Episode 003 of the new CASTLE Conversations podcast is now available on most major podcasting platforms. I talked with CASTLE Co-Director Sara Dexter, who helps educators and schools think about technology integration, leadership, AI, educator simulations, and digital case studies. Sara is super busy!
Happy listening!
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This post from a school administrator came across my feeds this weekend:
Looking for suggestions of a great speaker for the first week of PD– motivational– reconnecting with your “Why” for staff. Thank you in advance for your suggestions!
I posted it to Facebook with the comment, “Does anyone think this is going to have any long-term impact whatsoever?”
Some folks thought that I was criticizing the speaker side of this dynamic. Just to clarify, I don’t actually have an issue with that side of things. If you’re offering something as a speaker or facilitator that others find value in and are willing to pay for, more power to you. That doesn’t mean that everyone will, but that’s okay. Find your niche. Try to do good work. Ignore the critics (or use their feedback to improve what you do).
Instead, I am greatly challenged by the request. There’s nothing in this generic call for a random ‘great … motivational’ speaker that says:
Instead, the request just feels like “Hey, I’d like to find some random person who hopefully can help us feel good and ignore our disengaging workspace for an hour and I’m willing to pay big money for it.” Um, maybe a standup comedian can do that for you? The long-term impact for your staff and school feels like it will be about the same…
There are at least three large concerns here:
Brad Weinstein aptly said, Asking teachers to remember their ‘why’ can be viewed as blaming teachers for losing their passion for teaching instead of working on improving the conditions that actually burn them out. Similarly, Mandy Froehlich said in a comment to my Facebook post, Most teachers know their why. They don’t know how to do their why in their current situation or the state of education.
School culture is critically important for organizational success, and the best facilitators that I know on this topic work with schools long-term from a coaching stance to help build both better systems and individual capacity. That is a whole different ballgame than “The culture and systems that I am responsible for are broken and I am hoping that a high energy, one-hour talk will paper over it.” Teaching is really hard, and it’s particularly difficult right now. As school leaders who are supposed to serve those in our care and also have limited professional learning funds, we owe our educators better than this.
See also
[I am highlighting various initiatives of the ISTE Community Leaders…]
For the past week or so, I’ve been sharing some of the many things that ISTE Community Leaders do. From our new podcast to expert webinars, from helping others within ISTE Connect to meetups and conference events, we are busy but also are having a blast. If all of this sounds fun to you too, applications for the 2024-2025 ISTE Community Leaders cohort are now open. Hope some of you are interested and apply!
See also
[I am highlighting various initiatives of the ISTE Community Leaders…]
Perhaps the main responsibility of the ISTE Community Leaders is to engage with the larger ISTE community within ISTE Connect. ISTE Connect has numerous job role groups, including ed tech and instructional coaches, educational leaders, librarians, higher education, and P-12 educators. ISTE Connect also has topic groups that range widely, from AI to curriculum to digital citizenship to STEAM to equity, inclusion, and accessibility. There are LOTS of resources and numerous daily conversations shared across the ISTE Connect platform. ISTE Community Leaders answer questions, provide resources, connect folks, and try to spark interesting discussions as they support the needs that emerge in the online community. It’s super fun and I’ve interacted with a whole bunch of interesting people. If you’re not already engaged in ISTE Connect, come join us!
See also
[I am highlighting various initiatives of the ISTE Community Leaders…]
In addition to The Edge podcast, ongoing meetups, and various conference-related events, the ISTE Community Leaders also regularly host webinars on a variety of topics. Here is a list of upcoming and/or recent webinar topics:
Keep an eye out in ISTE (or ASCD) newsletters or other communications for information about upcoming webinars. There’s also usually a call for webinar proposals a couple of times per year. Happy listening!
See also
[I am highlighting various initiatives of the ISTE Community Leaders…]
In my last post I mentioned that the ISTE Community Leaders are doing amazing things. I have been particularly impressed with the frequency and variety of the meetups and conference events led by the Community Leaders. As an example, in recent months the Community Leaders have hosted meetups related to “meeting students where they are,” strategies for educational technology coaching, and a makerspace-themed digital escape room.
Other big events include conferences and in-person events. Some of the Community Leaders hosted the Global Impact Virtual Conference. You will see several Community Leader-hosted playgrounds at ISTELive24. I am keynoting – and several of us are helping with – the 2024 Summer ASCD + ISTE Summer Leaders Meetup in Colorado Springs. And so on…
As I mentioned, we’ve got a lot going on!
See also
I have been involved with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) for over two decades. ISTE was a major supporter of our School Technology Leadership Initiative (STLI) at the University of Minnesota, a $2.5 million federally-funded project which, among other things, created the first graduate program designed to prepare a technology-savvy school leader. STLI later morphed into the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), which was the first university center in the USA focused on technology, leadership, innovation, and deeper learning. As the Founding Director (and current Co-Director) of CASTLE, I served on the original advisory board for ISTE’s National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators (the NETS-A), and since have served ISTE as a professional learning partner, reviewer, workshop facilitator, and Ambassador. I was the recipent of ISTE’s global Award for Outstanding Leadership in 2016, and this year I am helping plan and host ISTELive here in Denver. To say that I am grateful for my relationship with ISTE would be an understatement!
For the past few years, I have been fortunate to serve as an ISTE Community Leader. There are a few dozen of us, located all around the world, and we have monthly virtual meetups in which we share what each other is doing, hear what ISTE is planning, and connect and design with each other. The Community Leaders are all doing amazing things, and our joy-filled, high energy meetings are a bucket filler for me each month.
The Community Leaders program has been around for only a few years, and I’m a huge fan. This week I will be highlighting some of what we do, starting with ISTE’s newest podcast, The Edge. The Edge evolved organically during the Community Leaders’ first couple of years together. The Edge is a podcast run by ISTE members, not ISTE staff, and the episodes are meant to highlight a variety of interesting activities happening in the ISTE community. Previous podcast topics (and guests) have included Building an E-Sports Program (with Julie Mavrogeorge), Outdoor Learning and Place-Based Education (with Paul Bocko), Neurodiverse Students and Inclusive Learning Environments (with Matthew Harrison), and Engaging Student Creativity (with Michael Hernandez).
If The Edge is not currently in your podcast listening cycle, I encourage you to check it out!
A school leader in one of my Facebook groups asked if anyone had a discussion guide for the next time their teachers held vertical discussions across grade levels. Here was my response:
I’ve done this with schools before. Not exactly sure what the desired outcome of your conversations is, but I’ve seen really powerful discussion arise from the simple questions of “What do you expect students to know and be able to do by the end of their school year with you?” (to the lower grade team) and “What do you expect students to know and be able to do when they enter your classroom at the beginning of the school year?” (to the higher grade team)…
Small group conversation around those two questions can easily fill most of an hour (be sure to have them take notes!). Also helpful to have some debrief time at the end where you just ask folks “What did you hear today? What does that mean for our practice? How can I be of support?“
Good luck and have fun!
What do you like your educators to talk about in their vertical discussions?
I’ve been blogging about bringing in outside helpers…
Here are three big questions to ask AFTER a visit from an outside helper:
Great times to ask these questions include about a week after the visit (when the gloss has worn off) and also about 3 to 6 months after the visit (when the work should be well underway)…
How much of your work with outside helpers has resulted in tangible, concrete, actionable, beneficial changes in your school(s)? If not much, why is that?
School resources are always limited, whether they be time, money, attention, energy, or personnel. Before you hire an outside helper for your school(s), here are some questions you might ask…
Some questions to ask the outside helper (before you hire them) include…
These are just a few to get started… What else would you add here?