Lifelong Learning - #IMMOOC Reflection Week 3

Learning can happen anywhere, anytime.

I always like to think of myself as a lifelong learner and this is true for many reasons.

1. I love to learn!

2. I believe I can learn from anyone - especially kids.

3. I am pretty positive I don't know EVERYTHING
4. I like to be challenged and questioned to push my thinking.

For all of these reasons it is my belief that learning can happen ANWHERE, ANYTIME!  I learn about my students through casual conversations about their weekend or hobbies.  I learn about my colleagues in the same way.  I learn about myself by reflecting on my practices and in questioning what or how I am teaching.  I learn and grow with other educators by taking online classes like the one on the Innovator's Mindset.  I learn from books I read or listen to.  In the makerspace, I learn about innovative ways to build or create things that I never dreamed were possible.

I always joke - well, you learn somethiong new everyday!  But it really is not a joke.  We can in fact learn something new each day.  And we should be empowering our students to do the same.  It can be something you learn about another person, or you can gain new knowledge about a subject you are interested in.  And this learning can happen literally anywhere.

Learning does not need to be confined within classroom walls.  This is the kind of innovative thinking that is needed in order to learn - anywhere, anytime!

Challenging Perceived Norms - #IMMOOC Reflection Week 3

Learning is Challenging Perceived Norms

This is true for students - but for teachers as well.  Today I was reminded that not all teachers we work with in our school communities are on the same page.  Just because something was done one way, for many years, does not make it the right way, even if this is the perceived norm.  

So, I LEARNED something about myself today.  Maybe it's something I have always known, but it was solidified in reflecting on how excited I get about new ideas and activities, and how strongly I feel about student voice and choice. I am always looking for new ways to teach the same old stuff.  I love empowering kids to be engaged in their own learning and helping those around them. I highly regard student opinions and take into consideration what they are interested in learning.  When students challenge me or a concept (in a good, respectful way of course), I feel challenged and know that they are truly learning because they are questioning.  

I learned today that challenging those who perceive this as "not the norm" is an innovative way of thinking.  That those who are saying "it's always been done this way", need to be challenged as this is no longer the perceived norm.  And this is exactly where I want to be!

Said NO IMMOOC'er Anywhere!

Learning is Social - #IMMOOC Week 3 Reflection

School vs. Learning

For these "short" blog posts this week for the #IMMOOC I will focus on aspects of the info graphic above of School vs. Learning by @gcouros.  

School = often isolates
Learning = often social

 In my current position I teach in the library, where historically people think you must be quiet.  Why is this the case?  I am not entirely sure.  But this seems to be the norm (as my kids and I are often shushed in our local public library).  I am happy to say that after about 5 years in this setting, we have changed the mindset in our school that the 21st century library is very different and that when there is noise it usually means that learning is actually occurring!

This noise is not just noise.  There are heated discussions amongst kids and teachers about books.  There are kids tinkering in the makerspace.    Teachers are working with small groups in a variety of spaces.  The TV monitor is showing videos on specific authors or illustrators.  Music is being played in the background.  Furniture is being moved around.  Games are being played.  All of this "noise" indicates some kind of learning and sharing happening.

In all my years as a classroom teacher, my classroom was very rarely silent.  The same now goes for the library (unless it is empty - and this is very rare).   How can students be learning from each other in complete silence?  How can sharing be occurring?  And in that respect, how can there be any growth?  Silence can occur when you are actually isolated, alone at home, where you are reflecting and processing information you have absorbed during your time with other students and teachers.  

Schools ARE social places by nature.  So let's not squelch this in our classrooms or libraries - embrace the noise and use it!

Embrace the noise!

Innovate INSIDE the Box - #IMMOOC Week 2 Reflection

Innovation is often thought of as "thinking outside the box".  But what is the box?  Why do I need to think OUTSIDE of it?  Is it better outside?  What if the inside of the box contains amazing, rich content, but just needs to be tweaked.  If I look outside for something new I may change the concept completely, instead of presenting something in a different way.  Maybe what teachers need to do is to think about the INSIDE of this box in order to be able to look at things at a new and different way

This idea of "Innovating Inside the Box" has really resonated with me this week.  While it is important to think of new and exciting lessons and concepts to share, it is also important to think about how to work within the structure you have and make it new and different. 

For example, I have noticed that I have students who each day linger in the library's makerspace when the bell rings in order to continuing tinkering or creating.  They are not in any rush to get to class.  Given the confines of a tight schedule, it is difficult to let them stay, regardless of my availability, and how much I would like them to.  These students are rushed off to class by their teachers (and me for fear of getting in trouble by their teachers). What if the project they were working on in the makerspace was part of their curriculum in the classroom? What if the school's schedule allowed students to begin their morning learning in different ways or in being part of a community like the makerspace offers?  What if I had the buy-in from teachers that this was beneficial for these students. What if teachers were doing these kinds of activities in their classrooms? What if....

I could go on all day with what if!  My ultimate vision, my ultimate "What if", is what if we changed the overall experience of how a student begins their day at my school, While I love that students don't want to leave the library in the mornings, I realize it is in their best interests to get to class.   So, maybe what needs to change is what's happening INSIDE the classroom or throughout the school once the bell rings.  Then maybe these reluctant kids may be rushing to get to "class", instead of stalling for time with me.  

When looking at the diagram of characteristics of the innovator's mindset I am drawn to two of them to help me get this grand idea I have rolling.  The first is "networked".  They always say it's not what you know, it's who you know.  In this instance, to foster the type of change I am talking about, it will be beneficial to connect with teachers who are ready to be innovative.  It will be important to connect with administrators who have the ability to encourage innovation through schedule changes throughout the school. 

The other characteristic is  "creator".  I am fabulous with ideas!  But I see on the diagram that what is also needed in order to create change, to foster innovation, one needs action, and only this will then lead to fruition.  Otherwise, it's just a great idea I have in my head. This is an area I am going to focus on.  Because I really would like to see this vision I have to "innovate inside the box" become reality.  

#IMOOC Week One Reflection

"Change is an opportunity to do something amazing."  This is at the heart of an innovator's mindset. The world around is changing all the time.  Literally, EVERY day is a NEW day, different from the one before.  Technology is constantly changing, both the tools and our access to it.  Our students are changing in front of our eyes.  They physically grow for one thing.  And for another, their views and opinions can change at the drop of a hat.  More importantly, what they KNOW can change, because they are constantly learning about the world around them and the technology tools they are using to navigate it.

So what is innovation?  While it is in part changing your thinking, switching up your teaching, doing something new and exciting to hook kids and get them excited about learning, it shouldn't be different just for the sake of being different.  As George Couros states: "Different for the sake of different can be a waste of time and may even leave us worse off than where we started."  So, at the true heart of innovation is meaningful change.  Change that has a purpose.  Change that is thought out in order to achieve a goal.  If the change is just a substitution for something old, then it is probably not truly innovative, because it is not a means to an end. The end result should be more creative thinking and learning.

In my own context, I have embraced change over the last few years.  Each morning students are welcome to come to the Media Center before school starts..  A few years ago, students in this scenario could be found staring into screens, playing video games on the computers.  But today you will find students working in the library's makerspace tinkering, researching, exploring, collaborating. This change did not happen overnight and it happened because I saw an opportunity.   There were students who showed a huge interest in starting their day with creative thinking, and there was an opportunity for change.   Just as it was advised in tonight's #IMMOOC discussion, I didn't wait for permission to begin this innovation, I just did it.    Which leads us right back to that fact that change can lead to amazing ideas.

I am continually looking for new ways to engage these learners first thing in the morning, and to continue to spread the idea that this can be done in the classrooms as well.  I am excited to learn about "LAUNCH" and incorporate design thinking principles into the marvelous mornings in the Media Center, and to model this for teachers.

Book Club

About two and half years ago I moved into a neighborhood in the suburbs of Atlanta in order to give my kids the kind of childhood one dreams of.  Friends they can walk to for playdates, swim team in the summer, amazing schools, nature trails right in the neighborhood, no worries about kids playing outside for hours on end!

What I didn't realize moving in was that there were also opportunities for adults to socialize outside the realm of their kids.  Parties at the clubhouse, tennis and BOOK CLUB!!  All my adult life I have tried to find a book club.  You see one in movies, hear about them from friends, and of course read about them in books!  For years, I never had the time, the resources (namely lots of people to talk about books with).  Sure, my best friends and I traded books we've read, share kindle accounts, and give each other recommendations.  But when we all get together we talk about books but also lots of other stuff!  So, I was so grateful when I moved into my house in the suburbs and heard that there was a neighborhood sponsored book club!!

At first, I didn't go, mainly because I couldn't find time to read the books (I just moved remember??). Or I tried to read the novel and couldn't get through it and I vow NOT TO FINISH BOOKS I DON"T LIKE.  Big waste of time in my world!

Then finally!  I finished and enjoyed one of the books.  It was The Orphan Train by Kristina Baker Kline.  Totally not a book I would have chosen on my own, and not my favorite genre.  But I was able to finish it - hurray!  And I didn't totally hate it!  Bonus! This meant I could attend my first book club meeting in good conscience.

I had a great time, met lovely women (and one man - which has since grown to 2 men!), had real adult conversations and have been attending once a month, give or take, ever since.  In fact, I even give input on book choices now (Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and Where'd you go Bernadette by Maria Semple). Secretly, I do this just to make sure some of the books I REALLY like to read are in there.

In between books that I chose or agreed with the choice, there's at least one book I actually loved (The Martian by Andy Weir) and others that I liked and felt like regardless of my love for the book, we had good discussions (Me Before You by JoJo Moyes, The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin.  And a few I didn't finish, as hard as I tried (A Man Called Ove Fredrik Backman by The Magicians by Lev Grossman).

Oh yeah, there's the one I watched the movie of because I couldn't even get past the first page (Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier),  Full disclosure, I let book club members know I did this, and couldn't believe I was the only one!

Total aside...and probably a whole topic for another blog...but I also started listening to books on my commute and love when the author reads their own work (celebrity memoirs, self-help books etc.) Recently, I was listening to Gretchen's Rubin's Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of our Everyday Lives, and I realize now that in order to create a reading habit, I had to be held accountable - thank you book club!!! Now back to my blog on book club...

I will NOT finish books I don't like is kinda my mantra (thank you Austin Kleon.).  But book club at least gets me to try them.  And that has made all the difference!

One Word

This blog a month challenge didn't come easy for me.  I do not have a "go to" video that I use for either personal inspiration or for educating children.  I have a lot of quotes and sayings, but not a specific video or movie that I know well enough or used often enough to write about.  So, when asked to blog about one I thought about what speaker has inspired me and I looked to Jon Gordon.

A few years ago my principal introduced us to Jon Gordon and the Energy Bus, as well as his notion of picking "one word" for ourselves.  Jon Gordon's positive thinking was inspirational to me then and immediately I got on the bus!  While I always thought of myself as a positive thinker, I now had a vehicle to discuss it and help create a culture of positivity in his name.

Over the last few years, I continued to stay on the bus, and also have picked one word for myself, regardless of whether or not we did this as a team.  In looking for inspiration for this blog, I revisited Jon Gordon's speeches and am reminded about the power of his words and ideas.

My word for this year is FOCUS.  In my position at work, I wear multiple hats and I have decided that for me to be most successful,  I need to FOCUS in on certain aspects in order to be really good at what I do.  At home, I have a house full of kids and need to FOCUS on what is most important, which is the time we get to spend together and not worrying about all the little stressful day to day things (which is what I usually tend to focus on).

Jon Gordon's inspirational videos can be used with adults AND kids, and I am glad I have revisited them for inspiration to FOCUS on my one word this year!