Holding the Tensions of Opposites

A few weeks ago I sat in a meeting discussing funding of our STEM program and the discussions got more personal. Sharing of beliefs and conflicting beliefs that one person described as “holding the tension of opposites.” As I sat and listened to these two men talk I realized fully that this idea is something I strive for all the time. I had just never been aware of the phrase.

After leaving the meeting I couldn’t get the concept to leave me, and after a very hard week the thought hit me again. Holding the tension of opposites isn’t easy. In fact, it often creates a tension inside me that seems like tipping scales. My recent tensions include:

Believing that technology can have a great positive impact on education 
and also
Believing that technology can have a negative impact on education when people lose their balance and perspective


Believing that preparing students for a world of technology usage is an important part of every educator’s job
and also
Believing that technology doesn’t inherently equate to good teaching 


Believing that my views of innovative practices could enhance creativity and a culture of open mindsets 
and also
Believing that agendas or forcing innovative ideas on others to carry out will not have a positive impact on culture


Believing that integrating technology in the classroom through balancing student’s use between creation, consumption, curation and connection is imperative for the innovation era which is their future
and also
Believing that the age old concepts of Socratic dialogue and other non-tech teaching is just as effective for learning 


Believing that innovation is the intersection  where need and passion meet. And that it doesn’t have to be technology to be innovative
and also
Believing that technology has a way to tear down the walls of the classroom and allow teachers and students to know more than ever before


The problem with living with these tensions is that it is intellectually draining at times. The word “tension” itself shows the demand that is being placed on oneself by choosing to grab hold of opposite ends and allowing the shock waves of conflict to battle within us.

The positives of choosing this way of thinking is that it creates a space inside us that critically considers both sides of a tension. By accepting them to coexist inside us we are more open to being flexible in our thought patterns. It is easier for us to see the benefits of both sides. We become less dogmatic about the things we truly lean towards and willing to be flexible when we grab those tensions.

It is when we give over to one idea completely, whether it be because of conflict, bullying or realizations that our rigidness makes us less approachable. It is when we feel in conflict with someone that doesn’t appear to be holding the tensions themselves that we become more lopsided in our discussions.

The holding of the tension is necessary for critical thinking. Yes, it’s hard but all good things usually are. Recently I feel this ongoing tension about our school’s choice to do all objective assessment through the LMS Canvas. I see the work and the “learning things the hard way” that our teachers are pushing through. I appreciate the ones that accept the challenge placed before them. There are days I look at the tensions regarding this decision and think “is it worth it?”

Today, due to a question a teacher had about regrading a quiz question I saw once again the analytics that teachers have the ability to see regarding each question they create. It was in that moment that I was reminded again of the why of this tension. If a teacher chooses to use that feedback to grow their curriculum, the opportunities for school, teacher and student growth could be exponential.

Hard things take time. Research shows that 3 months into any implementation is the hardest because of the outlying pressures and learning curves associated with the change. We are there at that 3 month mark. I pray I can ever be mindful to hold these tensions dutifully so that I can best serve in the role before me. Some days I cry from the tension. Some days I rejoice in the feedback. Everyday is hard but good things are hard. We don’t let our students give up when it gets hard. I won’t either.

Full STEAM Ahead at CCS

In the spring of 2016 our school was approached by a parent that wanted more STEAM opportunities for his daughters to take place at our school. Oftentimes people think that funding comes easy for private schools but I submit that it does not for individualized curricular projects. The grants aren't available to us and that was where I was as the Technology Coordinator in our lower school. Until this parent shared not only his vision but created funding opportunities, I just dreamed about integrating coding, robotics, circuitry, etc into our curriculum- the funding just wasn't there.

The change happened with the 2016-2017 school year and we were able to create a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) curriculum into our school that supported our integrated units. We were also able to hire a full time STEAM Project Assistant that would learn the nitty gritty of coding, robotics, circuitry, and the design thinking process. This STEAM Project Assistant meets with grade level teachers and works with them to create opportunities for integrated projected based learning as well as stand alone STEAM lesson plans that support weekly learning. The beauty of the way we have done this is that this STEAM Project Assistant creates embedded professional development opportunities for our teachers as well. They are able to learn about coding hand-in-hand with their students. Our goal with our STEAM program is to give our students a variety of experiences to broaden their understanding of potential STEAM jobs for their futures. We have adopted the concept of these lesson plans to not be associated with a "grade." This is our attempt to create a culture that makes students lead with curiosity and not fear failing. Our project based learning opportunities are graded by the teachers but any weekly STEAM lessons that do not impact the PBLs are considered scaffolding for learning.

This change opened the door for our students to have a variety of new experiences and for some of our students there was an immediate "click." We were already a tech-rich lower school with rolling carts of iPads and chrome books in grades preK-4th and a 1:1 environment for our fifth graders but the STEAM program created more opportunities to use the technology beyond the 4 C's of technology integration- curation, consumption, creation, and connection in ways we had not had the ability to do before.
We are programming robots and concepts, making green screen productions and showing our elementary students how to make websites. We were taking our possibilities to a new level like never before. For some of our students, we peaked an interest...we were empowering the "brains."

When Fifth Graders Make Websites For Fun

Today our lower school principal sent me a text that said "Some fifth graders have something they want to show you." I was intrigued but also a little nervous. After I made it to the office I was given a slip of paper with a web address on it: https://sites.google.com/view/lava-studios-comics/la-va. There are times in your life you are just so proud and blown away by students and in this case I had absolutely NOTHING to do with this. Five of our students created a website to host comic strips they have created in their free time. I was so impressed that I interviewed two of the students (Aiden and Brody) this afternoon on what they had done:

Being a preK-12th grade school, we are currently working to create a profile for the technology skills we want a graduate to have. This endeavor that these students took on that wasn't even part of their curriculum is a prime example that we are no longer teaching the same type of students we have in the past! These students used classical art skills and creative writing skills and turned them into a contemporary format. 

When I look at the major headings of technology skills we are wanting a graduate to have I look at the why, how, and what these 5 fifth graders have created and I can't help but want to put a check mark by everything. And lets not loose sight of the fact that this was all because they wanted to! If you listen to their video you see we not only have innovators but also potential entrepreneurs on our hands. To see today's young students using technology creatively as positive digital stewards in a globally reachable world makes my heart happy. I helped them think about some digital safety measures they might want to take and they have already made those changes. Why? Because it's what they WANT to do with their free time. 

Read the following goals we are currently working on for technology integration student standards (that have been adapted from the ISTE Student Standards) and see what you think these students have accomplished:

CCS Technology Integration Standards for Students

1. Empowered Learner

As truth seekers students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning modalities.

2. Digital Stewards

Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and God honoring.

3. Knowledge Constructor

Students critically curate with responsibility and discernment a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.

4. Innovative Designer

Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.

5. Computational Thinker

Students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions with integrity.

6. Creative Communicator

Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

7. Global Collaborator

Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively as Christ-centered critical thinkers.

How Does Excitement for Edtech Become Contagious?

Have you ever been to a sporting event and for whatever reason the crowd just wasn't into it? Maybe it was too hot, or too cold, or the score was a runaway, there wasn't enough excitement, or both teams played lackluster which caused the fans to be chatting in the stands or playing with their phones or people watching more than they were actually watching the event they had paid money to attend. I have been at those events. As a coach, player, cheerleader, rabid fan, or sports administration person the overall thought has to be "How do we change this climate?"
The same concept often holds true in education regarding technology. There are educators out there doing amazing things by using technology to enhance lesson plans but they aren't being seen, applauded, or even recognized! There is a new teacher out there- the one that realizes times are changing and constant access to information is here and  affordable wearable technology is right around the corner. According to a 2014 Pew report 83% of Americans aged 18-29 have smartphones. While this study did not ask anyone under that age, I know as a mother of teens, in my school community, the percentage of teens with smartphones would be exceptionally high as well (http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/).  There are teachers out there that are now trying to adjust their teaching to ask more "ungoogleable" questions, to change their teaching into "how do I teach these students to love learning, critically think, curate information, and use the information they always have in hand to make them smarter, well-rounded, individuals that add to, develop, and influence their worlds around them for good?" It's a question educators have been asking for years, "How do I best teach my students?" but the difference is that today's student has access to information on them all the time. According to my google search just now, "Google now processes over 40,000 search queries every second on average, which translates to over 3.5 billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide." (http://www.internetlivestats.com/google-search-statistics/). This tells me that people want to learn and are learning everyday in their least restrictive environment.
So why is it some educators just don't see the value of teaching students using technology? WE NEED MORE HYPE. No, not hype for hype sake...but teachers need to see how to make a good lesson better or a bad lesson good! Three times this year I have taken groups of educators to different schools and let them observe technology integration in action. Three times this year, those teachers have come back to our school and implemented something they were excited about seeing while at those schools. When teachers see amazing lesson plans using technology working, they feel more confident that it will work for them. When teachers visit enthusiastic tech-using teachers, when they have enthusiastic tech support, when they are praised by their administration for trying to enhance lessons using technology integration, when they have small triumphs they want to share with others, the excitement for Edtech becomes contagious. What can we do to grow this? Encourage teachers to ask others how they are integrating, encourage great integrators to share their ideas, allow teachers to visit other schools, give them the support staff to brainstorm new ideas, give them the culture to fail forward, hold their hands, invest, research with and for them. We need to celebrate beneficial edtech moments in their classroom and push them through the failures and fears of bad tech moments- both happen, just like good and bad lesson plans happen without technology. Visiting a teacher that is smiling from ear to ear because they have come to the realization that something about edtech makes them feel like they can "teach" or "reach" better is one of my favorite moments...those smiles are contagious- share them!