Digital Learning Leadership: Welcome

Disruptive Innovation In Technology

EDLD 5305 - Dr. Dwayne Harapnuik

Project Proposal

ePortfolios at DeZavala Middle School

OVERVIEW

I am asking for the opportunity to leverage technology that allows educators to foster student voice and choice in a safe learning environment and the ability for students to house their most important and favorite pieces of work.

GOALS

Collect student work of their choice
Give student ownership in their learning
Help students track their progress

SPECIFICATIONS

Work will begin with my Honor students by getting them to create an ePortfolio using a platform of choice. Within one school year I will work with the MIRD teacher and our shared students and eventually add the entire 8th grade. They will add to their ePortfolios throughout the year and have a completed ‘middle school’ portfolio before they head to high school. This will give them the knowledge needed to continue adding to their portfolio in high school and hopefully create one in college.

Benefits include student choice, focused instruction with the teacher and a place to house their work for future use (high school and eventually college). Once they have mastered an ePortfolio, then they can create a new one during college to use for future career opportunities.

MILESTONES (see detailed timeline)

Fall 2020

Introduce to Ms. Duncan, the MIRD/21 CCO teacher, and plan for introduction to shared students
Pilot with Ms. Stanley’s honors students beginning in November

Spring 2021

Pilot with shared MIRD students beginning in January
Continue ePortfolios with both sets of students

ePortfolio Vision

Inspire creativity, growth, and life-long desire to learn.

ePortfolio Mission

The ePortfolio mission is to collaborate in the development of my campus to have students create a document they can utilize to make them feel academically successful, self-empowered, and technologically innovative.

Leading Organizational Change

EDLD 5304- Dr. Susan Bedard

My Why

Why = The Purpose

I want to inspire scholars to develop ownership of their learning and to guide them to be more successful in an ever changing world.

How = The Process

Change Agents will support scholars in the learning process of creating ePortfolios and allow for failure, reflection, and accountability.

What = The Result

Scholars will have an ePortfolio that shows, who they are as students, and will give them a sense of self-motivation that allows them to become a successful change agent of the future.

As change agents we have to not only speak to our students’ minds, but also their hearts. I personally do this on a daily basis, in fact, I just explained this to one of my classes on Friday as we discussed rhetorical appeal. When I am trying to help the class understand something, or try something new in the classroom environment, I have to adjust to the audience. I don’t teach the students in my first block the same as the students in my second, or third. They, as a whole, are completely different and even individually have to be spoken to and taught differently. The one aspect that stays constant is the fact that I ALWAYS speak to their hearts and heads, never one over the other.

When we take the time to speak to people’s hearts and minds it is more likely that they will fare better in situations that traditionally merit negative attention and outcomes. For example, when I found out earlier this school year that I was nominated for a leadership ambassador position for my campus (by my principal) I jumped at the chance to become involved. The icing on the cake of that ask was when he described why I was being nominated and what all the “job” would entail. The reasons I was nominated spoke to my heart and the idea of getting to spread positivity on my campus (spoke to my heart) and my head. The idea of being a leader that has monthly meetings, had to read two books for a book study, on top of my normal duties and second round of grad school didn’t sound all that appealing at first. He sold me when he further explained what exactly I would be doing. “A leader needs enough understanding to fashion an intelligent strategy.” (Kotter)

If, as change agents, we speak to students’ heads and hearts we can inspire them to be better, do better. The inspiration will allow them to be successful and take ownership of their learning. It also allows other change agents to see the possibilities and also inclination to help students be better and do better!

Resources:

"A quote by John Kotter" (n.d.). theysaidso.com. Retrieved Jan 12, 2021, from theysaidso.com web site : https://theysaidso.com/quote/john-kotter-a-leader-needs-enough-understanding-to-fashion-an-intelligent-strate

Leading Change in an Organization

VitalSmarts Video (2009, September 21). All washed up! [Video]. YouTube https://youtu.be/osUwukXSd0k

VitalSmarts Speakers (2012, December 17). Influencer: Crickt Buchler [Video]. YouTube https://youtu.be/wu7UBY5euBg

Butterfly effect, or the chaos theory, is the responsive reliance on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a nonlinear deterministic system will result in significant changes in a later state.

I think about a lot of weird topics and make a lot of connections to things I am reading, situations I am involved in, conversations I have, etc. The butterfly effect is what comes to mind when learning more about the influence of change and all its parts. Stay with me...if you think about it, we are trying to get an entire campus, office, practice to make a change. It may be an introduction of something new, or a revamp of another practice brushed under the rug of perpetual rotation. Either way we are wanting several people (adults and children) to change or add a new habit to their rituals. It can be intimidating not only for us, but for the ones learning the new task. This is why it is important to find influencers that will propel your idea into action and influence others to do the same. It takes one person to affect another and then the domino effect takes place. A Twitter post a year into the change can cause a change in a school district 3 states away, or even on anther continent.

We have to be patient and understand that you can't expect someone to make a change just from their environment. You have to add more influental facters like personal motivation, environment and ques, and peer pressure (positively). If others see positive results then they are more likely to make the change themselves.

I loved that in the All Washed Up video the kids were so eager to get to the cupcakes, but with the help of peer pressure, environmental influences, and self motivation they were (for the most part) able to get to the point of washing their hands.

Resources:

My Why...

Executing Change Using 4DX

& The 5 Stages of Change

In the video Friedman’s Theory of Leadership Made Simple (Camp, 2010), he mentions that a “differentiated leader can take a well defined stand even when followers disagree while remaining connected in a meaningful way with others.” I immediately thought of Jon Gordon’s, The Positive Dog when he began explaining Friedman’s theory. You have to feed the positive dog each day in order to lead a positive life and positively influence others. The negative people, or those that disagree with the plan, or idea are the virus and have the ability to change the folds in the fabric of a plan with the power of their conversations. A differentiated leader sees the big picture and helps others (the viruses of an organization) see it as well through influencing others to take note of their own actions and make the necessary changes so they too become differentiated leaders.

I was well into my thirties before I felt fully comfortable with speaking up in conversations and telling others my opinions and ideas. I would usually agree silently, or just sit back and observe. I was seeing others speak to people with such ease and I always wondered what it was that allowed them to have such great conversations and speaking skills with other people. If I were to guess (from knowing these people well) it is because they are what we call a “people person”, they are confident and outgoing. It’s almost a natural ability for them to speak to others with such ease. Some of them found a way to make connections with who they are speaking to when they weren’t feeling as confident, or outgoing. Although I still occasionally observe others, I have built up the confidence to share my ideas and thoughts even though they are not always what (I think) will be taken well by others. I speak up because it is ultimately not about me and usually what I am sharing will be helpful to most parties involved. I now find ways to connect with others and locate that common ground.

Overall, I feel that I could definitely label myself as a differentiated leader and this is what will make influencing others to support and fulfill my ePortfolio initiative a whole lot easier.

The difficult part is over, my principal is on board and he is a super differentiated leader that will help me sustain support from all teachers. I have also already recruited a teacher friend that sometimes forgets to feed her positive dog and if she is on board, others will be as well!

Camp, J., Friedman’s theory of Differentiated Leadership Made Simple [Video file]. (2010). Retrieved February 17, 2021, from https://youtu.be/RgdcljNV-Ew

Crucial Conversations

Overall, I feel that I could definitely label myself as a differentiated leader and this is what will make influencing others to support and fulfill my ePortfolio initiative a whole lot easier. The difficult part is over, my principal is on board and he is a super differentiated leader that will help me sustain support from all teachers. I have also already recruited a teacher friend that sometimes forgets to feed her positive dog and if she is on board, others will be as well!