GoogleApps and teacher transparency - 1

I've long been a fan of educational transparency. I just didn't know it was called that.

In my article Teacher Web Pages that Build Parent Partnerships that appeared in MultiMedia Schools way back in September 2000, I argued that teachers should be sharing everything with parents in order to make parents partners in the education of their kids.

I've been validated.

Educational change guru Michael Fullan makes transparency one of his six "secrets"  in The Six Secrets of Change: What the Best Leaders Do to Help Their Organizations Survive and Thrive (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008) Here is what he writes:

5. Secret Five: Transparency Rules

The first reason that transparency rules is that it’s going to, whether we like it or not. Easy access to information means that the public’s appetite for accountability cannot be thwarted.

The second reason it rules is that transparency is a good thing; in fact, it is essential to success. Yes, we all know that data can be misused. Public reporting of student results can lead to unfair or destructive actions. However, the alternatives—to keep information private or to refuse even to collect it—are neither acceptable nor useful.

Effective organizations embrace transparency. We know that people will cover up problems if the culture punishes them. So one thing we must do is develop cultures in which it is normal to experience problems and solve them as they occur. When data are precise, presented in a nonjudgmental way, considered by peers, and used for improvement as well as for external accountability, they serve to balance pressure and support.

Knowing that transparency is both inevitable and desirable for successful organizations makes it far less threatening.

How can teachers develop a culture of transparency and build trust, helping insure the success of their students, leading to their own professional success? Let’s open some windows.

 A well-designed online teacher presence can serve a variety of purposes. These purposes include:

• Providing a general description of the classroom or course.
• Providing a general outline and timeline of the units covered.
• Providing specific information about individual units or projects.
• Providing real-time information about the progress of individual students.

Over the next few days (it may be more than a few since I am out presenting at conferences for the next couple weeks), I will expand each of these areas and look at how GoogleApps can help teachers be more transparent in each of them. Stay tuned....

BTP: Have to vs. get to

A weekend Blue Skunk "feature" will be a revision of an old post. I'm calling this BFTP: Blast from the Past. Original post September 29, 2008.

Seth Godin's post Get to vs. have to resonates with me. In it he asks:

How much of your day is spent doing things you have to do (as opposed to the things you get to do)?

and suggests the higher the percentage of things you "get to do" as opposed to "have to do," the greater the likelihood of happiness and success.

Were Jessica Hagy at indexed to look at this, she might draw:

Yes, it's a book checkout card, not an index card. Tough noogies.

One workshop I give touches on the difference between intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation, revisiting Ed Psych 101. A question I pose to illustrate the difference is "If you won the lottery tomorrow and never HAD to work again, what things do you do at work that you would continue to do?" I am sometimes disappointed that teachers and librarians are rather slow to come up with tasks that they like to do so much that they'd keep doing them.

Eventually a short list appears:

• I'd still read children/YA literature.
• I'd still read aloud to kids.
• I'd still teach kids how to use ____________ software (KidPix, Inspiration, PowerPoint).
• I'd still try out new software or technologies.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his old book Flow writes about people who are able to take even mundane tasks (washing dishes, loading trucks, working on assembly lines, etc.) and turn them into intrinsic challenges by setting personal goals or challenges. I expect many of us have figured out how to do this one way or another.

So far I run about 80% "get to" parts vs. 20% "have to" parts of my job. I genuinely like coming to work everyday. Well, almost everyday. It's a combination of luck and attitude probably. If ever the "have to" portion of my job gets bigger than the "get to" part, I hope I have the good sense and courage to move on.

What's on your list of "get to's?" What would you keep doing even if you won the lottery? How do we encourage those poor people who seem to live an entire work-life of "have to's" to find a more fitting position?

Self-evaluation Rubrics for Admin Tech Use, 2013 - 6-10

These are the updated version of the 2002 CODE77 Rubrics for Administrators and 2010 Rubrics. Your comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome. The rubrics can be viewed as a GoogleDocs form.

VI.  Online Research, and Professional Development, and Personal Learning Networks (NETS-A 2009 - 2d, 3b, 3d)

Level One: I prefer not to use online resources to gather professional information or research nor do I use technology to communicate with my peers to share information.

Level Two:  I can effectively search and extract information from online resources such as educational journal databases, ERIC, and other credible sources on the Internet. I subscribe to electronic journals and newsletters of professional relevance. I subscribe to electronic mailing lists (listservs) and RSS feeds of blogs and news sites to gather information and problem-solve with fellow professionals. I have participated in educational forums or training delivered online.

Level Three:  I use technology to remain actively engaged by contributing to an on-going professional learning community of my peers.

VII. Teacher Technology Competencies (NETS-A 2009 - 3a, 4c)

Level One:  I cannot specifically identify any specific skills teachers in my school or district should have in order to use technology effectively. My school or district has no written set of technology skill competencies for teachers.

Level Two:  Our school or district has a set of technology skills that teachers are expected to master correlated to the NETS-T or other national standards. A formal staff development program that offers teachers a range of staff development opportunities in technology and a means for assessing the effectiveness of those opportunities is in place. The effective use of technology in supporting all teaching improvement efforts is recognized and addressed in staff development initiatives.

Level Three:  All teachers are expected to use technology to increase their pedagogical effectiveness and integrate high-level technology uses into their classes when appropriate. I can identify effective technology uses in the classroom and know how they support other effective teaching practices such as Danielson’s Frameworks for Learning.

XIII. Student Technology Competencies (NETS-A, 2009 - 2a)

Level One:  I cannot identify any specific skills students in my school or district should have in order to use technology effectively after graduation to be successful students, workers, or citizens.

Level Two:  My district has a well-articulated and well-taught information literacy curriculum that integrates technology into a problem-solving research process. I help assure that my school has a librarian who provides instruction to both students and staff in these skills. Students have a wide variety of opportunities in all classes to practice the use of technology in meaningful ways. Benchmarks for student technology proficiency are written and understood by the staff and public. Our curriculum is based on national standards such as NETS or AASL’s Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning.

Level Three:  I serve on curriculum committees comprised of both educators and community leaders that help identify the skills and competencies future graduates will need to successfully participate in society. I can clearly articulate how technology use impacts student achievement. I work to make sure technology access is adequate to meet all students’ learning needs.

IX. Envisioning, Planning, and Leading (NETS-A, 2009 - 1a, 1b. 1c)

Level One:  I let others in my district or school create technology plans. We purchase equipment, software, and technical support on an as-needed basis.

Level Two: I use software to facilitate brainstorming activities, to plan and conduct meetings, and to create decision-making models. I take an active leadership role in building and district technology planning efforts helping make decisions about hardware selection and acquisition, staff development in technology, and integration of technology into the curriculum. Our school and district have a long-range plan and short-term goals for technology use that are regularly assessed and updated. I have a personal philosophy I can articulate regarding the use of technology in education.

Level Three:  I have a leadership role in my professional organization that stresses the effective use of technology in education. I write and speak for my fellow practitioners on technology issues. I work to inspire others to use technology when it supports best practices in education.

X.  Ethical Use, Student Safety and Policy Making (NETS-A, 2009 - 5a, 5b, 5c)

Level One:  I do not feel I need to be concerned with any ethical, safety, or policy issues surrounding computer use.

Level Two:  I  understand copyright and fair use issues as they apply to information technology resources. I demonstrate ethical usage of all software and let my staff know my personal stand on legal and moral issues involving technology. I know and enforce the school’s technology policies and guidelines, including its Internet Acceptable Use Policy and policies relate to the use of social networking tools by the professional staff. I am aware of the issues as technology relates to student safety and security and the physical health and environmental risks associated with technology use. I have a personal philosophy I can articulate regarding the use of technology in education.

Level Three: I am aware of other value-laden aspects of technology use including data privacy, equitable access, and free speech issues. I can speak to a variety of technology issues at my professional association meetings, to parent groups, and to the general community. I encourage all staff members in all classes to address the issues of safe and responsible use of technology and the Internet.