Lifelong Learning 2.0

Warning:  personal post coming your way.  Read at your own discretion.

For those of you in my PLN who are close to me, you know that personally, these past four months have been the most difficult time in my life.

It’s ironic, because professionally, it has been a wonderful time.

I am on several waiting lists to find out more information about taking a Master’s course of study in Educational Technology. This is a goal I’ve had for a long time, and hope to be able to afford.   My recent trip to NECC09 has brought me many additions to my PLN, and great friendships that I hope will only continue to grow.  I joined twitter in May and have made many friendships that I treasure.  I was blessed with an amazing opportunity to visit the Edutopia crew at Skywalker Ranch, and engage in educational discussions with 4 of the people I look up to with great regard:  Larry Ferrlazzo, Alice Mercer, Derrall Garrison, and Gail Dessler.  I had the opportunity to have great conversations about social media and exciting ideas about education with Steve Hargadon, a mentor and friend.  I have been able to stay in contact with many new friends from NECC over twitter, skype, google chat, and the iphone.  I have been asked to present at several conferences and to contribute to several local edtech groups.  And…. I was blessed with a new job at my school of Curriculum & Instructional Technology Specialist.  Adding to the difficult time I’m going through, I decided to leave my job of ten years and jump into this new role, in hopes of creating school change.

There are many ideas that I would like to make happen this year as well.

I want to be trained to participate in the edtechtalk groups.  I have interests in contributing more to LearnCentral, using Elluminate for a list of brainstormed webinars I have in a Google Doc.  I’d love to begin co-presenting at conferences.  I want to support new teachers by creating a blogging support network.  I plan to create a Web 2.0 Tech Club for students at my school.  I want to contributing more on Classroom 2.o.  I hope to start a support group for new teachers trying to establish a PLN.  Then there’s that book I started last year…

Time to go OTG

With school starting and a great deal of personal stress to work through, I knew I needed to take a moment to breathe.  I decided to go Off the Grid for a little while.  Maybe a weekend or two.  I had read about the benefits of going OTG from two dear friends, Beth Still and MaryBeth Hertz.  Both are wonderful articles that really made me think.  So I decided to give it a try.

However… I didn’t just go OTG, I jumped overboard and seemed to disappear completely.     Needless to say, my OTG time became, as one friend put it, an extended Cyber-Diet.

Why am I deciding to share this with you?

1. To thank my dear friends. I appreciate all of the sweet messages from my PLN that have been concerned and are hoping I’ll come back soon.   You mean a lot to me.  Your checking in with me regularly on twitter, gmail, and skype has been an encouragement to me through difficult times. It’s nice to know I’m not forgotten.  Even if I’m a newbie and don’t feel like I have much to share, you continue to be there for me.  Thank you!

2.  To let my new followers know that I’m coming back. I somehow keep having people add me to their Google reader and twitter followings, even though I’ve been offline for a while.  Know that I am coming back.  I don’t know how or when, but I hope to be able to contribute, as well as find information that will help me on my quest to make learning more engaging and meaningful for students, support teachers, inform families, and share the journey with you.

3.  Most importantly, to let those of you that may be in my shoes to know that it’s okay to take a break. I know I can’t possibly be the only one going through difficult times, barely breathing, trying to hold it all together; while wanting to continue in lifelong learning, and to make a difference in others lives.

We’re educators. We get busy.  We get overworked.  We get overcommited.  We care about others. We need to keep each other accountable to finding balance. 

I’m here to say that going OTG is healthy from time to time.  Sometimes life can be difficult and it seems that an extended Cyber-Diet is more appropriate. Be true to yourself and listen to your heart.

If you want to contribute to the lives of others,

you first need to make time to take care of yourself.

This is one of those times for me.  I hope my followers, PLN, and friends can stick with me.  I’ll hope you will be there.   Know that when you need me, I will be there for you too.

Photo Attribution:  Train Pulling Out, & Suns by Taic

If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.

~Mary Engelbreit

For the past ten years, I have been teaching at an Independent Study charter school.  I’ve taught 34-40 students each year, in a unique school environment.  We serve students who were not successful in a traditional school model.  Keeping the same students for more than one year has allowed me to have a strong knowledge of  their strengths and areas needing growth. It has been an amazing experience working with kids individually in this model.

I work with an incredibly talented group of teachers and administrators, who care for our students and foster innovation.  While there are many wonderful things to celebrate at our school, there are several changes I’ve wanted to see take place. Technology and web 2.0 skills have not been explored much by our teachers.  Many of our students would benefit from innovative uses of technology to enhance their learning experience.  Since they work in an independent study model, they need opportunities to make connections, create and collaborate.  There are many tools we can use to help our students do this in a virtual setting.

I want to help in this effort for changing the way our students and teachers learn. I want our school to provide standards-based, project-learning opportunities where students can take ownership for their education.   I want to help teachers take control of their own professional development and grow a personal learning network.  I want us to collaborate to find better ways to engage students in meaningful learning experiences.  You know the feeling you get learning from your PLN virtually or at a conference?  I want to provide that kind of network for our staff.  I’ve longed for this all year. 

Sometimes you need to stop talking about change, and just do it.

I have decided to leave my teaching role to help bring about change at our school. I was offered a position to work on curriculum development and instructional technology.  I’ve helped with curriculum in the past, in addition to a full teaching schedule.  Until now, we did not have an educator focused solely on these areas for our academy.  While the job description is still being defined, I know it will include the following:

• Curriculum Development: We are providing an alternative  to traditional textbooks:  a project-and inquiry-based model.  There will be an emphasis on writing, critical thinking, collaboration, literature and the use of web 2.0 tools.
  
• Course-building in Moodle: We will be using Moodle for the first time this year.  We’re utilizing it for technology training for teachers this fall.  In the meantime, we are taking a year to build courses and develop curriculum in moodle for our students to use next year.
  
• Professional Development Training: I will be leading workshops for teachers and parents.  I hope to do this on-site and in Elluminate.
  
• Instructional Technology: We will introduce students, teachers, and parents to web 2.0 and innovative technology tools to enhance learning.
  
• Web 2.0 Class: I am writing a proposal to also create a Web 2.0/Technology Club for students, which I hope to launch in October.
  

I will miss working with students on a daily basis.   However, I am grateful for the opportunity to help bring about change at our school.

This is where you come in.  I am looking for a little advice from my PLN to help me in this transition.  There are two ways you can help.

1.  There are many projects that I would like to work on.  I will be posting about some of these in the near future.  If you are interested in collaborating on a project this year, let me know.

Where should I begin?

2.  Please consider posting a little advice for me or any newbie in this role.  Where is the best place to start?  What’s one thing that has worked well for you with organizing resources for your teachers? If you are in a similar job position and created an amazing wiki or helpful website, please share!  If you are willing, I would love to chat with you sometime.  I look forward to learning from you!

Creative Commons Photo Attribution:  Victoria is Changing, by victoriapeckham

Recently, I was invited to visit with the folks at Edutopia, (George Lucas Educational Foundation). Several PLN friends have asked begged for a detailed account of the day.  Prepare yourself for a play-by-play.  I’m still in awe of the experience!

I was accompanied by Alice Mercer, Larry Ferlazzo, Derrall Garrison, and Gail Desler.  Spending the day with these four individuals who I look up to was a wonderful experience in itself!  I have learned from each of them this year by following their blogs, as well as participating in discussions online and at conferences.

We arrived at Skywalker Ranch and were met by Elana Leoni (Online Membership Coordinator) and Betty Ray (Community Manager), who greeted us with smiles.  I enjoyed a Skywalker Cappucino outdoors as we talked, while we waited for everyone to arrive.  For security reasons, we were not allowed to take photos indoors, but were given permission to take this group photo outside. (Left to Right:  Gail, me, Derrall, Larry and Alice)

Don’t you just love Yoda?

The day was spent with tours of Skywalker Ranch, a trip to the Ranch store, a fabulous lunch, and important discussions about education.

What I Took Away From the Day

We had the chance to meet many wonderful people at Edutopia, including Milton Chen, the Executive Director, who is also a member of the Board of Directors.  Of course, it seemed like a wonderful place to work. Everyone we met spoke highly of their experience being part of the Edutopia team. Not only were the surroundings peaceful but the energy there spoke of innovation, forward-thinking, and collaborative teamwork.  I saw in them a strong desire to support educators, administration and parents to motivate students to reach their full potential.  It’s not just about the technology, though they applaud the innovative ways that technology and project learning can engage students.  I took away a sense of this passion that Edutopia has, as they highlight inspirational teachers and students in their magazine, in the hopes of inspiring us.

The Tour

I loved touring the grounds.  The scenery was so beautiful and calming.  My favorite part of the tour was the main house. It was fun seeing various memorabilia, but what I fell in love with was the Frank Lloyd Wright design, the redwood walls, and beautiful craftsmanship.   The table with skinny, extremely tall-backed chairs reminded me of something out of Star Wars.  The view of the pond from the table was serene and peaceful.  The library, where research is done for films, was breathtaking!

The grounds contain a guest house, the main house, fitness center, pool, restaurant, daycare, vineyards and a barn.  They have a little farmers market for the employees during the week.  I took home a container of lavender-infused sea salt.  We heard that the honey and olive oil are amazing!

Each building we toured was completely different in style. I was intrigued to hear that Mr. Lucas wrote a fictional story for each building, upon which the architects based their designs.  Isn’t that cool?

We had a fabulous lunch with Betty, Elana,  Jen Fujimoto (Membership Support Representative), and Ray Hill (Product Manager), followed up by the most delicious berry pie.

Discussions

For the remainder of the day, we sat with Elana, Betty, and Ray, and were joined by Grace Rubenstein (Senior Producer), Sabrina Smith (Communications Manager), and Cindy Johanson (Chief Operating Officer).  What followed was an exciting round table discussion about education, social networking, and the Edutopia magazine.  We all had a chance to share some of the innovative experiences taking place at our schools.  I was so proud to be in the company of four amazing educators, to hear the stories of their accomplishments in our field.

I loved talking about social media and networks, as well as the value of learning in community.  We had so much to share on this topic and brought our unique perspectives to the discussion.  We also talked about the George Lucas foundation, the principles that he values in education, and goals for the Edutopia magazine.  I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations and spending the day with these fine folks!

Resources form Edutopia

If you do not frequent the website, you need to!  Check out Edutopia online, What Works in Public Education. Here are a few things to take a look at:

Go Green: Education for the Ecosystem

The Digital Generation Project

How To Become More Tech Savvy This Summer

The Magazine

Edutopia Webinar Series

Many Thanks!

Thank you, Edutopia, for your hospitality and kindness in hosting us at Skywalker Ranch. The conversations were thought-provoking.  It was exciting to hear how you are moving forward in innovative ways to continue being a leader in the education community.

Thank you to my colleagues, whom I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with at the ranch.  I’ve learned so much from you this year.  How neat to be able to spend the day with such amazing educators!

If you don’t already follow them, I encourage you to subscribe to these blogs:

Alice – Reflections on Teaching

Larry -Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day

Derrall – Cloudy Tag Thoughts

Gail – Blogwalker