Last week, one of our teachers excitedly shared that she found some old laptops in the building and was determined to clean them up in order to give her students immediate 1:1 access. I watched as the tweets went by and felt her excitement as she shared what this access meant for her students. The world was literally at their fingertips. A few days later, I received an email from her that while her kids were enjoying this new way of learning, they could barely stay online, but were being such great sports trying. It was such a profound moment because until that point, I made an assumption that one should not make in planning for digital learning initiatives. I thought that our wireless connectivity was where it needed to be. And then I re-learned some lessons… Lesson 1: Know where the wireless access points are located and how such proximity impacts necessary connected learning. Lesson 2: Wired access is not equal to wireless access. High speed wired access does not equal high-speed wireless access. Lesson 3: Listen to your students and teachers…especially when their actions speak louder than words concerning what is and is not working. Lesson 4: This is where having a network comes in handy. Ask questions when in doubt. Fixing the Plane While Flying I used to hear this phrase often and I thought it was such a weird thing to say…until now, until this year. Over the past few months, I have learned so much about people and process, including why so many decisions were made in the school districts of my past that I questioned. Dear __________ I COMPLETELY understand why you said what you said or did what you did…I get it. If you have ever wondered what fixing a plane while flying is like, try implementing multiple digital initiatives while learning the back ends of every system. It is the absolute worst yet fulfilling experience that you may ever encounter! A few hits/misses and moments of clarity When you’ve never actually created student google accounts on a sub-domain and synced them with a SIS, you accept the timeline of the 3rd party vendor and trust that your new deadline of Dec. 1 won’t turn into January 2016. I used to wonder why districts had such stringent rules about in-app purchasing and then I started managing our volume purchase account. I totally get it now! Can I just say that wireless access points matter? Basically, if the reliability of the wireless network is so low that students cannot connect, the technology won’t be used in the way that it was intended. Know when to abort mission and redirect!! You’ll do this often. Using digital tools to support productivity, collaboration and creativity of the campus from a district/campus leadership perspective, is a win…especially when "the people" themselves are driving it. Teachers, even in a slightly inaccessible community, want to have a voice and connect with other teachers. If you walk into a room of kids and yell, "MINECRAFT!!!"…Prepare to lose the ability to hear for several hours. When it comes to apps, keep it simple and creative. When you order chromebooks in bulk, you better make a plan to grab help in enrolling those chromebooks in Chromebook management because if not, you will literally die. Sometimes the best ideas from social media EDU have to remain on the horizon because you learn quickly that you’ve got to make ripples in the pond before making waves in the ocean. One more thing, always be truthful to yourself and your internal peers about where your district is in critical areas because unless we face our truths, we won’t ever fix the issues the way that our students deserve for them to be fixed.

A few weeks ago, 50 teachers joined an internal google plus community meant to connect them to each other as we all began to take on the digital learning challenge. In a few weeks, these teachers began to create, share and freely ideate their goals for professional growth…all within the safety of our community. Last week, their challenge was to create a blog and share it, a completely new venture for most. It was uplifting reading their profound thoughts, taking a glimpse inside their classroom trips and reading reflections of risk taking with the greatest rewards…students owning their learning. Amidst the chaos of digital learning purchasing (I’m talking to YOU Minecraft EDU and YOU Apple Volume Purchasing), chromebook enrollment, GAFE setup, Brightbytes data collection/analysis, professional learning plans and even a few top secret (mindblowing) initiatives along the way…it has been truly heartwarming to hear how teachers are excited to try new ideas or how they’ve shared what they are learning with others in their building…and they want to try too. #lufkinlearns Big 6 research project in math. Discovery education board builder. pic.twitter.com/ZDkmx6jbBp — Jennifer Winters (@jwinter13121044) November 11, 2015 I’ve loved watching our principals transform into digital leaders…risk takers. To see schools completely change the way that they collaborate just by adopting a few ideas is one of those wins that hits you in the gut when you least expect it. Our district specialist are new to this world and so far, even with my constant blurting out of tools that we have to try (and yesterday), haven’t yet run for the hills! They’re both growing together, learning…and allowing themselves to be vulnerable. Of course, we are blogging and even recording short tutorials for our teachers and principals on our own collaborative youtube channel. This district is pretty lucky to have two specialist who are so dedicated to supporting teaching and learning. No, things are not perfect. Our wifi access needs work but it’s safe to say that we have all acknowledged it and will move forward while we make plans to fix it. Maybe we’ll temporarily need a few portable access points to account for classrooms needing access in their entirety while we do what we need to improve overall connectivity. Whatever we need to do, we’ll do it and that’s comforting. There are moments when I get so stressed that I have to remind myself to stop and smell at the great things. Those stressful times are usually met with something awesome even when I didn’t expect it. Like… The principal who taught herself to code and started a coding club on her campus The principal who decided to use google classroom for a book study with her staff The principal who said that he called another principal to ask how they were being more productive and collaborative…implementing those ideas on his campus too The teacher who said, "I was so excited about the ideas that I learned at Fall Virtcon that I completely changed my thinking in my classroom" The student who excitedly shared his collage of adjectives with us that he created when his teachers said, for the first time…"Let’s try BYOD" The students who were excited to collaborate via padlet because their teacher took the risk to learn and get her campus on board! All of our Digital Ambassadors, patiently waiting on their devices, and blogging…finding their voices in the world! The digital learning specialist and executive assistant who decided to enroll all of the chromebooks themselves so that we could get them done faster Learning to reinstall chrome when a teeny tiny mishap deemed it necessary. The principal, who is modeling formative assessments with her staff, using Plickrs as I type this blog… When you leave work, worried…stressed…think of the Wins. Smile and do it all over again tomorrow. #LufkinLearns   Progressing lots @ Coding Club! #lufkinlearns #dunbarprimary @DorindaWade pic.twitter.com/D3ZuvUVHvo — Piper K Collins (@Pipercollins197) October 29, 2015

Year after year, local communities are losing their schools because of test scores…not just test scores but lack of so many pieces that contribute to such a fate. For example, I just read that New Orleans has officially become an all charter community full of TFA teachers because their schools were beyond low performing. What’s left out of that story is that their schools were also more than likely underfunded and full of under-developed teachers who were teaching kids with gaps growing more and more by the year. On the other hand, I know of several schools in Texas, full of teachers and administrators doing the best that they can and yet, their schools are also in danger of being repurposed…because of testing. Just announced, La Marque ISD Annexed. It’s a sad reality…one that we can’t ignore just like we can’t ignore that academically students of color and/or poverty are more than likely at the losing end of this entire discussion because what happens is that when schools perform low…when kids perform low, there is almost always some sort of "rigorous" remediation plan put in place. We go to our "tech spaces" and talk about choice, digital storytelling, gamification, flipped learning…blah blah blah…and even if there are teachers who are willing to implement such ideas into courses, these kids won’t get that. They’ll get test prep software, test prep questions, assessment apps, monthly campus-wide exams and if they do happen to get the privilege of "recording their thinking", it’ll be through the lens of testing. We can all agree, I think that high stakes testing is horrible. We do, however, have to consider that accountability of learning has its place and that somehow we have to look at the integration of curiosity, creativity and even "innovation" through what and how we are empowering learning within our kids. Maybe accountability is the wrong word entirely. Maybe it should be the reflection of learning….maybe. A few years ago, my school attempted something radical. Instead of standard "after school remediation", we empowered our kids to create to learn. They made videos, collaborative displays, drawings, interactive applets and voice recordings. All of their learning was housed on a website…completely populated by them. We also had embedded professional development where teachers learned to provide choice, use formative assessments and ask better questions. That year, our school would’ve been in trouble had our kids not performed. Thankfully they did. Perhaps we should not stop at apps but instead focus on how technology can impact learning in ways far greater than what we do for testing…because of testing. Perhaps, we can also talk about ways to make sure that the kids that get such access to creative problem solving aren’t just our best and brightest but…all kids. Perhaps

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog. Below you’ll see the top posts along with the number of page views. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment. Entry Pageviews Social media advice for career-minded students. 10...May 4, 2014,  1656 Does Twitter have a minimum age requirement?Jun 13, 2013,  1646 5 Ways to use social media to spice up your next m...Apr 16, 2014,  1426 Caution banning cell phones may interrupt learning...Apr 20, 2014,  881 10 Reasons to Attend a Google for Education Summit...May 7, 2014,  769

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog. Below you’ll see the top posts along with the number of page views. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment.EntryPageviewsErase Unnecessary Costs by Getting Smart ...May 14, 2010, 2499The 10 No Nos of Teaching with a Smartboard...May 10, 2010, 1656Social media advice for career-minded students. ...May 4, 2014, 1644Does Twitter have a minimum age requirement?Jun 13, 2013, 1551How to host a Q-and-A Twitter chatMay 11, 2014, 1309Learn to teach web literacy with free classes from...May 18, 2014, 123410 Reasons to Attend a Google for Education...May 7, 2014, 755

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog. Below you’ll see the top posts along with the number of page views. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment.EntryPageviewsLearn to teach web literacy with free classes from...May 18, 2014, 1734Social media advice for career-minded students. 10...May 4, 2014, 1654Does Twitter have a minimum age requirement?Jun 13, 2013, 1442How to host a Q-and-A Twitter chatMay 11, 2014, 1328The Ten No Nos of Teaching with a Projector or Int...May 10, 2010, 99810 Reasons to Attend a Google for Education Summit...May 7, 2014, 761

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog. Below you’ll see the top posts along with the number of page views. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment.EntryPageviewsStop saying "balance is key" when discussing techn...Jun 1, 2014, 3049Learn to teach web literacy with free classes from...May 18, 2014, 1771Social media advice for career-minded students. 10...May 4, 2014, 1644Using Cell Phones to Support Student Engagement & ...May 6, 2012, 1457Does Twitter have a minimum age requirement?Jun 13, 2013, 1368How to host a Q-and-A Twitter chatMay 11, 2014, 1327

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog. Below you’ll see the top posts along with the number of page views. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment. Entry Pageviews Stop saying "balance is key" when discussing techn...Jun 1, 2014, 3315 Using Cell Phones to Support Student Engagement & ...May 6, 2012, 2561 Social Media Guidelines for Students and Teachers ...Jun 4, 2014, 2256 Why Smartboards are a Dumb InitiativeMay 12, 2010, 2242 Erase Unnecessary Costs by Getting Smart about Int...May 14, 2010, 1759 Learn to teach web literacy with free classes from...May 18, 2014, 1741 Digital media to meet the uncommon core during vis...Jun 2, 2014, 1460 Does Twitter have a minimum age requirement?Jun 13, 2013, 1322

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog. Below you’ll see the top posts along with the number of page views. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment. Entry Pageviews Stop saying "balance is key" when discussing tech...Jun 1, 2014,  3341 Using Cell Phones to Support Student Engagement & ...May 6, 2012,  2585 Social Media Guidelines for Students and Teachers ...Jun 4, 2014,  2284 Why Smartboards are a Dumb InitiativeMay 12, 2010,  2159 Learn to teach web literacy with free classes from...May 18, 2014,  1738

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog. Below you’ll see the top posts along with the number of page views. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment. Entry Pageviews 10 Ways Social Media Can Improve Writing in Your C...Jun 22, 2014,  3962 Stop saying "balance is key" when discussing techn...Jun 1, 2014,  3431 Using Cell Phones to Support Student Engagement & ...May 6, 2012,  3093 10 Reasons Cell Phones Should Be Allowed In School...Aug 24, 2010,  2822 Social Media Guidelines for Students and Teachers ...Jun 4, 2014,  2388 Does Twitter have a minimum age requirement?Jun 13, 2013,  1559 Digital media to meet the uncommon core during ...Jun 2, 2014,  1482 5 Reasons to Consider an Accelerated Degree Programs...Jun 18, 2014,  1420 Why Smartboards are a Dumb InitiativeMay 12, 2010,  1316