This past weekend, I had the unique opportunity to serve as a teacher mentor for the Austin Education Game Jam, hosted by Globoloria, Atlassian HipChat and Skillpoint Alliance. This "Gamathon" event challenged development teams to create high-quality, commercially viable video games that were content focused while also empowering learning through more meaningful and engaging experiences. From a spectator standpoint, it was interesting to see teams, with most having only met that day, thinking about what gaming in education could be and then making plans to create that experience. Each group, bringing their own experiences as student learners and entertainment content creators, took great care to think about how game design supports learning and in what area could great impact be made. Watching each game come to life was an education in and of itself with the most powerful being the moments that we saw developers "googling code" or looking at a quick youtube video to learn how to do some small part in the game. We are all still learners, right? There were also moments when, without thinking, a connection would be made to a childhood learning experience. "I cringed at the thought of making a game about math because I was never good at math" "I learned a lot more about the subject while I was making a game about it" It was in those moments that I had my greatest "aha moment"… We NEED kids doing this…designing their own games for learning…and yesterday! Engaging the educational game industry to help drive innovation in learning is certainly critical but involving the diverse expertise of students and forward thinking educators can only drive more successful outcomes. With that said, watching a room full of developers completely immersed in collaboratively designing, building and learning reminded me of the power of project based learning which then led to a few thoughts… Kids will be empowered learners if they are a part of the creation process and even more so if they are the creators. As Joseph South, with the Department of Education Office of Edtech, pointed out…The key to engaging kids lies in the developers that have mastered the art of capturing their interest. We shouldn’t be communicating that games have zero value. We SHOULD be learning from these game designers. Gamification, in the sense that it exist in education, isn’t the same as immersive learning through gaming. Project based simulation of real world tasks isn’t the same as badges for behaviors. I have always loved gaming and found myself connecting to the games of my adolescence and why I loved them. I learned to solve problems and in doing so developed parts of my brain that I didn’t even know existed. It wasn’t just about garnering points, it was about doing so in such a way that the embedded skill was second nature. We know that coding is important and globally we’ve bought in to the idea through our participation in "hour of code". Now we need to have deeper discussions about next steps and how that looks. As a person who spent hours on end mastering the moves of every single Tony Hawk game, becoming a digital guitar hero, earning almost every top career path in The Sims, beating my daughter in Dance Dance revolution, spending hours playing Angry Birds while also embedding the game in math lessons and finally understanding football through John Madden…I am exceptionally excited that Entertainment gaming is joining these discussions. Where do we go now? Well, we collaborate to drive innovation with students being the driving force. Can you imagine how we can deeply impact learning? I can only hope that at these events in the future that race and gender diversity isn’t left on the table in the name tags of the people that didn’t show up. I’m hoping that we/they at least signed up because we need women and people of color in these discussion too. Unfortunately, this event was absent of both of these.

For the past few hours, I’ve thought, rethought, written and erased…over and over again. In between going back and forth, I got to experience the vile realities of twitter trolls…people creating accounts for the sole purpose of saying the most unreal, racist, sexist, body shaming…things to me. Clearly, speaking out against the "media interpretation" of awesome teaching ruffled some feathers. And yet, I am still stuck at… How do I best convey why #IWishmyteacherknew is not just a "bad thing" but a "Oh heck no" thing…. First let me say that I am an advocate for student voice. I believe wholeheartedly in not just hearing from kids but fully including them in the education process. I have also called out the educational community, on a number of occasions, about equity, community and decision making with students and families of poverty. So, naturally I was intrigued by this campaign as the example that I saw was mild. It was the child wishing for friends. I shared it and then I read the article…many articles. I was mortified because those shares were not just "students sharing their thoughts"….those shares were "students sharing personal family experiences". In the age of social media, this is NOT good…not at all. You see…aside from this teacher, and the colorful index cards of notes that she tweeted, there are families who are also connected…families who have children in her class…in the community…families who have facebook, twitter…the evening news. No family should have to hear that what their child was feeling and shared with their teacher was posted to social media while watching the news. Talk about being blindsided… Now, before you go all, "She had to have had permission" on me… Let me be clear in saying that this teacher was asked on multiple occasions about permissions and the only permission that she seemed to have had was from the kids. They are 8 and 9 years old….sharing personal FAMILY details. If those thoughts were shared without parental consent, this is a problem…a Big one!! I even consulted with my sister who is blind on this issue and I asked what she would do if she saw that my nephew wrote to his teacher about issues that should have been discussed with her but were instead shared online. Let’s just say that if that happened, a visit to the school and superintendent would have been in order. There are quite a few who demand that this teacher was "brave" in selflessly sharing the voices of her students. No…the bravery was in the kids who wrote them. I personally find it quite exploitive that following the viral state of her shares…were tweets to give to her donors choose projects. That’s not brave. That is called pushing an agenda. Those tweets were auto tweeted to anyone that used that hashtag…same verbiage…even to me. In addition…I need to alert the greater world that… THIS TEACHER WAS NOT THE FIRST TO DISCOVER AND SHARE THE EXISTENCE OF POVERTY. Newsflash: Millions of children in this country live through extreme poverty or unreal living situations. As a matter of fact, if you extend this prompt across the nation…you may even hear stories about… Homelessness Abuse Divorce Neglect Drugs/Alcohol Depression (as a matter of fact, a teacher actually shared a student saying that they had depression via this hashtag) Starvation Lack of guidance Struggle Worry/Concern Lack of resources/supplies You may even hear about kids who are poor but still happy. Those stories exist too. (You didn’t read many of those though) Even with the pieces of story shared are parents, siblings and extended family members. There are multiple sides that are not considered. There are parents who work late and hard to support their kids. Often, kids at that age do not connect with that. Imagine that working mother reading that her kid needed her in a news article online…and feeling the guilt 10x over beyond what she may already feel. Maybe that’s not the story. Maybe it is. We don’t know though. (Anonymity does not exist in this case for these families because original work with handwriting was published. Most parents know how their own kids write. Again…minus consent = problematic) Sharing student work is done across the edu-sphere in all forms. This was different. This wasn’t just "work". We were reading notes, written in the original handwriting of students (locally identifiable…If I am a parent of a child in that class, I can simply ask my child or use community knowledge to know who those kids were and which families they were. Community shaming is real. That is unfair…period!) But…tell me…Did you really need to see it written in the handwriting of students to know that those problems existed? Were you completely oblivious to the real state of the american child that it took the "Freedom Writer-ish" act of a "still new at this teacher" to connect with the fact that our kids need help because the world sucks and they feel it? You should probably check your privilege because if you are too blind or disconnected to see the world around you and know that kids are affected without needing them to pour their hearts out onto colored index cards for the world to read…you are a part of the problem. These shares are doing nothing more than what they are already doing… …Exploiting the struggles of families Yes people…families are stuggling…lots of them! Student work is not owned by teachers or schools. We have zero right to share their progress, thoughts or examples. That right belongs to families and unless we get permission from parents and/or students…when they can legally consent…we have no business putting their thoughts on the web. No, I am not muting kids. It is about ethics. It is about what is right and wrong. One of the many twitter trolls that I had today reminded me that at the beginning of the school year, parent permissions to share student work are sent and retrieved. Let me guarantee you that parents who sign those forms did not count on their personal lives being shared. There is no way. If this is the practice in your school or district, it is time to revisit that. One more thing… I am most disappointed in an educational community that turned a blind eye to this in public and were not strong enough to speak up for what we know is right concerning student/family privacy…until it became apparent that silence wasn’t the best option. It shouldn’t have to be me or any of the other educolor group members to push these discussions. Silence means that everyone loses. If you were silent on this issue…what lessons can you possibly teach kids about the same? In case you missed it… We do not own student work. We cannot share personal thoughts of kids without consent. Trust matters. My son shared a personal narrative with his teacher last week. He did it because he has great trust in her as another caring adult. Let’s hope that she does not betray that trust.

  It’s been one week since we moved away from our home town. It was a place with its own set of issues but my entire family still lives there and to be completely away is tough. We have texting, social media, FaceTime, Google hangouts, Skype and pretty much every means of connecting possible. However, nothing beats the rush of emotions that I feel as I hold my tiny niece in my arms…her finger surrounding mine.  She’s in the hospital again…long sigh. Technology can’t replace the giggles from tickling my 1 year old nephew after chasing him around the house. Seeing Braeden and his art was magical because watching him work live is an unexplainable event. My daughter, in all of her spunk, lights up the entire room when she enters it. When someone says, "Rafranz you act like you’ve been away for a long time"…They don’t really understand the love that I feel for my family because it’s not about being gone for such a short time. It’s the finality of my new city being "home". This is the most difficult part. Don’t get me wrong, I love my new community but I’d be lying if I said that being here wasn’t hard. It is. I also have a new perspective on tech and connecting. As much as I love the convenience of what tech gives, something has to be said about the power of physical connections.  This is why I don’t believe in an all tech all the time environment. We can’t allow ourselves the convenience of forgetting the power of a simple hug. To my friends that think otherwise…live a little this weekend. Hug your families. Hang with friends. Smell the air around you. Feel the ground underneath your feet. Dig into the earth. Close your eyes and be thankful for life unplugged. ….Because this is the life that fuels our spirits and truly enables us to be whole people outside of our work…especially if that work is consumed by tech.

Yesterday, I spent my morning at our high school and at one elementary school. As eye-opening as those experiences were, especially concerning much needed digital learning upgrades, it was exactly what I needed. As a matter of fact, I was in such a great mood the rest of the day that I could not even explain why…other than being high on life and the responsibility of serving kids. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be on a couple of campuses at some point today too. When you’re the person in the district responsible for how we use technology, everyone wants you to see the great things that they do with technology. There’s excitement for the teachers who are using their smartboards. You get escorted into the campus technology all-star’s classroom. You see the carts and the lab that teachers can use. You may even see the PE teacher utilizing projected video with kids in the gym to exercise on a super hot sunny day. If you’re really lucky, you walk into a planning session of teachers and listen as they reluctantly explain why they can’t access the tools that they may need. I take that back…If you are really lucky, you find inspiration and perspective in the faces of kids who were excited as you mentioned minecraft, the music room full of instruments for students to create sound and the substitute teacher flagging you down to see her overhead projector with transparencies. In one word, you are reminded about the need to be transparent. I spent the rest of my day thinking of ways to shift mindset of how we as a district will utilize what we have. A Smartboard displaying a website, power point or even the worksheet under the elmo isn’t transformative…at all. I’m also not going to take the stance of yanking them from the room. That’s insane. What I can do is show teachers how to use them as collaborative spaces for kids…by kids. I can show teachers how to design for learning with collaborative centers, utilizing both digital and analog tools. We can build a culture of creativity in lieu of consumption. Kids playing games on classroom computers as earned "technology time" isn’t ideal when we want technology to be just as accessible and normal as a pencil and paper. Surely, we wouldn’t make pencil and paper an earned reward…would we? It’s easy to sit behind a desk in an office or in countless meetings talking about what we can purchase and even implement. However, you have no idea how to truly bring change without immersing yourself in your spaces of learning. And listening…not to the words being spoken but to what is not being said. And seeing what is not seen.

Everyday when I walk into my building, I feel as if the weight of the world is on my shoulders. Correction…I feel this whether I am in my building or not. My mind races a million directions…constantly refreshing ideas faster than I can blink sometimes. Every step or conversation stimulates internal thoughts about how we can be better…small, subtle changes here and there. Confession: It’s hard for me to focus when every ounce of my being is internally screaming…"Nooooooooo"…at the celebration of things that we should be doing differently. I cringe at the phrase, "this is how we’ve always done things". This is the worst phrase known to humankind as people tend to allow the brick wall of sameness to halt progress. "This is how we’ve always done things" is the ultimate destroyer of ideas, growth and future innovations. My job in our district is ultimately to help our school communities move forward. For me, that meant that I had to spend a few months observing and living in our realities. There are so many pieces to the puzzle of "future readiness" and being in this district has reaffirmed my belief and understanding that although President Obama’s ConnectEd to the future initiative was about digital connectivity, we can’t ignore the necessity of human connections with our local communities. At the same token, digital connectivity means that kids can connect beyond our communities and learn with the world. This is my greatest goal and challenge. Our Realities Our school district has a BYOD program and an extremely low percentage of computers to supplement those without. We also seem to have a low percentage of kids with actual devices. Our brightbytes data will clarify this in a matter of weeks. Like most school districts, digital initiatives have taken a backseat to testing. We are awesome with gathering data through test prep technologies and even more awesome with administering online exams per our state requirements. My reality is that I am here in this position because we also recognize that we can and should do much more than tech for testing. I also recognize that in a district with zero mobile devices, other than specialized departments, our "much more than tech for testing" will be a gradual process. Building A Foundation I am fortunate to be in a place with a superintendent who completely gets it. She understands that as great as our district is, we can be greater and she leads through action. Every school district needs this! Last week, she started utilizing Google Classroom with our leadership staff to create a workflow for collaboration, communication and productivity. Sitting down to train her and a few of our core leadership team was soul fulfilling as in that moment, I understood where I needed to focus. In the last few days, I’ve seen the fruit of her/our labor spreading like wildfire. Our instructional specialist are starting to collaborate digitally. Teachers are sharing lesson plans and asking that they be commented with feedback. People are excited in such a way that it is certainly contagious and also the greatest feeling on earth! My vision for how we approach professional and digital learning is that in a space where our slate is blank, we have an opportunity to do this right. We are taking a top-down approach to leading and learning, meaning…that we will become a collective unit of digital leaders, implementing into the work of leadership…thus creating a model that can and will inspire the change that we want to see in our teaching and learning. So far…it is working. While I am all for giving kids the tools and letting them lead the way, I also know that the greatest barriers to student/teacher innovation aren’t just their own mindsets but the mindsets of those charged with leading.  We can and will do this right with sustainability in mind. With that said, my department is also moving with the intention of putting the world into the hands of our students and that excites me more than anything. While I will probably always feel the weight of the world on my shoulders, I always remind myself to be patient. Yes, I will still internally cringe at the sight of things printed that should be digital, the use of phrases like "engaging and interactive" when neither word applies, computers that barely work, spotty wifi and the focus on state testing. I will also breathe in the realization that what makes me cringe also stimulates plans towards change…plans that become action…actions that spread over time. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is sustainable digital growth.      

1. Google Apps Aren’t Really "Free"  Through the course of our implementation and relaunch of Google Apps, I’ve definitely learned that the word "free" is such a myth. When we decided to move forward with creating our student Google Apps accounts, I started to hear all about monitoring of teacher and student accounts. I learned that kids will type terrible things and change ink to white in order to make pages appear blank. Adults and kids may sometimes even share personal identifiable data via Google Drive Kids and/or adults may write/post threatening content. Pretty much every horrible, terrible, very bad thing that you can image can happen While google doesn’t provide mechanisms for monitoring every aspect of their "free" product, several vendors do…to the tune of about $20,000 or more. And oh yes…it comes from my budget. Also, I struggled immensely with such stringent monitoring even though I know that it is necessary because of the use of school provided accounts. Le sigh… 2. You can live in harmony with both Google and Microsoft We offer Office, Office 365 and Google to our teachers and students which is great as I strongly believe that certain tools lend themselves to be more applicable than others. With the release of Microsoft Mix, which helps users create interactive videos from ppt and Sway, a tool for digital storytelling (that still needs work might I add)…There is no reason at all to marry one tool over the other, other than cost. I’m currently toying with creating google slides, exporting them to ppt and using Microsoft Mix to create videos which works great. 3. Dynamic Content only matters if teachers and students know about it and how to use it. We have district licensing for both Discovery Education and Brainpop. Both services have extensive educator resources available with my favorite being Discovery Education’s Spotlight on Strategies as it gives teachers immediate and actionable uses of media in the classroom. While both of these tools are amazing, they are only great if they are being used with purpose. Both also have admin panels which will give usage data and for me, this data matters. See #4 4. Data should inform the work of instructional technology too. I checked our usage data for the tools that our district provides and I wasn’t surprised at all to see that the tools provided that aren’t "test prep" tools were barely used. This was important as it helped me to understand that we have to better support teachers in understanding that the tools exist and how to use them. Teaching teachers to "log in" isn’t enough. There must be correlation between content, purpose and personalization through student accounts. It’s not about mandating usage but understanding that when data shows "non-usage" it could mean… Teachers aren’t buying it at all. (There is no why) Teachers and/or students lack the access to reach those tools. Teachers aren’t quite sure how to integrate them into instruction Lack of professional development It’s important that as we look at data that we look at ourselves first and ask…Are we doing enough to differentiate for our adult learners just as we expect them to do for students. This is critical. 5. Not all devices are created equally nor should they necessarily be the same. When I got my budget, I looked at several options for device purchasing. I’m still evaluating as it was important to identify "why" before immediately determining "what". I didn’t want to purchase all chromebooks however, the price point of a Chromebook, ease of use and integration of web tools made it much more appealing. With that said, we are literally starting from scratch considering that our district is BYOD with basically no mobile devices other than in specialized areas. If I had my way and the budget to do so, I would purchase selections of Surface Pros (Hello Minecraft!!), Ipads and Chromebooks. For year one, this is not feasible at all and I am doing my best to make the most of the budget that I have. In due time though…in due time… With that said, this is year 1 and right now our goals are to effectively integrate what we have, support it with fidelity and create pockets of change with pilots…tapping into our teachers who are eager for it. 6. Take full advantage of applicable resources! Our district is title 1 which means that we more than qualified to take advantage of certain ConnectEd Resources from Adobe, Prezi and other tools that have yet to unfold. In addition, the Office of Edtech resources have helped tremendously in creating our foundation from which we will grow. Although this is a new role to this district and a brand new dept, we are not in a system of "blind leading the blind" and that feels great.

When I interviewed for my current role, I had to create a presentation and present on what being Future Ready meant to Lufkin. It was a topic that I comfortably understood but yet and still…the most difficult task that I’ve ever encountered because even back then, I understood that being Future Ready wasn’t necessarily a finite state of being. It was and still is a culture of ideas, learning and growth created to support the global preparedness of our students and teachers. The pledge itself is created on the foundation of the 7 tenets in the slideshow below. To be clear, I do take issue with the idea of being "future ready" but only because of my own personal hangups with the phrase itself and its literal definition. At the same token, I view the 7 tenets as important topics of conversations for districts when considering and collaborating on the belief systems and support structures for innovative learning empowering student and teacher growth. There should be a culture of digital learning, personalized professional learning, immediate access for students with a focus on creativity over consumption, quality content (open educational resources), support for families and a shared spirit of mentorship, sharing and reflection. There should also be a focus on equity amongst all student populations, a shared vision of support for students of poverty, intentional inclusion of diverse community populations and an evaluative system that intentionally reflects on discipline practices, gifted inclusiveness and specialized programs meant to close opportunity gaps. There should also be community connectedness, not reliant on wifi or device access, but completely focused on service in the environments where our students live. These ideas are often ignored and it’s frustrating. See…there’s a line right before the 7 tenets that people seem to miss… "…by engaging in a wide range of activities such as" In a world of curriculum development, we’ve learned to view the phrase, "such as", as a suggestion and not the "end all be all". What this means is that districts shouldn’t only focus on the 7 tenets as a checklist but use those ideas to drive discussions. At the same token, isn’t it important to look at individual communities and collectively determine what matters beyond the tools and wifi…such as equity, equality, opportunity and community? While I agree wholeheartedly in digital access and putting learning into the hands of kids, I also believe that we have to look beyond the surface of the tools themselves and on who our students will become as people…how they will be empowered to feel culturally connected, creatively limitless and globally aware. I said all of this to say that perhaps the greatest myth about being "future ready" is that we’re ever in a place to truly be "Ready". If we’re doing it right, we’re constantly working, reflecting and transforming into something that far exceeds the limitations of this phrase. I get the White House’s initiative. Believe me…I do. I also get that it’s necessary because the fact of the matter is that without this discussion, most schools wouldn’t even be looking beyond the traditions that they’ve always followed. The truth is that all of the chatter about being future ready is forcing schools who choose it, to at least consider that operating under the rule of "we’ve always done it this way" is no longer acceptable. This is undeniably a great thing. Perhaps we can impress upon ourselves in our local and social communities to move beyond the buzz phrase of being "future ready leaders" in "future ready schools" to be more mindful of the deepest needs of the learners that we have now so that they can not only navigate but create pathways towards a more sustainable future.

Following the Spring Valley High assault news yesterday, I searched for student perspective from students at that school. As expected, there was a ton of discussion about the young lady being violently wrestled and tossed across the room. What I didn’t expect to see was their passionate pleas that people quit making this incident about race. They were completely adamant that the officer responsible wasn’t racist but an equal opportunity violent man who once did the same thing to a pregnant girl who happened to be white. According to them, he tossed all kids with reckless abandon. They said, and I quote… "This isn’t about race but about an enraged police officer who didn’t need to be working in a school." We can argue the point about race for days on end and even say that perhaps these kids live in the same bubble that many of our kids live in….kids who are so removed from the historical aspect of racial violence that they lack the understanding of the emotional distress of seeing a young black girl tossed across the room. Maybe they lack the ability to make the statistical connection between discipline practices pertaining to students of color compared to white students. Or…perhaps they are right and in their eyes…in their community, it’s not about race. We have to respect that just as much as we have to respect student voice in every other aspect of their learning and growth. With that said, there are those that saw that video and immediately questioned what that student did to provoke this situation. There were those that immediately saw that she was black and placed her in the same box that they do every other "loud black girl". Perhaps she was being disruptive, they said. She should have just been cooperative. She should have left the room. She should have done what she was told and when she didn’t that officer had no choice but to toss her out like the garbage man puts away the trash. …but, it’s not about race, right? In looking deeper, I saw testimonials from kids who said that she was new to the class and didn’t speak. Others said that they had no idea why this happened. Conflicting reports said that she was chewing gum or had her cell phone and refused to participate in class. I found it alarming that a girl causing "disruptions" wasn’t really being disruptive when the kids in the class had to question what she did to get to that point. This is where the "teacher in me" comes out. I would like to rewind back to the moment that the teacher decided to toss the young lady from class for doing something that none of the students around her could account for. I would like to know why that was even an option. What was their policy that allowed this to occur? I had kids that refused to do work and I didn’t toss them from class or call an administrator to force their hand. You wait. You carry on as normal and you wait…especially when that kid is new to the class and doesn’t know kids or what to expect. You wait and you talk and eventually….you get to the kid. Especially when that kid is non-disruptive. That’s what you do when your ego doesn’t get in the way of your decision making. Unless the kid disrupts…talks back…gets volatile. But that didn’t happen…did it? I don’t have to wonder what that teacher felt about this student and that saddens me.

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

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,  4744 Social Media Guidelines for Students and Teachers ...Jun 4, 2014,  2401 5 Reasons to Consider an Accelerated Degree Progra...Jun 18, 2014,  2259 Stop saying "balance is key" when discussing techn...Jun 1, 2014,  1961 Preparing Students for Success by Helping Them Dis...Dec 25, 2010,  1829 16 Conference picks for innovative educators in th...Jun 8, 2014,  1161

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,  5994 Does Twitter have a minimum age requirement?Jun 13, 2013,  1984 15-Year-Old explains the key to developing a #PLNJul 9, 2014,  1895 Got Chromebooks? Now what? Enlist the help of your...Jul 2, 2014,  1197 The future is in their hands: Using cell phones fo...Jul 6, 2014,  1112

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,  6632 15-Year-Old explains the key to developing a #PLNJul 9, 2014,  2376 Does Twitter have a minimum age requirement?Jun 13, 2013,  2094 Don't blame social media if your students are dist...Jul 13, 2014,  2090 The future is in their hands: Using cell phones fo...Jul 6, 2014,  1271 Got Chromebooks? Now what? Enlist the help of your...Jul 2, 2014,  1227

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,  5676 Don't blame social media if your students are dist...Jul 13, 2014,  2735 15-Year-Old explains the key to developing a #PLNJul 9, 2014,  2466 Does Twitter have a minimum age requirement?Jun 13, 2013,  2243 The future is in their hands: Using cell phones fo...Jul 6, 2014,  1254 Got Chromebooks? Now what? Enlist the help of your...Jul 2, 2014,  1220

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 Are #EdTech Resources Keeping Student Data Safe? F...Jul 27, 2014,  3017 Got Chromebooks? Now what? Enlist the help of your...Jul 2, 2014,  2995 10 Ways Social Media Can Improve Writing in Your C...Jun 22, 2014,  2963 Don't blame social media if your students are dist...Jul 13, 2014,  2846 15-Year-Old explains the key to developing a #PLNJul 9, 2014,  2536 The future is in their hands: Using cell phones fo...Jul 6, 2014,  2256 7 Strategies to Land A Job You Love in EducationJul 16, 2014,  1818

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 Don't blame social media if your students are dist...Jul 13, 2014,  2885 Does Twitter have a minimum age requirement?Jun 13, 2013,  2610 10 Ways Social Media Can Improve Writing ...Jun 22, 2014,  2229 When tech teaches, what do teachers do?Aug 3, 2014,  1918 Are #EdTech Resources Keeping Student Data Safe? F...Jul 27, 2014,  1611 15-Year-Old explains the key to developing a #PLNJul 9, 2014,  1381 7 Simple steps to setting up Google Hangouts on Air...Aug 6, 2014,  992