The Chasm Grows: Public versus Private

My heart is burdened. One of the things that always bothered me as an educator is how polarized I often felt as a private school educator when I attended conferences. Oftentimes the conferences are sponsored by state education departments and even in the opening sessions I can feel completely confused at the acronyms and current mandates being discussed. I have even felt judged at times because I have chosen to teach at a Christian private school at this point in my life as opposed to public schools. I didn't like how the chasm made me feel. I remember discussing it with a public school educator friend and he said, "I think there is a lot we can learn from each other. We each have things we do well. For instance, I stand amazed at what private schools can do with so little money." That very simple statement made me feel the support I needed at that moment.

The desire to mend this chasm started working on me thanks to Edcamp Gigcity. As part of the planning team that represented private, public, higher ed, and k12 educators I made friendships that helped me to see it was time for me to be intentional in trying to break down the walls I felt in order to prosper as an educator in ways that each group could offer. Greg Bagby, the coordinator for educational technology for Hamilton County, Tennessee schools has always been a friend and resource for me. Together, we currently co-moderate #TnEdChat weekly twitter chat. This is a really simple way to get out of the silo of your workspace to hear the thoughts of other educators across the world, not just your state. The connections I have made through this chat have helped me to feel less disconnected with fellow educators.

From that, I started a monthly coffeeEDU opportunity. This concept was first developed by Alice Keeler. Our #CHAedu monthly meet up allows educators from anywhere in the Chattanooga area to get together for one hour, one day a month to discuss educational topics of their choice. What I gain from these Saturdays is amazingly valuable. Representation from different states, districts, and roles helps me to see outside of what is often my narrow viewpoint. And as Jim David once said to me regarding a conference he was attending, "I didn't know what I didn't know." This monthly event is often eye-opening for me.

By choosing to bridge the chasm between public and private schools I've learned that if I want to know something about Open Education Resources, Dan Lawson is my guy. If I have a burning question on how to utilize a chromebook for math instruction, I can reach out to Dan Lyons. If I want to query area schools about their SIS, I can ask the pros and cons of what my friends use and I get real answers.

But I see outside forces making each camp feel uneasy. Even more disturbing, I am seeing educators feel they have to "protect" their schools. Public school educators feel they have to wear shirts that say "I love Public School." Private School educators feel the generalities being said about the boujeèness of their jobs are unjust. Instead of bonding together, the chasm grows. I believe wholeheartedly that I am exactly where I am supposed to be a Christian school educator. I also know my friend Jennifer Rimback feels completely in God's will being a guidance counselor in public education. I stand amazed at the level of care she gives ALL the students at the high school she is at even though the number of students has to feel like a daunting task. I sometimes get jealous of the level of support Greg Bagby gets from software companies due to the funding of those initiatives by his county.

What I know is in my amazement, confusion, and sometimes even jealousy of what is going on in the schools of all my educator friends, we are better together. My prayer is that we can rise above the things that polarize us and continue to grow together to benefit all students everywhere. Less finger pointing, more applauding the positives and helping each other work through the negatives. We are all facing the daunting task of being called to educate the workforce of the future. Let's continue to model the importance of linking arms in this bigger journey called life so that we can learn from each other.

Educators as Empowered Learners

I guess I might as well start this series with my soapbox message- the importance that educators continue to be learners and what that looks like in the digital age. If anyone sees the importance of this as much as I do, we immediately become fast friends. Below is the excerpt from the ISTE Standards for Educators that describes this standard:

Empowered Professional

1. Learner - Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning. Educators: 
• Set professional learning goals to explore and apply pedagogical approaches made possible by technology and reflect on their effectiveness.
• Pursue professional interests by creating and actively participating in local and global learning networks.
• Stay current with research that supports improved learning outcomes, including findings from the learning sciences. 

                                               (ISTE Standards for Educations- 2017)

There isn't a teacher worth a grain of salt that doesn't try to better their teaching yearly but these standards suggest looking at oneself through the lens of technology integration. If we believe that our students need technology skills then we as educators need to be plugged into ways of remaining current and relevant with technology opportunities.  For me, this looks like the following-

• Professional Learning Goals: At the beginning of every new year (yes, January not the school year) I ask myself what goals do I have that will make me better at what I do. For instance, this year I have a goal to work on my Google Educator Certifications. As a technology coordinator, I believe this will give me a skill set that will aid me in supporting the teachers at my Google Suites adopted school. Has anyone asked me to do this? No. Part of being an empowered learner is that I look for ways to better myself. I don't wait to be told where I need to better myself. Although I am open to that as well!
• Participating in Local and Global Learning Networks: I take this seriously. I am constantly connecting with others to better myself for my own knowledge but also for the knowledge of my school. if I am stuck in the silo of my school getting feedback from the same people over and over, I become stagnant. I participate in the following ways (please note that none of these options cost me a dime of money)-
• Edcamp GigCity. This is my fifth year of participating in this edcamp unconference in Chattanooga, TN. This participant directed day allows me to grow contacts outside of my school and learn from others- and edcamps are free. While edcamps are not technology conferences, technology is often discussed in some of the sessions because of it's exponential reach and use in today's classrooms. 
• #CHAedu #coffeeEDU. A couple of years ago I decided to start a local monthly 1 hour coffee meetup for any educators interested in discussing education issues/concerns/thoughts. This monthly meeting usually has anywhere from 4-12 educators from higher ed, lower ed, private, and public schools. Last week a Georgia high school math educator shared some really important information that would impact my school. Without me having that discussion with him, I would have been blindsided by it later. 
• #TNEdChat. And other educationally based Twitter Chats. My good edu-buddy Greg Bagby and I serve as co-moderators for the weekly (Tuesdays at 8pm ET) #TNEdChat twitter chat. Educators from all over can join in various weekly discussion topics from anything educational related. Not sure how twitter chats work? Check this out. Wondering if there is a chat out there you might be interested in? Check this out but let me invite you to join us on Tuesdays at 8pm. It is a smaller chat group and might be less overwhelming for beginners. Twitter has grown my connections to other educators exponentially. It is the number one reason I feel I am seen as a change agent because I am always looking for ways to better the educational process and Twitter is my go to. The connections I have made have often turned to school visits and face to face encounters to learn more about what other districts are doing.
• Digital Learning Day. I don't believe my role as an empowered learner should just be about taking. I see that I also need to be sharing myself to help others. Not that I have a lock down on how to do everything in tech integration well but I can perhaps share my fail forwards to prevent others from making the same mistakes. Last year our lower school had an open house for Digital Learning Day so we could show our technology integration in action for any educators wanting to visit and take part. 
• Staying Current: In my role, either I am cutting edge in knowing what is out there or I am irrelevant. I have to be a visionary and forward thinking in order to best meet the needs of my school system. For me this means all the above things I am associated with but I also look for opportunities to attend local, state, and national educational technology conferences. This can be an expensive part of who I am but I look for ways to offset the cost when possible. For instance, at many conferences if you are chosen to be a speaker, you can attend for free or discounted. I take advantage of this when I can. I also try to balance myself by doing reading that contradicts my views on technology integration. Iron sharpens iron and by staying relevant on research I become a more rounded educator.

I believe educators often fear the imposing of technology in their classroom. This first ISTE standard for Educators sets a framework for teachers to become empowered and knowledgeable about educational technology. Dig deeper, become a learner about what's out there and what's coming. Have an open mindset about views you disagree with. Find a group that will grow you. Be a lifelong learner about the things you enjoy but also about technology integration. 

Educational "Air Time"

Over the last couple of weeks I have really started looking more deeply at the way technology can enhance different learning theories and instructional practice. I realize that has made me hypersensitive to critiquing teachers and teaching styles in a way that I don't want to be. Needless to say, I'm trying to look at methods from a non-marginalizing approach and make the assumption that every teacher is trying their best to meet the needs of their classroom goals and individual students.

That being said I am currently feeling a little overwhelmed with some things that have played out lately regarding academic roles. Believe it or not I was a quiet high school student that rarely would have added value to group discussions unless I was point blank called on because of my shyness. (I  know...you are wondering where that girl is and wanting her to come back occasionally). I mostly made A's and B's as a self-motivated student in above-average ability grouped classes. I was a listener and got what I needed to make the grade but I did not really enjoy high school. High school did not feel relational to me for the most part.

As I have been looking at teaching methods I find myself wondering what are we doing to pull out students like myself. I know there are strategies for pulling in the outliers but do we use them? Is there a reason our students feel like outliers? Is it a perceived intelligence issue? Language issue? Apathy issue? Shyness issue? You have to know who your students are to fill the needs. And of course for me, I'm wondering if digital discussion boards in an LMS might be a solution to give the "quietest student a voice" a quote about technology I often requote from Jerry Blumengarten.

On top of all this I helped lead Edcamp Gig City this past Saturday and when I'm looking at the feedback I can't help but think...even teachers don't truly understand how to best engage in group discussions. The overwhelming majority of the feedback from the 125+ attendees of  Chattanooga's 4th annual educational unconference was positive but the complaints all had to do with people taking up too much "air time," being dogmatic about their views, leading instead of facilitating, and griping about their world instead of speaking about disadvantages with hopes to find a solution by sharing. If educators themselves aren't good at this, that worries me a bit. When someone feels marginalized they shut down. That is the worst thing to happen in education. What skills can we use to prevent this from happening without seeming condemning and causing the opposite person to feel marginalized? And of course, as an instructional technologist I am digging and wondering how can educational technology best support the socratic method, small group instruction, lecture classrooms to best meet the needs of all students, or can it? What are your thoughts?

Fueling the Leaders

Yesterday I got back from spending a day and a half at Emory University free of charge thanks to the Gates Foundation and the Edcamp Foundation. Edcamp Organizers Summit was an amazing opportunity for those of us that have been on the planning committees for local Edcamps. It was an honor and a privilege to represent Chattanooga's Edcamp Gigcity.

I'll be honest, a month ago when I said yes to the event I was so excited but as the dates approached and the summer was slipping away, I begrudgingly got in my car to make the two hour trek to Atlanta for the event. My excitement level had waned but my commitment was there. (The irony was not lost on my that I was much like the 30% of our ticket holders that don't show up on the day of the free edcamp due to multiple reasons). After getting to the lovely Emory Conference Center and checking into their hotel, I starting making connections with many people in my professional learning network and realized this was a plus for the event. As I met new edcamp leaders from all over the south I found myself growing with excitement. The event was fabulous! We spent Tuesday morning in true edcamp fashion learning what we wanted to learn to make edcamps better or growing our educational practices.

Sometimes as educational leaders we get run down. Edcamps are hard work and I actually serve with a team of amazing educators that share the workload! In the midst of Edcamp Gigcity I always feel like I am there to serve and personal learning actually takes a backseat as I'm making sure the dynamics of the event are going well. After about the first hour of Edcamp Summit I realized it was relaxing. I realized I was being fueled. I realized I was benefiting from this unconference. It felt like a worthy use of my time!

I'm kind of stingy with anything that takes time away from my personal life but the older I get and more passionate I get as an educator, those worlds seem to be meshing more! I am thankful for being given the opportunity to sit around tables with amazing minds to discuss how do we make our edcamp experiences better. I am thankful for the new connections I made at this event. I am thankful that the Edcamp Foundation created this event for us weary, outliers that want to see professional education opportunities become MORE MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITIES FOR POSITIVELY CHANGING THE ACADEMIC WORLD FOR OUR STUDENTS.

I am encouraged. I am proud of what we have done thus far with Edcamp Gigcity and due to the excitement of Edcamp Organizers Summit I am ready to tackle another year of providing innovative options and thought patterns in my area. Thank you Hadley Ferguson and Kim Savick for what became an empowering two days for me!