Carter's Adventures in Educational Technology

When I first took the position as a technology integration specialist, I knew I would have to facilitate learning sessions with educators; but as a teacher, my only role was to attend and learn. Now, I am helping to plan and run them, a big change of perspective! This past summer I helped with the expo portion of our Know Your Impact conference  organized by my district and runs for 3 days in early June. That was my first look into the behind the scenes aspect of professional development. I was amazed at the man hours put into organizing a conference of this size, and I didn't even help with the main session planning! I only helped to find teachers to present on technology and vendors for the expo.  I now find myself planning my own mini professional learning sessions that I will deliver to the staff during faculty meetings, planning periods, and modeling sessions with the teachers throughout the school year. This is quite a large undertaking and organizing resources...

It's time to switch from old-school, sit-and-get professional development to the ongoing, interactive professional learning.  Gulamhussein (2013) states that  Professional Learning has 5 key principals: Extended throughout the year. Ongoing support through all stages of implementation.   Active learning and hands-on application Modeling and coaching included Specific and authentic to the learner. I agree and intend to use these as I facilitate professional learning. Behind the Scenes My inspiration for this video was my personal experience with PD in the past and how horrible some of the sessions were and from TED Talks that I have viewed. I feel that people will want to know that they have some control over their professional learning and that they are not stuck with whatever their district chooses to provide for them. Personally, I continue to learn more from Twitter, Facebook, podcasts, and blog posts that cover educational topic...

When a person is leading change within their organization there are many things to consider. Why would someone even do want you are asking them to do, What are some key behaviors you want them to change, how will you execute your plan, and what do you do when emotions get high?  Before you can even begin to make a change within your organization, people need to know the WHY behind your actions. If you can get to the heart of the matter and share why you want to make these changes then people are more likely to follow you, especially if they agree with your WHY. Start With Why (Sinek, 2009) is a great book to help you develop your WHY, HOW, and WHAT for yourself or your organization. I explain my WHY in the post Why I Do What I Do for my position as a technology integration specialist. Even when I was a small business owner that was one of the first things I did. I looked internally to determine why am I doing this and I made sure to share my WHY with other people....

One minute your spouse is asking you about dinner plans, and the next you're in an argument about whose turn it is to clean the kitchen. You've just entered into a crucial conversation, especially if you're a teacher working on her master's degree and never have time to clean!  Crucial conversations are all around you and if you are not self-aware of your hot buttons then you are more likely to end up in a heated discussion without intending to. As a leader and change agent, it is inevitable that I will end up in a crucial conversation and it's vital I can implement the strategies Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, and Switzler share in Crucial Conversations (2012).   My book on Crucial Conversations A few of the conversations I'll have are going to be with teachers and implementing technology into their classrooms. When I approach my boss with my innovation plan for blending our professional development and changing it from a one and done session to an ongoi...

When life gets going we tend to let the whirlwind of daily tasks get in the way of accomplishing our goals. We get bogged down and discouraged. We had a great plan... but it's the execution of the plan that is hard.  I have a goal to motivate my teachers to create a technology-rich environment in their classrooms. A place where students are offered a choice in how they demonstrate their learning. I've looked at the influencer model (Grenny, Patterson, Maxfield, McMillan, & Switzler, 2013) and I've looked at the 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) (McChesney, Covey, & Huling, 2012) as two methods to create change.  They are similar where they both have you chose no more than 3 behaviors you want to change. The main difference is the influencer model helps you to plan how you are going to support these changes while the 4DX model helps you to carry out the plans. I went into detail about the influencer model in my previous post and I explain the 4DX...

Leading organizational change is not an easy thing to do especially at the beginning of the school year. It is a time when teachers are bombarded with new policies and programs to incorporate into the new school year. That's why it's important to choose a few vital behaviors that will give you the most bang for your buck to avoid overpromising and underperforming. Have you ever written a New Year's Revolution resolution only to abandon it come February? It’s possible you did not maximize your sources of influence.  Grenny, Patterson, Maxfield, McMillan, and Switzler (2013) studied influential people around the world and discovered six sources of influence when it comes to change. These sources are broken into the categories of personal, social, and structural and then split into motivational and ability subsets. They conducted further research and observed that when people or organizations used four or more of the sources of influence, the likelihood of success increased...

But WHY? These two words can be the downfall of any organization looking to change the way they do things. If people don't understand why you do things the way you do them, then they are not likely to do anything you ask them to do. Simon Sinek (2009) studied many businesses and wrote a book about what he noticed the successful businesses did. The most successful businesses were the ones that clearly communicated the WHY behind their business for the employees and customers. They reached people's hearts and beliefs. Golden Circle  Simon labeled what he found as the Golden Circle and explained that WHY is located at the center surrounded by HOW and WHAT. This diagram also matched our brains with the Limbic portion of our brains also located at the center of our brain surrounded by the Neocortex. The Limbic portion controls feelings such as trust and loyalty. I think of it as my gut feelings, I can't put into words why I feel the way I do and that is how the why ef...