{"id":45,"date":"2014-11-15T15:04:09","date_gmt":"2014-11-15T15:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/melissaramon\/?p=45"},"modified":"2014-11-15T15:04:09","modified_gmt":"2014-11-15T15:04:09","slug":"jell-o-and-kevin-costner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/melissaramon\/2014\/11\/15\/jell-o-and-kevin-costner\/","title":{"rendered":"Jell-O and Kevin Costner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Something in my brain went CLICK this week.<\/p>\n

I had an incredible professor during my undergrad at Trent University. \u00a0Her class was THAT class. \u00a0The one that attracts a standing-room only first day and a waiting list a mile long. \u00a0She’s one of those people who seem to be able to seamlessly teach both her subject area (the history of the English language) as well as life lessons, all while being an entertainer at the same time. \u00a0Recent weeks have reminded me of one of her lessons that I have found most valuable over the years — the Jell-O principle.<\/p>\n

This is not rocket science, or even a new idea. \u00a0The Jell-O principle (in her toolkit) simply referred to the fact that our brains need time to sit with a new idea or possibility for a time before we can fit it into our pre-existing thought patterns. \u00a0Sometimes we need to be exposed to an idea multiple times before we even register it as possible or worthwhile. \u00a0Dr. Keefer’s lesson had to do with writing essays and studying for exams. \u00a0She advised us to take in new content and then let it sit for a time before trying to force it into a defined shape like an essay.<\/p>\n

In my current life, the Jell-O principle is informing how I do my job as ITi Committee Chair here at St. Andrew’s College. \u00a0I tend to get very excited when exposed to new teaching tools, especially when they have a technological base. \u00a0I am the one who rushes to try new things and although I temper my enthusiasm by testing new ideas before bringing them into the classroom, I am certainly one of those early adopters who makes my colleagues roll their eyes and say (or at least think) ‘here she goes again…’ \u00a0Of course, I get it. \u00a0I know that my colleagues are stretched to their maximum capacities with teaching, coaching, family commitments and personal pursuits. \u00a0I, too, often feel that I cannot handle even one more demand on my time to learn, do, or try anything new. \u00a0But the Jell-O principle has taught me to be patient.<\/p>\n

This week was a revelation. \u00a0I had recently begun to feel that I was becoming a bit of a pest when it came to introducing the faculty to new programs, apps and general IT awesomeness. \u00a0And though I have always recognized that this stuff isn’t for everyone, I was growing more and more disheartened at the lack of response and enthusiasm toward things like Twitter and Diigo (why can’t they see the power of it!?!?).<\/p>\n

But this week it all changed. \u00a0I had a colleague stop me in the hallway and say, “Hey, you know I asked my science students where they were keeping their research resources and they said not to worry, that it was all in their Diigo! \u00a0They said that you made them learn how to use it in history class. \u00a0It’s amazing!” \u00a0 The students had\u00a0discovered its value and\u00a0used it for the next research project, regardless of the subject area. \u00a0(Yes! \u00a0Score one for the good guys). \u00a0 Then another colleague stopped me in the hallway and said “Ok, so check out what came through on my Twitter feed today.” \u00a0(Yes! \u00a0Yes! \u00a0Score two!).<\/p>\n

So it seems there is a natural ebb and flow to the process of bringing EdTech to the faculty. \u00a0I need to remind myself to have patience with them and to trust in the Jell-O principle. \u00a0It has been a year and a half since I first introduced these two tools, and a good percentage of the faculty are just beginning to embrace them. \u00a0 Many of them will come around to exploring what I’m presenting them in their own time. \u00a0And many will not. \u00a0And that’s ok. \u00a0Rather than grow disheartened again, here’s my new plan:<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Continue to enjoy discovering new EdTech solutions and pushing at the boundaries of teaching and learning with all of my enthusiasm<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Continue bringing my discoveries to my colleagues<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Be patient as they explore them in their own time, at their own pace<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0Be there to support them and cheer them on as they do<\/p>\n

5. \u00a0Have a smile ready for the one (you know who you are!) who will always push me to defend my use of EdTech, even though he does it in a jovial way<\/p>\n

6. \u00a0Respect the Jell-O principle both for myself, and for others<\/p>\n

7. \u00a0Trust in the Kevin Costner factor and build it, then be patient and trust that they will come.<\/p>\n

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Something in my brain went CLICK this week. I had an incredible professor during my undergrad at Trent University. \u00a0Her class was THAT class. \u00a0The one that attracts a standing-room only first day and a waiting list a mile long. \u00a0She’s one of those people who seem to be able to seamlessly teach both her … Continue reading “Jell-O and Kevin Costner”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":46,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-45","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-edtech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/melissaramon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/melissaramon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/melissaramon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/melissaramon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/77"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/melissaramon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/melissaramon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/melissaramon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/melissaramon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/melissaramon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/melissaramon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}