Excuses vs. Challenges

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Several comments on post from last Thursday "Six biggest library annoyances and how to avoid them" took me to task for adding "excuses" as an annoyance. Anonymous put the sentiments of these folks well and passionately:

I, too, object to "no excuses," as it seems to imply to my administrators that I should be able to provide the same level of services as one librarian in four buildings that three years ago four librarians worked 10 and 12 (or more) hour days to provide. Not being able to provide non-stop info lit for 2000+ students is a reality, not an excuse. "No excuses" always sounds to me like management-speak for "I want it done but don't want to pay for it.". Worse, this has become the default attitude across the work world, not just in schools, and I'm darn tired of it. Which parts of librarianship shall I leave out to look excuseless? Professional development? Selection and deselection? Managinging paraprofessionals thoughtfully? Collaborating with teachers? Community connections? Keeping up with kiddie lit and technology? Of course not, says the "no excuses" brigade. You should stop cleaning your house, attending family events, volunteering outside your workplace, having personal time, taking part in Union activity, etc.

Sorry, quite the sore point for me! I think when we are not clear about the diminished services that result from diminished funding or staffing, we teach those we serve that we were wasting their money before, and we fuel unreasonable expectations. Clarity about possibilities by the professional doing a job should not be interpreted as excuses for a low level of improvement by those demanding impossibilities.

OK, OK, maybe the mention of excuses was my management side leaking out subconsciously. I will freely admit that many librarians and teachers (and principals and techicians and custodians and secretaries and ...) are working under very difficult circumstances with very high expectations. I am also conscious that I have not been a building level librarian for many years, so my vantage point is from the ivory tower of the district office.

But I will put on my library supervisor hat for this post.

Here is my thought - neither profound nor probably original ...

Any single condition or situation can be either an excuse or a challenge. It all depends on the individual's perspective. I would define an excuse as a challenge that an individual views as unalterable, unchangeable, fated. A challenge is a condition or situation that is real, identified, and important - but we should be working to change. Not just accept.

So any of the following conditions could be either excuses or challenges, depending on how the librarian who is experiencing them, views them:

• My principal doesn't support libraries.
• My budget is inadequate.
• My fixed schedule prevents me from having an effective library program.

But it is the next clause that determines whether the situation is an excuse or a challenge...

• My principal doesn't support libraries which is why I don't have enough a) staff b) resources c) respect.
• My budget is inadequate so the collection is old and unused.
• My fixed schedule prevents me from having an effective library program since I can't integrate my program into the classroom curriculum.

All excuses I hear too much.

However I have respect for librarians who say:

• My principal doesn't support libraries but I am working to convince him/her that libraries do impact student achievement using both internal and external data.
• My budget is inadequate but I am building advocacy in my students, staff, and parents to support my proposed budget.
• My fixed schedule prevents me from having an effective library program but I am working with teachers in the flexible time I have, building support for additional flexible time.

George Washington Carver said "Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses." I think that is why I find excuses so abhorrent - that those who make excuse do so from a feeling of powerlessness. 

We do not need powerless librarians. Everyone can change his or her situation - or at least go down knowing one has tried.

If you're not nervous, you're not paying attention

A teacher attending grad school to get a technology admin degree sent me, as a tech director, a list of questions required for a class. Since I tend to "think in public" anyway, I'm sharing them as a post. All in all, they're pretty pragmatic questions. For what it's worth...

What is your role with the technology budget?  How is the technology budget determined as part of the district budget, and how is this budget allocated?

My job is to develop and implement an annual zero-based technology budget for the entire school district. The budget reflects actual maintenance and growth expenditures needed and is approved by the board each year. Approximately 60% of the budget comes from the regular school capital and general funds and the other 40% of the funding comes from a 7 year technology levy, passed by voters 6 years ago and since renewed. Budget is allocated both for district expenditures and by buildings. Here is a general outline for out district of 7600 students:

• Network costs (WAN and Internet) $65350
• CODE 77 (150 teacher computers ) $166500
• New teacher training $10000
• Infinite Campus  $72000
• Mastery Manager $12000
• Viewpoint $19000
• Shoutpoint $22000
• Follett Library systems $15500
• Worldbook $5000
• Learn 360 $7500
• Audio Systems project $50000 
• Wireless Systems upgrades $50000
• Elem building tech $120000
• Secondary building tech $120000
• Secondary career ed $30000
• Community Ed  $10000
• District tech $95000
• Online Learning $20000
• Salaries $250000

How often is the District Technology Plan updated/revisited? Who has input to the Tech Plan and how is that input gathered?

In a sense, we have two technology plans - the 3 year plan that we construct for the state and to satisfy e-rate requirements. We dutifully put this together on request with input from staff surveys, consultation from departments and administrative teams, and our advisory committee. We also create an annual list of goals and objectives. This created primarily by members of my department and then modified/validated by our advisory committee and administrative teams. You can see examples of both here <http://www.isd77.org/page/4103>.

What sources do you use to find information on technology topics? Where do you get ideas for new technology tools and what the “next” thing/direction in the district will be? (What do you think that “next thing” is right now?)

I am a GoogleReader addict, subscribing to dozens of blogs and news feeds in both general education, general technology, educational technology and library fields. I read the blogs of people like Daniel Pink and Scott Adams and David Pogue. I am also old school enough to read the professional magazines and periodicals that come across my desk and even professional books! I don't listen to podcasts or watch many videos.

Our district is currently trying to strategize on how to get a device into every student's hands, how these devices will be used to support teaching and learning, and how to provide the infrastructure and staff development needed to be successful. My cloudy crystal ball says that the $200 Google Nexus tablet is just the first of many such devices that will make 1:1 or BYOD financially possible for nearly every district - finally.

 

How is professional development related to use of technology organized and encouraged in the district?

This is a moving target right now. We are working closely with our teaching/learning/curriculum directors to try to focus our SD efforts on supporting whole district initiatives rather than technology specific goals. This means integrating our classes with regular PD classes rather than separate tech training.

We are also trying to define the district and building level responsibilities for training staff  in using tech efficiently. What are the specific roles of the district-level tech integration specialists and what are the responsibilities of the school librarians and tech-savvy classroom teachers in helping teachers?

 

Does your district collaborate with any other school districts to share ideas or to mentor? If so, how is that conducted?

We have just partnered with two neighboring districts and the local university to offer an Innovation Zone conference last summer. We also work with our regional telecommunications consortium, participating in staff training, idea sharing, and cooperative purchasing of tech services at monthly meetings. My staff and I try to attend the KIC meetings (in the Twin Cities) when we can as well. 

 

Does each school decide how much and what kind of technology they will use, or is this done at the district level?

Both. The elementary schools have pretty much agreed on a basic level of technology, but the secondary schools each use a technology advisory committee internally to develop tech plans and determine use. We do have district-level projects such as IWB installations, voice amp projects, wireless upgrades, and of course networks, student information systems, and our websites. We also try to standardize on resources, equipment types, and software district-wide. So it is a combination of building/district decision-making.

Does each school have a technology coordinator? If so, what is his/her role (staff development? hardware/software management? student instruction? etc.?) If not, how is building technology and staff development managed?

No, but the library media specialist serves in the technology integration role and building-based technicians do maintenance tasks. The librarian is tasked with doing day-to-day individual training with staff and students on technology stuff that we consider "standard" work - in place and universally adopted such as GoogleApps, IWB use, etc. They then work in cooperation with out two district-level tech integration specialists on implementing new resources such as Moodle, iPads, Edmodo, etc. 

What kind of data do you look at to determine the efficacy of technology decisions and use in the schools? How do you REALLY know what’s going on in the schools?

We look at data provided by research more than local data since direct causation of any educational project is nearly impossible to isolate and demonstrate in a school setting. I rely on teacher feedback and usage stats to determine whether something is being used - and I will always assume that a professional teacher is using the resource well. How do I REALLY know what's going on in the schools? Well, I get my butt out from behind my desk and visit every school and site at least once, if not twice, a month. (That's 17 sites.) I "manage by walking around," talking to librarians, principals and teachers when I do so without interrupting their classes. 

 

What are the most important things you look for when you are hiring someone to work in your department?

People who are self-starters, who do not need supervision, and who have great people skills.  

What is currently your biggest challenge as Director of Media and Technology? What do you get the most frustrated emails about?

Teachers are wanting more and more access to technology in their classrooms. I joke that I spent my first 10 years in the district trying to get the technology ball rolling and the past 10 years trying to keep from getting run over by that same ball. An increasing number of teachers and administrators are seeing how technology engages today's students and can be used to build problem-solving and creativity skills (and are perhaps hoping that its use will improve test scores.) If we want more technology, I believe, it means less of other things - print textbooks, printing, etc. It's easy to add resources, but tough to give things up in education. My other frustration stems from not getting every teacher using technology to its full potential. We have our pockets of "wow" like all districts, but I want "wow" in every classroom. 

What are indicators of “a great day” in Media and Technology? What are you most excited about relative to your work at this time?

A great day is one when I get away from my desk and visit buildings, watch kids use technology in meaningful ways, and hear a teacher's or librarian's excitement about a new project. I am very excited at how an increasing number of teachers are using online resources (Moodle, Edmodo, GoogleApps, etc.) to complement F2F instruction and finding constructive ways for students to use their own technologies in class. Low cost tablets just might be the way we can provide a long-desired 1:1 device to student ratio in the school. The very pace of change and innovation in the field is very, very exciting. As somebody once said, If you're not nervous, you're not paying attention!

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BFTP: Home media ecology

A weekend Blue Skunk "feature" will be a revision of an old post. I'm calling this BFTP: Blast from the Past. Original post October 19, 2007.

Every time I visit with a telecommunications provider, I hear a sad litany of just how tough it is to make a profit in today's marketplace. I don't get it.

In 1988, this was, as I remember it, my telecommunications outlay:

• Basic telephone service including handset rental: $20 a month
• Long distance service, $10-15 a month (if that - long distance was to my family a rarely used luxury)
• One television with broadcast channels only and one radio (receiver built into a stereo amplifier) = $500 with a life span of 36 months = $15

Total about $50 a month.

Twenty years later, this is my telco outlay:

• Basic telephone service, no handset, $25 a month
• Long distance service, $10-20 a month
• Cell service for 3 lines, text messaging, data service: $120 a month
• Satellite TV, no movie or sports channels, $50 a month 
• Home broadband Internet access, $50 a month
• Webhosting, two sites, $40 a month
• Various wireless charges at hotels, airports, etc. $30 a month
• Three televisions, three computers, printer, scanner, 2 cell phones, 1 cell phone/PDA, 5 telephone handsets (now portable with base stations), 2 iPods, GPS system, wireless home router, DVD player, VCR, stereo receiver/amp (No TiVo - yet.) All devices which need to be replaced now and then. Maybe around $9000 worth of electronics with an estimated life span of 36 months = $250

 Total about $580 a month!*

And telco providers aren't making money? I don't get it.

I thought of this while playing with a chart that Lee Rainie from the Pew's Internet & American Life uses in his The New Media Ecology presentation. (He credits Tom Wolzien, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., but I can't seem to locate his original work.) Here is my adaptation:

Then:

Now:

 

Rainie and Wolzien need to add a column on the far right side of the chart that reads "Personal Production." Not only in today's home media ecology do we consume information and entertainment, but on a regular basis we produce it and share it just as easily.

There's been some fuss about whether Prensky's Digital Immigrant/Digital Native analogy is accurate or useful. I'm not sure. But I do feel that while I may not have immigrated to a new digital country, I have moved from an information desert to an information jungle both at home and at school over the past 10 years or so. (And I have the bills to prove it.)

I am pretty sure that our kids don't inhabit this jungle any more skillfully than us geezers.

They've just never known anything but the jungle.

* In 2012, this is my telco outlay:

• Telephone landline - dropped
• Long distance service - included in cellphone bill
• Cell service for 2 lines, no text messaging (iPhone messaging is free), data service: $112 a month
• Data plan for iPad: $25 a month
• Cable/satellite phone - dropped 
• Netflix $20 a month
• Home broadband Internet access, $50 a month
• Webhosting, two sites, $20 a month
• Various wireless charges at hotels, airports, etc. - now use data plan on cell or iPad
• Two televisions, two laptop computers, printer, scanner, 2 smart phones (no separate GPS),  wireless home router, DVD player,  stereo receiver/amp.  All devices which need to be replaced now and then. Maybe around $6000 worth of electronics with an estimated life span of 36 months = $170 per month replacement
• Total $397 for monthly charges and hardware replacement

So the ecology may be shifting a little again. Smartphones and tablets are replacing GPS devices, separate cameras,e-book readers, TV screens, TV programming and DVDs.  Like many families, we've dropped the home telephone landline and cable TV. If I want to watch video, it as often on the tablet as it is on a TV. We probably go to 10% of the movies at the movie theater as we once did. 

OK, telcos - you can start complaining again...