for teachers to share but also in showing them a tool like a wiki for creating a place for opening dialogue as a team or with their students. The focus wasn't on the tool itself but on using it in a desired way to encourage collaboration and communication. Teachers enjoyed having a place they could share (and yes, I only allowed staff in - principals and superintendents were not allowed in).
In another district, the Human Resources director worked with me to find a way to connect new-to-the-profession teachers in a monthly group chat so they could share about what they were experiencing and feel free to ask questions for answers from the district leadership. It provided a way for them to get mentoring and learning after work hours. It gave them a channel for sharing.
I was happy to see that the idea of "job retention" is now better titled "talent retention". Companies are focusing more on the talent they hire and what they can provide. In a previous post, I shared about the need for companies to learn to work with Millennials and the challenges they provide to the current work force. But overall, the message runs in similar veins across all generations and all types of workers. We need to be a more collaborative workforce with times to focus and times to discover. We need better feedback tools and ways to also provide feedback about the mission we are trying to accomplish.
I want to stress the value of using my role to support what the initiatives of other departments are trying to do. I really support the idea of looking at the entire holistic view of our work environment - all factors including the digital, physical and philosophical to work together. Often in districts it feels as if departments aren't working well together even after the annual team-building retreats or book studies. It feels like we are all in silos and not working well together to improve the entire function of the district.
I believe innovation should not be limited to the technology department of the district. In fact, the technology itself should never be the celebrated innovation in any workplace! And yet we see this celebrated only in education and it feels like a distraction from where we need to be focusing innovation in education. I don't think any newspaper raised a headline when a company gave everyone a laptop. ;p
What we celebrate is an artifact of our culture and when an item, a purchase, or a new initiative is the focus of innovation in my field of education, well I just get lost in my own purpose in why I am doing the job I am doing. And I believe it changes the culture of the entire district when the focus is pushed on the success of implementing an artifact.
To me the best part of SxSW culture is focused on the startup company. It is what attracted me to attend the conference in the first place. I wanted to know what the difference was between their work organization and my own. I wanted to find people to ask them what their meetings are like, what their conference rooms look like, what their times merged as a team with creatives and business staff look like. I could see that a startup was a different culture and I hoped that by being in a conference with them, it would help me bring back that energy into my own workplace.
Startups are vibrant, fresh, and innovation-focused companies. We see pictures of their workplaces with brightly colored walls, interesting furniture, and sometimes specially crafted food and eateries in their work areas. Startups have drive. And when drive is paired with innovation, it never stops.
What if schools adopted a startup culture?
I read about how Dropbox teaches every employee about the company's vision and culture by the CEO. An exercise for hiring new talent was to verbalize the characteristics they look for in new hires. What are the written, expressed values? Then using this to create the culture for the company based on the talent they acquire. The values list changes as items are altered, stretched or added at any time.
5 Core Values:
1. "Have the drive to do important things"
2. Achieve a high quality standard on everything - from hiring to customer service to product design.
(Applied to schools - every department, every campus).
3. Break new ground; be inventive. "We want to do things better than any company ever before."
4. Push the limits: "No matter how hard we've done something, you want to do it better."
5. We, not I: "We frown on any activity where people take credit for something. We only want you to be successful as an individual because the company is successful.
I don't know about you but I would love to work in a culture with those values. What can we do to move to startup culture in our schools?
I remember in one district where we were all trained on appropriate email communications and we had to remove the all campus or all district posts about garage sales, items for sale, and those anniversary notifications to our colleagues. I decided to create an online space using a wiki to create a virtual "staff lounge" for teachers and staff to access where they could post the things that email would limit. It was successful for not only opening a dialogue place for teachers to share but also in showing them a tool like a wiki for creating a place for opening dialogue as a team or with their students. The focus wasn't on the tool itself but on using it in a desired way to encourage collaboration and communication. Teachers enjoyed having a place they could share (and yes, I only allowed staff in - principals and superintendents were not allowed in).
In another district, the Human Resources director worked with me to find a way to connect new-to-the-profession teachers in a monthly group chat so they could share about what they were experiencing and feel free to ask questions for answers from the district leadership. It provided a way for them to get mentoring and learning after work hours. It gave them a channel for sharing.
I was happy to see that the idea of "job retention" is now better titled "talent retention". Companies are focusing more on the talent they hire and what they can provide. In a previous post, I shared about the need for companies to learn to work with Millennials and the challenges they provide to the current work force. But overall, the message runs in similar veins across all generations and all types of workers. We need to be a more collaborative workforce with times to focus and times to discover. We need better feedback tools and ways to also provide feedback about the mission we are trying to accomplish.
I want to stress the value of using my role to support what the initiatives of other departments are trying to do. I really support the idea of looking at the entire holistic view of our work environment - all factors including the digital, physical and philosophical to work together. Often in districts it feels as if departments aren't working well together even after the annual team-building retreats or book studies. It feels like we are all in silos and not working well together to improve the entire function of the district.
I believe innovation should not be limited to the technology department of the district. In fact, the technology itself should never be the celebrated innovation in any workplace! And yet we see this celebrated only in education and it feels like a distraction from where we need to be focusing innovation in education. I don't think any newspaper raised a headline when a company gave everyone a laptop. ;p
What we celebrate is an artifact of our culture and when an item, a purchase, or a new initiative is the focus of innovation in my field of education, well I just get lost in my own purpose in why I am doing the job I am doing. And I believe it changes the culture of the entire district when the focus is pushed on the success of implementing an artifact.
To me the best part of SxSW culture is focused on the startup company. It is what attracted me to attend the conference in the first place. I wanted to know what the difference was between their work organization and my own. I wanted to find people to ask them what their meetings are like, what their conference rooms look like, what their times merged as a team with creatives and business staff look like. I could see that a startup was a different culture and I hoped that by being in a conference with them, it would help me bring back that energy into my own workplace.
Startups are vibrant, fresh, and innovation-focused companies. We see pictures of their workplaces with brightly colored walls, interesting furniture, and sometimes specially crafted food and eateries in their work areas. Startups have drive. And when drive is paired with innovation, it never stops.
What if schools adopted a startup culture?
I read about how Dropbox teaches every employee about the company's vision and culture by the CEO. An exercise for hiring new talent was to verbalize the characteristics they look for in new hires. What are the written, expressed values? Then using this to create the culture for the company based on the talent they acquire. The values list changes as items are altered, stretched or added at any time.
5 Core Values:
1. "Have the drive to do important things"
2. Achieve a high quality standard on everything - from hiring to customer service to product design.
(Applied to schools - every department, every campus).
3. Break new ground; be inventive. "We want to do things better than any company ever before."
4. Push the limits: "No matter how hard we've done something, you want to do it better."
5. We, not I: "We frown on any activity where people take credit for something. We only want you to be successful as an individual because the company is successful.
I don't know about you but I would love to work in a culture with those values. What can we do to move to startup culture in our schools?
SxSW Millennials as Supervisors: Strategies for Success
Storified: http://storify.com/mradkins/sxsw-millennials-as-supervisors-strategies-for-suc
Speaker: Jennifer Selke +Jenn Selke @jennselke
Jennifer Selke is a supporter and trainer for the millennial workforce and helping this generation with finding jobs.
It is interesting to hear from the work force on how the graduated Millennial and GenY students are doing out in the real world. We've heard the horror stories of how some of these kids were raised by helicopter parenting and how these parents continue to fill out applications for their kids and even attend interviews with them.
Even with these drawbacks, these "kids" are in the workforce now and based on the number of attendees in this session at SxSW, there is a need to figure out how to use them effectively in the workplace.
The stereotype of the Millennial is that they are entitled, narcissistic, needy, and lazy job hoppers. Research predicted that 25% of this generation should expect to have six or more employers in their career. By 2020, 46% of the workforce will be Millennials.
Generational Workplace Characteristics
Baby Boomer Mindeset: "Work hard for that gold watch and pension." Keep it simple. Work hard for the payoff in the end. Boomers have an idea of when work started and stopped. Investing in a company meant moving up.
GenX was the lost generation, the slackers, the under socialized, cynical. They redefined the time between work and reward. They looked for ways to standout. They initiated the concept of good ideas = opportunity. The people with the profitable ideas moved up and got the better jobs.
Millennials are learner-centric. They want to learn and to grow. They believe ideas can come from anyone. They require feedback constantly and want to grow. They also love working in teams.
1. Age Diversity - Multigenerational Leadership
Diversity in generations within teams is valuable as each generation brings different strengths to the mix.
2. Growth & Development - Lifeskills training
Millennials are learner-centric; education oriented; and desire feedback because they want to grow. They will join a company but they will quit a manager. The idea here is to manage Millennials to leave. Coach them with the expectation to grow. Expect it and it engages their work. Talk to them about their next steps. When a Millennial learns the company "why", it makes them want to stay. Companies should invest more in professional development and growth with Millennials.
Millennials desire REAL feedback. They received a lot of empty feedback in growing up ("You are great and unique!").
3. Engagement: Engaged workers unleash the potential for growth
As a Millennial Manager, you must create an engaged environment. Give your employees resources to succeed. Use a strength-based management approach. Know what your employees are great at.
Suggests posting the question to the group: "What makes a great day at work for you?" which is similar to building the classroom rules in schools by letting the group dictate the rules for the room.
4. Strenghts-Based Management - Play to your team's strengths.
Become more productive as a team by building around individual's strengths. Employees working in the "strengths zone" look forward to going to work, have positive work relationships.
Question: What 20% of your job would you give up?
*You know you have a problem in your company if your workers aren't referring their friends. Investing in a Millennial's development can lead to them referring others and speaking highly of you when they leave.
5. Finding a coach at work: Professional Development; moving-up mindset
Millennials need to have a coach, a mentor, etc. at work to keep them engaged. Millennials want to communicate with their bosses several times a day. Keep communication open! Also, they want to meet several times a day....in person.
Understanding Millennials in the Workplace:
If a Millennial isn't having their needs met in the workplace, they will leave.
ASK them what their goals are. That will change HOW you manage them.
Don't be afraid to talk to millennials about their expectations, strengths, and where they want to move. Have a dialogue.
Speaker suggests adding a way for 360-degree feedback for staff and peers to get information on performances. Millennials have already received a lot of "empty" feedback (you are wonderful and unique!) so they desire REAL feedback.
Day 1: Millennials want to make and impact and get involved. Make sure their desk is ready.
Millennials are comfortable challenging norms and equality vs. hierarchy.
Millennials need communication training; when to use the phone vs. text vs. email. There is a lot lost in text message and e-mail. Know when you HAVE to call or meet in person.
The speaker shared the tweet below from a millennial employee on being late for work in the morning. Notice the 7:30am timestamp, this employee owned up to the issue.
Speaker: Jennifer Selke +Jenn Selke @jennselke
Jennifer Selke is a supporter and trainer for the millennial workforce and helping this generation with finding jobs.
It is interesting to hear from the work force on how the graduated Millennial and GenY students are doing out in the real world. We've heard the horror stories of how some of these kids were raised by helicopter parenting and how these parents continue to fill out applications for their kids and even attend interviews with them.
Even with these drawbacks, these "kids" are in the workforce now and based on the number of attendees in this session at SxSW, there is a need to figure out how to use them effectively in the workplace.
The stereotype of the Millennial is that they are entitled, narcissistic, needy, and lazy job hoppers. Research predicted that 25% of this generation should expect to have six or more employers in their career. By 2020, 46% of the workforce will be Millennials.
Generational Workplace Characteristics
Baby Boomer Mindeset: "Work hard for that gold watch and pension." Keep it simple. Work hard for the payoff in the end. Boomers have an idea of when work started and stopped. Investing in a company meant moving up.
GenX was the lost generation, the slackers, the under socialized, cynical. They redefined the time between work and reward. They looked for ways to standout. They initiated the concept of good ideas = opportunity. The people with the profitable ideas moved up and got the better jobs.
Millennials are learner-centric. They want to learn and to grow. They believe ideas can come from anyone. They require feedback constantly and want to grow. They also love working in teams.
Millennials will join a company but they will quit a manager. The idea here is to manage Millennials to leave. Coach them with the expectation to grow. Expect it and it engages their work. Talk to them about their next steps. When a Millennial learns the company "why", it makes them want to stay.
Successful Strategies for Working with Millennials:
1. Age Diversity - Multigenerational Leadership
Diversity in generations within teams is valuable as each generation brings different strengths to the mix.
2. Growth & Development - Lifeskills training
Millennials are learner-centric; education oriented; and desire feedback because they want to grow. They will join a company but they will quit a manager. The idea here is to manage Millennials to leave. Coach them with the expectation to grow. Expect it and it engages their work. Talk to them about their next steps. When a Millennial learns the company "why", it makes them want to stay. Companies should invest more in professional development and growth with Millennials.
Millennials desire REAL feedback. They received a lot of empty feedback in growing up ("You are great and unique!").
3. Engagement: Engaged workers unleash the potential for growth
As a Millennial Manager, you must create an engaged environment. Give your employees resources to succeed. Use a strength-based management approach. Know what your employees are great at.
Suggests posting the question to the group: "What makes a great day at work for you?" which is similar to building the classroom rules in schools by letting the group dictate the rules for the room.
4. Strenghts-Based Management - Play to your team's strengths.
Become more productive as a team by building around individual's strengths. Employees working in the "strengths zone" look forward to going to work, have positive work relationships.
Question: What 20% of your job would you give up?
*You know you have a problem in your company if your workers aren't referring their friends. Investing in a Millennial's development can lead to them referring others and speaking highly of you when they leave.
5. Finding a coach at work: Professional Development; moving-up mindset
Millennials need to have a coach, a mentor, etc. at work to keep them engaged. Millennials want to communicate with their bosses several times a day. Keep communication open! Also, they want to meet several times a day....in person.
Understanding Millennials in the Workplace:
If a Millennial isn't having their needs met in the workplace, they will leave.
ASK them what their goals are. That will change HOW you manage them.
Don't be afraid to talk to millennials about their expectations, strengths, and where they want to move. Have a dialogue.
Speaker suggests adding a way for 360-degree feedback for staff and peers to get information on performances. Millennials have already received a lot of "empty" feedback (you are wonderful and unique!) so they desire REAL feedback.
Day 1: Millennials want to make and impact and get involved. Make sure their desk is ready.
Millennials are comfortable challenging norms and equality vs. hierarchy.
Millennials need communication training; when to use the phone vs. text vs. email. There is a lot lost in text message and e-mail. Know when you HAVE to call or meet in person.
The speaker shared the tweet below from a millennial employee on being late for work in the morning. Notice the 7:30am timestamp, this employee owned up to the issue.
Beyond the corporate workspace, what will our Millennial generation teacher or principal be like? Is the public education system ready to provide authentic feedback, use strength-based management, create engaged environments for success, develop a 360-degree feedback loop on performance, and be comfortable with challenging norms and equality vs. hierarchy with this new generation of teachers/leaders?
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