Nocking the Arrow

The first email request came a few weeks ago, " mentors needed for student s", it read. I thought, hmmm, I've heard this program is helpful, but I'm already up to my eyeballs serving on committees, and helping with initiatives around the district. I just don't think I have time to commit to a student mentee right now.  The follow-up email came last week, "we are still in need of mentors for our program." I was about to delete the message when I notice one of Angela Maiers tweets hanging on another browser tab.  I could hear her voice, " Be brave. Help someone else be brave. You matter. We all matter. " Angela would be disappointed, and I would be hypocritical if I ignored this opportunity to make a difference.  I responded to the email, " I'm in. You can count on me. " I promptly received a reply of gratitude along with a request to invite my mentee, Robert, to share a pizza in the Principal's conference room during his l...

The setting, suburban Chicago during a couple of crisp, clear, autumn days. Trinity International University was the picturesque gathering place for a few hundred passionate educators eager to connect, and learn with our thought-change leaders. It was the first, and judging from the immediate feedback, won't be the last What Great Educators Do Differently Conference . Why did I attend? First, several of the biggest names in my personal learning network were featured presenters . Second, my friend, Jeff Zoul, contacted me earlier in the summer saying, "Mark your calendar. This is going to be something special, and we would love for you to be a part of it." Jeff's got the best smile in the business. How could I say no? Photo credit; Maggie Bolado - October, 2015 Todd Whitaker - Opening Keynote / Session One - According to Todd, great leaders take responsibility for their school's climate and culture by removing monkeys from the backs of great teachers, an...

Whether it's freshmen orientation at my school, or facilitating a session-build at an EdCamp , I try to deliver consistent messages about the kinds of commitments supportive of participatory learning. Based upon my experiences, modern learning is best savored when emphasizing these three participatory steps; connect , capture , and contribute . CONNECT - Socially networked learning is becoming the norm in this age of ubiquitous connectivity, and unlimited access to information via the Internet. Connecting with other learners is becoming a life skill. Connecting and learning with others increases relevancy and promotes economic viability. The foundation of collaborative problem solving is established through relationships ignited by connection. Mobile devices and social media provide an unlimited capacity to connect and learn with, and from, others. CAPTURE - The capacity to capture and document our experiences has never been greater. Most of us carry a device with more ...

"Created by the rise of new tools, new schools, and new informal learning opportunities, a new vision for authentic, engaged, and personalized learning has become widely shared." - Tom Vander Ark Sunday morning, and it's picture postcard picturesque. I smell bacon frying for breakfast; a grandmotherly woman is walking her two  Yorkies in the park, and singing birds are the only sounds piercing the still air. As I approach the pond I can see the reflection of trees, just beginning to change color, upside down in the water, the water smooth like polished glass. With my Browning SiloFlex in one hand and my vintage 1977 Plano tackle box in the other, I am enjoying the short trek to one of my favorite fishing spots. I'm craving a couple of hours of quiet reflection sprinkled with brief episodes of frenzy created by a few aggressive fish. As I approach the clearing to the pond, I notice a short man, much younger than me, with two fly rods, setting up to fish from  my...

This post was inspired by two of my giants,   Tom Whitby & Steven W. Anderson "Relevancy includes not only skills educators need to use, but educators are also charged to teach these same skills to their students. Digital literacy is now an integral part of education for teaching and learning, going beyond the application in an education setting to that of the world of work. Strategies and methodologies used for collaborative learning in education are easily carried over to the world of work, enabling lifelong learning to become more than just words in a school's mission statement." - The Relevant Educator What used to constitute relevancy in education was confined to the pages of a textbook, the walls of a classroom, and the words of a teacher. However, today relevancy in education is learning empowered through connectedness. Connectedness and digital literacies create limitless availability to information, diversity in perspective, and access to gia...

No one can logically argue that current and future education won't be based largely on our ability to leverage social networks for learning. There is plenty of rhetoric describing the emergence of web 3.0, but how many educators are practicing what they readily admit is the foundation of making our students "future-ready"?  I applaud Cale Birk for suggesting talk can be cheap, and it's time to feature action. In his post, " #EDUDO - The New Hashtag ", Cale asks educators to transparently share artifacts of learning using the Twitter hashtag, #EDUDO . Several years ago, my sons became interested in downhill skiing. It had been some time since I had been on the powdery slopes, but skiing presented an opportunity for the three of us to actively learn and grow our skill together. I wanted to be able to articulate and demonstrate safe and effective skiing to my sons. In order to do this, I did some online research, talked to experts at the pro shops,...

A few of my colleagues have asked me, “What’s the one thing that has had the biggest impact on your personal learning?” I am personally and professionally reborn as a result of becoming a connected educator. Social networks, and in particular, my PLN ( personal learning network ) have taught me more about schools, teaching, education, technology, learning, and most importantly, myself during the past two years than my previous 25 plus years spent as a professional educator and student. The single activity that has had the biggest impact on my personal and professional learning is blogging. Creating a blog requires no technical or coding skills. You do not have to be a great writer to have an effective blog. Blogs provide a web presence with simplicity and versatility. Blogging has been around for some time. John Barger, when describing his site called Robot Wisdom , first coined the term “weblog” in 1997. Two years later, Peter Merholz shortened this term to “blog”. Evan Williams...