Summer........a time for planning

Administrators have it easy over the summer.

No students, no teachers, break time right? Isn't that what so many people think? Most administrators know that not to be the case. We have some of our busiest days during the summer: it's just different. Professional Development, Curriculum writing, board retreats/work sessions, grants to write and planning for the next school year are quite enough to keep the pace moving. So what does summer have in store for Iroquois' planning? A lot.

We have a new Director of Instructional Technology that will begin and assist our administrators and teachers is drilling down the assessments to the student level so our teachers can have a profile for their class regarding what performance indicators students need help with and how to set up a system to track individual student growth over time. Something we hoped would be coming from the state in a value-added model that hasn't happened yet and we have waited long enough.

Formative and Summative Assessments have been discussed by our administrative team for months and all are ready. We need to move that initiative forward and give our teachers the tools to do so.

RTI- "Response to Intervention". While we are focused on all students succeeding, the model will track interventions and begin them early to do as much as possible in providing services to students before classifying them.

Thoughtful Education Training for our teachers will continue so that we continue to tap into student's learning styles, differentiate instruction and engage them more as active learners.

Determine the most effective use of Stimulus Money to improve programs that will in turn improve student achievement. We need to focus on our middle level and high school students for after-school support in homework. Several ideas are being discussed. We are finding homework issues and difficulty to be the major cause of course failure for our students.

Add changing a student management system that holds the most important data base from contact information to schedules to grades to transcripts and I would say the plate is pretty full.

Oh, and continuing our reform of how our high school students learn? Yes, it is still a major work in progress. We still plan to expand our technology and student's use of the read/write web, move towards more project-based learning and continue to find ways to challenge even our best students.

So while summer may look different, it is by no means a vacation. It just gives us the opportunity to use our time differently and, to plan for the future.

Results of our initiatives? We must be doing something right. We had over half our graduating class earn an Advanced Regents Diploma, we were recognized as having the highest graduation rate in all of Erie and Niagara Counties, and more and more students with special needs earning a Regents Diploma. We are very proud, we celebrate, but the work continues..............

Been too long.

Collaborating, networking, sharing, writing, commenting. Just how much can we do at one time? Is their one vehicle that's better than another? Should we use one stop shopping like Ning where we can blog, have discussion forums, join groups and post videos and pictures rather than a variety of tools that do each of those things in isolation?

These are some of the questions that I struggle with lately. There are so many tools out there, is any one better than the other? I've often written about keeping up. How do you keep you blogs updated, maintain a social network that have meaning and purpose, twitter about ever move you make (including those that twitter about what they're having for breakfast)? Add mobile phones, texting and e-mail and you can pretty much consume a day.

I wish there was an easy answer. What it all comes down to is purpose and audience. You may want to put information out on the web for comment or just interesting reading but would not want the same audience in your social network. You may want to start a social network for a class or a group of professionals that has a limited and selective audience. You may want a platform where multiple people can add and edit information (such as in a wiki).

You need to decide for yourself and make decisions with consideration to the following:
--First and foremost, do you have something to contribute (young or old, I do believe we ALL have something to communicate and share).
-Are you able to make a time commitment to be current and relevant?
-Do you want to put out information for readers to learn information, perhaps commenting occasionally but not interfere with your posts?
-Do you want to develop a network where all information can be shared, edited, and include resources to meet the needs of a particular group?
-Do you wnat the ability to chat in real-time as you create your work?

These are just a few of the questions I grapple with and think everyone that is involved in Web 2.0 should consider. What do you think?
.....Yes, this is the audience participation of our show!!

How we started and where we are........

It has been quite some time since Iroquois embarked upon truly using technology and the power of the Web. Over the course of time, I have come in contact with many professionals in the field that often ask, "How did you start?" This usually results in a lengthy conversation. Recently, I was asked to write a post for NECC 2009. I decided to write about our experience at Iroquois and cross-post here.

Several years ago, a team from our high school attended High Schools New Face Conference in Western New York. Will Richardson lit a spark in several of us teaching us a plethora of tools- blogs, wikis, podcasting, RSS feeds, etc... The notion of 'connecting with students' was at the forefront. Students today are 'connected' electronically more often than not, have access to information quicker than many of us could ever have imagined and share an enormous amount of information via social networks. We knew we wanted to harness the power of the internet and do so in hopes that students will begin to gather, learn and share information in a way different than the traditional 'sit-n-get' format found in many high school classes.

Our district had already begun to use some on-line learning and remedial programs for pre and post teaching which provided teachers (and the students) immediate feedback and monitoring of progress. Adults were well aware of the frequency of which students were on cell phones, iPods and connecting daily on MySpace and Facebook. Could they not be taught to use these same concepts for learning? Would they enjoy learning more and as a result, would they improve their achievement? Lets take one step further. Would teachers not become reignited about teaching and learning? Could teachers begin to collaborate on an entirely different level? Would students become more engaged? Obviously, a team of us believed the answer to all these questions and more to be 'Yes'! And so, we began our journey.

We started with a few extremely motivated teachers. Blogging was the start. Posting assignments, homework (being absent was not longer an excuse to not having homework done!) and even lecture notes. A student would volunteer to be 'scribe' for the day and post the day's lecture/class notes. Students will use a blog to have discussions and collaborate on projects. Students (and teachers) would embed videos, presentations, and resources in their blogs. This is about the time that some students began to experiment with podcasting.

The next step was for students and teachers to begin to collaborate: sharing information, building off of each other's contributions and creating a place to store resources. The Wiki became the platform. Use of the wiki expanded blogging to include a site for many courses in the high school. Syllabi, homework, project assignments and handouts can all be found on a virtual platform for students (and parents to monitor as well). Students would also post completed assignments and create team projects with the help of classmates. Teachers learn relatively fast, but students were learning faster. I knew that if teachers were going to use these tools, they would quickly need support. With the support of our Board of Education, I appointed a teacher on special assignment (Pat Aroune)to actually train and work with teachers directly in the classroom, assisting them with lesson development. An Action Planning Committee in our high school consisted of a group of teachers volunteering to meet early morning, before school to share their craft and changes in their teaching. The spark had been lit, the flame began to grow.

Throughout this process, I believed as a leader that I needed to be a role model. I began to use web 2.0 tools in my everyday work. I blogged about the changes in our high school, I blogged for our community, highlighting various achievements in our school districts as well as an upcoming capital project vote. I even attempted a blog for students to have yet one more vehicle to communicate with their Superintendent. I would embed resources, presentations and podcasts. The intent of my message was these tools are effective, can be time savers and a way to quickly and easily spread and share your work and ideas.

Resources, the 'storage' of resources, along with accessibility ( 'anywhere' and 'anytime' ) was needed and introduced. Tools such as googledocs, social bookmarking (del.icio.us) and various virtual platforms were taught and used by both students and teachers. This became a quick lesson: not everyone had to 'reinvent the wheel'. Friends could help each other. Find a resource that not only you need, but know of a friend that may be interested, store it and share it! As more teachers expressed interest in integrating technology within the classroom, accessibility to computers needed to be addressed. Instead of replacing stand alone computers, we began to purchase laptops on mobile carts. Teacher carts were also set up with a laptop, projector and audio amplification. Entire classes of students can be on-line at the same time and made dependence upon scheduling classes in computer labs a frustration of the past.

At the same time, our district had embarked upon a long-term relationship with Silver and Strong Associates providing professional development in "Thoughtful Education" pedagogy. As teacher developed units and lessons with more depth and differentiating for the different learning styles of students in a class, it became logical for us to have a platform for teachers to share their ideas, lessons and units. We introduced the social network Ning to our teachers. There they could combine all the learning of the past and integrate the various tools in one place: blogging, interactive collaboration, storing of resources, posting of presentations, etc... It is our hope that as time goes on, our entire faculty will engage in collaboration on a virtual platform in addition to face-to-face learning teams. At the same time, we know that good leaders need to be involved in side-by-side learning with teachers and to model the traits and behaviors expected of teachers. Our administrative team has also begun to use Ning for administrative collaboration as well as to interact with our teachers as they post to the social network.

As a school superintendent, the development of a true learning community across a K-12 district with 6 buildings has been exciting to observe. While at first, integration of technology seemed to be "extra" work, teachers and students now see that it becomes 'part' of the work. We are far from full implementation. Empirical evidence related to improved student achievement is difficult to isolate. What we do have is anecdotal information from both students and teachers that they are more engaged and interested. The assumption is made that if students are interested and engaged, they are more likely to achieve at high levels.


Before ending I would like to share a few examples of what I have seen both as a parent in the district and as the superintendent:

Podcast projects:
One elementary class had students write their parents a Valentine's Day Poem. Instead of just sending the poem home in written form, each student read their poem in podcast. The link for the podcast was sent to each parent. What a wonderful surprise parents had to 'hear' their Valentine's Day poem in their own child's voice!
For a European History project, a student created a radio show to have taken place during World War II demonstrating their understanding of the events of the decade. The radio show episodes were recorded in a podcast.

Social Bookmarking:
Students and teachers are sharing articles, videos, new articles and a variety of other resources using their del.icio.us account. Along with many teachers, I have a network of people I follow that I can view and find resources for projects we have in common.

Read/Write Web:
A plethora of information is available by reading blogs. I read blogs by students as young as third grade posting information about what they have learned studying the Titanic. I have followed a student blogging about his favorite sport (hockey) and another student blogging about family vacations. I have probably learned more from reading blogs these past three years as I have from any other source.
I can monitor many high school courses detailing what the content is, what assignments are due and view projects posted related to the course by students.

Social Networking:
As stated above, teachers are posting a variety of lessons and units in every subject across all grade levels. Our administrators are beginning to use Ning to post resources for each other, ask questions and get feedback from their colleagues as well as posting activities and questions for our book studies. This continues to be a work in progress.
The most important thing we have realized is that one thing we can be sure of is how fast technology changes. We planned early on that we needed to teach skills vs. the products available. While Blogger, PBwiki, Ning and Skype may all be popular, everyday there are new vendors improving sophistication and ease of use. Both our students and teachers are trained in skills (posting/commenting to the Read/Write web, collaboration, social bookmarking and networking). The platforms available will surely change. It is our belief that in order for students to be successful in the 21st Century, they will need to be proficient in many of these skills.

Tips for Twitter

Angela Maiers just posted 26 tips for using Twitter. Excellent ideas for those that wonder how to use Twitter and how it can be effective.

How a network in action works.........

Many have a hard time keeping up and finding the purpose of Twitter. Chris Brogan posted on his blog, 27 ideas to improve your blogging. Great post and addresses some of the questions I posed in my post yesterday. Thanks Chris!!

How to keep up?

I have unfortunately had to have some surgery that has put me in the position of having too much time on my hands. With that comes plenty of time to think about 'stuff'. Having the personality that I do, while I can ponder my next vacation, reminisce about events of the past year, and even count my blessings, it doesn't take long before my thoughts come back around to my work. It is a huge part of my life and dedicate an enormous amount of time to work and work-related activities.

When I think about my role as a leader and educator, I am constantly asking myself, how can we do it better? How do we engage students more in their learning? How do I share what we are doing as a school community and gather ideas from others trying to do the same? While there is always research to read as well as a plethora of subscriptions related to education, there is so much more information readily available through blogs and wikis. These media also give the opportunity to ask questions, comment and expand ideas with an immediacy that you cannot achieve reading printed material. So now I spend as much time, probably more reading blogs and wikis and participating in social networks.

I use an aggregator to organize the blogs, wikis and social networks I want to monitor and have a few I automatically go to. There are several I contribute to. I've have often said and written that my learning has grown exponentially and I have gather great ideas to "borrow". While I have never been one to sleep for the suggested 8 hours per night, I do most of my reading and writing in the wee hours of the morn'. The challenge is in keeping up. Do I post? Do I read? Do I contribute? The obvious answer for me is that I want to do it all. I feel that as a leader, I need to be a role model. As our teachers learn to participte in Web 2.0 technology and most recently particpate and share information in a social network, I feel that I should contribute in some way on a regular basis. When that happens, I believe that teachers will see that it is valued and can be a successful and efficient way to share and gather information. I have principals that are now posting agendas for faculty meetings along with minutes to Ning. Social networking is something our students do on a regular basis be it MySpace or Facebook. There are incredible learning opportunities using social networks and we now have several teachers integrating them in their courses. Students blog and read blogs. They have heard and read that our soon to be president, used blogging as part of a comprehensive and awesome campaign. Technology is the way of the world and we can't escape it. We do an injustice if we don't recognize this and at least expose our students to these tools.

With our economic challenges we seek to find less expensive materials to use in school as budgets get tighter. Free is always nice! There are incredible learning tools available on the web at no or little cost to schools. While I don't support sitting a child in front of a computer all day, it does have its place in learning and students are excited and motivated to engage in on-line learning. Not only can students engage in exploration or practice, many tools on the web can track a student's performance so a teacher can monitor if in fact, learning is taking place. I feel that I have some role in investigating and sharing these tools with our teachers.

Then, there is my professional growth and personal commitment to sharing what I have learned with others. I have two blogs that I author and one that I am supposed to contribute to on a regular basis. Which leads to the question, "How DO I KEEP UP?". I wish there was one platform that would serve all my needs. Actually, there is......a wiki. The difficulty is that not everyone is ready to navigate a wiki. Giving people a URL to locate a blog or social network seems to be what the mainstream is capable of. Heck, for many, they continue to 'lurk' and have not taken the leap to comment or contribute to a discussion or forum. In time, it will come. For now, I need to find a way to juggle.

For the answer, I need to hear from my readers. There are so many people that I envy such a Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, Will Richardson and Chris Lehman. I also realize that these folks present and blog professionally. I on the other hand, run a school district with a $39 million budget and all the responsibilities that go along with it. To be successful on the web, I know you need to speak to an audience, have something worthwhile to read and need to post regularly. Thus the question that would help me tremendously. What is it that folks would like to read about, learn about and/or engage in dialogue about? Obviously, I see exciting things happen in our schools and classrooms on a regular basis. When I do, I share those experiences and will continue to do so. But is there more? Sometimes you need to take a step back and get feedback. This is that time. If you have been following and continue to be interested in exchanging ideas about how we can make our schools more engaging for students and better prepare students for their future, please let me know.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Technology Benchmarks and Teaching Web 2.0 Tools

For some time now we have been discussing the best approach to teach students about Web 2.0 tools and internet safety.

While most students experience the internet as young as kindergarten, we protect them from certain sites as a means of keeping them "safe". As students begin to explore the internet for the purpose of searching for information, it becomes increasingly difficult to protect them from unsavory web sites or content that may be inappropriate given their age. Young students (and even some adults) tend to believe if something is found on the internet, it must be reliable. Students need to be taught that this is not always the case and that they must learn how to determine if their source provides reliable information. Sorry, no wikipedia bashing here but it is a perfect example of a site often used by students. There is a great deal of legitimate information on wikipedia but that is not always the case. With respect to safety, we want students to learn as early as possible that there are predators on the web and keeping personal information private is the safest course for them.

We have had great success in exposing students to Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis, social networking and podcasting. There are many educational applications for these tools. Thus far, many teachers are exposing students to these tools while teaching their content. While integrating technology and the tools available on the web is our goal, we have heard from many students they wish they could be exposed to the technology separate from their course content. Each summer we have many teachers doing curriculum development alignment and revisions. This summer a group of talented teachers have come together to identify technology benchmarks for our students at each grade level. In addition to keyboarding, beginning this year students will be exposed to various tools on the web. Obtaining information, social networking, collaboration and internet safety will be a focus both in classrooms and computer classes. It is our hope that by doing so students will have a myriad of tools that will help deepen their knowledge in the content areas as they progress through middle and high school.

It has now been legislated that students are given direct instruction in internet safety. Since we began our technology initiative we have always discussed internet safety but it has not been as prescribed as it could be. In addition to teaching students about predators and safety precautions, they also need to be taught about intellectual property (ownership of information written on the web), copyright infringement as well as how to protect their work posted on the web. By next week, a curriculum guide will be developed for teachers to use at the various grade levels. This is happening as I type this post. I am anxious to see the product our talented teachers develop. Once completed, I will post more specifics. Digital literacy is a 21st Century skill we know our students must acquire. This will be the foundation upon which those skills can learned.

High School's New Face 2008

High School's New Face was again an incredible experience for participants. National presenters such as Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, Giselle Martin-Kneip, Dennis Sparks, Tony Wagner and Ken Kay just to mention those most known to educators and our teachers. The conference once again inspired us to continue to bring our high school, our instruction and our students into the 21st Century.

We know that engaging students in meaningful learning is the key to improving student achievement. We also know that students will do better in school if they feel that they have a connection with their teachers. Students need to feel that the adults around them genuinely care about them. We want to find what students are interested in and make a connection to the content/subject being taught. Our Thoughtful Classroom initiative is helping us to personalize learning much more than in the past. Lessons are being designed that meet the needs of individual learning styles of students and teachers are thoughtful about designing lessons and activities that have something for each type of learner in the class. We want to find more ways to make that personal connection with students. Conversations we will be engaged in during the coming school year.

Our students are constantly engaged with media, technology, text messaging and socializing. Images flash in front of them on computer screens and information is a click away. "Sit and Get" type lectures will no longer capture the heart and minds of students. Lessons need to be creative, hands-on and engaging. More and more students are reporting that our teachers are doing 'something' different. Students are engaged. At the same time, students are being asked to change, and take more responsibility for their own learning. They are being asked to collaborate with each other, create projects instead of writing essays and make presentations as part of their learning to become proficient at public speaking and communicating their ideas and knowledge. I highlight these changes with some sense of pride that at Iroquois, we are on the right track.

A focus of High School's New Face was the need to teach 21st Century Skills. I have written about these skills before in a post about a report Tough Choices, Tough Times. They include skills in collaboration and teamwork, creativity and innovation, and communications skills including reading, writing and speaking. These are a few of the skills our business community tells us that workers in the 21st Century must be proficient in. Added to the list include critical thinking and problem-solving. These are skills employers need their workforce to possess. The skills related to the "product" a business is involved in is something the businesses/companies can teach. As we move forward, we need to emphasize these 21st Century Skills with our students. I believe that many of these skills are being taught as a result of our Thoughtful Education focus. We may not however, identify these skills for students. We need to talk about them and incorporate them into outcomes for students.

Proficiency in Information and Computer Technology is another area we have been integrating with instruction. We are quickly approaching the point where access to technology will no longer be the issue. Many students come to school well versed in the Internet and how to access information. But, are they able to determine if the information they find is from a credible source? Are they able to gather information and share it in a concise and efficient manner? Can they take the information they find and put it into their own words? We also know that the Internet can be a place where predators lurk, information posted can never be retrieved and just as written work is protected by copyright, so is information posted on the web. Students need to be educated to make the best use of the power of the world wide web. We are discussing how we can provide this learning to students. A group of teachers will be meeting in the next few weeks to discuss technology standards and benchmarks, Internet safety and how best we can teach this essential information to our students.

This is an exciting time in education. While accountability is at an all-time high, the environment (and our economy) is demanding that we do things differently than what has been done in previous decades. In a future post, I will discuss the need for 21st Century Skills and the imperative coming from our business community.

We took a great team to this year's conference. I would like to thank Ross Esslinger, Anne Obersheimer, Sean Lauber and Catherine Stojanovich for taking time out during summer to join in the learning and inspiration tha High School's New Face provides to our region.