Eric C. Sheninger's Blog, page 58

The End is Only the Beginning

This is one of those difficult posts where I honestly am having trouble articulating my thoughts. It is bittersweet, as the time has come for me to make a decision on my future.  Today is the day that I formally announce my decision to step down as New Milford High School Principal, a decision that has been most difficult to make. My last day will be September 3.  The decision making process has been excruciatingly painful as the entire New Milford Community means more to me than many will ever know.  


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Almost ten years ago, I was presented with an opportunity to begin my educational leadership career at NMHS. (Thank goodness my wife made me apply for this job.) At age 29, I was hungry and eager to begin down a path of becoming an administrator and following in the footsteps of my father.  Little did I know that these ten years would profoundly shape me as a leader, educator, and person.  After weathering a storm of central office instability, I moved up the ranks from athletic director, vice principal, and finally high school principal, a position I have held for the past seven years.  These past ten years have been an amazing inspirational journey where I have seen firsthand what is possible in education.

New Milford High School has been my second home, which on some days could even be considered my primary place of residence.  From the minute I saw the massive pillars and entered into the hallowed halls, I knew this was a special place.  Once becoming principal, I honestly thought I would retire at a nice age of 60 or more. The community welcomed me with open arms and I inherited a staff eager to grow and learn.  I can’t say enough great things about my staff, past and present.  Each and every one of them has played a huge role in transforming the learning culture at NMHS.  They make me look good every day and push me constantly to be a better leader and learner.  Watching some of the teachers I have hired grow and mature into exceptional educators has been extremely gratifying.  My staff, along with the students, are the true catalysts of change at NMHS. For it is they who made the choice to go down the road less traveled five years ago when we began transforming our learning culture. 

Then there is my administrative team at the high school.  Jerry, Joe, and Mary have been with me in some sort of capacity since the beginning in 2004.  I could not do what I do, nor have experienced success, without the three of them. Their support, honesty, feedback, and willingness to take constructive feedback allowed us to gel into a cohesive unit.  We haven’t had a formal, scripted meeting in years as we are always communicating and collaborating throughout the day.  The level of trust and confidence we have had in one another allowed each of us to focus on our respective duties. By valuing each other’s time and working as a team in the purest sense we were able to move a growth oriented agenda forward on all fronts.  

Last, but definitely not least are the students.  I always brag at home and on the road how amazing the students at NMHS are.  They continuously inspire me with their creative thought, honesty, and desire to make the most out of their high school experience.  Over the years they have been given more ownership over all aspects of their education experience and have taken advantage of it by helping us to redefine teaching and learning for a new age.  After all, it was my students who ultimately shed light on my early failures as a leader and gave me the kick in the butt that I needed to give up certain amounts of control and learn to trust them.  We all go into education to positively impact the life of a child. All I can say is that the students of NMHS have positively impacted me each and every day during my tenure. They have pushed me to become a leader that tried his best to create a school that worked for them as opposed to one that always worked well for the adults. Without my students I would not be where I am today.

Based on the incredible environment I have described above many people are probably confused as to why I would leave.  The work we have done at NMHS has been embraced in ways that I could never have imagined.  My passion now is to assist more schools and educators in initiating and sustaining the types of changes leading to cultural transformation that we have implemented at NMHS.  This is why I will be joining Scholastic at the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE) and with Scholastic Achievement Partners (SAP) as a Senior Fellow and Thought Leader on Digital Leadership.  You can check out the official ICLE press release by clicking HERE.  Our main goal will be to create and provide a practitioner-driven professional learning solution that encapsulates the innovative learning pathways that many connected educators embrace.  There is a dire need to support educators in the areas of digital leadership and learning while exposing them to non-traditional learning pathways.  I don’t see any better way than building a solution with a foundation of practitioners who are leading and teaching this way in schools. 

In order to stay relevant myself, part of my new responsibilities will be maintaining a residency in schools, mostly in the Northeast. While leaving New Milford is extremely painful I cannot wait to get into other local schools to help them improve their communications, bring attention to their innovative programs through enhanced public relations, promote connected learning/leadership, and work to initiate sustainable change. Other major responsibilities with my new position will be a continued focus on writing books, blogging, connecting with educators, conducting workshops/presentations, and delivering keynotes.

The bottom line with my decision comes down to impact. I want all districts, schools, and educators across the globe to experience what we have created and sustained at New Milford HS. I also want to be able to share the stories of the amazing practitioners who are doing the real, impactful work to authentically improve education.  It is my hope that this new beginning can help more leaders, educators, and schools transform education in a way that provides all students with the skills to succeed in a digital world.

Raising the Bar on Learning

In my opinion inquiry-based learning is one of the best pedagogical techniques available to teachers.  When activities are developed appropriately students are afforded the opportunity to construct new knowledge through exploration, problem solving, developing then answering their own questions, application, and trial & error. This technique typically makes students uncomfortable at first as they have become so conditioned by our traditional culture of education where they would rather be spoon-fed information instead of having to think. Not only do students fight this technique at first, but so do parents.  This stems from the fact that many parents want their children taught the same way they were.  I have engaged in numerous conversations over the past two years with parents explaining how the inquiry-based process for learning will much better prepare their children for success in the future. It is a conversation that I relish as the students themselves ultimately discover the value of this type of learning over traditional pedagogical techniques that are mostly passive in nature and do not require critical thought. 


Image credit: http://www.inquirylearn.com/inquirydi...
New Milford High School teacher Mrs. Chowdury has evolved into a master teacher in this approach and here is why. Physics is often thought to be a fun subject where students get to perform exciting experiments. Mrs. Chowdhury has a teaching philosophy that her students cannot engage in fun activities simply for the sake of having fun, but the activities have to trail or follow difficult calculations. When Mrs. Chowdhury’s students found out that she had some Nerf guns in the classroom, they wanted to play with them. So she created an assignment that involved Nerf guns where students had to apply their understanding of energy concepts to figure out the velocity of the bullet as it was leaving the gun. 

She gave the students a meter stick, a protractor with a string attached from the center, and a Nerf gun with one bullet. The students’ task was to design how they wanted to set up and use the materials to be able to calculate the starting velocity of the bullet. The students chose to use the protractor to figure out how high the bullet went and from there use energy concepts to calculate the velocity. When it comes to learning there should never be an easy way out. Making the process fun and engaging while invoking problem solving and critical thinking skills epitomizes the type of learning our students need and deserve. 

Excuses Hold Us Back

When was the last time you came up with an excuse to get out of doing something that you did not want to do? Chances are it was today or sometime in the not so distant past. Excuses are just a part of human existence.  Many times they are just lighthearted attempts to get out of work around the house, cooking, going to the mall, attending a wedding of a friend who you have not seen in years, or walking the dog.  My kids consistently come up with an array of innovative excuses for why they should not go to school each day.  In all of these examples, the excuse will not cause any type of monumental disaster.  We even use them when there is actually no hope of getting out of the activity for which the excuse was derived.

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As I was doing some research recently for a presentation, I came across a fantastic slide that really put into perspective the concept of excuses.  “If something is important to us we will find a way.  If not, then we’ll find an excuse.”  On a professional level excuses can, and often do, have dramatic negative impacts when it comes to change on many levels. If education is good for one thing, it is for making excuses not to move forward. Schools continue to move along just as they did over a hundred years ago. The feeling is that our system of education has worked so well during this time why change now.  In this example the common excuse that many educators use not to change is that student achievement, defined by standardized test scores, has remained high so if it isn’t broke why fix it.  When it comes to technology, excuses are as abundant as traffic in New York City during rush hour. Regardless of the scenario, here are the most common excuses that I have either used myself or experienced during my years as a practitioner:

I don't have time.This will cost too much money.It is just another thing that I have to do.It has worked well for so long so why change now.Student safety and security will be compromised.Students will cheat and be off task so I am not allowing them to use devices.We can’t implement this due to the Common Core and an array of state mandates.
Excuses are fueled by elements such as fear of change, a desire to protect the status quo, lack of education/knowledge, top-down leadership, micromanagement, and the unwillingness to take risks. By no means is this list comprehensive, but it does provide a fairly solid foundation for why excuses dominate the education profession. Sustainable changes leading to cultural transformation in schools can and will only happen when one moves from a fixed to a growth mindset. It is imperative in our respective positions that we create a shared vision that focuses on solutions to problems as opposed to taking the path of least resistance exemplified by the excuse.  

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The best way to accomplish this is to help others see the value in new initiatives and ways of thinking.  Provide a clear rationale for change tied to research and examples from other schools where these initiatives have been successfully implemented. Ensure that support structures are in place such as professional development, autonomy, availability of resources, and the establishment of a feedback loop. This will set the stage for empowering others to embrace the change while discovering the value of it all themselves.  Most importantly model the expectations that you wish to see implemented and take action.  

Opinions Are Nice, But Actions Are What Matter

Change has become quite the buzzword in education as of late.  You hear it in schools, during face-to-face conversations with educators, at the dinner table, and most emphatically in social media spaces.  Virtually all of these conversations have merit to them.  It goes without saying that education, schools, and professional practice need to change in order to provide learners with the necessary skill sets to succeed in today’s ever-growing digital world. This is no easy feat, something that I experience each day of my professional life as a high school principal.  Can you even image a world where change was easy?



With the overall structure and function of schools remaining unchanged for nearly a century, there is a great deal of work that has to be done.  This, compounded with the onslaught of reforms and mandates enacted by individuals that have no business in education, make the process of enacting change much more difficult.  The current education reform climate has just exasperated the proliferation of schools as testing factors where students’ learning, an intricate science, is reduced to meaningless numbers. Change in this sense is not positive, but how we respond to it will ultimately determine the fate and success of our students.  

This leads me to the point of this post.  Conversations about change are a dime a dozen. Within these conversations an endless array of opinions are dished out about what needs to change.  In about half of these same conversations, suggestions are offered up as to how to go about implementing the change.  Opinions, suggestions, ideas, and even strategies are great to discuss in theory.  They all make for great conversational catalysts where even more people will engage and respond.  However, offering opinions and stating what one thinks should be done to change anything in education falls short of the intended outcome. Real, meaningful, and sustainable change capable of transforming school culture and professional change comes from taking action.

Leadership is not about position, but rather the actions that we take in our respective roles.  Each and every one of us has the capacity to lead if we so choose, but initiating sustainable change hinges upon our ability to move from the talk and rhetoric to actually doing something.  The process seems simple to those who get all caught up in the talk, but change leaders know full well the challenges associated with what may be the most difficult thing to do in education.  Change leadership focuses on these specific elements:

Identification of the problem and articulating why the change is neededDevelopment of a plan of action to provide stakeholders with a sense of how to effectively implement needed changesEnsuring all support structures are in place to increase the success of the initiative so that it becomes sustainableImplementing the plan through action and monitoring the process throughout. It is so important that we model the expectations that we have for others so that change is embracedEvaluation and providing indicators of success.  If the change process fails then reflection is paramount in order to improve the plan
Think about these elements the next time you engage in a conversation about change. If you are in a position to do so, how will you help others become change leaders to help create schools that work for kids as opposed to ones that have traditionally just worked well for us?  The world is full of opinions, but lacking in the definitive actions that are needed to transform teaching, learning, and leadership.  Be the change that you wish to see in education through action. 

Twitter as a Tool For Academic Discourse

New Milford High School teachers Jessica Groff and Joanna Westbrook created a Common Core aligned English Language Arts (ELA) task that incorporated Twitter into their unit on Julius Caesar and built on content  authentic to the Shakespeare's history play – i.e. social media re-purposed with and for academic discourse. To accomplish their goal, these teachers began with an informational text on the history of the Roman Forum to ground their use of social media in historical discourse and academic content. This step gave students a context and purpose for using Twitter with this particular play and in this particular way.  In addition, the teachers worked with students to reverse engineer the rhetoric of Twitter and generate a list of the type of tweets students see currently in their daily lives. As a result,  students had more than one reference point and more than one access point to literacy content, something of primary importance to the in-class support (ICS) teacher collaborating with this team, Lorraine Montecuollo. 


Image credit: http://edtechreview.in/images/Daily/E...
Next, the team worked with the Digital Media Specialist, Laura Fleming, to find a way to help students use memes to improve the content of their tweets. They used Mozilla Webmaker tool called Mozilla Thimble to create memes that allowed both the tech-savvy and non-tech savvy to present their visuals in a more professional manner, while bringing visual clarity, some humor, and some creativity to their responses. Finally, the results of this project illustrate that the social aspect of this project is important. Students not only interacted with one another in class, but also with students in other classes, as Twitter opened up their ideas to a wider audience.

Change is a Mindset

For many years New Milford High School was just like virtually every other public school in this country defined solely by traditional indicators of success such as standardized test scores, graduation rates, and acceptances to four year colleges. These indicators have become so embedded in the minds of those judging our schools and work that we, like everyone else, worked hard to focus only on initiatives that would hopefully produce favorable outcomes in those areas. If we were doing well we continued down the same path allowing the status quo to reign supreme.  The mentality of if it ins't broke than why fix it resonated so profoundly with us that we would not have even considered changing our ways.  If results were not what our stakeholders wanted this would then trigger meetings leading to the development of action plans to get us back on course. 


Image credit: http://be-virtual-assistant-wise.co.z...
For so long schools schools have resembled a hamster running on a wheel doing the same things over and over to improve sets of numbers.  We were no different and had succumbed to a fixed mindset. Every excuse in the book was at our disposal not to change and continue down the same path year after year. Heck, our education system has become so good at maintaining the status quo and enforcing compliance throughout that we and many others have been brainwashed into thinking any other course of action would be foolish.  If education is good for one thing it is making excuses not to move forward. There is still an innate desire to sustain a school structure and function that has remained relatively unchanged for well over a hundred years. This is a problem. It was a huge problem for us. We were in a rut and didn't even know it. Luckily change came in the form of a little blue bird that gave me the kick in the butt that I desperately needed back in 2009.  Being blessed with an amazing staff, student body, administrative team, and community provided the necessary support need to move us forward.

As another school year comes to a close I can't but help reflect on the many successful initiatives that have been implemented this past year.  It is even more gratifying to see numerous other initiatives that were implemented over the past couple of years flourish.  Moving from a fixed to a growth mindset and feeding of the daily inspiration that connected learning provides gave me with the fuel to create a shared vision that eventually became a reality as a result of action. For change to be successful it must be sustained. As leaders we must not only be willing to see the process through, but we must also create conditions that promote a change mentality. It really is about moving from a fixed to a growth mindset, something that many educators and schools are either unwilling or afraid to do. The essential elements that work as catalysts for the change process include the following:

EmpowermentAutonomyOwnershipRemoving the fear of failureRisk-takingSupportModelingFlexibilityCollaborationCommunication
What I have learned is that if someone understands why change is needed and the elements above become an embedded component of school culture he/she or the system ultimately experience the value for themselves.  The change process then gets a boost from an intrinsic motivational force that not only jump starts the initiative, but allows for the embracement of change as opposed to looking for buy-in.  We should never have to "sell" people on better ways to do our noble work nor rely on mandates and directives. These traditional pathways used to drive change typically result in resentment, undermining, and failure.

This gets me back to the main point of my post and that is reflecting on the many changes that have been implemented and sustained at NMHS.  Even in the face of adversity in the form of education reform manadates, Common Core alignment, impending PARCC exams, new educator evaluation systems, loss of funding, and an aging infrastructure we have not only persevered, but proven that positive change can happen with the right mindset.  If we can overcome these challenges and experience success others can as well. Throughout the past couple of years we have also seen improvements in the "traditonal" indicators of success by mainly focusing on creating a school that works better for our students as opposed to one that has always worked well for us.  Here is a short list of some of the changes that have been implemented and sustained:

Social media use as a communications, public relations, branding, professional growth, and student learning tool implemented in 2009. So many of my teachers are making the choice to integrate social media as a learning tool that I just can't list all of the examples.Online courses through the Virtual High School implemented in 2010. Students now have access to over 250 unique courses that cater to their interests. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) implemented in 2011.  The success of this initiative has hinged on our ability to ensure equity, give up control, trust our students, and provide educator support in the form of professional growth opportunities. Charging stations for the students were purchased this year and placed in all common areas.  The three guiding tenets of our BYOD initiative are to enhance learning, increase productivity, and conduct better research. See what CBS New York had to say.The Academies @ NMHS implemented in 2011 as part of my superintendent's vision. These are a means to allow students to follow their passions in a cohort model of learning based on constructivist theory. The Academies are open to any and all students regardless of GPA who what to pursue more rigorous and authentic coursework and learning opportunities. This initiative compelled us to add over 20 new courses to our offerings to better meet the learning needs and interests of our students.Independent OpenCourseware Study (IOCS) implemented in 2012. Students elect to take OpenCourseware and receive honors credit once they demonstrate what they have learned through a non-traditional presentation.Google Apps For Education (GAFE) implemented in 2012 empowering students and staff to learn collaboratively in the cloud.Flipped classroom and instructional model implemented in 2012. A variety of teachers have moved to this model consistently to take advantage of instructional time. The best part is that NMHS teachers themselves are creating the interactive content as opposed to relying on Khan Academy. See what CBS New York had to say.Grading reform implemented in 2012.  A committee was formed to improve our grading practices that resulted in a failure floor and seven steps that had to be met before student can receive a failing grade. All student failures are now reviewed by me to ensure that the seven steps have been met. This was probably the most difficult change initiative I have ever been a part of. If you want a copy of this just add your email in the comments section at the bottom of this post. The Professional Growth Period (PGP) implemented in 2013.  By cutting all non-instructional duties teachers now have two or three 48 minute periods during the week to follow their learning passions based on the Google 80/20 model.  The rise in many innovative practices have resulted by creating this job embedded model for growth.  I love reviewing the learning portfolios my teachers develop each year to showcase how this time was used to improve professional practice.Makerspace added to the library in 2013. I have written extensively about this space, which has transformed learning thanks to the leadership of Laura Fleming. See what CBS New York had to say.Creation of a digital badge platform to acknowledge the informal learning of teachers implemented in 2013 by Laura Fleming.3D virtual learning implemented in 2013 using Protosphere. See what CBS New York had to say.McREL Teacher Evaluation Tool implemented in 2013.  This required a huge shift from how we have observed and evaluated teachers for a very long time.  Google Forms were utilized to solicit anonymous feedback from staff members about the rollout, process, and value of the new tool.  This feedback was then used by the administrative team to improve the use of the tool.  I need to stop here, but I think you get the point.  We have transformed the teaching and learning culture at NMHS that begins and ends with a growth mindset.  The time for excuses, talk, opinions, and fear needs to end if our goal is really about improving teaching, learning, and leadership outcomes. Leadership is about action, not position or ideas that just get pushed around. We continue to push ourselves to create a better school.

So what's stopping you?

Getting Creative With Buncee

The following is a guest post by Marie Arturi, the CEO/Founder Buncee and a creative communication evangelist.  Her nephew is one of my teachers at New Milford HS.

Consider for a moment how we, as adults, consume content today. We’re constantly immersed in media. We look for inspiration on Pinterest, use video tutorials, watch live news footage, get statistics from infographics, skim blogs for 'how to' videos, browse social media for trends and articles, and check social photo streams to catch up on our friends’ and family’s latest endeavors. We are learning about our world through these media, and we are drawn to them because of their quality, color, and creativity. It only makes sense, then, that our students are attracted to the same things. As Eric has mentioned before, you can’t teach in black and white, when they’re learning in color.


Buncee was born from a similar desire to create and share engaging, personal, and colorful content. In fact, it was not originally envisioned for educational purposes, but to design personalized and unique thank you cards to share with doctors and scientists from our Foundation! However, it was one educator and one student who initially lit the spark when they encouraged us to bring buncee to the educational community. They felt that the ease of use dovetailed perfectly with teaching requirements they had at school. So over time, we have worked very closely with education experts at all levels to build edu.buncee.com.

Today buncee has matured into an innovative presentational tool that makes it easy to both create engaging content for students and having them enjoy creating content themselves, practices we believe ought to be present in every classroom. It's important to recognize that the teachers, professors, classes, and topics that shape us the most while growing up are the ones that ignite our curiosities. Consuming interesting content, though, is just the start; it’s creating original content that really gets students involved in learning. Although students are drawn to certain subjects over others, sharing interesting videos, adding audio, well-designed infographics, and awe-inspiring photos can greatly increase the likelihood of student engagement. We believe using Buncee for Education and teaching students the same way they learn outside the classroom is how they will become active learners.


We saw first hand how buncee’ing positively affected students during our last Google Hangout demo. The young scholars from Shannon Miller's class went above and beyond active participation and took the initiative to suggest new ideas for product features and animated stickers, like dancing candies! The same thing happened while we were visiting one of our local Long Island schools. Having just finished their digital media stories, students were teeming with ideas for stickers and animations. These young creators inspired us through their boundless energy and enthusiasm, and we honored as many of their requests as we could! It’s moments like these that validate the use of creative tools in the classroom and at home.

Today more than ever it is important that students not only expand their knowledge of the world, but exercise their creative skills. In a society where digital production is prevalent, we believe those students who are actively creating and sharing their thoughts will gain a richer educational experience. We have been honored to have met so many marvelous educators and through them, their students. Whether at schools, over tweets, or at events like SXSWedu and ISTE 2014, what a privilege it has been to share our tool in this way, at this time.

What Drives You?

In education, I think the driving force that compels us to join the profession is the innate desire to instill a love for learning among students and to help place them on a path to success.  There is nothing more exhilarating than seeing, or knowing, firsthand that you played a small part in a student’s evolution over the years.  Foremost is the desire to work with kids. Putting in countless hours developing lessons, grading, providing feedback, observing teachers, providing professional growth activities, constructing a master schedule, formulating a budget, attending events, and writing letters of recommendation are just a few of the myriad of tasks that educators across an array of positions engage in every day.  All of this is done with a single purpose in mind – student learning, achievement, and success.  What other professional position allows for the opportunity each and every day to positively impact the life of a child?

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The above paragraph describes what I feel is the main reason each of us has chosen to pursue a career in education.  It is not about the big payday, accolades, glitz, or glamour.  If that was the case I think we can all agree that we would have chosen any other field except education.  There are, however, a select group of individuals and organizations comprising the majority of the education reform movement that do, in fact, feel that we are overpaid, underworked, and pampered with lavish packages after retirement.  To pour salt on an open wound, ideas are concocted in regards to how we should be evaluated with not a shred of research to back up these initiatives.  The fact of the matter remains that we are the ones who decided to pursue a career working with students while many others either shunned or made fun of our decision.  Now it is these people, the same ones that wanted nothing to do with the education profession, that are trying to dictate every facet of what we do.
The recent education reform movement provides an endless barrage of insults to the noble work we do everyday.  It has perpetuated schools as testing factories, something many of us have always dreaded.  While our driving force is to ignite students’ passion for learning, the relentless focus on standardized testing data is doing little to prepare our students for success in the real word.  Sorry, but that is fact, at least in my eyes.  This then leads to my final point and that is how schools are structured.  In an age where we have what seems like an endless array of tools to engage, enhance learning, and assess in a variety of ways, the majority of schools seem either content or fearful of breaking free from the industrialized model of education that has entrenched our system for over a hundred years.  Schools need to work for students as opposed to the status quo or us.  In a world now dominated with all forms of technology, our mission should be to find natural pedagogical fits.  There is no longer an excuse for creating a system that is the exact opposite of the real world.  This in itself is just as bad as the education reform efforts described previously.  
So what really drives me as an educator today?  My goal is to collaboratively create a culture of teaching and learning that resonates with my students.  Where I once feared giving up control and trusting students, I now relish the opportunity to do this each and every day.  Through the many successful initiatives where change has been sustained, our students have ultimately benefited.  With each passing day, seeing and observing the fruits of our labor in the form of students exhibiting a growing appreciation for the culture that we are creating together brings a smile to my face.  This is what drives me: making learning more about them than everyone else.
So what drives you? 

3D Virtual Learning a New Reality

It has been yet another exciting year at New Milford High School.  We have continued to sustain numerous innovative initiatives while looking for other opportunities to improve the learning experience for the school community.  This year alone Laura Fleming, our stellar media specialist, has successfully created a Makerspace for our students as well as a digital badge platform to acknowledge the informal learning of teachers.  Both of these initiatives have exceeded our expectations and have been met by rave reviews from staff and students alike.  However, a lesser known undertaking might possibly redefine learning in ways that we could never have imagined a few years ago.
At NMHS we focus on empowering students to take ownership of their learning. To that end each staff member is also given the autonomy to be catalysts for change.  When I hired Laura last September, I explained the type of autonomy she would have, including complete control over her budget.  I then gave her one task, which was to leverage her expertise to create unparalleled learning experiences for our students that would inspire a love for learning and prepare them for success after graduation.  Using her connections, she formed a partnership with a company called Proton Media that provides essentially an enterprise solution called Protosphere intended for corporations to explore the possibilities of 3D virtual learning and collaboration in the cloud. The goal of this partnership is to create a 3D virtual learning environment for our school. Check out our progress below.

Using the Protosphere platform we are exploring the unique pedagogy in a virtual environment and technology as the learning environment.  Laura’s inspiration for this idea came from Sugata Mitra’s TED talks on how students can teach themselves and building a school in the cloud.  The cloud allows for both synchronous and asynchronous learning, attributes that we hope to utilize.   In this environment the role of the teacher shifts to facilitator of knowledge acquisition. For our virtual NMHS campus we are exploring the possibilities of 3D virtual learning, collaboration, and technology as the learning environment.  Through a pilot group of teachers and students we are exploring how communicating and collaborating is different in a virtual environment through the integration of avatars. Virtual space is much more participatory than the regular classroom.  For example, one best practice is to design experiences for the avatars to get up and move as much as possible.  Collaborative learning spaces are becoming a virtual reality for us and the potential opportunities are exciting.
It is our hope to also broaden the concept of a ‘building’ as physical attributes and physical space to include a virtual space that contributes to learning success.  For example, Laura as the library media specialist, limited by a dated library, turned to online resources and a digital space as 21st century libraries should comprise fluid, flexible learning spaces.
ProtoSphere brings NMHS students and data together in an engaging and stimulating virtual world, in which users are represented by avatars. The partnership will allow us to utilize Protosphere as a tool for face-to-face interaction in the virtual space in order to raise student achievement and to improve student performance overall while enabling our teachers to deliver classes more efficiently and effectively.  Our learners will be able to talk, view, and interact with presentation and media content, record notes and access the Web, all at the same time, from anywhere.  We will be able to embed learning into collaborative processes to improve performance and extend the learning culture while using technology as the learning environment, as well as prepare students for a 21st century workforce in which many of them will have to communicate and collaborate virtually.  Other potential outcomes will be an ability to use this 3D virtual learning environment to offer home instruction, keep school open virtually during snow days, flip the classroom, tutoring, and enrichment activities.

Building Parent Engagement: Tell Your School’s Story

The following is a guest post from Alison Anderson, who is a former teacher, tech integrator and now education blog editor. She is active an active member of the EdCampPDX planning team and continually focused on working to improve education for students in Portland and beyond. 

Parent engagement has always been a very bright spot on my radar when thinking about keys to success for schools. Lately, it feels important to distinguish between parent engagement and parent involvement. Both are important and something every school should strive for in order to create the most healthy student environment. But involvement, to me, can mean volunteering and spending time in the school and classroom- building those schools that have an instant sense of positive energy you sense the minute you walk in the school. 

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Today’s world is complicated - especially as technology continues to disrupt the different fields we have grown so used to living in. We can’t ignore that social media has completely transformed the way in which we receive and understand current events.  As this disruption starts to happen in our schools, we need to fully engage parents so that they not only understand, but feel absolutely comfortable with all the school practices and policies. 

How do you achieve that? With transparent communication and lots of it! Every school has a story, or a “brand” that captures the mission, the norms, the traditions and the values of the school population. 

As a school leader, communicating that “brand” is one of the most important jobs. But building a school “brand” is not like building a product. It’s not always easy and the steps are not always clear. There are some helpful resources emerging for administrators and edleaders who want to do this and do it right.
BrandED Podcast- Superintendent Joe Sanfelippo and principal, Tony Sinanis interview innovative educators who are incredible tellers of their school’s story. Make Your School House Rock: 10 Ways Principals Can Use Social Networks for Branding - new post from TreeRing, the innovative personalized yearbook publisher, full of resources and ideas for telling your school’s story effectively.Digital Leadership, by Eric Sheninger- New book for every edleader wondering how to use social media to engage, inform and inspire. (find one review here).Adjusting Course: Responding to the Needs of the 21st Century Student- great blog by Minnesota elementary principal Brad Gustafson, continually sharing how his school tells their story. 10 Ways to Ensure Parents Won’t Need to Ask What Did You Do at School Today?- EdTech ideas for flattening those classroom walls and letting parents in. Lewis Elementary Blog- best example of elementary principal, Tim Lauer, telling the school’s story using a wide range of digital technology in a truly effective manner. The more stories shared about what is happening within your school, the better your “big picture” becomes for school and community families. Schools build their brand when they share the stories that answer, “why do you send your child to that school?” That’s how a good reputation gets built. Parents and community members trust in their school “brand” and want to support school decision makers.