Eric C. Sheninger's Blog, page 61

Devices Need to Support Learning

So yesterday as I was scanning the #NJED hash tag on TweetDeck I came across this intriguing image shared by Mike Marotta.  It really puts into perspective why we make many of the decisions that we do at New Milford High School as to why we decided to implement a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative and don't mandate the use of one specific tool to support learning.


His tweet contained this message, "Don't let the device drive instruction. Let it support learning."  When it comes to educational technology I often get the feeling that the learning is often secondary.  Using technology just for the sake of using it equates to a huge waste of instructional time that could be dedicated to deep, meaningful learning. It also equates into a huge wast of money.  All to often I have seen schools put interactive whiteboards (IWB's) in every classroom or go 1:1 with very little focus on learning. 
The key is to determine what we want our students to know and let them have a choice as to how they will demonstrate and/or apply their learning.  At NMHS we place a great deal of emphasis on creating artifacts to demonstrate conceptual mastery. Technology can become a nice pedagogical fit when viewed this way.  Our motto is pedagogy first, technology second if appropriate when integrating mobile learning devices.  Another image created by my friend Bill Ferriter puts into perspective the importance of establishing learning outcomes when integrating technology as part of the teaching and learning process.
Image credit: Bill Ferriter
When it comes to technology we must always ask ourselves how will this tool support learning and allow students to demonstrate conceptual mastery. There must be more of a concerted focus on learning outcomes, construction of new knowledge leading to authentic application, and the development/enhancement of essential skills (creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, digital citizenship, entrepreneurship, media literacy, technological proficiency, communication, collaboration).  The assessment and feedback pieces are also critical. Now let me attempt to tie this back to the first image contained in this post. Technology can be a powerful learning tool if we don't focus on the one marker, but instead what we want our students to be able to do with their choice of makers to support and demonstrate learning. I welcome your thoughts on this.

Communicating in the Information Age

In case you didn't know we had quite a bit of snow last night in the Northeast. As I was outside in the bone-chilling cold shoveling piles of snow I began to reflect upon how my professional practice has changed in a few short years when it comes to snow days.  Typically in the past I would have received a phone call compliments of a meticulously developed phone chain.  The only problem was that if one person missed their call then the chain was broken. This fact of life posed quite the problem for many years.  In my early years I often misplaced the snow chain or my wife would throw it out accidentally. Talk about throwing a wrench into the system.  Thankfully technology came to the rescue and I wised up by saving it on my computer. I had a bit of a paper addiction that had to be overcome. 


Image credit: http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/
Fast forward to 2014 and my district, like many others, now uses an automated notification service.  Talk about convenience. I now, like everyone else in the district, receive a pushed out call with a message that district leadership develops. This message is then delivered by a polite robotic voice basically telling me that I can sleep in if I wish or spend the day slaving over my snow shovel.  Now don't get me wrong, this service is great, but like anything in life it is not full-proof or the preferred way to receive the information.  There is also a cost associated with any service like this.  

Now here is the part of my night yesterday after receiving the snow day call that I left out.  Without hesitation I immediately went to my computer and sent out the news using the NMHS social media channels (Facebook and Twitter) as well as pushing the notice out using the official school app developed by Beeonics.  To some this might seem a bit redundant, but in reality I am covering all of my bases to ensure that my stakeholders get the information. In my opinion the "Information Age" demands this now. 

As a digital leader I can no longer assume that an automated telephone call will reach everyone.  With all of the free social media tools we have at our fingertips today it is important that we leverage them in a variety of situations to get information out to our stakeholders.  We now live in the "Information Age" where access is 24/7. People routinely consume information on a variety of devices in an array of places.  Virtually every other profession has not only acknowledged this fact, but has seized on the opportunity to provide the information that potential consumers want using a multifaceted social media strategy.  Education and schools have been notoriously slow when it comes to adjusting to changes in society.  This no longer has or should be the case.

In my opinion schools need to embrace a new vision for school communications both externally and internally. We need to think about how we also provide information in real-time to our most important stakeholder group - students. In turn, think about how our students then communicate information related to learning and school culture with each other as well as members of the community.  Here are a few tips and ideas that have worked well for NMHS over the years:

Create a school Twitter and Facebook page. Make sure information is updated consistentlyHave a company develop a school app or have your students create oneDevelop, use, and promote a school hash tag that can be used across multiple platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+). We use a school hash tag (#NMHS) as well as one that our Digital Journalism students created for their class (#NMHSdigijourn)Use a Google Doc for student announcements that cab be accessed through a school website and pushed out using social mediaCreate QR codes and place around the building. Information is then just one click away for a variety of stakeholdersMove from a tradition school newspaper to a digital versionBegin using ZippSlip, a tool for going paperlessGive your stakeholders options when it comes to accessing and receiving information related to your school. Even though snail mail and even email still has its place in a school communications plan we must press forward with the use of digital technologies to increase authentic engagement with our stakeholders.  So what did I miss?  Please feel free to add other ways you have enhanced school communications to align with the Information age in the comments section below.

Why Digital Leadership? #digilead

If you haven’t noticed, I have been a tad bit excited over the past couple of weeks leading up to the release of my new book.  This is something that I could have never dreamed of prior to social media as I felt that writing was definitely not my strong suit.  Social media not only helped me find my voice, but it helped me find the voices of so many passionate and amazing educators from across the country and globe. Surrounding yourself with smart people willing to share could possibly be one of the best decisions you could make whether as a leader, educator, or learner.  Almost every chapter of Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times opens up with a vignette that illustrates specific characteristics, behaviors, skills, and mindsets in action.  

The Pillars of Digital Leadership
Here is a breakdown:

Forward – Some wisdom from the great Yong Zhao.Preface – What is digital leadership?A Day in the Life of a Digital Leader - Summary of what a typical day for me looks like at New Milford High School.Chapter 1: The Evolving Educational Landscape Chapter 2: Why Schools Must Change (Pam Moran)Chapter 3: Keys to Leading Sustainable Change (Spike Cook)Chapter 4: Leading With Technology (David Britten)Chapter 5: Communication (Joe Mazza)Chapter 6: Public Relations (John Carver)Chapter 7: Branding (Trish Rubin)Chapter 8: Professional Growth and Development (Lyn Hilt)Chapter 9: Increasing Student Engagement and Enhancing Learning (George Couros, Patrick Larkin)Chapter 10: Rethinking Learning Spaces and Environments (Dwight Carter)Chapter 11: Discovering Opportunity (Robert Dillon)Chapter 12: A Call to Arms (Peter DeWitt)Appendix: A collection of reproducibles and resources
Their voices and stories, as well as the work of so many other practitioners mentioned throughout the book, will help guide any educator looking to initiate meaningful change in the digital age.  This is not about bells and whistles or smoke and mirrors tactics to preserve the status quo, but rather a systematic approach to transform schools in a way that works for our students and inspire those with whom we work.  It is about taking a hard look at the type of school culture leaders are currently sustaining and asking is this really preparing our students for success.

I have witnessed and been a part of a dramatic transformation process at NMHS that began in 2009 when I gave social media a try. The process continues today where a culture has been built that preserves important traditional elements while pursuing an innovative agenda for growth and improvement.  We are actively engaging a variety of stakeholders, who in turn have embraced the renaissance taking place.  It is my hope that the collective stories, strategies, and ideas in this book will help you become an agent of change.

Three Ways to Get Digital Leadership

Now that the dust has settled since the book officially became available on January 14 the electronic versions are now ready for download.  Here are the specific links:

Hardcopy (Corwin Press)Electronic eBook (eBooks) - PDF replica of the print version and can be viewed on almost any device except Kindle.Kindle (Amazon)
#DigiLead
If you want to talk about digital leadership at anytime I have created a hash tag. My hope is that we can use this on Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and Facebook to extend the conversation and our learning on this topic.  Feel free to use it to ask me questions, acquire resources, or just to chat openly about how we can all become more effective leaders in a digital world.

Daily Inspiration is the Norm

I'm not going to lie, New Milford High School is an amazing place to work.  We have fantastic students, supportive parents, a Technology Director that gets it, and a Central Office and Board of Education that provide us with the autonomy to take risks. With these elements in place the stage is set for innovation and the creation of a school culture that works for students in the digital age. Change does not happen when all of the gears are not working in concert. What more could a Principal and learner ask for in a place to work?

Makerspace at NMHS
You know what else I love? The fact that there is so much going on these days at NMHS that it is near impossible for me to know all of the great things taking place. This is where my incredible teachers come into play. Not only are they working extremely hard to adjust to the many new mandates enacted in NJ, but in the face of this adversity they have not departed from what makes NMHS a special place to teach and learn.  Instead of shying away from taking risks to improve professional practice, my teachers have readily embraced the autonomy they have been provided.  Not only are they innovative and consistently redefining teaching and learning at NMHS, but they readily share their great work on a routine basis. Below is a snapshot of some of their latest work with students:
Mr. Devereaux's AP Biology class used the apps iMotion HD and Stop Motion Studio to create stop-motion videos showing the process of meiosis. They used iMovie to put voice-overs into their videos to describe the process. Mr. Groff’s US history classes piloted Paperlet, a new educationally based technology platform where students create digital stories that incorporate various multimedia elements including video, sound, and image files. The students worked with Mrs. Fleming on new Google Chromebooks in the library to design their e-books. As part of the pilot program students made recommendations to Paperlet designers on needed changes and enhancements, which were immediately made to improve student experiences. Mrs. Chellani continues to search for new ways to make the learning environment more engaging and interactive for her students. In addition to playing a review game of jeopardy via the Smart Board in her Calculus classes, she decided to have students use an interactive whiteboard on their phones by downloading the sketchpad app. As opposed to final answers being submitted on paper, Mrs. Chellani had her students use the app to submit the final answers. The learning process was much more enjoyable for the students through the use of the game and much more relevant to them through the use of the phonesStudents in Mrs. Groff’s Voices in Poetry and Prose classes have been reading independently since the beginning of the school year. They choose their own books to read based on their interests and reading levels. Students then worked with Mrs. Groff and Mrs. Fleming to create book trailers on their favorite books. Students will use WeVideo, Windows Movie Maker and other available technologies to create their videos. These trailers were then loaded onto an NMHS book trailer.Mrs. Fleming provided opportunities for the students and staff (and the district) to participate in Computer Science Education Week and the Hour of Code. Students were invited into the media center to used the computer programming tool Scratch to create interactive holiday cards. In addition, Mrs. Fleming collaborated with Mrs. Haskill’s math class as they used coding to create various things including creating their own games.This is but a small sample of what is happening at NMHS.  Each day I can start my morning off with a bang by stopping by our digital journalism class to see what The Lance is up to.  I count my blessings everyday that I work in a school where daily inspiration is the norm.

The People and Moments That Define Us

I knew early on in my education career that I wanted to be an administrator. The predominant reason for this was that I wanted to at least attempt to be a fraction of the leader that my father was.  My father was an elementary principal for 30 years and I always admired how he was able to inspire his staff to focus on student learning. To say that he was beloved by all would be a significant understatement.  He also consistently did those little things (dressing up for Halloween, cooking breakfast for his staff) that on the surface don’t seem like a big deal, but meant so much to his staff and students. His calm and collective nature allowed him to effectively deal with adverse situations. To this day I still go to my father for advice. To sum it up, he was the total package as an administrator.  


Image Credit: http://blogs.volunteermatch.org/engag...
My second reason for wanting to become an administrator early on in my career stemmed from the fact that I wanted to help as many students as possible.  As a classroom teacher I felt that my impact was limited based on the number of students I had contact with on a daily basis.  But through my position as a science teacher, a coach (football, ice hockey, lacrosse), and environmental club advisor I was able to impact and influence a large number of students. However, in a school of close to 2000 learners I felt that I could do more.  Due to the influence of my father and a passion to help as many students as possible succeed, I ventured into the world of educational administration in 2004.

Obviously my journey continues.  After having assumed the duties of both athletic director and vice principal at New Milford High School I became the principal in 2007. It was at this point that I saw one of my dreams fulfilled, as I was finally about to walk in the footsteps of my father.  As a young principal I made many mistakes in my early years.  Heck, I still make many mistakes. But I learned from a mentor early on that making mistakes is okay; just don't make the same mistake twice.  It was at this point that I began to take more risks to create a better teaching and learning culture at NMHS.   

Up until this point in my career I would say that I followed the traditional playbook for school leaders.  If I was graded I would have probably received an A for running my school where strict rules had to be followed by students, mobile devices banned, and all social media blocked.  I did a great job maintaining the status quo, which was a school culture that prepared students for a workforce that no longer existed.  This is how both observers and myself measured my effectiveness.  I thought, and was told, that I was doing a great job, but what did I know.  Obviously, not much at the time. 

It was then in 2009 that I possibly took the greatest risk of my young administrative career.  After reading an article in the local Sunday paper on Twitter I decided to step outside my comfort zone, disregard the perception that I had, and began to use social media as a leadership tool. What began as just a way to communicate better with my stakeholders evolved into something that I never imagined.  Once in the space that social media provided, I began to lurk and learn.  It was at this point that I discovered the error and ignorance of my ways.  What I lacked was education on how all aspects of technology could be used to enhance learning.  Individuals who I had never met face to face not only challenged my thinking, but ultimately saved my professional career.  If it were not for my Personal Learning Network (PLN) I might have never changed. Without this change I would still to this day be leading a school down a path of irrelevance.  My greatest leadership asset was born from a space that I swore I would never venture into.  Talk about a game changing moment!

We all have those people and moments that help define our careers.  For me each has helped influence my learning while providing me with the insight, tools, support, and feedback needed to become a better leader.  New Milford High School has become a better institution for learning and innovation.  By giving up control, trusting my students and staff, and evolving into a lead learning we continue to transform our school in ways that will better prepare our students for success in today’s society.  I hope that one day my career is defined by the shifts, changes, and ultimate transformation that continue to occur at my school.  

I will be forever thankful to the many people that have supported me up to this point and have provided me priceless guidance over the years.  It is a humbling time for me as I walk around the halls of NMHS and see how far we have come while anticipating the work that still needs to be done.  Just as significant is my growth as a leader, which in many aspects is a testament to the educators from across the globe that I now lean on day in and day out.  This has led to another significant moment of my career, which is the release of my first solo book (Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times).  I look at it as sort of a a natural product of the ongoing changes in my professional career. It represents a culmination of OUR journey together.  My hope is that this book will make a difference in the work of other leaders and those that aspire to lead. Regardless I will continue to learn from people and discover those moments that will be catalysts for further professional growth and improvement.

Who are the people and what moments have defined you as an educator and/or leader?

Writing Scaffolds to Meet Diverse Learning Needs

As students work to master the complex reading and writing standards demanded by the Common Core, Mrs. Montecuollo and Mrs. Westbrook collaborated to create writing scaffolds that address the diverse academic needs of their 9th grade students. These teachers believe that differentiation is about access points. Therefore, they used four support activities (scaffolds) to address different areas of difficulty they see their students face.

Image credit: http://www.masoncontractors.org/2010/...
Scaffold 1 & 2:  Student Generated Exemplars and Writing the “Recipe” for Literary Analysis

First, Mrs. Westbrook created a task that required students to identify and interpret the underlying meaning of a piece of literature and then to make arguments about it. She began by showing a student written exemplar (Figure 1) to demystify the task and give students a concrete model for their own writing. Then students generated a list of the characteristics of literary analysis demonstrated in the example.  This strategy allowed the teachers to delineate the requirements for the task and tied those requirements to specific writing moves used in good analysis (Figure 2). It also provided clarity for targeted feedback. For example, Mrs. Montecuollo and Mrs. Westbrook could read student responses and be clear about what each writer needed to add or change in order to meet standard.

Figure 1. Annotated Student Exemplar 



Figure 2. Teaching Chart:  Rules for Literary Analysis



Scaffold 3:  Cloze Writing Technique

Another key to the success of this lesson was the third scaffold The Cloze Writing Technique (Figure 3).  This scaffold provided students with sentence starters gleaned from the student exemplar and allowed them to focus on the content of their arguments without worrying about how to begin.  As students struggled to articulate their ideas, they worried that their writing sounded “so simple” and “so elementary.” By helping students articulate their ideas more complexly, Mrs. Montecuollo and Mrs. Westbrook honored each student’s thinking. Thus, students were more willing to take a risk and push themselves from summary to analysis.  

Figure 3. Cloze Writing Technique




Scaffold 4:  Class Blogs as Formative Assessment

Finally, students posted their pieces to Mrs. Westbrook’s class blog (Figure 4). After posting the students received differentiated feedback to help revise their responses. In addition, the blog is public, so students had a real audience and real responses to reference as they worked to fill gaps in their writing/understanding/learning. In this way, these instructors maximized the learning for all of their students and ensured the class met standard. 

Figure 4. English 9 Class Blog



English 9 students blogging using a combination of their own devices, Chromebooks, and  MacBooks. 

Pillars of Digital Leadership Series: Opportunity

This post is the seventh and last in a series that outlines the foundational elements of my new book, Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times.  It is set to be published by Corwin Press on January 14, 2014.  Currently there is a pre-publication discount of 15% for any orders before this date.  Over the past couple of weeks I have introduced what I have come to identify as the Pillars of Digital Leadership, a conceptual framework for leaders to begin thinking about changes to professional practice.  My book will focus on each of these elements as part of a change process. It will illustrate them in action through the work of practitioners and provide implementation strategies. To view the entire series click HERE.

Pillar #7 - Opportunity

The interconnectedness of the Pillars of Digital Leadership leads to continuous improvements in school culture and professional practice. As leaders begin to craft a strategy that incorporates social media and digital tools, the shifts and changes in behavior inherent in each of the six previously discussed pillars begin to take shape. Transparency through the use of social media breeds attention to programs, initiatives, and leadership style. Good news travels fast, and social media transmit the news to numerous stakeholders who are embedded in these spaces. This attention eventually leads to numerous opportunities in the form of strategic partnerships, authentic learning experiences for students, professional development, school and professional recognition, and educational technology.  


Image credi: http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisperr...
Chapter 11 will introduce readers to Robert Dillon and the work that he has done to forge strategic partnerships with an array of stakeholders to provide learning opportunities for his students. This chapter will also provide numerous examples of how I have leveraged social media to discover opportunities for the New Milford High School community as well as myself professionally.  The possibilities are endless as digital leaders become more connected, engage in conversations about professional practice, and share the innovative work taking place in their buildings. 

As leaders adopt and embrace the Pillars of Digital Leadership, numerous opportunities will arise in an array of areas that positively impact school culture and professional practice. By leveraging social media, leaders can share school and professional successes, build strategic partnerships, present work to a wide array of audiences, and discover authentic learning experiences for students and staff alike. All of this can be done in a relatively cost-effective fashion while improving all facets of education. These opportunities will build a greater sense of community pride in the innovative work being done in education. Once understood and embraced, the Pillars of Digital Leadership will continue to work in concert with each other to bring opportunities now and in the future.

Pillars of Digital Leadership Series: Rethinking Learning Spaces and Environments

This post is the sixth in a series that will outline the foundational elements of my new book, Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times.  It is set to be published by Corwin Press on January 14, 2014.  Currently there is a pre-publication discount of 15% for any orders before this date.  Over the next couple of weeks I will introduce what I have come to identify as the Pillars of Digital Leadership, a conceptual framework for leaders to begin thinking about changes to professional practice.  My book will focus on each of these elements as part of a change process. It will illustrate them in action through the work of practitioners and provide implementation strategies. To view the entire series click HERE.

Pillar #6 - Rethinking Learning Spaces and Environments

Digital leadership looks at societal trends as inspirational elements and potential catalysts for change in the structure of the schools themselves as well as the designs of programs. It is a call to action challenging leaders to critically reflect on the learning spaces and environments that embody a school. Do they meet the needs to learners today? Do they foster and inspire creativity, provide flexible opportunities to learn, and address unique and specific interests? Are they reminiscent of what students will expect in today’s world? I will be the first one to admit that the learning environments and spaces at New Milford High School looked nothing like this prior to 2009.  Our goal now is to try our best to create a physical space and overall environment that offers flexibility, choice, and tools that our learners will experience upon graduation.  With the pedagogical shifts outlined in the last post in this series our success will be determined by the transformation of learning spaces and environments that support these instructional changes.


Clark Hall at GAHANNA LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL (Columbus, OH)
Digital leadership drives school leaders to look past traditional constructs and incorporate trends embraced by Fortune 500 companies to transform learning spaces and environments. When energy and time are spent in this area, school will not only authentically engage students, but also better prepare them for success in today’s dynamic society. The end result will be opening the door to learning while creating global scholars. Chapter 10 of my book provides leaders with a look into how Principal Dwight CARTER spearheaded such change to create Clark Hall, a model for how schools should function and be structured in the Digital Age.  Dwight provides invaluable insight on the journey and processes involved to create an environment that students and teachers alike want to be a part of. Schools today need to focus on creating environments and spaces that:

provide an open, bright, and flexible space for learningprovide student choiceintegrate technology to engage studentsare flexible with time to focus on learningprovide students with the opportunities to express their natural creativityutilize teachers as facilitatorspromote interdisciplinary and interconnected projectsmake learning fun
Digital leaders develop a vision and strategic plan to create schools that engage and drive learning.  Thanks to social media and the real-time Internet we all have access to design elements and ideas to transform schools into institutions where students use real-world tools to do real-world work.  This is were the foundation was laid for the evolving Makerspace at NMHS.  In addition to the successes that Dwight has had in this area the rest of the chapter will look at how schools can create their own Academies as well as create pathways to individualize and personalize learning for all students.  How have you worked to redesign learning spaces and environments at in your respective district or school?

If you have any specific questions in regards to the Academies @ NMHS, IOCS, or our Makerspace (hyperlinks in the above paragraph) feel free to reach out to me.

Be Present

There is no better way to get the pulse of a school as a leader than to be in classrooms.  I have never considered myself one to be tied to a desk and/or office, but the managerial aspects of the position and ridiculous amounts of paperwork catch up to you at some point.  This year educators in NJ, like many other states across the nation, are still adjusting to new mandates related to teacher evaluation and tenure changes.  Here we call it Achieve NJ.  The toll that all of these new directives - from SGO’s, to SGP’s to PDP’s - has taken on administrators and teachers has been quite dramatic.  In my case, none more than the never-ending time sap dedicated to paperwork and meetings.  This is our new reality.

Image credit: http://algetler.com/executive-presenc...
One of the mandates in particular has resulted in an increase in observations of tenured staff members. This is probably the one area of directed and mandated change that I have come to appreciate.  Why might you ask? It has resulted in my administrative team and I being in classrooms more often and regularly. Now, the beginning of the year was extremely rough as over six of the seven hours that my students were in school were spent conducting pre-conferences, observations, write-ups, and post-conferences.  After only a few months, the four of us that comprise the NMHS Administrative team have conducted co-observations, developed a common language and look fors, and have mastered the McREL tool that we use to observe staff.  Working together we are not only getting into more classrooms, but we have also developed a streamlined process using shared documents in Google Drive.  

The journey thus far has not been easy, but there now is a silver lining.  Once we became comfortable with the new mandates and how each impacted our professional practice we were able to lay out a vision for a renewed focus on the work we do that truly matters.  The only way to accomplish this was to become even more present by developing protocols to ensure we are in classrooms each day.  Even with the seemingly endless burden imposed by state mandates, we developed a walk-through procedure in order to not only know what is going on in our building, but to also better engage teachers and students in learning conversations.  

Our walks over the past two weeks have reaffirmed our belief in the innovative work taking place here at New Milford High School.  More importantly, they have been a catalyst for positive dialogue on what we can do as a school community to improve and celebrate our collective accomplishments. These rich conversations were just not taking place due to the pressure-filled environment that has been created as a result of education reform in this state.  Post-conferences have focused on how one can “prove” that he/she is meeting the criteria contained in a standards-based rubric, especially with uploaded artifacts.  On the other hand, our walks have reinvigorated our belief in public education and the amazing authentic and meaningful work teachers and students do each day.  Here is just a snippet of what I have seen or experienced in the past week:

An English teacher having every student in her Film Studies class share their presentation with me on Google Drive minutes after I attended a class.Engineering students showing off the bridge they had just collaboratively created.A pedagogically sound BYOD lesson in English where an equitable environment was created using both student and school-owned technology.A History teacher having students use Socrative on Chromebooks.Document Based Questions (DBQ’s) being administered in a history class.Digital photography students working on editing the photos they just took on a recent trip to Rockefeller Center, Times Square, and Bryant Park in NYC.A Math teacher using Poll Everywhere in AP Statistics to check for understanding.A math teacher diligently working with students as they participated in a cooperative learning activity.Students in our new Makerspace constantly tinkering, hacking, inventing, and creating.Numerous teachers assessing learning in both summative and formative formats. Picture from recent walk: BYOD and equity (student + school owned tech)

I think you get the point. Being present in our classrooms and other learning areas of our buildings cannot be overstated.  Even in the face of relentless pressures and mandates that don’t make much sense, it is our duty to be instructional leaders, cheerleaders, guides, mentors, and change agents.  This can only happen if we know what is going on in our schools, connect with both teachers and students alike, and provide positive as well as constructive feedback on what we see. Most importantly however is the mere fact that our presence will reaffirm what we do in the most important profession.  The work that I am seeing from my staff and students serves as an inspiration.  When I go into classrooms I am eagerly anticipating what I will see next.  Don’t succumb to the myriad of excuses that education reform provides each of us today not to be in classrooms.  Be present! 

Pillars of Digital Leadership Series: Student Engagement and Learning

This post is the fifth in a series that will outline the foundational elements of my new book, Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times.  It is set to be published by Corwin Press on January 14, 2014.  Currently there is a pre-publication discount of 15% for any orders before this date.  Over the next couple of weeks I will introduce what I have come to identify as the Pillars of Digital Leadership, a conceptual framework for leaders to begin thinking about changes to professional practice.  My book will focus on each of these elements as part of a change process. It will illustrate them in action through the work of practitioners and provide implementation strategies. To view the entire series click HERE.

Pillar #5: Student Engagement and Learning

Many of us firmly believe in technology’s potential to transform the teaching and learning cultures of schools. Whether it is used to enhance lessons, assess learning, engage students, or unleash creativity, technology has a defined role in a variety of school functions.  Many schools and leaders still treat education as an effort to prepare students for a world that no longer exists, one in which technology is viewed as either a frill, distraction, or a non-factor in improving student achievement. For many students, school does not reflect real life. This results in various levels of disengagement during the teaching and learning process. The question then becomes, how do we move those schools that are the most irrelevant in terms of meeting the diverse learning needs of their students to begin the transformation process? This is pivotal if we are to truly begin to reform education in a way that is meaningful to our students.  It all begins with leadership, whether at the district, building, or classroom level.


NMHS students using Chromebooks and Socrative
Our students want to be creative, collaborate, utilize technology for learning, connect with their peers in other countries, understand the messages that media convey, and solve real-world problems. Schools and systems of education that do not embrace digital learning and place a high emphasis on standardization will always fail to resonate with our students. It only makes sense to harness the power of technology as a catalyst for authentic engagement and application of concepts among our learners. If schools allow students to use the digital-age tools that they are using on a routine basis outside their walls, chances are they will find more relevancy and meaning in what they are learning.

Digital leadership is a mindset and a call to transform a school’s culture into one that unleashes the creativity of students so they can create artifacts of learning that demonstrate conceptual mastery. It is about providing learners with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to succeed in college, careers, and jobs that have not even been created yet.  This is accomplished by allowing students to use real-world tools to apply what they have learned and construct new knowledge. By focusing on how specific technologies can be used to engage students, digital leaders are establishing a foundation for learning that will lead to eventual increases in student achievement. This becomes a reality when school cultures are transformed to meet and anticipate the needs of learners in the Digital Age. Chapter 9 showcases the work of Patrick Larkin and teachers at New Milford High School who have become change agents in this area. It provides leaders with the foundational elements to successfully implement digital learning across the curriculum.

It is crucial that sound pedagogical techniques and best practices are emphasized in order to effectively integrate technology to enhance teaching and learning. One of the most important questions a leader needs to answer is how the students are using technology to apply learning and demonstrate conceptual mastery. Students must always be at the center of this process. All too often technology is infused into the learning environment where the teacher is still employing a direct approach to instruction. Are you leading change in this area or abiding by the status quo?