cc licensed flickr photo by codiceinternet: http://flickr.com/photos/codiceinternet/3665516866/
I was led to the following amazing video this morning by my professional learning network. Not only is the video aesthetically pleasing, but it has some really relevant information about the future of schools. One of the quotes that I appreciated was the following:
“Do you realize these things happen in several New Brunswick Public Schools today?
BUT
The shift needs to happen in all New Brunswick Public Schools.”
The creators of this video are honest about what is happening in our schools. A lot of these shifts are happening but not everywhere. Last night, I read an article that was inspiring and disheartening at the same time. It talked about America’s Most Amazing Schools, which had some great ideas, but all of these schools seemed to be magnet schools with their own special programs (this is what I have inferred from the website description of the schools but did not investigate any further).
If we really want to see progress in our schools, innovative ideas and practice described in the video below need to be in our public schools where we accept all students that live in our area, not on any special requirements. Magnet schools are great but they are not the norm where I live. All kids need to have these opportunities in our school. If we know that personal learning networks (PLN’s) are great opportunities for our students, how can we not participate in them ourselves? That is similar to the math teacher teaching fractions without understanding of the concept. It is important that we learn with and for our students to get them there.
This year, I am going to provide as many opportunities for my staff to learn about PLN’s as possible. Encourage them to set up a Twitter account, start using Google apps in education, ensure that they all have access to Skype on their computers, learn more about differentiated program and critical thinking, and just about anything else that I can to help them move our students forward in these changing times.
How will you do your part to move our students forward? I would love your thoughts.
(Take time to watch the interesting video below.)
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Great post! We need to change the way we teach! Posts like this help teachers like me that feel like we are swimming upstream…in the rapids…about to drown! I see the need to change and engage students! Through your wonderful posts I have been encouraged to start blogfolios. As soon as I find a format that I can work with in the confines of the little hamlet I teach in, I will be setting up personal blogs for my students. I am also going to give my students even more choices in how they want to learn, reflect, and create in their own PLN. I have made some great connections through Twitter so my students will be expanding the world by communicating with others across the planet. I am hoping that by doing this other teachers in my building will want to join me! I managed to get them to want data projectors, so maybe blogging is next!
Thanks again George for a great post! Your support means more than you know!
You know that if your school is not totally open to blogging, "kidblog" is a great way to get them started. I know Aviva used it and it can really help with those that are reluctant because teachers have full control over the posts. Good way to start making some change
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Shelly S Terrell, gcouros, Richard Lakin, Richard Lakin, kelly alford and others. kelly alford said: RT @gcouros: What will you do to move forward? | The Principal of Change http://bit.ly/cV2Adh #cpchat [...]
Great post, George. I love the video- very inspiring and I love that the point is made that these changes need to happen in all New Brunswick schools. Might I add that these are changes that should occur in all schools? Thanks!
I agree with you Todd…we need this everywhere! As schools, we need to set the bar high and share our success stories with others. Our successes should not be hid in isolation anymore. Thanks for your comments!
George, I absolutely LOVED this blog post of yours, so much in fact, that I'm sharing it with the staff at my school, as I think that your words and the video that you've included here is one that everyone needs to see.
I really believe that we need to do everything possible to move our students forward, even if it means stepping out of our own comfort zone. When I started tweeting a year ago, I was very anti-social media tools (I seemed to only read about all of the horror stories that go with them), but I'm so glad that I gave Twitter a chance. I love what I've learned from my amazing Twitter PLN, and it's thanks to them, that I'm going to be involved in Twitter Math next year: to help teach problem solving and discuss math tools in a meaningful way across the globe. I'm also going to blog with my Grade 1's, and keep up my own blog to model to my students the importance of this writing activity. I'll continue to use Skype to invite "the world" into my classroom, and to also collaborate with educators from around the world to better my program and my teaching practices. You reaffirmed for me the importance in not only exposing our students to these tools, but also to using these tools ourselves to model for our students how to be creative thinkers, collaborators, and problem-solvers. This is what I want for my students.
Aviva
You are such a good role model of what we need to do with our students. If we can set the bar high when they are in grade 1, imagine what they will be able to do by the time they are in grade 12! Thanks for leading the way as always Aviva
Thanks George! That's so nice of you to say. It's thanks to awesome educators, such as yourself though, that inspire me to try new things with my students.
Thank you for always being so supportive!
Aviva
George-I have been out of the classroom for 4 years…now a media specialist. Viewing the video makes me yearn to be back in the classroom! I have been the middle school media specialist, but transferring this fall to the high school. I hope to be an instrument for a digital shift in my new position this year. This video will come in handy when I meet with my new principal and discuss my goals and vision for a 21st century media center. Thanks! I will recommend your blog for him to follow also.
Thanks Sonja! I think these videos are great discussion pieces for where we see our schools going and what we need to do to prepare them for the future. It really helps to have the conversation and move forward together. These ideas really help!
Thanks for your comment and I look forward to connecting with your principal
George
As I have followed you posts this summer I continue to be amazed at your capacity for work, your passion for your job and for your desire to continue to learn. Great video – it begins to get me even more excited about working with you and our staff on the creation of blogfolios at our school this year. See you soon!
Norm! Thanks for your comment. I really appreciate that you took the time to write me. It is great to know that some of my staff actually reads my blog
You have no idea how excited I am about this year! It is going to be a fantastic venture for us as a school and I have been really thinking (obviously) about how we are going to move forward as our school. The most needed thing that we need in our schools is great people; lucky we have that already. If we work together, the rest should be easy.
You have no idea how much I appreciate your comment. Enjoy the rest of your summer; it is going to be a busy year
Excellent post! I love that you didn't just watch this video and think, "they are doing great things there." but that you watched it and thought, "what great things can I be doing differently at my school. Thank you for challenging the rest of us to watch with intent to apply.
Thanks Kelly! We are really looking forward to what our students are going to do and think that we have a pretty good plan in place. As long as we have a vision of where we want to go, but are flexible on how we do it, we should be okay. Thanks for your comment!
Great post George!
What will I do this year to move forward? On a personal/professional level, continue to participate in the Twitter community. As well, I'd like to dive deeper into digital storytelling and learn more about school reform. As for hobbies, I'm kicking around the idea of starting a group video podcast (through Skype multipoint) highlighting and discussing important tweets and tweeters in the EDU Twittersphere.
In terms of my service to teachers as Emerging Technologies Consultant, I really want to help teachers become more involved in cross-school/jurisdiction/province/global collaborative projects, help teachers implement UDL practices and project-based activities which involve student multimedia creation, and help teachers use Google Earth more as a cross-curricular learning tool. I'm really excited about expanding our use of Ed.VoiceThread and student blogging.
Finally, one thing I'd really like to do is to help my two awesome teenage kids understand that they can have a positive impact on their communities and to the world, and that they can and should take action to make the world better.
Thanks again for allowing me this opportunity to formulate/share these thoughts through the post! Best of luck this school year (and I still want a visit
Done deal
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[...] George Couros Michael Doyle Lori Centerbar Kevin Hodgson Glenn Moses Linda Clinton Elona Hartjes Darren Kuropatwa Kelly Hines Karen S. Dea Conrad-Curry Zac Chase Angela Maiers Chris Lehmann Jose Vilson MRW Damian Bariexca J. M. Holland [...]
I just purged a couple of add-ins and it worked just fine.
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