But here’s the thing… the reasons why I wanted to start participating in the online exchange of ideas on leadership and technology are all still valid and compelling today.

The beginning of a new school year seems like a good time to give this another go… so in the spirit of “if at first you don’t succeed”, let’s try this again.

Things went well, I think.  The exit slip feedback was pretty positive, and yesterday I heard that at least one of the people at the session was already trying out some of the things we did with students.  The next day.  Nice!

Getting back to those exit slips… two main points came up in the “areas for improvement” question.  One of them was the size of the chairs (we were in an early years school, with correspondingly small chairs).  I’ll file that one under “Maybe a good point, but not my problem to solve” and pass it up the chain.  The other comment that showed up a couple of times was related to the speed of the day.  Put simply, a couple of comments suggested that slowing down the pace would have been a good idea.

To be honest, I think pace was something I tried to be conscious of… both overtly (“How are we doing, would you like a bit more time to play with this or should we go on to the next piece?”) and by trying to read the room.  And I think especially with technology, people at a session are likely to have a wide range of proficiency levels and finding a happy medium is sometimes tricky.  So part of me wonders whether a few people feeling the pace was a bit quick is normal… if I have a third of people wanting more “explore time”, a third thinking tht the speed is about right, and a few thinking that we’re going a bit slowly, is that what I should be aiming for?  Or not?

I guess one thing I’ll try to keep in mind is the benefit of collecting more structured feedback in exit slips and surveys.  In this case, I used a semo-structured open response type exit slip (“How do you see today’s topics being useful to you in the classroom?”, “What went well?”, “What could have been improved upon /what could have made the session more effective?”).  But in this case, on the question of pacing, what I find myself being interested in is the overall opinion of the whole group… which a “too fast / too slow / just right” fixed response question or a scale (1-5) response would have given me.  I think I’m also interested in data on “very / somewhat / not at all useful” in the same format.  Anecdotal feedback is cool, but I need to remember to also include some structured data collection next time.

I also wonder whether I tend to be one of those people who often moves quickly… not just when presenting to colleagues but also with kids.  I need to ask a few students about this, I think… I know with my kids I want them to feel that their time with me is productive and interesting, but I don’t want them to be exhausted at the end of a class.  Something to be deliberately conscious of, I think.

Oh, and materials from Tuesday’s session are up under resources if anyone’s interested.  I can’t upload the video clips I used here, but there is a references slide at the end of the PowerPoint with links.   I’d highly recommend the “A vision of students today” video from Kansas State University’s Digital Ethnography project to anyone who hasn’t seen it… very thought provoking.

Facebook has gotten a lot of attention in teacher circles lately… on the web, and also in a recent issue of The Manitoba Teacher (our provincial association‘s newspaper)… and it’s even come up at staff meetings.

Nancy’s list of reasons she isn’t on Facebook  is pretty complete… I too am a techie, and I have enough things to check and update regularly… spending time checking and updating something else just doesn’t seem like “down time” to me.  And I too am concerned about how public I want my life to be.

In today’s era, teachers are public figures in the same way that our political leaders are, if not more so.  Whether this should or should not be the case is a moot point – it is the reality.  As a result, I want people who Google me (colleagues, students, division admin) to see the same person online that they see at work.  I’m a pretty open person, but there are a few subjects I think are off limits with colleagues or students, and those tend to be the things that are the subject of most Facebook posts.

Technology is a wonderful tool, which allows us to do some great things, but like all tools it needs to be used thoughtfully.  For me, like Nancy, I see  more downsides to being on Facebook than benefits.

The nudge I needed to get this place going came in the form of a very interesting post on Dean Shareski’s blog “Ideas and Thoughts from an EdTech”  on professional transparency.  His post was a response to Will Richardson’s “Leadership=Transparency”.  Basically, they both argue that teachers ought to have an online presence which supports their professional values.  In Will’s words:

I have more and more of an expectation of the teachers and especially the administrators in our schools to lead transparent lives. The fact that they are veritably “un-googleable” in terms of finding anything they have created and shared and perhaps collaborated with others on troubles me on a number of levels. First, I can’t see for myself whether or not they are learners. And, almost more importantly, I get no sense as to whether or not they are leaders of learners. Whether they are in the classroom or in the front office, I want (demand?) the adults in my schools to be effective models for living in a transparent world. I want my kids to see them navigating these spaces effectively, sharing what they know, teaching others outside of their physical space, and contributing to the conversation.

Dean and Will have a valid point… but beyond just “yes, I agree” I’d like to add that we’re rapidly moving towards a world where nobody will be “un-googleable”. If we don’t define our own online  identity, that doesn’t mean we won’t have one… we just won’t be the one in control of it.  I don’t have any skeletons in my online closet, so that’s hardly the issue.  Still, if someone is going to check me out online, I’d like to have input into what they see, and I’d like what they see to be current and relevant, as opposed to something I wrote 10 years ago.

So… this place will no doubt help me to be more professionally transparent, but that is and ought to be more of a side effect than a goal.   More than transparency, I think this place will be a good professional learning vehicle.  Tomorrow I’ll be presenting a session on classroom blogging at an inservice in our division, and I plan to start off by telling my colleagues that classroom blogging is an incredibly valuable support for student learning, a great way to foster communication and build community, and a good way of documenting what you’re doing in the classroom.   It seems to me that all of this is also true for professional learning.

I’ve had the priviledge of following education-related blogs by some very smart people over the last couple of years, and the opportunity to reflect on issues in educational technology and leadership has been a valuable part of my professional growth.  Just as I think at some point teachers should consider presenting at inservices rather than only attending them, I think in the online world that at some point it’s appropriate to shift from spectator to more active participant.

Transparency is important, but to me it’s something that happens in the process of pursuing larger goals.  What I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to more actively engage in professional learning from and with fellow educators.