Digital Pedagogy and ChangeNeed for change As a pedagogical coach, I have assisted many bored students and alienated teachers, but does it have to be that way? For example, some kids, even successful ones, after graduation take pleasure in burning their books (Richardson, 2017). Knowing this, we can “use change knowledge deliberately to understand obstacles and to move beyond them” (Fullan, 2013, p. 70). What if, as Pam Moran suggests, learning was not seen as painful, but as something that is continuous, where students can be curious and work on improving themselves, they might want to hold on to their learning (Richardson, 2017). Ideas, Innovations and Technologies As new ideas, innovations and technologies transform our world, we have to remember “the education revolution is not a given” (Fullan, 2013, p. 58). When I coach teachers on technology integration, we often have some deep discussions about how the role of teachers and schools are evolving. Often, when I show tools, such as text to speech, teachers are resistant at first. I have often heard “By using this tool, we are not teaching students how to write”. However, what I hear is “that is not the way I learned how to write” and that is okay. We do not have to take the same path to reach our destination. We have to explore new innovations, only then can we judge if they improve learning. “Failure to act is to leave dispirited teachers and students at the mercy of dominant technologies” (Fullan, 2013, p. 69). As a Canadian research states, “kids these days are technological whizzes when it comes to the tools, but pedagogically clueless with respect to getting the best out of it” (Fullan, 2013, p. 59). In other words, even with the best technology, we still need to have strong pedagogy and a great teacher to lead the way (Fullan, 2013, p.60). Otherwise, technology becomes just a beautiful toy. Pitch and Support When we have a great idea, it is important to learn how to communicate and transform it into a Yes. As explained by Fullan, “if we present them in a slipshod manner, they will be perceived as slipshod; if we present them in a creative, professional manner, we will impute, the desired qualities” (2013, p. 56). We have to convince people to believe in the change before they become change agents. As explained by Simon Sinek, “people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it" (2009). When teachers and students suggest change, it is important to know how that idea will be received. “If you say no they'll never come back to you and they’re going to tell a whole bunch of other people, don’t bother” (Richardson, 2017) Evidently, not all ideas become a reality, but they can be adapted to nurture an innovative culture of Yes. References:
Fullan, M. (2013). Stratosphere: Integrating technology, pedagogy, and change knowledge – Chapter 5 – Design principles and change knowledge. Don Mills, ON: Pearson. Richardson, W. (2017). Developing a culture of yes with Pam Moran. Modern Learners. [Podcast]. Retrieved from https://modernlearners.com/pam-moran/ Sinek, Simon. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action (2009). Penguin Publishing Group.
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Leadership Theories, Diversity and Ethical PerspectivesWhen it comes to education, one size does not fit all! I often get asked what tool, strategy or technology I recommend, and the short answer is: it depends. I have not yet found this secret, magic formula and the truth is, it does not exist. We are all different and what works for one might not work for another. As Couros puts it, “Personalize, not standardize.” (2015) Many tend to want to treat everybody the same way, thinking, perhaps, that conformity leads to better results. Jandric describes this as “Schools taught conformity, squelched real learning, overlooked individual differences among children youth, and were holding tanks for eventual dropouts.” (2017). My experience has taught me that we all have different needs, that there are many ways to achieve success, and for some, it simply takes more time. Couros describes this sentiment in his blog by stating “I promise you that I will not take away your pen and paper to learn, if you let me use my computer to do the same. Deal?” (2015) Personally, I like to use a variety of tools, strategies and technologies depending on what I want to accomplish. If I had to limit myself to just one tool, it would be like building an entire house with just a hammer, nearly impossible. So why would we limit our students to using only one device? Are we limiting our students to the ones we are familiar with? When we give students the power to choose, we differentiate and personalize learning which, in turn, empowers students. As Fullan says, “Learning is all about purposeful engagement.” (2013, p. 17) Sometimes, we fail to see that school can be simultaneously fun, as well as educational. They are not mutually exclusive. In his article Classroom without walls, McLuhan explains that “It’s like setting up a distinction between didactic & lyric poetry on the ground that one teaches, the other pleases. However, it’s always been true that whatever pleases teaches more effectively.” (1957) Fullan tells us that “Intrinsic motivation is fuelled by play (experimenting), purpose (wanting to make a difference), and passion (devoting yourself to something you find deeply meaningful).” (2013, p. 23) That is why I believe that we should make education more fun and relevant. School is serious business, but how can we make it fun and relevant for all? First, we need to help students find and develop their passion “what Robinson calls “the element”. We have always known that purpose and passion are at the core of star business entrepreneurs and athletes.” (Fullan, 2013, p. 32) Second, and most importantly, we must build relationships with our students. Research shows that by taking only two minutes to talk with even the most difficult students for ten consecutive days, we will have a significant impact on student learning. (Fullan, 2013, p. 20) In summary, instead of making students fit into our system let's try to make our system fit our students. References:
Couros, G. (2015). Personalize, not standardize. [Website]. Retrieved from http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/5346 Fullan, M. (2013). Stratosphere: Integrating technology, pedagogy, and change knowledge – Chapter 3 – Pedagogy and change: Essence as Easy. Don Mills, ON: Pearson. Jandrić, P. (2017). The dubious promise of educational technologies: Historical patterns and future challenges. In Learning in the Age of Digital Reason. (pp. 3-16). Rotterdam, NY: Sense Publishers. McLuhan, M. (1957). Classroom without walls. In Carpenter E, McLuhan M (Eds) Explorations in Communication. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1–3. Dream On!Dream On! Lead with me, lead for the years, teach for the laughter not for the tears. Dream on, learn on, teach on, dream until our dreams come true. Dream On! Remix by Joannie Girard (Tyler, 1973) This week as I reflected on my moral imperative, I thought of the song Dream On by Aerosmith and I remixed it with what I want to achieve as a learner, a teacher, a coach and a leader, and what I want to embody to have a positive impact on the world of education. First, Dream On! Allow others and yourself to have a dream and to work toward achieving it. Too often it seems that we have a path or purpose that is predetermined for ourselves and others. But as George Couros says, “The best teams in the world build upon individual’s strengths to bring people together towards a common goal; they do not try to mould people to something that they are not.” (2015) Second, lead with me, lead for the years, teach for the laughter not for the tears. As we want to lead our schools, our boards and the system to reach excellence we cannot do it alone. As clearly stated by Susan Fowler, “Leadership is not something you do to people; it is something you do with people”. (Couros, 2015) Also, I believe as Georges Couros describes in his blog that “Leadership’s job is not to control people, but to unleash talent”. (2015) We have to focus on building people up. This will work to improve our society and the generations to come. To do this “We have to stop thinking of an education as something that is delivered to us and instead see it as something we create for ourselves.” (Couros, 2015) I strongly believed that if done right, education can be something to be lived and not survived. If we are truly successful at empowering people in their learning and leadership, we will be able to teach for the laughter not for the tears. Third, dream on, learn on, teach on, dream until our dreams come true. To achieve this, I plan on following the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards for coaches that guide us to be a visionary leader, to design learning experiences, to create and support learning environments, to develop personalised learning programs, to model and promote good citizenship and to continuously depend their knowledge and expertise. (ISTE standards) I plan to do this until I help the people I coach reach their goals and help their dreams come true. In turn making mine be realized. In conclusion, Dream On! Dare to dream! Dream about a better life! Dream about a better school system! But to really improve our school system, to improve the experience of school and to create a better and happier society we have to think differently and work hard. This will not be easy but we have to try before it is too late. As Praiser says, “a world constructed from the familiar is a world in which there is little to learn”. (Fullan, 2013, p. 8) Together let’s make our education system a dream and our dream a reality. (Saint-Exupery,1999) References: Couros, G. (2015). 5 questions to drive personal-professional learning. [Website]. Retrieved fromhttp://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/5338 Fullan, M. (2013). Stratosphere: Integrating technology, pedagogy, and change knowledge – Chapter 2 – Technology: Power and peril. Don Mills, ON: Pearson. International Society for Technology in Education. (2018). ISTE national educational technology standards (NETS). International Society for Technology in Education Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards Saint-Exupery, A. D. (1999). Le petit prince: Avec les dessins de lauteur. Paris: Gallimard. Tyler, S. (1973). Dream On. [Radio] Boston : Columbia. Defining Education Technology LeadershipWhen I started working as a tech coach with this new organization, I had an “Aha” moment. I was so enthusiastic about sharing my idea, I wanted to revolutionize the world of education and pitched my idea. However, I was met by something along the lines of “That’s a great idea! Let me see with your leader and I will get back to you!” I was profoundly perplexed about that statement and I even forgot my amazing idea. But I am a leader! Am I not a leader? What I did not know then, is in this organization the people in charge, my bosses or principals, had the title of leader. This was and is still a bit confusing to me, since I see myself as a leader and always have. But as a great mentor of mine, Marius Bourgeoys assured me, “Leadership is not a position, it is a disposition.” Slowly, I got my fire back and now I am ready to lead. I do not want to wait to get a title, I want to lead now, and that is what I plan to do. As Fullan says “lead from the middle” I want to get involve, collaborate and play an active role in the success of my students, my school and my board. Moreover, I want to inspire others to do so as well, because we need all players to improve our education system by bringing new ideas, solutions and innovation. But what does it mean to be an education technology leader? There are many ways to define and observe leadership, but when we add education and technology, the definition gets blurred. Too often in my experience, technology leaders are undervalued either as customer support, tool pushers or not taken seriously. Yet, they are powerful change agents that can help grasp how our world is changing, help us ease change, and think about learning differently. Fullan describes this as the unbeatable triad, by combining technology, pedagogy and change knowledge, we attain what he calls the Stratosphere. This is an invisible synergy created by combining these three big ideas into something that can be experienced, but not seen. Which is what we need to foster if we want to create deep and lasting impact. Education technology leaders wanted! Effective leadership has a huge impact on learning. In fact, according to the Review of research How leadership influence student learning, the impact of leadership is second only to teaching. Personally, I am greatly influenced by outstanding leaders that inspire me to be the change I want to see in the world. This year, I had the opportunity to collaborate with some of them. This made me realize that the school cannot be led to success only by the administrators. We all have an active role to play, let’s hit the field as a team and win this together. References:
Fullan, M. (2015). Leading from the middle. Canadian Education Association, 55(4), 22-26. Retrieved from http://michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/LeadershipfromtheMiddle_EdCan_v55no4.pdf Fullan, M. (2013). Stratosphere: Integrating technology, pedagogy, and change knowledge – Chapter 1 – The Journey. Don Mills, ON: Pearson. Leithwood, K., Seashore, S., Anderson, S. & Wahlstrom, K. (2004). Review of research: How leadership influences student learning, Executive Summary (pp. 2-15). Retrieved from http://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/school-leadership/key-research/documents/how-leadership-influences-student-learning.pdf The Learning Exchange (2017). Michael Fullan – Leading from the middle. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://thelearningexchange.ca/videos/michael-fullan-leading-from-the-middle/ |