Diane Rhoten
My P.L.E.
Four Negotiables
The 21st Century Educator
The 21st Century Learner
The 21st Century Classroom
Toolbelt Theory

Note: Click on highlighted white links to learn more about my rich resources.

Uh, oh…I think I’m in trouble. Whenever I “find” my voice (as if it was lost), I recognize I’ve increased the likelihood that I’ll have to put up or shut up…and that um, scares me. Yesterday, I tweeted this out:

That’s a pretty bold statement, particularly for a lifetime people-pleaser like me. It was my good friend, M.E. Steele-Pierce that called me out on it when she tweeted:

“@charrod Eager to see the BYOL post. ~~ Is the “you” in “you’re not ready” the teacher or the student?”

My big, fat mouth once again took over and I replied to M.E.:
@steelepierce “administrators, teachers, students…”

Sensing I had perhaps been a bit too bold, I backpeddled a bit and sent a new tweet to M.E.:
@steelepierce Would like to change what I said before…the “you” refers to admins and teachers…students will follow suit…

To which she replied:
@charrod Looking forward to convo about the BYOL question…what does ready require? who goes first?

Like I said…put up or shut up, right? So, okay…here goes…

We launched our BYOL in January 2011 but not before six very intense, challenging months of planning and preparation. During that time, we spent incredible amounts of time working with teachers, students and parents to help shift some very long-held beliefs about what it means to learn in the 21st Century. Here is some of the work we did to prepare for the BYOL:

Teachers
•Put 40 teachers and administrators through Powerful Learning Practice with Sheryl Nussbaum Beach and Will Richardson (2009-2011)
•Brought Sheryl into our district to work with middle school teachers for a day
•Designed a year-long professional development plan that focused on personal learning networks, the compelling case for change, attitudes & beliefs about the needs of students and the nature of 21st Century learning, TPCK and 21st Centurizing Your Classroom
•Created an online community to share ideas, resources, content (Ning)
•Adopted a Digital Citizenship curriculum
•Invited expert voices from other BYOL schools to share their experiences

Students
•Organized a tech camp
•Held tech workshops
•Invited students to “Lunch with the Principal”
•Had them share their work at the technology showcase
•Created a beginning tool box

Parents
•Established a Parent Voice group
•Held tech workshops
•Scheduled three meetings: Overview of project, Choosing Your Device, Learning Showcase
•Invited them to the tech camp
•Skyped with Christian Long to share his vision of learning in the 21st Century

We also adopted Google Apps for Education and Schoology to create cloud-based spaces for our teachers and students.

I’m sure there is more but you get the point; we did a great deal of front loading before jumping into something so very large…and important. For me, this was so much more than simply putting devices into the hands of students. It was and continues to be about shifting the very nature of teaching and learning. It’s about the kids owning the learning. It’s about teaching students to choose tools wisely to assist them on their learning journey. It’s about collaborating and connecting with people from your immediate spaces and beyond…whenever and wherever. It’s about creating artifacts that make the world a better place. It’s about opening doors to authentic, powerful learning opportunities.

My advice to districts considering a BYOL? I strongly encourage districts to step back and think first about laying a foundation for administrators and teachers…helping them to understand the reasons for the changes; immersing them in personal learning networks; becoming comfortable and fluent with the technology. That won’t guarantee a successful BYOL program but it certainly lays some important groundwork for transforming learning. When you experience networked, passion-based learning firsthand, you will truly begin to understand what it means to learn.

Are we done? Have we “arrived”? Oh, my no. We knew this was just the beginning; in fact, the next phase promises to be even more work as we continue to dig more deeply into learning and try to solve for the equity issue. . (A second post is in order.) We expanded the BYOL to 8th grade this year and will open it up to grades 9-12 next year. This is a marathon, folks and while I may be a bit out of shape, I have a healthy dose of determination and hope…

oh, and a big, fat mouth.

“How do you start personalizing instruction in your classroom?”

This is the question Whitney Hoffman asked in her post on Edutopia…and here is my response:

Hmmm…this one made me dig deeper into the ideas of differentiation, personalized instruction and individualization. While there is certainly some overlap here, I think it behooves us to tease out the ways in which they are different but perhaps more importantly, to consider the lens from which we view these ideas.

I started with the National Educational Technology Plan:

“Throughout this plan, we use the following definitions: Individualization refers to instruction that is paced to the learning needs of different learners. Learning goals are the same for all students, but students can progress through the material at different speeds according to their learning needs. For example, students might take longer to progress through a given topic, skip topics that cover information they already know, or repeat topics they need more help on.

Differentiation refers to instruction that is tailored to the learning preferences of different learners. Learning goals are the same for all students, but the method or approach of instruction varies according to the preferences of each student or what research has found works best for students like them.

Personalization refers to instruction that is paced to learning needs, tailored to learning preferences, and tailored to the specific interests of different learners. In an environment that is fully personalized, the learning objectives and content as well as the method and pace may all vary (so personalization encompasses differentiation and individualization).”

This shines some light on the differences between individualization, differentiation and personalization but honestly I find myself struggling; struggling because they all tend to focus on the teaching not the learning. All of them still perpetuate a teacher-directed classroom vs a student-centered classroom.

In my humble, still growing opinion, we should be talking about personalized learning and the only way for teachers to understand, truly understand, personalized learning in the 21st Century is to be a networked learner because something dramatic and powerful happens when teachers immerse themselves in networked spaces; a vast array of doors are opened… by the learner.

So, to answer your question, Whitney, I wouldn’t begin by personalizing the instruction, I would…

•grow my own powerful personal learning network to include uplifting, thought-provoking people, resources and ideas
•use the vast array of technology tools to help me connect and learn with these people, resources and ideas

and then…then…I would…

•create spaces for my students that permit them to create their own spaces for personalized learning to occur and I would be there to guide and support them in their explorations. It requires refocusing on learning…not teaching. (The instructional practices will be driven by the learning.)

Just some beginning thoughts…

I was most compelled by Bruce’s statement:

“The principles on which AALF was founded and on which we have given advice for nearly 15 years still apply. At all times, our priority must be to ensure any 1:1 program provides for ALL students and can be sustained in the long-term and not just dependent on the whims and fancies of political, technological and policy leadership.”

He is so right…which is why our district would never have been able to support a true 1:1 laptop program. We have spent the past six years trying to find a way to make it happen; to put a device into every high school students’ hands but it simply was never going to BE. Not only could we not afford to purchase a device for every student but the ongoing support of the devices would ultimately be our downfall. There has to be a point at which you stop the madness and consider other options because it’s for sure that our students’ inability to have access to technology 24/7 was eventually going to catch up with them. And it was at that point, I remember it distinctly, that we made the decision to go the way of BYOL.

Nervous and acutely aware that we were jumping into uncharted territory in our neck of the world, we started planning…and planning…and planning. When people ask me the number one consideration for implementing a BYOL program, I say, without hesitation, “professional development.” No, wait, let me say it again…professional development…deep, focused professional development; the kind that shifts an entire culture of learning. It cannot be stated often or loudly enough that it isn’t simply about letting the students lug their laptop to school; it is about developing a new learning ecosystem. (Did I mention this was enormous?)

In the next several weeks, I will continue to tease out all of the salient points about our journey and share them with you on this blog. We’re expanding the program to include all 7th and 8th graders for the 2011-2012 school year, with plans to go to the high school the following year; obviously, we have much more work ahead of us, which I never, ever doubted. This IS our work…our ongoing process of trying to figure out what it means to learn in a time of such incredibly change.

Oh yeah…my sincere “thanks” to Bruce Dixon for prompting me to sit down and begin making sense of the swirling mass inside my head.

Over the past few years, I have made a subtle, yet powerful shift in my thinking; instead of being a “seeker”, always looking for things, I have become a “finder”. This has opened me up to some of the deepest learning of my 49 years on this planet. So, with the idea of being a “finder” in mind, I logged onto my Diigo account and typed in tags such as “AHA”, “Powerful” and “WOW”. (My tagging skills are not fully developed, yet somehow in tune with my life as a finder.) The “finds” seemed to rest neatly in the “for administrator” category, so below are a few gems for administrators…or anyone interested in re-imagining learning in a time where it is no longer optional to do so. Enjoy!

Shift to the Future: Stephanie’s First Day of School in 2020
Shift to the Future: Tyler’s Loving School in 2016
The Principal Center – The best in professional practice for school leaders
Should We Shrink Wrap Our School Libraries? | Powerful Learning Practice
Flip This Library: School Libraries Need a Revolution
Tech Transformation: Teachers and Principals as Lead Learners
Connected Principals and its five Guiding Principles « 21k12
Technology Powered Meetings
Stop Meeting and Start Connecting and Sharing
The Four Negotiables of Student-Centered Learning

Well, would you look at that…it’s been over two months since I last posted to this blog. It has been a crazy, busy time preparing for the launch of our BYOL program but I feel like I can hold my head above water right now. This has easily been the hardest I have ever worked in my life but it’s also been a time of profound professional growth; it’s what I’ve been preparing for all my life. Dewitt Jones, noted photographer, states there are four steps to capturing an extraordinary vision:

1.) Train your technique
2.) Put yourself in the place of most potential
3.) Be open to possibilities
4.) Focus the vision by celebrating what’s right with the situation

Everything I’ve learned over the past 22 years about learning, best instructional practices, good classroom management and instructional technology have all brought me to where I stand today. There is a knowing inside me that the work we’re doing with the Partnership for Powerful Learning will bring about monumental changes in how we define what it means to be a learner. But, and this is a big but, it hasn’t been an easy ride; shifting a culture is never easy.

One of the most challenging aspects of this BYOL pilot project has been convincing people that it isn’t necessary for all students to have the same device. Would it be easier? Heck ya. But easier isn’t always better. I remain convinced that our job is to prepare students for the real world where part of being successful will mean knowing how to troubleshoot and navigate their digital worlds which will ultimately include a variety of devices, tools and situations.

Dean Shareski states it beautifully in this post:

“So while the mish-mash of technology may prove to be challenging for teachers and IT staff to manage and control, in the end this isn’t about management or control of learning. It’s about helping students use the tools and gifts they have at their disposal, maximizing that potential and showing them new possibilities as well.”

In my dream world, I want the kids to know how to navigate, curate, manage, and organize information. I want the kids to know how to connect safely, ethically and efficiently with people from around the world. I want kids to understand what it means to create something from nothing using any tool that helps them express themselves cogently. This doesn’t come in a one-size-fits-all package. It is highly personal and individualized.

Bottom line: I want the kids to own the learning. What does it mean to own the learning and what does it look like? Watch this video of a seventh grader talking about her personal learning environment:

Welcome to My PLE

What exactly is different in this example of student learning? The essential content is still there. The expectation that she demonstrate her understanding of the content is evident. Reflecting deeply on her learning will lead you to a different understanding of the type of learning that will be expected of our students in this century. Re-imagining learning environments to allow for this kind of learning will be messy and challenging. It won’t be easy. Are you ready?

An open letter to our parent voice team:

My initial intention was to send you an email thanking you for walking with me as we scale enormous mountains and shift deeply engrained paradigms. Somehow, though, I felt as though something more was needed… and I’ve found, rather recently, that listening to that small voice has inevitably led me to the precise place I was meant to be. So, here, in this space that is all mine, is my attempt to express my deepest gratitude.

This isn’t the first time I find myself on the cusp of something larger than myself. Six years ago, I was asked to lead the Forest Hills staff on a similar journey and I remember thinking, “who me?” I had the vision but I lacked the direction for getting there. Somehow, though, I found my way. Thankfully, I had others, who like you, wondered where we were going but felt compelled to jump into the fray anyway. It was, I believe a successful endeavor that has long-reaching effects on our teachers and the students.

What I really want to say to each of you is how awestruck I am by your willingness to spend your precious time and energy to figure out how to make learning more accessible, engaging and relevant to children. So many unanswered questions, so many voices raising doubts…and yet, here you are, beside me, committed to figuring this out. Somehow the word “thanks” seems trite…too easy. My brain keeps hopping back to this:

“Life is made up of moments, small pieces of glittering mica in a long stretch of gray cement.”

And there is absolutely no doubt that the time I spend with you is pure, glittering mica. We may not have all of the answers, right here, right now…but what we do have is determination, commitment and love for our children to help steer us along the way. I understand the power of tapping into people’s hopes, dreams and passions, particularly when it concerns our most precious treasures…our children. Each of you are blessed with a multitude of gifts that will be helpful and necessary to carry us through this significant project.

So, I’ll end this public display of gratitude with “thanks”, knowing that, truly, the ultimate thanks will come when we discover whole new ways (along with plenty of “old” ways) for our children to experience the joy of true, authentic learning that often looks and feels different from anything we’ve ever known.

I just finished reading a post by Kelly Hines, entitled, “It’s Not about the Technology”. In it, he states, “Before anything else, the educational community (including state and national organizations, teacher preparation programs, and local systems) must recognize the need to change an overall approach to teaching and learning.” I’ve been saying this for quite some time; how important it is for us to rethink the way in which we define learning.

Kelly supports this statement with a list of four things we must recognize in order to create a new generation of learning:

1.) Teachers must be learners. (Check. Agree.)

2.) Learning and Teaching are not the same thing. (Check. Agree.)

3.) Technology is useless without good teaching. (Check. Agree.)

4.) Be a 21st Century teacher without the technology. (Um, no check and no, I do not agree.)

The first three items resonate deeply with me, especially number two: Learning and teaching are not the same thing. Kelly says,

“How many times have we heard a colleague say, “I don’t know why these kids don’t get it. I’ve taught it a hundred times.” I equate teaching and learning to a basic physics principle. If an object does not move, no matter how much force has been applied, no work has been done. Therefore, if a student has not learned, no matter how much effort has been exerted, no teaching has been done.”

For far too long, we’ve been focused on the teaching; I think we need to shine a laser sharp spotlight directly on the learning. Doing so will undoubtedly show us in no uncertain terms that each of our students learns differently; that a one-size fits all learning experience simply does not work. This, in turn, will prompt us to then consider best practices and the selection of the best tools to support and enhance the learning.

So what’s with the “No check and do not agree” beside number four?

I have a deep respect for the power of words; they can change minds, start wars and make people fall in love. So, I am concerned when we loudly proclaim that learning can happen without the use of technology. While I understand the intent of that statement, and yes, there is great truth in those words, there is great risk of giving the illusion that we can continue to educate students without technology in this century. Yes, there are beautiful moments when learning can and does happen without using technology, but I believe that technology is a catalyst to transforming and amplifying learning; let’s not dismiss it or somehow devalue it in the eyes of our community.

So I propose that instead of saying “it’s not about the technology”, perhaps we should say, “it’s not all about the technology”. Or, “it should never begin with the technology”. While it might seem like I’m splitting hairs, we need to consider the impact our words are having on the people we’re desperately trying to convince of the need to rethink education in the 21st Century.

Anyways, we’ve begun conversations about how to ready the students and parents for this substantial undertaking, and in fact, I led a discussion just this week to plan for our Student/Parent Bootcamp happening sometime in November. After a whole lot of really good conversation, we left the room with a date and time, as well as a schedule and a list of topics we felt were important to address that day:

1.) Productivity Tools
2.) Presentation Tools
3.) Digital Citizenship
4.) Social Tools
5.) Organizing Yourself
6.) Nuts and Bolts-Pilot Specific

The enthusiasm of the group was incredible; I think we all felt as though we were venturing into something really transformational. Later, however, I felt something niggling at my brain; something I just couldn’t shake. When that “something” finally revealed itself, well, it was one of those wonderful AHA moments when you just know something significant has shifted; the words, “walk the talk” echoed somewhere in the back of my mind. You see, I am a living, breathing billboard for all of us to re-envision teaching and learning in the 21st Century, and yet here I was, functioning in 20th Century mode. If the guiding vision behind our pilot project was to empower students and encourage them to own the learning, shouldn’t the bootcamps reflect that thinking? Shouldn’t we model that for our students? In fact, shouldn’t we all become co-learners?

And then, as serendipitous as life can be, I happened upon Will Richardson’s most recent post, where he includes this quote by Erica McWilliam:

“Rather than teachers delivering an information product to be ‘consumed’ and fed back by the student, co-creating value would see the teacher and student mutually involved in assembling and dissembling cultural products. As co-creators, both would add value to the capacity building work being done through the invitation to ‘meddle’ and to make errors. The teacher is in there experimenting and learning from the instructive complications of her errors alongside her students, rather than moving from desk to desk or chat room to chat room, watching over her flock.”

Wow. Perfect timing which causes me to rethink this day; what should it look like in a century markedly different from its predecessor? Here are some initial thoughts:

–Let’s not focus on the tools but what these tools can do to help us learn, which begs the question, how do we do that within the context of this bootcamp? How do we frame everything around the learning…not the tools?

–What if we gave everyone a toolkit several weeks in advance of the bootcamp filled with resources complimenting each of the categories and encouraged all to explore as many of the resources as possible?

–Upon entering the building, all of us…students, parents and teachers, would be co-learners in this learning experience. There would be no sage on the stage but rather a collaborative learning community intent upon discovering and gaining understanding of the potential that lies before us. I envision powerful conversations, lots and lots of AHAs and a watershed of enthusiasm. (That’s the “glass half-full” part of me talking.)

–I don’t know what the structure will look like because if we’re doing it right, it would look awfully messy; and yet, I would want it to be mannered chaos.

–How do we leverage the technology to broaden the learning from one single morning to a before, during and after occurrence? How do we connect these learners to learners outside our building? What would the “cultural product” look like, showing our learning from the day? How do we authentically evaluate the learning that takes place before, during and after?

Okay, that’s it…that’s the thinking going on in my head right now. One of the greatest joys for me right now is becoming more aware of MY learning process and the importance of listening to that little voice inside. So, what do you think? What ideas do you have to help us create a deeply engaging learning experience? What’s your contribution? Because, I know for sure that when you and I (and Bob and Pam and Judy and Marcos) think collectively, amazing things are going to happen.