{"id":194,"date":"2017-04-07T22:36:07","date_gmt":"2017-04-07T22:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/larajensen\/?p=194"},"modified":"2017-04-21T01:46:52","modified_gmt":"2017-04-21T01:46:52","slug":"greasing-the-wheels-of-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/larajensen\/2017\/04\/07\/greasing-the-wheels-of-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Greasing the Wheels of Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

In my last post, I shared some of what I learned in the Launching Innovation in Schools EdX MOOC<\/a>. In that first unit, there was a description about how school leaders can help to accelerate the cycle of experiment and experience for teachers:<\/p>\n

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  1. \n
    \"Project<\/a>

    Pete. The View From Below. 2011. Public Domain license via flickr.com Accessed April 7, 2017.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

    Provide resources for research and development. Resources could be in the form of time, access to expertise, coaching, etc.<\/li>\n

  2. Create conditions for team learning that get teachers to collaborate and learn from one another. This could be by utilizing protocols for looking at student work, participating in instructional rounds, etc.<\/li>\n
  3. Ensure that there are opportunities for systemic institutional learning through teacher-led PD, more time for sharing innovative practices at meetings, etc.<\/li>\n
  4. Develop a shared vision and common\u00a0instructional language<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Thus, in order to start to create a safe environment for teachers to share ideas and take risks,<\/span>\u00a0I wanted to share resources and begin to put processes in place.<\/p>\n

    Sharing\u00a0Resources<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    IDEA #1: A Newsletter<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Since I read a lot of blogs and come across a lot of ideas for how to integrate technology in the classroom, I often want to share these ideas with colleagues. Sometimes I email them but I don’t want to be a nuisance to people\u00a0so I thought that maybe a newsletter could help.<\/p>\n

    I remembered how at ISTE 2016\u00a0I attended a session entitled: Flip Your PD: Digital Tools to Support Anytime, Anywhere Learning<\/a>. Holly Gillam and Melissa Pickens shared how they use MailChimp to share ideas before faculty meetings or as follow-up to PD sessions. It made information look more interesting than in an email so I gave that a go but managing what I wanted to share lead to having too many lists to manage.<\/p>\n

    More recently I was listening to a podcast (unfortunately, I no longer know which one) that introduced\u00a0me to Scott Monty’s newsletter<\/a>. He regularly writes about current events and trends related to\u00a0a specific list\u00a0of topics. I really liked this idea providing up-to-date information about a stable list of topics and wondered if\/ how I could use it\u00a0at school.<\/p>\n

    I learned about the Revue<\/a>\u00a0newsletter creator that allows you to save links as you come across them and later assign them to specific newsletters using their Chrome Extension or iOS\u00a0app. This seemed perfect! Just before March Break I used this tool to publish the\u00a0first issue of my\u00a0newsletter<\/a> to share ideas that teachers might want to consider and linked them back to what we have stated in our ICT philosophy. I received positive reviews and published my\u00a0second issue<\/a> just this week.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    IDEA #2: A Website<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I not only want to share new possibilities with teachers but I also want to document and celebrate what is already happening in classes\u00a0to support our policy and philosophy documents. At the last Face-to-Face session for Cohort21, Lisa Bettencourt<\/a> shared how she was planning to create a website to visually share ideas. Ever since we developed our Technology Standards, my Integrator colleague and I\u00a0have thought that we should provide links to what they could look like at different grades. A Pinterest-like website sounds like a great way to do this and is on my ToDo list!<\/p>\n

    Design Thinking Process<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    As referenced in previous posts, I really like the Design Thinking process – it keeps work focused in the end-user and encourages creativity. I have attempted to utilize a design thinking process with two groups I am working with.<\/p>\n

    PROCESS #1: ePortfolios<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I am currently working with Primary Faculty on utilizing ePortfolios in the classroom. This has been a purposefully slow process that was begun back in June 2016. Here’s how we have utilized Design Thinking so far:<\/p>\n

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    1. Empathize\/ Learn from people<\/em> – last June we shared our ideas and concerns regarding digital portfolios. Throughout this school year we have been trying different platforms. Actually trying these before passing “final” judgement has been invaluable! We have shared our learning, likes and dislikes with one another at a few meetings.<\/li>\n
    2. Find patterns<\/em> – we have gathered initial feedback from teachers about what they like and what they don’t like as much about the platform they are using and continue to do so. We should also gather some student feedback…<\/li>\n
    3. Design Principles<\/em> – as we continue to learn and share, we are also narrowing our ideas around how and why we should use digital portfolios. Although we are still in the process of learning and gathering feedback, we are also trying to come to agreement about what we believe about portfolios and the criteria we should use when we\u00a0make decisions about which platforms to use\u00a0next year. Some thoughts shared at this week’s faculty meeting can be seen in this slideshow<\/a>.<\/li>\n
    4. Make Tangible<\/em> – we will not be ready to make our proposals for at least another month but the journey to getting there is quite interesting!<\/li>\n
    5. Iterate relentlessly <\/em>– although I’d sometimes like to say that whatever we decide is the best route to go next year will mean that this job is done, I know that it will require constant reflection and revision to ensure that what we are doing is in the best interest of students and their learning as well as helping teachers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \"\"<\/a>

      Determining level of consensus.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

      PROCESS #2: Parent Support<\/strong><\/p>\n

      I am currently working with a Information Technology Advisory Committee\u00a0on supporting parents with technology. This has been another opportunity to work through a design-thinking process.<\/p>\n

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      1. Empathize\/ Learn from people<\/em> – We wanted to know “How might we build\u00a0a partnership with parents to help boys develop attitudes and behaviours about using technology responsibly?” We scheduled a time to meet with our Parent Association to find out about their concerns and got some terrific input on a wide-ranging list of topics:\n