Want a New Job? Play It Smart or Play Stupid?

Dateline - December 5, 2007 - Jeff Utecht "Let Your Presence Be Known"

Jeff writes an outstanding piece about how schools get your network when they get you. Based on a TWIT episode, Jeff suggests the power/depth of your network should help you get a job with a school. If you haven't read Jeff's article...do it now! If you haven't listened to the TWIT episode, do it after reading Jeff's article.

Jeff makes a strong point that the stronger your network, the more valuable you are to the school in terms of bringing knowledge, opportunities, experiences, research, etc. In effect, your network impresses potential employers. Jeff's interview situation is presented this way:

“Could you please share with me the extent of the learning network that you would bring with you to this job?”

An answer:

“Well, I bring 1500 readers from my blog, over 400 Twitter contacts, 30+ Facebook friends, 50+ Skype contacts, and a Ustream.TV station that at the last live event saw 40+ people attend. I bring with me one click access to a knowledge base far greater than any single hire can bring.”

Dateline - December 6, 2007 - Miguel Guhlin "All Things In Moderation"

Miguel writes an outstanding piece about how schools get your network when they get you. Based on personal experience, Miguel suggests the power/depth of your network could keep you from getting a job with a school. If you haven't read Miguel's article...do it now!

Miguel makes a strong point that the stronger your network, the more intimidating you are to the school in terms of bringing too much knowledge, too many opportunities, too many experiences, too much research, etc. In effect, your network scares potential employers. Miguel's interview situation is presented this way:

I spoke to a friend yesterday morning. As we spoke, he mentioned,
"Miguel, you won't believe it."
"What?" I shot back. He had dropped his voice into that conspiratorial whisper signalling gossip...you know what I mean.
"The superintendent handed out required reading to all his directors. In chapter 3 of the book, you were quoted."
"Hot dog! Really?" I exclaimed. "Think they'll hire me now?"
"Not a chance."

This is not an issue of who is right...Jeff or Miguel...it is an issue of finding out what the school system in which you would like to work is looking for in an employee, doing some research to find out where they are in terms of technology use, openness or fear of web 2.0 (especially their views on student and teacher content creation and extra-school collaboration), and the expertise/philosophy of those in authority within the district as it relates to instructional technology.

If you find a school like Jeff mentions, then "play it smart." Let them know your network is diverse, extended, deep in quality, and significant.

If you find a school system like Miguel mentions, then "play it stupid." Let them know you are familiar with these ideas, but that the your focus is on helping your students be successful (which probably means you can prepare them for the big standardized test in the Spring). Mention that you are willing to learn about any new methods the system may implement in the future, and that you are a life-long learner who assimilates information quickly. Then, when the system does something new next year, like show Karl Fisch's "Did You Know" at the system-wide convocation, you can catch up on the sleep you missed the past few nights while you stayed up late catching up with your Google Reader feeds.

In my experience, in my neck of the woods, I have to play it stupid if I want to move or stay. No kidding, last week a central office technology "leader" asked me if I had heard of...are you ready...TeacherTube. I said yes, I was one of the first 100 people to create an account there because I read about it in one of my networks (either RSS, Classroom 2.0 on Ning, or something over a year ago). The next statement to me was, "There are a couple of teachers who want to get it unblocked, but we don't see how this site would be helpful to them in school. What do you think?"

I played it stupid. I asked which teachers wanted access (because I wanted to know who knew of TeacherTube - they were ones I told about it). I said the teachers should follow the protocol for getting sites unblocked and the Tech Dept should follow through with administrative decisions to unblock it. I hated myself for that response. But guess what? They thought I was a genius for suggesting that policy be followed.

Sometimes, playing it stupid is the smartest play you can make when it comes to technology in educational settings.

Image Source: http://onemansblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/Idea_Light_Bulb.jpg

Are We Turning a Corner, Or Am I Too Hopeful?

I have so much going around in my head, I have to get it down.  It is all inter-related, but may not seem so to the reader.

We are in a SACS Accreditation year.  That means we re-create a vision, mission, and improvement plan among other things.  We provide paper to prove that we care about our school, students, and purpose.

It appears the year is going to be about differentiating instruction.  This has been a cornerstone concept and practice of mine since my years in the Social Studies classroom from 1995-2000.  Gardner's concepts make sense to me.  Luckily the course I teach for the University of Phoenix/Axia has a component of Multiple Intelligence, and it is may favorite section.  My students usually say they wish they had this information years ago.  Anyway...

Our principal used Karl Fisch's "Did You Know/Shift Happens" video as part of an hour-long staff development meeting on Friday.  I only attended the final (of four) sessions.  It was near the end of the day, so I am sure the teachers were tired; and it was Friday. 

After the video we discussed a book we are reading as a staff, The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners, by Carol Ann Tomlinson.  It is a good book, worth the time it takes to read. 

Let me see if I can summarize my positive thoughts: 

• The teachers paid attention to the video. 
  
• The principal mentioned the slide about Great Britain being the world leader in 1900, and how it seemed out of place with the forward-thinking information in the rest of the presentation.  Why was the slide included?  His take (and accurate from some of the discussions last year when Fisch published his first edition) Great Britain, in less than a century lost their influence because they refused to change.
• A conversation was started.
• TeacherTube was mentioned by the principal as a place to look for online videos that might be useful for classes.
  

Let me see if i can summarize my negative thoughts:

• The video, though it started a conversation, led teachers to more of a "sadness for this generation" rather than an outlook of potential for differentiating instruction and providing engagement for our students (of which over 50% are from other countries).  e.g. 1 of 8 couples will meet online, led one teacher to say, "But how many of those relationships will last?"  To which I responded, "How many have lasted in the past generation?"  Interestingly, there were three people in the room of around 30 who met their partner online - two couples have married, and the other one is engaged. 
  
• I saw this meeting as an opportunity to discuss how technology could help differentiate instruction for our students.  I used David Warlick's "which is riskier" scenario - the risk that our kids might see something bad online or the risk that our kids will not be literate because we are afraid to use online resources.  I mentioned how important it should be that instruction drive filtering policy rather than filtering policy drive instructional options.  I'm not convinced anyone is ready for that discussion in our district. 
  
• I think teachers in our district have been bombarded with initiatives over the past 10 years, and therefore they are skeptical of yet another passing fancy.  In order to assist our students in reading English (63% of our students are Hispanic) we experimented with Direct Instruction (late 1990s), and now with Literacy Collaborative.  In between we have used Schelechty’s Working On The Work Framework, and Wiggins & McTighe's Understanding by Design.  If one did not know better, it would appear that we are grasping at straws, spending an ungodly amount of money on programs we think might work miracles. 
  

I still believe too many people in education believe there is a method we can implement to fix educational problems.  I have watched Ken Robinson's TED speech yet again (maybe the 50th time).  I agree with him that the creativeness is educated out of us by the design of the public school systems.  It is evident in many teachers.  Teachers, for the most part, believe that there must be a step-by-step method that will make their students successful.  They are not artistic or creative in developing a different way of presenting material to the students under their care.  From my observation, differentiation has been nothing more than reteaching the material another time, to a smaller group of students who didn't get it the first time...but they are still using the same method of teaching, all the while believing it is different.  I'm saddened by this.  We still are ignorant (truly not knowing) that the methods we are using really didn't work in the 1980s, but "it's the way we learned it, so it's good enough now too."  If it is not ignorance, it must be intentional; and I cannot accept that option right now.  Perhaps Tomlinson's book study will help.

I heard two different teachers ask, "How do we do this," and I think that is where they are.  We have been given theory, ideas, and principles.  Our recent professional development has been like the first two years of college, a bunch of classes we don't care about.  It's time for some true practice of how to go about changing the way we do business.  Who can show us HOW?  When will we be shown HOW to reach our students?  I'm not convinced anyone from the outside can show us HOW.  I'm not convinced anyone on the inside will use anyone on the inside to show us HOW.  The expert must come from more than 100 miles away, right.

I am happy that someone has discovered TeacherTube.  It is encouraging, but there are so many things in the Web 2.0 world that no one has heard of, let alone used as a tool from which to learn.  I don't know how much longer I can wait, or even if I can.  As I have stated before, when I came to this system in 1996, we were considered a leader in technology use in the Southeast.  In the past seven years, I have watched as other systems around us have passed us by, and shook their heads as they did.  We said it was because of our demographic changes.  That was, and still is, the excuse.  But the demographics have been changing in neighboring systems too.  While we made excuses, others found ways to integrate and embed technology in their daily classroom routines to reach the diverse students they received.  It led me to make an analogy from the Did You Know discussion - Great Britain is to 20th century progress as DPS is to instructional/educational technology.  I'm not sure if I can continue to fight for a Great Britain-like school system, while the neighboring systems pass us by.  Can I make any difference coming from our Media Center?  Do I need a fresh start somewhere else?  Is education just a game we can't win?

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