Relationships Are Everything

I recently had the honor of being a guest on Dr. Will Deyamport’s podcast called the Dr. Will Show. You can view the Google Hangout video HERE.  We had a vibrant conversation on the topic of Digital Leadership with a focus on school culture, embracing change, strategic use of social media, the Model Schools Conference, and innovation. A major theme that resonated throughout our discussion was the importance of becoming a connected educator and how this in itself can be a powerful catalyst for meaningful change.

If you watch the video you will see light-hearted back and forth banter between Will and me. He totally deserved the grief I gave him as it only took about five years for him to actually invite me onto his show.  In all seriousness though, something Will said to me really resonated. At one point during our conversation he told me how much it meant to him when I gave him a shout out during my keynote at the 2013 Mississippi Educational Computing Association Conference. To be honest, I really didn’t remember doing this as I routinely try to promote the great work of educators I know every opportunity I get.  This made me reflect on the journey Will and I have taken together as connected educators and the resulting relationship we have cultivated.

Will and I met virtually on Twitter way back in 2009. At the time he was known as @peoplegogy on Twitter.  I remember vividly sitting at my desk when I was a principal and seeing Will tweet out each morning “How is the coffee brewing?” Our connection began like many other educators who use social media as part of a Personal Learning Network – we wanted to learn, grow, and get better. Over time we began to communicate and collaborate across an array of social media networks exchanging ideas, providing support, and dispensing out advice. I can’t even count the number of times we have now connected over the years just to check in on one another.

A professional relationship was cultivated.  I always admired Will’s passion for educational technology and genuine interest in becoming a better educator. There are so many benefits associated with becoming a connected educator regardless of your role.  Professional relationships based on a mutual desire to improve professional practice are probably the most important outcome in my opinion. Through every connection you get new sets of virtual ears to vent to and shoulders to lean on.  Silos or isolated islands are often a fact for many of us during the daily grind. A focus on innovative practices also tends to create a lonely place for educators who go against the flow.  Not having a virtual network to complement our face-to-face relationships just seems silly to me now.

Over the years Will and I have gotten to know each other quite well.  Our professional relationship eventually blossomed into a great friendship. When I moved to Texas I drove down from New York City with my twin brother. As I was looking at our route I noticed that we would be driving through Hattiesburg, MS. I didn’t think twice about reaching out to Will and inviting him and his wife to join my brother and me in his hometown for lunch and some brews.  As I think about this story I am overwhelmed by how many other professional relationships forged through social media have resulted in great friendships.

Becoming a connected educator has definitely resulted in an exponential increase in professional relationships for me. Each of these connections over the years helped give me the knowledge, skills, and motivation to lead a successful digital transformation at my former school.  These relationships also assisted me in overcoming fears such as writing, public speaking, and failure. I am who I am today in part because of the connected network of amazing educators I have come to know over time like Will.  It is important to embrace a connected mindset ourselves and then help others build professional relationships themselves as part of a digital leadership strategy. As appreciative as I am about the professional connections I have made, it is the personal relationships and resulting friendships that I have formed that I cherish the most.

Focus on building better professional and personal relationships with any and all means (or tools) at your disposal.  In the end you will be stronger, more confident, and inspired as you journey down the path of professional and personal growth.

One Day That Changed Everything

I was just like every other principal on the planet prior to becoming connected. My narrow focus was on sustaining a school culture focused on rules, compliance, conformity, and preserving the status quo. The end goal was to make sure standardized test scores increased (or at least didn’t go down) and traditions were preserved.  On the inside everything was great. Students and staff seemed happy while the community was supportive of our efforts.  Each monotonous day began with students arriving at school and then going directly to their first-period class where they sat in desks arranged orderly rows.  After listening to the daily announcements the delivery of instruction began. My compliant students then went through their rigid eight-period day schedule with each class lasting forty-eight minutes.  At the end of each class, an annoying bell would notify everyone in the school that it was time to continue through the repetitive process.  Throw in a few specialized programs, assemblies, and pep rallies that this was basically the schedule we all followed each and every day.

Image credit: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bzly4ZyCMAE1uDY.jpg

It is scary to think that the culture I describe above is still prevalent in the majority of schools across the country.  The reality is that school for most students is the polar opposite of the real world. Thus they come to school knowing that they will sit through endless lectures, endure the same lessons that have been delivered year after year, be assigned homework that does nothing to support learning, be given assessments that require little thought because they are easy to grade, and have to succumb to numerous rules that are meant to make sure they conform more than learn.  Getting through the curriculum aligned to Common Core has become the driving force in many schools as pressure is mounting with high stakes testing looming right around the corner. This would have been our reality at my school as well if it weren’t for one moment in time that changed everything.

During my first couple of years as principal, I was in a rut and didn’t know it. I led my school in a way that I was brainwashed into thinking was the only way. Education had become more about schooling than learning. Then it happened. My epiphany came in 2009 when I begrudgingly decided to give Twitter a try to improve communications with my stakeholders. Little did I know that this moment in time would totally redefine my purpose in education. As my behavior shifted from communicator to learner I immediately discovered how blinded I was by a system so entrenched in methodologies and practices designed for a period in time that had long past. I learned how to unlearn and then relearn through conversations I began having with passionate educators across the globe. These conversations empowered me to begin the process of taking my school in a better direction for the sake of my students.  

My connected colleagues provided daily inspiration, support, feedback, resources, ideas, and strategies that I used to grow as an educator and leader. As my fixed mindset evolved into one more focused on growth the seeds for change were planted and began to take root. With a diligent focus on modeling changes to school culture slowly began to be embraced by teachers and students alike.  This was not an easy journey.  During the beginning years, I felt more isolated from my colleagues across my district and state than ever before. They did not see nor care to hear about the inherent value in connected learning.  Excuses often followed as a bunker mentality overshadowed the potential value that lied in using social media to become a better leader and learner. The only thing that kept me going was that once I had experienced the value for myself there was no turning back.  

At this point, I feel the results speak for themselves.  New Milford High School became a globally recognized model for what is possible in education during my tenure as Principal and it all started when I became connected. After that, my role in the transformation process was placing my teachers and students in a position to experience the value for them.  Change became a collaborative and collective process that resulted in a school more focused on learning and one that worked better for kids than adults.  With all the challenges brought about by current education reform efforts, we moved forward with a bold vision for growth and innovation.  Even though learning across all spectrums looked different, achievement rose in virtually every area.  More importantly though was the fact that students appreciated the changes. Had I not become connected I can say with certainty that my school would not have changed.

This post is not meant to preach to the choir. It is my goal that it can be shared with the unconnected in the hopes that they will give connected learning a chance and ultimately reap the endless rewards that follow.  Our job to connect more educators is often fraught with frustration, ridicule, and disrespect, as we appear different. We cannot let this deter our efforts as all students deserve schools that provide them with the skills that our society now demands and expects. Keep pushing forward and thank you for all that you have done for me. 

The Limitations of Being a Disconnected Nomad

It seems like just yesterday that I was a disconnected nomad working hard to maintain the status quo and conform to a rigid system commonly known as education. You see, prior to 2009, I was adamantly opposed to even the thought of using social media for both personal and professional reasons. As a building level leader burdened by endless responsibilities, I could not fathom wasting even a precious minute in what I saw as a perpetual time sap. I swore that I would never be on any social media site and became disgusted when friends and family brought up the topic.  As a result, I chastised my friends and made sure that the environment at my school was not only free of this stupid entity, but also other forms of distracting technologies that would interfere with student learning.  It was a powerful combination of perception and stigma related to social media that convinced me it was a product of the devil that could only bring about harm and misfortune. Thus I was convinced that there was absolutely no value in using social media in my life.

Image credit: http://becomenomad.com/nomad/wp-content/uploads/Yom-Kippur.jpg

Being a disconnected nomad limited my ability to lead and learn.  We fear what we don't know or understand.  When this happens we make excuses not to do something and in education, we resort to blocking, banning, or pretending something doesn't exist.  This is how I saw social media and mobile technology back in 2009. The problem is that the majority of educators in 2014 still feel this way.  The epiphany for me was that I saw a professional opportunity on Twitter to improve communications with my stakeholders. From here I began to lurk and learn, which resulted in no longer being a disconnected nomad.  My problem, as I now often reflect back upon how I used to perceive social media, was that I was not educated on how this tool could improve leadership and learning.  

Here is what I now know and believe.  Social media is just a catalyst for a conversation that is contingent upon listening, sharing, and learning. Social media, and technology for that matter, is not and will never transform education. If you are looking to these entities as a silver bullet to solve all the ills in the education world then you are looking at it the wrong way. However, engaging in conversations with passionate educators has the potential to radically transform professional practice. Thus the true silver bullet that will transform education for the better is the connected educators who harness and leverage social media to engage in powerful conversations that lead to changes in practice and the building of priceless relationships. These initial conversations then lead to changes in mindset and a push to action. Yes, this is my opinion, but one grounded in evidence of how moving from disconnected nomad to connected leader and learner has positively impacted my professional practice. 

The formation of a Personal Learning Network (PLN) using free social media tools has enabled me and so many other educators experience the immense benefits that are associated with connected learning.  The ability to learn about anything at any time, anywhere, and with anyone has not only been liberating but continues to be exhilarating to this day. Social media levels the playing field by providing access to educators from across the globe.  It is up to each individual to decide the level of participation in this space. As far as I am concerned any of the quadrants in the image below are where educators should aspire to be in except for the one where there is no connectivity.

Image credit: http://www.danpontefract.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/digital_learning_quadrants_pontefract.jpg


I offer up this walk down history lane as a call to action.  There still are too many disconnected nomads leading schools and teaching our students who have yet to experience the unlimited potential that connectivity offers. I am in no way saying that these people are not good at what they do, but they can be better. What I am stating emphatically though is that they are selling themselves short by succumbing to fears and misconceptions associated with social media. Help those disconnected nomads you know experience the value of social media this school year. Once they experience and embrace the value of this tool to engage in powerful conversations education will be one step closer to providing students with learning experiences they need and deserve. 

People Make the Difference

I often think back to my early years as an educational leader in order to gain a better perspective on how much I have grown.  Almost all of this growth can be attributed to a point in time that I became connected using a variety of social media tools.  Prior to this moment I would say that I led my school in an efficient manner as opposed to effective.  More time and emphasis was placed on managerial tasks rather than those that could transform the culture of the school.

Image credit: http://www.celeritystaffing.com/how-to-develop-a-social-media-policy-part-2/

I led in a way that I thought was best.  This was due to a lack of information on better ways of doing things.  Being on an isolated island in terms of access to information had a real negative impact on my ability to move my school forward during my first two years as principal.  Not only was I being held back, but also so were my teachers and students.  When we know what we know we develop views and perspectives that we think are spot on.  It is only when we push ourselves outside of our knowledge comfort zones that we can truly be the catalysts for change that our schools, districts, and communities desperately need.

As many readers of my blog know, the big changes in my career came when I discovered the value of social media as a leader and learner.  It started with Twitter and eventually led to the use of virtually every major social media tool available with the sole goal of improving professional practice.  Becoming connected and developing my own Personal Learning Network (PLN) freed me from the purgatory that the traditional system of education had created.  Social media and the resulting PLN provided a doorway to endless learning opportunities that have forever changed my professional practice.  In my eyes this was the freedom that I desperately needed to no longer be a cog in a wheel.  I want everyone to experience this freedom.  It is a rush like no other.

I finally became the CEO of my own learning as I began to forge a path that in time helped me to become more effective.  It really clicked after I applied what I had learned to transform the culture of NMHS.  What is even better is that these initial changes have been sustained.  As much as the social media tools were important to this process, they pale in comparison to the ultimate driving force of a connected model of learning – PEOPLE!  Social media is a catalyst for conversation, plain and simple.  In itself, it will never be a transformative tool.  It is the people that engage in conversations, participate in learning communities, share resources, acquire knowledge, and reflect on their practice that ultimately become the agents of change education needs.

Our voice, ideas, and opinions have never been so important.  We can choose to stick our heads in the sand and remain isolated within our buildings or our localized school communities.  In my opinion, this is not a wise choice.  Together, we as educators, have the potential to easily, and seamlessly, connect with one another and to be the driving force for professional development and reform, but only if we are united.  Social media provides the medium for us to collectively empower each other to become better while learning side by side.  It allows us to showcase everything that is good in education while providing inspiration to change.  

The more people we have engaged and connected will dramatically enhance our ability to learn from each other, elicit feedback on our ideas/initiatives for change, and magnify our voice as to what our education systems really need to be effective.  During a recent Twitter conversation Tony Sinanis stated, "The perk of SM is that we seem to have access to the best of the best in education."  I couldn't agree more.  I am indebted to the many PEOPLE I have connected with through social media that have made me a better leader and learner. The power and value of social media lies in the PEOPLE that connect, converse, engage, and learn in these spaces.  Make it a point today to get someone connected to strengthen our learning community and transform theirs.

Leadership Ignited

I have tweeted over the past couple weeks my excitement for the new structure of the NASSP Annual Conference.  The leadership of NASSP is well aware of trends in and the value of connected learning and have created a learning experience that will meet the needs of all attendees.  The revamped event, appropriately named "Ignite", is a great example of a national organization breaking away from traditional conference constructs to create a relevant and meaningful learning experience for it's membership

Content selection. In past years, NASSP attempted to cover a broad spectrum of issues that principals face during their professional lives. One of their chief metrics of success, in fact, was the diversity and sheer volume of sessions that were available to members. This year, they have decided to rely instead on what NASSP members have reported as the issues that keep principals up at night, such as Common Core implementation, new teacher evaluation models, and dropout prevention and graduation rates. With those topics in mind, they reached out to presenters who they knew could address those issues with authority and facilitate meaningful discussions about them. The result is that attendees will return home with action plans of interconnected ideas, rather than the scattered array of stand-alone ideas and initiatives that typify some conferences.

Use of time. Sessions that last 75–90 minutes have been characteristic of content delivery for many years. So imagine their surprise to discover that a lot of effective learning can take place in shorter blocks of time. While they still rely on full-length sessions to anchor key topics during the conference, attendees will see far fewer of them. Time will be repurposed in the Connected Learning Center, where attendees will engage in short demonstrations of new technology tools, participate in mini-sessions designed to further specific concepts, and engage in discussion with speakers and fellow attendees. NASSP's plan is to limit the barrage of content and instead go deeper. There will still be plenty of content, but they also want to give attendees what they have so little of during their professional day: time to think about what they’re learning. We all know the importance of reflection, but it’s the first thing that gets lost while we navigate the seas of urgency in our schools. While attendees are at Ignite 2013, they will get to reclaim that time and make the most of it.

Participatory learning. Although attendees scrambled from full-length session to full-length session at past conferences, there was not a lot of time to process and discuss. Many of those sessions were so content-rich that even those billed as highly interactive would often run out of time for meaningful interaction. So NASSP has programmed interaction into the conference. The plenary Thought Leader Sessions will have more of a workshop feel, as will the concurrent sessions. In addition,the Connected Learning Center will:

• Encourage interaction between colleagues who are facing similar challenges in their schools.
• Provide dedicated spaces for informal conversations.
• Feature chat sessions combined with some basic social media training.

Speaking of social media and technology, the conference will allow for constant connectivity with free Wi-Fi in all meeting rooms and public spaces, a powerful conference mobile app, and charging stations for devices. NASSP has listened to our suggestions and all these changes reflect how members prefer to learn. The robustness of the professional conversations at past conferences speaks volumes. Every conference gathers a massive untapped reserve of knowledge and experience —the attendees themselves. NASSP's collective task for the few days we are at the conference is to release that knowledge and encourage it to flow freely among all in attendance. The new conference format issues a challenge to all of us. The success of Ignite 2013 relies on your active participation. The old “sit ’n’ git” format wasn’t built for engagement: Ignite 2013 is.

I will be there and look forward to connecting with and learning from some of the many leaders that consistently push my thinking and provide me with the inspiration to do what I do better.

Connecting Within and Beyond

The other day I had a discussion with Colleen Tambuscio, one of my teachers, where she was actively sharing some of the innovative ideas she planned to implement during the upcoming school year.  Colleen is the architect of our globally recognized Holocaust Education Program.  During our conversation, she shared with me her experience with Today’s Meet at a recent professional development program hosted by the Shoah Foundation in California.  In a nutshell, Today’s Meet was used as a live backchannel throughout the program and the entire conversation was archived for reference.  Now I had heard of this tool in the past, but had never used it up to this point.

Colleen was so excited about the potential of this tool at New Milford High School that she asked if I could create a room for our staff to collaborate, ask/answer questions, to provide each other support, as well as share resources, professional development opportunities, ideas, and student work.  I did so right away and in minutes I had created a room that will be open for a year.  It is our hope that Today’s Meet will further build collegiality through connected learning while being a catalyst for innovation, support, and dialogue focused on improving the teaching and learning process.    

This conversation couldn’t have come at a better time.  A few weeks ago I wrote a post about the importance of connected learning.  In that post, George Couros asked me what I was going to do to empower my staff to be more actively involved in meaningful sharing and connecting with educators outside my school.  It is my hope that integrating this simple tool to enhance connections within our own building will expose my staff to the many possibilities and benefits of not just connecting within, but also beyond.  I can assure George that I will be gently pushing for greater connections beyond once my staff becomes more comfortable interacting in a more or less open environment. 

How do you encourage connected learning in your schools?  What strategies have you found successful to empower educators to share and connect with their peers beyond school walls?

Jumping on the Bandwagon

I have been engaged with social media for over three and a half years now.  As I often reflect on my journey, I can’t help but think about the early days and months after I first began to use Twitter and some other tools.  There were many times during this early period that I questioned the value of the time I was putting in, or the actual impact any of this was having on teaching, learning, school culture, and leadership.   Add in all of the weird looks and ignorant comments I received, it is a miracle that I made it through the early adoption stage to full, blown-out social media fanatic. 

Image credit: http://www.netstrategies.com/blog/social-media/use-social-media-to-cross-promote

Obviously I stuck with it and my life as a principal has never been the same.  Social media has become embedded in virtually all facets of my professional practice as an educational leader.  It is so gratifying to see more educators locally, nationally, and globally begin to experience what social media has to offer on a professional level.  However, as much as I and others tout the many ways in which social media can improve communications, form a foundation for positive public relations, increase student engagement, enhance the teaching and learning process, discover opportunity, and lead to authentic pathways to grow professionally, I still find that many educators are skeptical about embracing this dynamic, multi-dimensional tool. 

At this point in my career, I cannot picture performing my duties as a Principal without social media playing some sort of role.  I truly believe that it has made me a more effective school leader by enhancing a variety of skill sets essential to the position.  The network of colleagues and friends I have developed has now become priceless.  As we prepare to begin another school year, it is important that we reflect on the impact social media has had and all make a commitment to encouraging, supporting, and modeling its effective use amongst our staff, stakeholders, and other educators.  I already know that this is tops on my agenda when we start up school again in September. 

It is my hope that this post will serve as a catalyst for a greater discussion on how we can empower more educators to embrace social media, become connected, and utilize this tool to help do what they do more effective.  In recent weeks and months I have seen a dramatic rise of educators in my home state of New Jersey who have embraced social media as a legitimate professional tool.  I have also been proud to witness the evolution of the #NJED hash tag and #SatChat.  On this Leadership Day 2012 I would like to remind all school leaders and educators that it is never too late to jump on the bandwagon. 

Voice of the Active Learner

I was recently sent this video that puts into perspective the new type of learner that is entering our schools.  The problem, however, is that the majority of schools across this country and beyond are doing very little to meet his/her diverse learning needs.  Times are different and thus learners are different.  Isn't it about time that schools focus more on the learning needs of our students as opposed to preparing them to bubble in answers on tests or ensuring that they follow orders? Let's listen to what our students are trying to tell us in order to make learning relevant, meaningful, and applicable in a new age.

This process begins with educators making a concerted effort to become active learners themselves.

Connectedness as the Standard

In my opinion, being a connected learner, leader, and/or educator is no longer an option.  My personal and professional journey in this area is well documented and something that I regularly present on.  When I think back to my life as an educator prior to becoming connected, I can honestly say that I was isolated, naive, and definitely not as well rounded as I am today. 

Image by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano- www.langwitches.org/blog based on image (CC) by Alec Couros- /educationaltechnology.ca/couros/799

Here is my quick list of reasons why all educators should become connected and form their own Personal Learning Network(PLN):

• We become the epicenter of our learning and determine what, where, and when we want to learn.  This makes the learning process meaningful, relevant, applicable, and convenient.  With these structures in place, the foundation is established to unleash passion, creativity, and a pursuit of innovation to do what we do better.  Connectedness and control of our learning provide each of us with the ability to determine our own path and to differentiate to meet each of our diverse learning needs. 
• This type of learning is fueled by intrinsic motivation, which is the most pivotal ingredient essential to life-long learning, growth, innovation, and sustainable change. 
• Access to a wealth of free resources.  Using tools to share and acquire resources expands our horizons.  Many educators, including myself a few years ago, don’t even know what tools exist, let alone how they can enhance the teaching and learning process.
• A two-way mechanism for constructive feedback, support, and advice.  In my mind this is priceless.  No longer do we need to feel like we inhabit isolated islands in our respective positions.
• You do not have to pay for this powerful opportunity to grow.  All it costs is an investment of time, which you ultimately determine.
• The ability and means to connect with the best minds in the field of education.  One of the most amazing attributes associated with social media is that it makes the world a much smaller place.  You can now connect with world-renowned educational researchers or experts from your living room.  Possibly even more powerful is the ability to learn from actual practitioners doing the same job as you.  Accessibility to these ideas, strategies, and collective knowledge from both of these groups will ultimately make you a better educator.  Silos of information become a thing of the past.

Your PLN will provide you with the seeds of change, but is up to you to plant, take care of, and cultivate them in order to witness their growth and development into transformative culture elements. If you do, it will not take long before these seeds of change mature and begin to bear fruit by becoming embedded, sustainable components of the school culture and your professional growth. with the tools that are now available connectedness should be the standard, not just an option in education.

What do you think are some of the benefits of becoming connected that I might not have touched on? Can we afford not to become connected?  Please share your thoughts. Below are some more resources to either help you get connected and/or strengthen the connections that you already have.

• Digital Leadership
• Communicating and Connecting With Social Media 
• Pinterest board of PLN resources