Carter's Adventures in Educational Technology

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 effe

In my grad school journey, I learned many new things and a few of those I get to revisit regularly. One of those topics was the growth mindset. I was first introduced to Carol Dweck's (2006) book on the growth mindset back in January when we were asked to develop a plan for how we would share the growth mindset with others. Here is my website on Growth Mindset that I created back in January that includes my plan. I've made some changes to this site since it originally held the slide deck and the references only. Recently I have added more information about the growth mindset with more of my personal thoughts and opinions.  Another topic I learned more about is creating a significant learning environment for my learners. We discussed how technology has changed the way people learn and interact with each other while learning. Thomas and Brown (2011) introduced me to the term collective when referring to my online community of educators. We all contribute to the groups'

As I continue to develop my innovation plan on blended learning to create personalized professional development, I had an opportunity to explore the Backwards Design in Wiggins and McTighe's book, Understanding by Design  to design a unit within my plan. I had already used  Fink's 3 column table to design the course therefore I knew my goals for the course.  UbD has you start with your standards and the ISTE Standards for Educators was where I looked to begin. I found the perfect standard that reflected the main purpose of my plan: Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability(5). It fit perfectly! It allowed for blended learning, student choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities, and personalized learning.  Next, I worked on the understandings and essential questions I wanted my learners to pursue. From these understandings, I derived the skills and concepts that suppor