I am not that good with technology and you probably aren’t either.

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Years ago, I was having a conversation with someone who I knew as a brilliant mind in using technology.  They were heavily recruited by both Microsoft and Google coming out of university, and they were able to create things using technology that I couldn’t dream of at the time.

I asked them a question after marveling about something they just had explained to me that they were creating.

“Out of 10, how good do you believe you are with technology?”

“6.”

My jaw dropped.  I followed up by asking, “How in the world could someone with your ability with technology only be a 6 out of 10 in using technology?”

They followed up with the following response.  “There is so much out there that I have no idea exists and have never used, that I couldn’t tell you I was good with it without ever using it.  If anything, 6 is a high number, and I would probably rank myself lower.  I am really good at the stuff that I use now, but the amount of stuff out there, I have so much that I could still learn.”

My mind was blown.  The answer was so brilliant that I put them back at the 10 out of 10 ranking.

This is why to this day, I struggle with someone calling me a “techie” because I know how to blog and use Twitter. Would this be the equivalent of using a telephone at some point in time?  There is so much more I want to learn with technology at some point, but also with other things in my field. I have explored leadership, teaching, assessment, technology, innovation, curriculum, building relationships, amongst other things, in this blog over the years. I am still growing and have a long way to go.  I never want to be considered “tech savvy”, but I continuously strive to be “learning savvy”.

The most remarkable and intelligent people that I have met often talk about how much they don’t know and still want to learn. If you already think you have all the answers, you are probably already behind.

This quote, often attributed to Einstein, sums it up beautifully:

Keep learning.  We all crave growth.

10 Reasons to Try Genius Hour This School Year

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My good friend AJ Juliani, co-author of the book “Empower“, with John Spencer, is about to start a Genius Hour Master Course.  His passion for this topic and his ability to share his enthusiasm has made a significant difference with so many educators.  I am reposting this from last year as many loved the opportunity and took advantage.

As this is a paid course, you can sign up here, and he is also offering a 20% discount if you use the following code to sign up by Wednesday, August 16, at 11:59 PM, EST:

GEORGE

Below is a blog that is reposted from AJ, and is great for those schools already using Genius Hour, or those looking to dive in.  Check out his post below and you will see just a sample of what will be shared.

Originally posted at ajjuliani.com.

If you haven’t heard of Genius Hour or 20% time in the classroom, the premise is simple: Give your students 20% of their class time (or an hour each week) to learn what they want. These projects allow students to choose the content and still acquire/master skills and hit academic starts.

I’ve written extensively about Genius Hour and 20% Time, but wanted to share a list of the 10 reasons you should consider Genius Hour in your classroom (for those of you on the fence) and why you will not regret making that choice!

Getting Started With Genius Hour via @ajjuliani

1. You will join a great community of learners

When I first did the Genius Hour project with my students I didn’t have a community of teachers or learners. Within months that changed as a number of great teachers before and after me started to share their stories online. The largest active group is the Genius Hour teachers (inspired by Daniel Pink) who have #geniushour chats, a big resource at GeniusHour.com, and a great Genius Hour wiki. Get involved and see what others have done!

2. You will allow students to go into depth with a topic that inspires them

One of the major issues we face in schools today is covering a wide breadth of information, instead of allowing students to get a real depth of knowledge. Students using Genius Hour and 20% time are able to delve into subject matter that means something to them, often times taking their free time at home to learn more. Isn’t this something we should be promoting at all levels?

3. There is so much positive peer pressure

When students in my school have their Shark Tank pitch day, they get to share with the entire class what they are working on. Publicly announcing what they are trying to accomplish makes the goal real. Students get to see what their peers are working on and want to make sure their project stands up to the rest of the class. Regardless of a grade being attached to the project, this makes for students going the extra mile.

4. It relieves students of the “game of school”

Too often our students complete assignments for the grade. They go through the motions to receive an external pat on the back (or bump on their transcript).  Genius Hour and 20% time take away the “game of school” and brings back the love of learning for learning’s sake.

5. It’s fun!

Randy Pausch famously said, “If you think you can’t learn and have fun at the same time. Then I don’t think you have a good understanding of either.”Without a doubt it is the best time of the week. Student feedback is not only positive, but also transparent. This work often carries back to their homes where parents/guardians share their passion for learning beyond the school walls.

6. Your class will be covering all types of common core standards

It doesn’t matter if you teach elementary, middle, or high school. The Genius hour and 20% time projects cover multiple common cores standards. We’ve had teachers propose this type of learning to their administration backed by awesome research. Remember, the community will help if you are fighting a battle to get Genius Hour or 20% time started at your school.

7. It’s differentiation at its best

Students are working at their level, and as teachers, we should be helping to challenge each one of our learners at their best pace and ability. Because each project differs, students are not bogged down by following the same steps as their classmates. The entire class is learning, but it is truly differentiated.

8. You learn by what you do, not by what you hear

Experiential and challenge based learning puts the mastery back into the student’s hands. We provide guidance and pushes along the way, but they are the ones “doing” and “making”. Confucius put it perfectly: “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” Let your students make and they will understand and thank you for the opportunity.

9. It is a perfect way to model life-long learning

I did Genius Hour with my students and took it upon myself to learn how to code and make an app from scratch. I failed to make that app. But my experience learning how to program left me with a whole new perspective, and was a teachable moment about what we call failure. There is no real way to fail a project in which “learning” is the end-goal.

10. Your students will never forget what it felt like to create

Have you seen Caine’s arcade? It started out as a little idea and now Caine has inspired hundreds of other kids his age to create something unique. When you create a product, it becomes part of who you are, and there is a “care” involved that we just never see with multiple-choice tests. What would you want for your child?

This is the most important time to be in education. It is the most important time to care about education. It is the most important time to impact a different type of education.

Now, more than any other time in the past 100 years, education seems on the verge of a paradigm shift. You see, for the past century, most of the educational change has been doing old things in new ways. Today, we are beginning to see educators, educational institutions, and educational companies do new things in new ways.

My challenge to you as a teacher is to allow your students the choice to learn what they want. That’s what Genius Hour and 20% time is all about, and that is why it is so successful.

Again, if you’re interested in this great opportunity, you can sign up for AJ’s course here.

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Focusing on Mastery Over Marks

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I came across this interesting article on parents.com, titled, “Goodbye to Grades? Mastery-Based Learning Is Becoming the New Standard“, and thought it was great that an outside education site was talking about changes in education in mostly a positive way.

Some swear that learning based on mastery instead of grades, or a “one size fits all” approach to teaching, has changed kids’ lives. It makes sense that when kids are allowed to learn at their own pace, they can thrive. Not having to learn something just to get that “A” also takes the pressure off, which may also help foster favorable conditions for learning. And it’s true that kids are still being graded in some way, but on specific skills instead of entire subjects, just lumped together.

It also showed one of the arguments against this change, which you often hear in education (bolded parts below are my emphasis):

Understandably, some parents worry that mastery-based learning will adversely affect their kids. Does it put children at a disadvantage for when they go out into the real world, where concrete results rule? Is it just another example of the “everyone gets a trophy” mentality that marks a major departure from how you and I grew up?

When you get into assessments and how it is done in schools, there are massive debates (as there should be) on how we move forward.  Here is something that I would challenge though…If you are asking students to achieve “mastery”, the expectations are actually higher, not only for students but for educators as well.  To move students towards “mastery” doesn’t mean just saying they have done something well, but getting them to that point.  I have never been about the “everyone gets a trophy” mentality because although on a short-term basis it might be “nice” for a student, long term it can be damaging.

In a recent conversation I had with an educator, I discussed the idea of not having the whole year entirely mapped out before you even meet your students. This is not to say that you shouldn’t have an idea of what you are teaching and you ignore the curriculum, just that you should not know exactly what you are teaching on September 23 at 9:12 am.  If you are teaching a concept and all your students have mastered it, do you move on or stick to the schedule? If students don’t understand the concept, do you move on or stick to the schedule?  It is impossible for all students to be at the same point at the same time (which is part of the point of mastery based assessments) but I think that the point I was trying to make is that moving on from a topic or conversation should be based more on where your students are.  This is not an indictment of educators because many are put into a tough situation of helping their kids understand a concept deeply versus getting through a curriculum that is often more focused on breadth than depth in a constrained amount of time.  Too often educators are put into a tough situation of doing what is right versus doing what is considered their job. The two are, unfortunately, not always aligned.

This is a complicated topic that is not black and white.  What the “real world” actually does, what colleges and universities accept for students, how schools are accountable, and how we move to this new type of assessment in a system that doesn’t seem to support it, are all conversations educators are having, and I am thankful they are doing just that; having conversations.  Simply doing something because we have always done it is not a good argument for anything.

Many have argued that if you are focusing on “mastery-based” assessments that you are using grades already.  In response to that, the problem that many educators face is that they will spend a significant amount of time giving feedback to help students move forward, but once a mark is posted, the feedback is disregarded and the “number or letter” becomes the focus. In this great article, “Delaying the Grade: How to Get Students to Read Feedback“, talks about the frustration teachers feel when students solely focus on the grades, and also gives an awesome idea on how to get students to focus on feedback over grade:

In English I ask my students to write a lot. I don’t grade everything they write, but when it comes to the “big essays”—the graded, polished drafts—what grade they will receive becomes the sole motivator for their writing. This frustrates me, and, in my opinion, distracts them from what they should actually care about: writing.

…The solution was remarkably easy and accidentally originated out of my laziness (score one for being a little lazy!). Last year, kids had turned in essays on Google Classroom, but rather than pasting a completed rubric into their essay as I usually did, I made hard copies of the rubric and wrote on them. This meant that I could return papers with comments but without grades.

And from this a whole new system was born: Return papers to students with only feedback. Delay the delivery of the actual grade so student focus moves from the grade to the feedback.

The simple act of delaying the grade meant that students had to think about their writing. They had to read their own writing—after a few weeks away from it—and digest my comments, which allowed them to better recognize what they did well or not so well. The response from students was extremely positive; they understood the benefit of rereading their essays and paying attention to feedback. One boy said, “Mrs. Louden, you’re a genius. I’ve never read what a teacher writes on my essay before, and now I have to.”

I encourage you to read the whole article, as it provides an awesome way to focus on “mastery” while being within a system that still uses grades.  This is a beautiful example of “innovating inside the box“.

The assessment conversation is a critical one and something that we should have keep having in service of our students.  Not because expectations should be lowered for our students, but that we expect more from and, more importantly as educators, for them.

Things Change and Things Stay the Same

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When I first saw this tweet, it literally made me laugh out loud:

A lot has changed since I started teaching in 1999.  This was seemingly my biggest dilemma with technology at the time.

It used to be that people wouldn’t admit that they met their partner online and they would make up a story. It was weird to meet a person online, and now, most of my friends, are people I connected with online before I ever met in person.  Some of the people who have had the biggest impact on my learning were once considered “strangers” to me. The narrative of “don’t talk to strangers” has now progressed into something much different.  We are all “strangers” until we meet, whether online or offline, but as one of my favourite quotes states:

“Every person that you meet knows something you don’t; learn from them.” H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Yet in education, some things stay the same.  Relationships are the core of great schools and as I have stated often, 50 years ago, relationships were the most important thing in education, and 50 years from now, it will be even more so; you can get great content anywhere.  The human connection is something that we will always need.

Educators have always believed that respect is important in schools, but perhaps, we are focusing more on respect being a two-way street, and not something we just expect to command from our students for being there.

What is important is that we recognize the following:

  1. Some things change.
  2. Some things stay the same.
  3. All things are opportunities where we can grow.

There are no absolutes in education.  Silence doesn’t mean bad learning environment, while noise means good learning environment, or vice-versa.  Textbooks and worksheets do not make you a bad teacher, but if that is the only way you teach, there are kids who are losing out.  Makerspaces are great for some kids, and not necessarily beneficial to others.  Collaboration is not only good, while isolation is only bad.

What is needed is that we see there are not “sides” to education; we are all on the same team.  There is a lot a “forward-thinking teacher” can learn from a “traditionalist”, and again, vice-versa.

I guess there are some absolutes. We can all learn, we can all grow, and we all get better by being open to conversations with one another in service of our kids.

Ask questions. Try to understand other viewpoints. Keep focused on serving students but start off with the assumption that others are doing the same.

Instead of condemning people, let’s try to understand them. Let’s try to figure out why they do what they do. That’s a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness. “To know all is to forgive all.”
― Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends & Influence People

Education Decision Making Flowchart

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I recently heard this term called, “Occam’s Razor”, and I found it quite interesting:

Occam’s razor is a principle first developed by the Franciscan friar and philosopher, William of Ockham.

Whilst it is likely that the philosophy was posthumously attributed to him, as it was based upon common medieval philosophy, it seems to be a result of his minimalist lifestyle.

Occam’s razor is more commonly described as ‘the simplest answer is most often correct,’ although this is an oversimplification. The ‘correct’ interpretation is that entities should not be multiplied needlessly.

Yet in education, how often do we make things harder than they should be in service of our students?

With that being said, I made this simple “Education Decision Making” flowchart (first draft):

Should it really be more complex than this?

This is not to say that the conversations won’t get complicated.  Having conversations ultimately on what is “best for the learner” will definitely have differing opinions. I guess the point of the initial prompt is that we are having the conversation in the first place.  Are our solutions focused on what is best for the learner, or most comfortable for the adult?

It is also powerful to be able to identify that certain things don’t work for certain students, while others do.  For example, have you ever worked with a student that had much better focus wearing headphones and listening to music? Wearing them they would seem to zone in on what they are doing and could create some amazing content.  On the other hand, we all have worked with the student that if you gave them headphones and music, they would be utterly distracted and not be able to focus on anything.  That is why the question starts with, “Is this best for the learner?”, not, “Is this best for the learners?” It identifies the needs of the individual learner, and it doesn’t standardize your classroom.  Although “standardization” is impossible to avoid entirely, it should also not be the only way.

But not all “yes” answers are easy. There are many things that would serve our students in a much more powerful way but does that mean we don’t even pursue them?  I always tell people that “somebody, somewhere, is doing the same thing that you say you can’t do.”  Simply put, they are finding a way.  They identify the barriers and then find the solutions.  This is the process of “Problem-Finding/Problem-Solving”; we want our students to have BOTH abilities, not just one or the other.  We should model that in our process on how we make decisions within our organizations.

This “flowchart”, as all things I create, should be more of a conversation starter than anything.  I hope it actively pushes people to identify what students need and then look at ways we can provide them.  Yes, the hurdles might be a lot to overcome, but they can be overcome.  It is all about our mindset toward the problem in the first place.  If we believe it is best, we need to find a way.

3 Quotes on Becoming Successful

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Where I seem to really decompress and clear my mind is through running in a new city.  I love to explore where I am and listen to motivational playlists that provide me inspiration to push harder.  This playlist was quite powerful and there were some quotes that really stuck out to me.  Here are a few that I loved and put the idea of “success” into perspective.

If you have never heard of Inky Johnson (I hadn’t heard of him until this morning), take time to watch this video. Overcoming so much adversity in his life, multiple times, he is an inspiring story of how important the process is, not simply the product that you have in your life. I alternated time between being amazingly inspired and crying on the trail this morning.

If you want something, you have to first ask yourself, are you willing to put in the time to make it happen? Are you willing to work extremely hard and not get it?  By listening to Inky, it reminded me that by developing a certain work ethic, you may not get exactly what you want, but you do become so much better through the process.

I was truly blessed to grow up with a group of friends that not only supported me, but pushed me to be better, and I am still connected with many of them to this day.  I am very thoughtful of who I have close to me in my life, as I do want to surround with myself with people who do things that continuously make them better.  These are not people who seek perfection, but constant progress.  By being around those who push themselves, you have no other option but to do the same.

 

Running in the morning, sitting in this Starbucks right now, reading a book that pushes my thinking, are all investments in myself to become better in service to others. A lot of people make comments about how they have no time to “workout” or “blog” or whatever, but when you stop investing in yourself, the people that you are around get a lesser version of yourself.  There is a difference between finding time and making time. You make time because it is priority, but finding time is accidental. You don’t accidentally become better at things. It is only through hard work, consistently over time, that you grow.  Invest in yourself.

What I have learned over time is that “success” is truly a personal thing. What one person considers to be a “success” can be something totally different for someone else.  But what it takes to be successful, no matter, the definition, seems to be quite universal.  Work ethic, the people who surround you, and the investment you make into yourself, are all commitments that seem to be crucial, no matter your goals.

Innovate Forward

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The perception of what “innovation” is seems to be a barrier in many circumstances in embracing the idea.  In “The Innovator’s Mindset“, I use the following definition:

Innovation is a common term in many educational circles today and has been used a number of times in this book already. But what does it actually mean—especially in the terms of education?

For the purpose of this book, I’m defining innovation as a way of thinking that creates something new and better. Innovation can come from either “invention” (something totally new) or “iteration” (a change of something that already exists), but if it does not meet the idea of “new and better,” it is not innovative. That means that change for the sake of change is never good enough. Neither is using innovation as a buzzword, as many organizations do, to appear current or relevant.

So in a recent conversation, we were talking about Amazon as an innovative company, as Jeff Bezos (CEO) just became the richest person in the world.  I started thinking about the many different ways that Amazon has “innovated” over the years, continuously focused on “Day 1”, meaning that it never gets comfortable with its own success.  In my mind, I started to distinguish the different types of “innovation” that Amazon has had in its history.

Disruptive Innovation – The most notable disruptive innovation in the history of Amazon was probably the creation of the company in the first place.  This has totally changed the way we purchased things online, and has shaped other companies along the way. It was not the first “online store”, but it has been the most successful.

Iterative Innovation  –  Now the examples I give here could border on being disruptive, but they are also iterations on things that we already know. Reading books on Kindle, or the “Amazon Go” stores that eventually were created (and will give you insight into why Amazon bought Whole Foods), were iterations things that would already knew (reading books, buying groceries) that were made better by tweaking or changing things.

Innovation is subjective though. Reading books on Kindle would not be considered better by all people, it definitely is preferred by many (myself included).

Although “innovation” is focused on moving forward, anything that has been deemed innovation would be judged by looking backward.  Are the Amazon Go stores a success yet, or will it be a fad that disappears and goes the way of the Zune (if you don’t know what the Zune is, then my point was surely made)? Time will tell, but to create something better, risks are always involved.

In education, you will see both disruptive and iterative innovations.  Some school districts have created entire new programs, and some people, like Kelly Tenkely and company, have created an entirely new school.

But iterative innovations happen all of the time, and often on the fly.  Whether it is adjusting a reading program, revamping schedules that are more conducive to deep learning, or just trying different approaches to teaching based on the students in front of you. I once read a quote that, “If you try to teach a child something the same way 100 times, and they don’t understand it, it is not the child that is a slow learner.”

The best educators know the most important research that they could ever tap into, is knowing the kids in front of them.

As I write this, it just reaffirms my belief that more educators are innovators than we give credit. Some educators create the disruptive innovations, but the majority do iterative innovations based on the students in front of them daily.  This is why I am so passionate about education and believe every educator should be an innovator. The constant pursuit of serving our students and being flexible based on what they need not what we are most comfortable with is something that we should always strive for.  Even the smallest of innovations in education can be life-changing for a child.

Todd Whitaker captures this so eloquently:

Keep innovating forward.  Even a small change can make a huge difference in the life of a child.

Finding Inspiration in Yourself

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Blank screen…

Cursor blinking and my mind feels frozen.

I have committed myself to trying to blog three times a week but on some weeks, it is harder than others.  My energy levels are low and my inspiration levels lower.

But when you commit to something that has a public audience, the accountability level doesn’t change, no matter how low the energy level.

My hope through my work is that I not only push thinking but to also inspire action.  Yet what is hard is that when you spend energy levels trying to inspire others to action, when you can’t find ways to inspire yourself.

In a conversation with someone I admire greatly, I talked about how we often look to others for inspiration, but we so rarely look to ourselves for that same inspiration.  What can sometimes become our “routine”, could be something insanely hard for others.  When some days are harder than others, getting up and doing your job is sometimes a courageous act. We are so often willing to pat others on the back for great their own great actions but will be hard on ourselves even when meeting our own expectations but still not seeing it as enough.

I am not against having high expectations for one’s self, but as humans, we have a hard time just stopping and realizing that we have made our own strides and growth.  But the more we beat ourselves up, the more we can feel beaten down. No one is perfect, but we also have to take the time to appreciate our own development.

Take a breath and think about where you are today, and then think about where you have come from.  It would be easy to think about the negatives, but try to focus on things that you have overcome and that right now, and find growth.

Perhaps it is with work. Maybe with family.  Maybe could be something in an outside interest.  It might not even be something “new”, but something that you have done that is consistent. Sticking with something is often harder than attempting something new.

As I write this, I realize this is not really written for anyone other than myself.

But I know so many others who have felt this way and wanted to share that I have been and am on that journey myself.  Recognizing when we have those down moments in our life then allows us to pick a direction to move.  I am looking to find the inspiration in myself before I start looking to get that from others.

Screen is no longer blank…and to me, for today, that says something.

3 Ideas For When You Outgrow Leadership

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There are some organizations that are moving too fast for people, but there is also the opposite effect. A person’s growth can stagnate if the leadership is not able to push them forward.  This happens more often than you might think in education., with the “leader” being behind while the “follower” is accelerated.  It can lead to a frustrating situation for educators and is part of the reason why I have higher expectations of principals and superintendents in the sessions I lead.  If they are behind, they hold back all of teachers and students they serve. Their ripple effect can create extreme waves of negativity.

So what do you do if you feel you have outgrown your leadership to ensure that your own growth doesn’t stagnate?

Here are three suggestions that might help.

1. Find mentorship outside your organization. (online and offline)

One of the problems of “outgrowing” leadership is that you don’t know what you don’t know.  You feel that you have so much more that you could be able to do but do not necessarily know what is out there.  By finding mentors outside your organization, it can give you a different perspective of what is possible in your field.

I am a big advocate of developing leadership within your organization while also bringing in leaders from outside. This allows you to learn from people with fresh ideas that may not be your organization’s norm, but also still have the focus on developing within.  You can do this at a personal level.  Although you can learn from anyone within your organization, that “push” or new idea or focus from outside your organization can give you a new lens to look at things. 

Just understand that if you are looking for a mentor to push you, get ready to be pushed. Some people crave growth but struggle when they are challenged in their own thinking.  If you are looking for advice and challenges, you don’t have to take it, but if you truly want to grow, you better be open to it.

2. Disrupt Your Routine

Although finding people to mentor you is much easier than ever with social networks being so prevalent in our world today, there must be an onus on you to create your opportunities as well.

Start a blog.

Write a book.

Jump into a fitness group.

Take a class that is outside the field of education or read a book that you wouldn’t normally read that might give you a new perspective.

Do something you wouldn’t normally do that can lead to growth in other areas that aren’t necessarily in your field but may give you different perspectives.

Create your own disruption before someone comes along and does it for you.

3. Leave

This is the hardest advice for someone to hear, but it is also the most honest.  If you feel that you are in a place that you are stagnating, eventually it could lead to you being miserable in what you are doing.  This will not only impact what you do professionally but eventually could hamper your personal life.  Sometimes we have to make these tough choices in our lives, but they are just that; choices.  Don’t waste a gift you have in a place that doesn’t recognize or utilize it.

It could be the hardest thing you ever do, but it could also be the best.

I saw a video with motivational speaker Grant Cardone recently and he said something to the effect of, “You are either going up, going down, or in the same spot, but if you are in the same spot, you are going down.”

We need to recognize when we become stagnant and find ways to push ourselves even when we feel alone in what we do.  Find a way.

Equity At the Highest Level #SocialLeadia

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It was a true honour to write the foreword for Jennifer Casa-Todd’s book, “Social Leadia“. Although I have already read it, I wanted to go through it again through Kindle and highlight some of my favourite quotes.  It is an amazing book to really promote important conversations on not only “digital citizenship” in schools, but going further to “digital leadership“.

What I love most about the book is how Jennifer seamlessly weaves in her thinking, the thinking of others, while also highlighting student examples and quotes.  This quote from Timmy Sullivan, a student at the time, is quite powerful:

“I have a radical concept for you, especially those of you who talk negatively about social media: Stop. Really. If you present social media as a positive space, as a place where students can express themselves and connect with professionals and other students, then that’s the type of learning you are going to see there.” — Timmy Sullivan

Sage advice from a student leading the way in his own learning, as well within his school.  No offense to Jennifer, but there is just something about when the quotes come from a student that makes them so much more powerful.  In my conversations with Jennifer, I know she would agree, hence the reason she wanted to highlight so many students throughout the book, and she weaves their narratives throughout the book masterfully.  It is a powerful read.

Jennifer also doesn’t shy away from some tough conversations throughout the book. This quote really resonated on why it is so important to give students opportunities to use social media within schools:

I know that out of the thirty students in any one of my classes, less than half have solid family support. Few sit down at a dinner table with their families each night, and some have so many other issues to contend with that creating a website that explores their passions, developing a positive online presence, or improving someone else’s life in person or through technology or social media is completely inconsequential. I am gravely concerned that if we don’t provide opportunities in all schools for all students to become digital leaders, we’ll have students at an additional disadvantage, especially if they don’t have digital access at home.

The equity conversation comes up often and I appreciate Jennifer addressing it.  Reading a comment from an educator recently, they had stated something that I have heard often; some of this use of technology will identify the “have’s and have not’s”. The tough conversation here is that ignoring technology and the opportunities it provides with our students truly address this long term or does it simply put our students in a tougher situation and make the divide much larger?

I address this very thing in “The Innovator’s Mindset“:

Another concern often voiced in response to innovative initiatives is that the new program or approach might create superior learning opportunities—opportunities that aren’t offered in another learning environment. If what’s best for learners is our primary concern, equity of opportunities will be created at the highest of levels, not the lowest.

Equity at the highest level, not simply equity, is something that we should always strive for in education.  Every student should have the best opportunities to learn in ways that will help them now and in the future.  The conversations that Jennifer brings up on her own throughout the book, as well through the experiences of the students she highlights in her books are ones that are necessary as we move forward.