Technology, the world and I

Think out loud about my role and technology.
One of the pleasures of travelling in the last eight months is that it allowed me to see how education is being done around the world and to reflect. So, it may shock some people to realize that I have an opinion, some might say I have an opinion on everything and I am so willing to share...so here goes some sharing.
First off let us set the stage, my home is Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 1984 SASKTEL completed construction of the world’s longest commercial fibre optics network, which covered 3,268 km to link fifty-two communities at a time when the previous longest fibre optics network had been less than 10 km. English language makes up 54% of the internet language. The penetration of internet users in North America is the greatest in the world at 78.3%. Thanks to a division with future planning, we are now the largest, most successful online school in the province and recognized by many around the world as leaders in online education. To recap, we at this point in time have....
• The fastest network in the world in Saskatchewan
• The number one internet language
• The greatest penetration of internet users
• A world-leading educational institution in online learning.
We are perfectly situated to be world leaders in education technology. All the tools are available to us and everything that has happened in the past has prepared us for today. So what is holding me back? What is stopping me from helping develop the ever-elusive education of the future? In my humble opinion, a mind set.
A positive mind set which has been present in our division since the inception of the cyber school and I thank God frequently for allowing me to play a part in it and to learn from it. But like everything we must continue to review what will help us continue to grow. We are so very lucky to live where we do and have what we have. Thank God for this.
To plan for the future I need to:
• set global goals
• determine what is required to achieve said goals
• continue willingness to allow change
• support trial and error
• expect failure
• plan for success
• put forth monetary and human resources to achieve said goals
• take the big steps
• allow people to do their job (make sure people are aware of what their job are.)
• everything should be about student learning (seems like a simple rule but many school divisions do things in school which are not best for the students)
• To be unafraid to critically look at what I currently do (because I have always done it that way is not necessarily a reason for continuing it.)
• change for change’s sake is not always the best solution, however the belief that change is necessary is the best solution for me.
• study the literature and research to make informed decisions but also be aware that in the information age there is research for any train of thought.
• Plan - but at some time it is necessary to do. Not knowing is what makes it exciting.
• Learn to exist in a world of constant change and exploration.
• The status quo is not acceptable, if I am not willing to explore ways to make things better I have retired - I have just not told anyone.
I do not need to:
• to get caught up in the small details (micro management)
• try to achieve new goals with traditional procedures and resources
• determine why it will fail
• place blame on why it is not possible, anything is possible - it just may not be if I are not willing to explore ways of doing something or looking at new ideas.
• doing it a certain way because it is the easiest way.
• throw out the baby with the bathwater.
• dwell on why it is not possible. Dwell on what is required to make it possible.

The above is not a complete list but it is a start when it comes to my mindsets. (a rule of thumb that works for me, is to ask myself why I would say "no" to an idea and then explore "why not" in my mind. "No" to any idea is a passion killer, (new initiatives succeed because of passion).
The next thought that passed through my mind in the last eight months has been virtual self-imposed walls. (This is an add-on to the thought above..."No" is a wall..."why not" forces one to look at the walls.) I will try to describe some of these walls: The key to education is connection.
• Teacher and Student wall...teachers’ connections to students can be enhanced if I can find any technology which will do the administrative tasks of teaching. Any portion of the teaching day that is used doing administrative work is time away from being connected to the students.
• Teaching wall...if a teacher spends the whole day presenting material they then do not spend any time connecting with their students. Find ways to help present material via technology.
• Curriculum wall... the day our cell phone was capable of telling us what the answer to the how far it is from Toronto to Vancouver it was not necessary for us to teach it. Knowing how to find the answer to such a question is the valuable skills of the information age.
• Subject walls... English courses are silo, they do not teach anything in the course other than English. Just an example (sorry to pick on English, you can replace it with any subject you wish). Combining subject to create engagement will crumble the walls, technology allows teachers to track projects across distance, time and curriculum.
• Grade wall...students are broken up into levels based on age, not on ability. Someone who is working at a grade 7 math level may not be at a grade 7 English. Technology will allow one to stream individual students programs. Cohorts of students may still be compiled based on age but what they are working on in school may in no way be similar. Technology has the ability to make this happen in an age student grouping cohort in a room.
• Age wall...Anyone in the province who wishes to achieve their grade 12 diploma should be able to access what we offer at no expense. The cost of this education should be shouldered by the province as they will recoup the expense in taxes in the future via a greater employment rate. I need to find a way to make this happen.
• Classroom wall... when teachers enter their classroom they close the door, virtual or otherwise to the outside world and they create an environment, which although easier to administer and control does not mirror the world in which their clients (students) live. I need to find ways to help them remove the walls and allow the outside world to invade their classroom. Technology has the ability to bring in experts, other classrooms, cultures and worlds.
• School walls... the silos of schools is a wall. Student in the school should be collaboration on projects with the community and other schools. If students are not allowed to explore and use the world outside their school walls they are being sheltered. Technology has the ability to replace many of the fieldtrips of the past. Security is important but not at the expense of realistic experiences. The internet is a massive library which is a resource, which should not be ignored just because it has an adult section. Supervision and awareness makes it possible to effectively use this resource. Blocking is not considered supervision it a wall. I need to work on way to utilize the internet and remove the walls that stop that from happening.
• Division walls... sharing what we do great would allow us to share what others are doing great as well. Celebrating everything we do by sharing is the christian way. We have so much to offer others in this world that we should be promoting what we do well, and let other less fortunate benefit from our God given talents and situation which they might not be lucky enough to have.
• Provincial walls… having the need for everything we do being Saskatchewan-made is a waste, there is no need to re-invent the wheel. Connect and share. We in Saskatchewan do many things better than others. They would be very excited to share with us their strengths as well.
• Country walls... sharing between countries would be a very exciting method of welcoming the concept as it is a small world after all. Connecting to a pupil, school or country is as easy as connecting to someone in the next room. It is just my mind set. I need to lead and place myself in a situations to offer and celebrate what we do with others in the world.
• Cloud wall...I need to explore the new concept of cloud computing. I do not need to control everything in technology, there are more and more free options coming available which truly are safe, viable options that other school divisions around the world are implementing and integrating. I need to explore this for my personal web stuff as well as what it might offer for the cyber school.
• The ownership wall...I do not have to supply every technological tool that is used in a classroom. If we allowed students and teachers to bring their own tech to school, my tech budget would be big enough to cover the students who do not have their own as well as supply the tools that teachers need.
• Pride wall... I need to make sure that the decisions that I make are not made because someone has ventured into my area. This issue arises often because of my gray areas of duties. A clean structure of duties will allow people to be aware of who they approach. I need to share this structure within the cyber school. Flame the ideas and passion, embrace the skills of the professional teachers, do not squash. Many of the ideas cost nothing or very little. Create an environment of exploration, because we are venturing into an unknown future.
• Skill wall... allowing my teachers to not use technology because they do not know how to use it is an excuse. A project in which the students have the task of handing in a video or essay does not mean we have to show them how to use the video recorder or even have the video recorder. It just means they have the option and it they wish to learn the skills they can. Do not assume that teachers need to know everything; support collaboration which will allow others to help ...Sage on the stage, guide on the side
• Paper wall... We all think that having a paper copy of something is necessary...digitize it and back it up and it is way more secure than a paper in a folder and much easier to find. Our paper has decreased I need to continue to embrace this concept.
• Brush wall... I do not need to paint everyone with the same brush that is not sustainable, some need more than others, embrace the differences. Promote and support the differences. Life is not fair.

Well that is enough walls for now. I ask myself, “How do I achieve this?” Simply saying that technology is a priority doesn’t make it so, I need to help make it a reality . Every penny that is spent on education technology should be filtered on the following...
• Does it make the teachers administrative jobs easier?
• Does it benefit learning?
• It will not be building a wall?
A "yes" to each of the above questions will embrace the future.
Ok, the other thought that bounced around my head was... the difference between IT and ET. IT deals with the business of education, like payroll, attendance of students, grades, reports ect. Some of the activities which fall under the IT department directly affect the classroom and for those the IT department will have to work in sync with the ET department, but everything that does not get into the classroom is not part of this thought. ET should be a teacher-led department. In too many school divisions around the world, educational technology is being driven by programmers and computer people. It is very scary when programmers are deciding which is the best technology to put into classrooms or which programs are the best to teach with... An ET department should set the goals and then IT should be hired to make it happen. If it is the desire to use Youtube for the project in the schools, IT should do everything humanly possible to make it happen. In no way should I be able to do something at home and not be able to replicate it in our schools. Too often teachers around the world plan an educational project in their homes and then when they venture to the schools they have to change it completely because this site is blocked, or the internet speed is not fast enough, or the equipment is not available. IT, when supporting the ET, should do their best not to suggests ways to change a project, they should be doing everything they can to make it happen for the passionate educator. These departments can be the same, but there is two distinct roles, one is administrative the other is support. We in our division has done a very good job in a changing environment, we just need to continue to recognize the need for change and continue to support it. I need to do my best to help others understand that difference, clarity will help bring technology into the classroom.
Google, who presently is the pinnacle of companies, does an activity which has taught me a lot and is a lesson for others. They collect the finest programmers they can afford (like we do with our teachers). 80% of their day is dedicated to working the job of programming Google's plan. The other 20% of their time, they are allowed to work on a project of their choice. Google search is the company's plan. Google maps, earth, docs, scholar, etc are all benefits from allowing professions to spread their wings. They have structured their business to promote initiative and support the professionals they have working for them. I need to adopt this mindset, allow our professional to flame their passions and develop an educational environment the likes of which has never been seen.
Then I need to celebrate more, promote our successes - all of them.