Quick Feet

The Future
I have said before that I like change for a number of reasons. Maybe it is because I am not a big story
teller of past experiences or don't spend a lot of time day dreaming about the good old days (there is nothing wrong with that of course). I just personally enjoy looking forward to the new experience, it keeps things fresh and even though it can be a struggle at times, the world we live in waits for no one.

Traditional
Quite often I hear industrial age model, traditional, slow to change, creatures of habit, as words and phrases commonly used to describe our public school system. Having two elementary age children, I would rather hear the words collaborative, innovative, student centered, challenging, and ready to adapt for each individual student. Those environments do exist in public education and we should hold them up as models for others to see.  The question is how did they get to that place many schools and districts struggle for everyday?

An Agile Staff
When I say agile, I am using the word it in the purest sense:

-quick and well-coordinated in movement
-active: lively
-marked by an ability to think quickly: mentally acute or aware

I am not an English major, so hopefully I am using the word correctly, but I can't dismiss the notion that if a staff is agile and prepared to be quick on their feet, they probably have a mindset that is open to change. The question becomes how do we build in a comfort level with our staff that allows them to be quick on their feet, embrace change, and allow that quick thinking, lively personality to take over?

Supportive Environment
Start by building a supportive environment that fosters collaboration, risk taking, and direct answers that address concerns when they arise. If staff members have support from their leadership and peers, change can become more of an opportunity for improvement and not a scary situation that threatens the comfort of what we know.

Change is inevitable and it is necessary for moving forwarding in any school, department, or business. Embracing the concept is difficult for most because routine is something that is built into us as humans from birth, so maybe it shouldn't come as a surprise. But a supportive environment is also something that most are provided from birth and that allows kids to grow and develop and enjoy new experiences. Maybe we just need to provide that supportive environment at the shop and see what happens.

Give Us Space

Collaborative Space
I have written about classroom space before, Kindergarten Classes Rock, and how much learning takes place in that type of environment. "Kindergarten classrooms are setup in such a way that just screams collaboration and student centered learning!" So when I saw this article about Nvidia's new campus and then 21 Inspirational Collaborative Workspaces, I thought it was very interesting and worth passing along as food for thought. This is a drawing of Nvidia's new campus, they are based in California and have been making graphic cards and other technology since the early 1990's. What jumped out at me is the caption above the picture. "The nature of building Nvidia products requires experts from multiple disciplines to come together, and the building is designed above all for collaboration."

Photo Courtesy of eWeek

On Vacation
I have been to a few buildings outside of the K-12 arena in the greater Phoenix area, that echo collaborative spots as where the real thinking takes place. Pearson and ASU Skysong are two that stand out as having created great collaborative areas for their employees and students. Each location provided simple, yet comfortable spaces, equipped with whiteboards, presentation devices, and areas for small groups to gather. Visiting other places is kind of like going on vacation, you usually don't want to leave and begin trying to convince your spouse that a move would be good for the family. That feeling however should promote reflection on your workspace and more so thoughts on what our classrooms look like. Here are a few companies that may sound familiar and what they have done with collaborative spots.

JWT

Google

Google

Real World
I understand that classrooms are not going to turn into the plush spaces like we see at JWT and Google, but we can't dismiss the idea of opening them up and providing ways to allow collaboration. If you noticed in the examples above, there isn't a podium or anything that forces the direction in one particular spot at the front of the room, sound familiar? Maybe we can help show the benefits of these collaborative spaces by picking a few spots around campuses where adults gather and set them up to be more collaborative locations. Subtly making some changes may be the way for others to realize the benefit and be more comfortable with transforming their workspace and classrooms. Here are a few ideas.

-Ask teachers what type of environment best suits collaboration.

-Hang a whiteboard where teachers gather.

-Comfortable furniture.

-Place to plug in device, could be a power strip makes the difference in staying in a group of collaborating teachers or retreating back to classroom.

-Coffee, you've been to Starbucks right?

Bye Bye Reader

Retirement Announced

It has been about three weeks since Google announced the retirement of Google Reader on July 1, 2013. Petitions quickly appeared and many supporters have been very vocal about their favorite reader being laid to rest.      

"We launched Google Reader in 2005 in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites. While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined. So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader. Users and developers interested in RSS alternatives can export their data, including their subscriptions, with Google Takeout over the course of the next four months."

Move On

I can understand being a bit sad that Google Reader is nearing the end of a good run, it has become a home page tab in my browser since 2010. But instead of trying to understand Google’s decision or what significant damage some may think shutting down Google Reader will cause, I am focused on finding a replacement.  

Choices
The good news is that there are choices and room for new and innovative ideas to come to life. In the world of RSS feed reading services now is the time to let your voice be heard on what you want in the perfect reader, ears are listening.      

Corner Speed

Get Back On

Lesson 1: If you fall off the horse (even if it hurts), you must get back on and face the challenge that threw you. I remember when I was about 5 years old I was cruising somewhere with my dad when we both spotted a little red Honda Z50 motorcycle on the side of the road with a for sale sign on it. We both did one of those, did you see that, and next thing I know we were loading it up in the back of the truck. The next week we were out in the desert and after strapping on my new helmet with the red pinstripe on top (it was the 70's), I took off. About 100 ft. from the truck I hit a rut, handlebars twisted and down I went. I walked back to the truck, took off my helmet and told my dad to sell the motorcycle. Like any good dad, he very firmly said, "put your helmet on and get back on the bike". Since that day in the desert I have been hooked on riding motocross and a fan of the sport.

courtesy of transworld motocross

Daily Challenges
Lesson 2: Corner speed is the key to winning the race. The number of challenges IT departments face on a daily basis can be mind boggling at times and trying to predict what issues will arise is almost impossible. The key is how will you handle the challenges that present themselves, this is where corner speed comes in. The most important part of a motocross race is the riders ability to navigate corners faster than their opponents. Although the big jumps are exciting, at the professional level, all the riders are jumping everything and time is made in the corners. Day to day challenges are nothing more than corners and every single corner is a little different than the last. For a racer, the proper positioning and repetitive practice makes perfect, sounds familiar doesn't it? Every day is full of corners and lots of opportunity to practice how we navigate through them. Being consistant and using the same form each time will help keep stress levels down, let your staff become comfortable with how you will handle issues, and help increase your corner speed at the next turn.

Keep It Fun
Lesson 3: Keep it fun. Writing this post was very enjoyable to me because I could talk about something I enjoy doing outside of work and relate it to the day to day tasks at the office. The next time you are faced with a challenge at work, think about your favorite hobby and try to draw some comparison to the issue in front of you. You may be surprised at how getting back on that horse and charging the next corner could be so much fun.  

PARCC IT

Next Big Thing? 

Sometimes it is difficult to take the next "big" thing in education seriously. Initiatives seem to come and go and quite often districts take the wait and see approach before making changes and investments. However when it comes to the Common Core State Standards all but a small handful of states have already adopted and begun implementation. Many consortiums and task forces, have been formed to collaborate and support one another with the implementation. So where is the hook into technology? A couple different areas, technology is embedded into the standards themselves and the assessment side of the house, which is what I would like to share a little bit about.

What is PARCC?
PARCC is a consortium made up of 22 states, serving roughly 24 million students. The consortium is funded by a grant provided by the US Department of Education and their task is to develop and design a next-generation assessment system which the common core standards will be tested.

PARCC Vision
PARCC states have committed to building a K-12 assessment system that:

• Builds a pathway to college and career readiness for all students,
• Creates high-quality assessments that measure the full range of the Common Core State Standards,
• Supports educators in the classroom,
• Makes better use of technology in assessments, and
• Advances accountability at all levels.

Listen up Techies! 

The PARCC assessment will be delivered online and the consortium has been busy working on technology guidelines.  For those districts that have robust internet connections and the ability to refresh their computers every three years, the guidelines will probably not cause you alarm. However most districts don't have this luxury and have been very creative over the years with extending the life of their hardware. Another detail to be aware of is you may squeak by with the minimum requirement specifications for the 2014-2015 assessment, will most likely not be compatible for the 2015-2016 version according to the guidelines.  

Still Time

There are still many unanswered questions concerning the timeline, funding sources and some who think the assessment will never become a reality. It is also likely the guidelines will have a few revisions before they are in their final version. Whatever your opinion on the PARCC assessment, this is a good opportunity to take a closer look at networks and devices, and reflect on the experience we are providing our students and teachers. 

Hello 2013!

The Hype

I don't usually get overly excited about the new year hype that seems to consume many every January 1st. It seems like often we know we need to reflect on things and make some changes long before the new year rolls around, but using the new years resolution line can buy us a little time before actually making change. But, I am as human as the next and often find myself doing a bit more reflecting when the new year rolls around. Taking some extra time to review current procedures, plans, and the day to day routines that can always benefit from improvement. I also felt like I needed to work on a few personal work related goals that would help keep me grounded.

Direction
There are a number of goal setting techniques out there to guide a person through what can sometimes be a difficult process. With most things, I like to not overly complicate the task and ran across an easy to understand piece on the Mind Tools website. The article is titled, Personal Goal Setting, and provides an easy to understand model for setting different types of goals for the long and short term scenario. One of their suggestions for creating powerful goals is below.

A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use the SMART mnemonic. While there are plenty of variants (some of which we've included in parenthesis), SMART usually stands for:

• S - Specific (or Significant).
• M - Measurable (or Meaningful).
• A - Attainable (or Action-Oriented). 
• R - Relevant (or Rewarding).
• T - Time-bound (or Trackable).
  
  

Make It Your Own
The great thing about all the information we have at our fingertips is being able to access it, process it, and decide what pieces we want to use. Keep that in mind when setting your goals and don't hesitate to search out the numerous ways there are to make the process enjoyable and worthwhile. Goals can be very powerful and motivating in shaping the way we maneuver through our daily lives. We live in a fast paced, technology driven world and stress is all around us. Try goal setting as a way to minimize some of that stress and keep that frown turned upside down. 

Food For Thought

It's Lunch Time
Do you ever notice that lunch conversation quite often is just another opportunity to talk about work stuff. It is tough sometimes to turn off the switch in the middle of the day for an hour and conversation inevitably stays on work. In my post F5, I talked about IT stress, burnout, and it being difficult to shut down at the end of the day, so should we be concerned about lunchtime?

                                           
Good Question
It is a good question, but a tough question to answer from a director's view. Often the best time to collaborate is over a good meal in a relaxing setting, so why change the conversation? A couple months ago we were discussing how to communicate the day to day information that is so critical for an IT department. Each day something new is discovered that can improve the end users experience, but often we are busy and don't find the time to e-mail, blog, or just talk about these things.

Make It A Date
A long time veteran of our IT department, Lonnie Trotter, suggested that we get together once a week at lunch time for an informal lunch gathering to chat about day to day happenings. Everyone can bring their lunch of choice, no formal agenda, and share anything that they feel is important for others to know. Since it is a "working" lunch, that hour is taken off the end of the day and another positive layer of communication has been added to the week.

Keep It Simple
You are probably thinking to yourself, so what. Working lunches, morning coffee, there are a number of ways to informally gather staffs together to chat, but how often do those go by the wayside when things get busy. The difficult task is finding the time and staying consistent with promoting positive collaboration within teams. Keeping it simple and not creating a multilayer approach to most situations usually yields the best results in my experience. If it takes rocket science to figure out how to communicate with one another, there may be other issues.

So, how does your team find time to stay in touch with the valuable day to day information that is critical for an IT department. The more collaborating the better, so please share.