Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone

My past week has been filled with staff, teachers, counselors, administrators, and myself stepping outside of our Comfort Zones. We all know that when we stay in our Comfort Zone, we generally don't grow - we generally don't do anything amazing.

While I took a major leap outside my Comfort Zone this year in my new role, I have seen several others who have also ventured outside their Comfort Zones to try something new/different that is better for the students. Teachers are diving head first into the technology tools provided and exploring options to improve student learning. The secretaries are mastering the new Teacher Ease student management system, the lunch staff is owning and adapting the Teacher Ease lunch program to make it work for our district, and administrators and parents are exploring the instant notification features built in to the Teacher Ease system regarding student grades, discipline, attendance, and lunch balance.

Today I was bludgeoned with the Comfort Zone concept. In addition to working with a teacher who is committed to making some overhauls to the way the courses are taught and hearing about a teacher who is taking on the challenge of creating a course from online lessons combined with classroom activities, I also stumbled upon Tom Whitby's article "Comfortable Baby Steps?" As I began reflecting on how I have seen several people in the district step outside their Comfort Zones, the episode of Covert Affairs that I was watching with my wife was based on stepping outside your Comfort Zone for the greater good.

Part of my commitment to you was to also provide technology tools that will make it easier for you to succeed. This week I am promoting Trello. Even though I have been stepping outside my comfort zone, I needed something to keep me organized and grounded. Trello is a wonderful productivity tool that can be used by an individual or by a collaborative group to organize "to do" lists, assign tasks, check off completed tasks, and discuss options to complete tasks.

For the past two years I have been loosely using the free tool Trello with my yearbook staff to collaborate on tasks to meet publishing deadlines as well as with the teachers leading the global Flat Classroom project NetGenEd. In the past two weeks, I have been heavily relying on Trello as a daily "to do" list, a reminder of ongoing tasks, and completed tasks. I access Trello frequently using my iPhone and iPad, but may access it also from a web browser on my laptop or through the app in my android tablet. Last night I let my new yearbook staff know that we will use Trello as a collaborative tool to keep us on track in the production of the yearbook. My favorite side note of Trello is that you can sign up for it using your Google account or just use your email address to sign up. Today, I showed a colleague how I use Trello to stay on track so I make sure I prioritize tasks and complete all the tasks I need to complete.

While Trello is a cool productivity tool, there are others out there that have various appealing functions. Please add a comment about your favorite productivity tool. Stepping outside your Comfort Zone to improve student learning is awesome, and finding a productivity tool that helps maintain sanity is also essential.

One of the areas that I have forced myself to step outside of my Comfort Zone is the area of sharing. I, like many other educators, feel uncomfortable sharing my lessons, pedagogy, expertise, and favorite tools because I fear that I will be perceived as pompous or pretentious. However, since I have joined several global communities of educators, I have found that sharing my information is just as important to others as the information that I glean from them. I am amazed at the down-to-earth nature of the "famous" educators. We are all on the same team and have the same goal of doing what is best for our students. We appreciate tips from others, and they deserve to benefit from our expertise as well. In future posts I will discuss ways to share your expertise with your immediate colleagues as well as other educators.

What are you doing to step outside your Comfort Zone? What tools are you using to maintain or increase your productivity? Share in the comments below.

How Cool Is That?!

photo by John Langley

Wow! What an amazing experience!

Towards the end of a meeting packed week that also included finalizing senior grades and assisting seniors with their graduation slideshow as well as a successful Student Summit for the NetGenEd 2011 project and a photography/art show at the PPHS Ice Cream Social (a fine arts festival), I was running out of steam. I was so worn out tonight that I was wishing that I could call in sick tomorrow, knowing that I could not because there is too much to do.

What rejuvenated me was a chance look at Facebook where I noticed a post that two English students were working on their Post-Modernism Final Exam Project and were streaming the session live on Ustream with the assistance of one of their friends. How could I resist? Shortly after I started viewing the live stream, they got excited that they had a viewer, and I commented on Facebook that it was me. I watched and commented for a while. The students even discussed setting up a regularly scheduled live show - how cool is that?!

I am so thankful that I was able to be an observer of learning outside the classroom. It fired me up again. I don't feel the weight of everything on my "to do" list now. I feel refreshed and ready to go! I could see that the students were excited that I was watching them work and that I was interacting with them during their live performance. Their creativity and ability to make "work" into "play" made me forget about the work I have been doing. One of my personal goals as a teacher has always been to make learning fun, and another has been to create a culture of creativity and problem-solving. These students hit the mark, and I was priviledged to be able to participate.

I also began to reflect on the "work" of one of my colleagues, who posted a song on Soundcloud this week. Ms. McGovern posted "Words for the Wise" to her seniors and "Rockin Guitar Class" among others. How cool is that?!

What about that Student Summit? Students presented in a web conference of a global project while Flat Classroom Project co-founder Julie Lindsay attended from the other side of the globe - how cool is that?!

Students and parents viewed the award winning photography that was on display during the Ice Cream Social - students were eager to show off their work to their family and friends. The choir and band sounded amazing! I actually got the tingling chills that you get when music is so good that it becomes an emotional experience instead of just an auditory experience. How cool is that?!

How do I cap off this week? I get to present a PPEA scholarship to an amazing student at graduation this weekend. How cool is that?!

How do you avoid burn-out? What keeps you fired up and motivated? Leave comments.

Preparing Students for the "Real World": Social Networking and 21st Century Skills

Wow!  I just found out this past week that the grant my school receives that covers the funding for the T1 line mandates that Social Networking sites are blocked.  With 21st century skills emphasizing collaboration, communication, technology literacy, and social skills, you can imagine my, as well as my administrators', surprise.  Educators are responsible for preparing our students for the future - whether it be the business world or the next level of education.  The discussion of how to catch up with technology and with the business world is, and will, continue to be ongoing.  Obviously, until the issues of education funding is resolved and education is given the attention needed to prepare students (not just adequately prepare, but fully prepare) for life, educators will continue to improvise and "get by."

While there are several alternatives to Social Networking sites (Edmodo, Twiducate, etc.), these are often reduced or "dumbed down" versions of the actual Social Network sites.  It appears that the impetus that drives blocks on Social Networks is both Fear and Ignorance.

Fear historically causes people to lash out at things that they do not understand.  I understand that there is fear of lawsuits for students bullying, intimidating, and disrespecting others.  I understand that there is fear of inappropriate social connections between adults and children.  At the same time, I also believe that it is the responsibility of educators to teach Social Networking skills and etiquette (netiquette) to students so they know how to use those tools appropriately.  Betty Ray makes that point apparent in her blog Making the Case for Social Media in Education.  She emphasizes that educators must model appropriate behavior regarding Social Networking:

 "It is quickly becoming our duty as educators in the 21st century to guide our students towards responsible use of social media. We teach sex ed, we teach healthy living, we teach about drugs, we teach character ed., and on and on. We do these things each and every day, yet we are ignoring the aspect of our students' lives that is larger than all of these things (and completely interconnected with them as well). It is our duty to our students to start modeling responsible use of social media and encouraging them to follow our lead. We can no longer afford the veil."

People who are not taught Social Networking etiquette run the risk of making the mistakes that we often hear of in the news.  People do not consider that information (text, photos, videos) posted online shape the impression others have of them.  By teaching netiquette in elementary schools (and reinforcing netiquette values throughout the educational system) as soon as students begin using computers and the internet, Integrity will be instilled.

Ignorance (not knowing how Social Networking can be used in the classroom) is a further factor that promotes reluctance to allow Social Networking in the classroom.  My personality demands that there must be a purpose for a tool before I use it in my classroom.  I have found countless ways to utilize Twitter, Facebook, etc. with my students.  As with any classroom tools, expectations/rules must be discussed so students use the tools properly, safely, and respectfully.  My yearbook class has a private Facebook group and a public wiki.  My photography classes have online digital portfolios.  My speech class and English classes have public blogs.  With each of these technology tools, the risk of bullying, harrassment, intimidation, etc. is present.  Students are expected to adhere to Mr. Langley's Digital Classroom Expectations.  Social Networking expectations would be no different.

Recently, educators collaboratively came up with The 30 Newest Ways To Use Twitter In The Classroom.  I am continuously amazed at the amount of advise and information that I glean from other educators at the #edchat and #edtech Twitter hashtags (the #edtech link goes to a live feed using Tweetgrid).  I have learned, collaborated, exchanged ideas more this past summer using Twitter than I have in any workshop in the past ten years elsewhere.  With that said, I would love to bring that same experience into the classroom with my students.  Again, as educators, we are used to improvising and adapting to create experiences that will emulate the real world.  I challenge educators and legislatures to accept that the time has come that we need to stop shielding our students from the real world - we need to functionally prepare them for the real world with real experiences.

The next real challenge is to educators themselves:  are you teaching students the same way every year?  Are you allowing yourself to become comfortable?  If so, Why? We got into education to make a positive impact on students lives and education.  It is our responsibility to stay up-to-date with not only learning styles of students, but also with the tools of the real world.  It is our responsibility to create a safe learning environment for students by teaching them the proper etiquette/netiquette of new technology/tools available.

With the dilemma that I am currently in, I will concede to adapt and use technology that simulates the "real thing," but I will also continue to educate educators, administrators, parents, legislatures, etc. about the need to prepare students for the "real world" by using tools that the "real world" is currently using.  I challenge educators, administrators, legislators, and parents to work together to find a realistic solution to prepare students for the real world.

You don't remove all of the electrical outlets in your house because you are afraid your child will be electrocuted; you instead teach your child about safety regarding electricity and the importance of using electric devices responsibly.  Instead of sheltering our students from "real world" tools, let's teach our students the responsible, ethical way to use Social Networking and 21st Century Skills so they are truly prepared for the next level of their lives.