Island Life

Tropical Paradise
I want to talk about island life for a moment and full disclosure, I have never lived on a remote island, so no offense to those who have. Living on a remote tropical island really sounds good though, at least for a short amount of time, but long-term, being on an island can become isolating. Not interacting with others, sharing, and working alongside peers that challenge you, will keep us from growing as individuals and we can become stale.

Stay Fresh
It is easy to become isolated on internal islands within our own technology departments. With the grind that comes with answering help desk tickets and trying to maintain normal daily responsibilities while pushing ahead with additional projects, communication between our peers becomes increasingly more difficult. If we layer on top of that the rapid pace that technology changes and the amount of content generated on a daily basis, the island starts feeling like a safe place to be. We all know however that isolation will not help us solve the problems in front of us, keep us fresh with new ideas, and increase collaboration amongst our peers to better serve our students and staff. 
 

PLN Strong
The concept of a professional learning network has been around for quite some time now and still, in my opinion, the most effective way to connect with peers. The power of a PLN is the informal manner that a person can participate, share content as well as consume, and take advantage of a global community. Having a staff that has strong PLN's will benefit our internal technology teams that often struggle with getting out and allows that isolated island feeling to creep in. Although the PLN and PLC terminology is synonymous with teachers and administrators, there is a vast community of technology-related professionals waiting to connect. A few places to connect with other technology-related professionals.

• Twitter: Search hashtags, ie. #itdirector, #networkadministrator, #datasecurity, #programmer
• LinkedIn
• COSN: Consortium for School Networking
• ISTE: International Society for Technology in Education
• State and local listservs 

Creative Time
I am not sure that creative time is a thing, my point here is that time is the magical piece that there is never enough of. Instead of using the old saying that you will find time for what is important, be creative with time and find different ways to get together other than the traditional meeting. A recent post on Engage, an employee engagement blog, on "7 Fun Ways to Host Team Meetings", points out a variety of simple common sense ways to make meetings not boring. Three of my favorites are mentioned below that I have added some ideas on how to make these easily happen with minimal time involved in preparation. 

• Use grouping: We know birds of a feather flock together right, so instead of having everyone count off from 1-5 then split up, which is boring, pass out different pieces of candy to everyone when they arrive and find their table of like sugary fun. Substitute anything you would like if candy isn't your thing. 
• Change the scenery: This one is very self-explanatory and why not meet at the local coffee shop, nothing makes a meeting more enjoyable than sitting in a comfortable chair with an iced coffee. One notable mention here is as the leader, you need to reassure your leadership team that this is OK. Let them know your expectations, traveling an hour across town to a nice speakeasy is probably not what counts as productive for most organizations. 
• Switch up positioning: This is similar to grouping in moving people out of their comfort zone by not having them sit in the same exact chair every week. Here is where you need to lead by example, the next time you walk into the meeting room, you start it off by sitting in a different spot every time. If we expect others to venture out of their comfort zone, we must lead by example.
  
  

Sharing is Caring

I would love to hear what others are doing with their staff for staying fresh, building their PLN's and being creative with time. Leave a comment, tag me on Twitter @jcastelhano, share the great things you are doing!

The ISTE Blues

Data Overload

Like most of us returning from ISTE, you are probably experiencing the emotional roller coaster ride that accompanies the flight or drive home. The data overload from the content filled sessions, keynotes, poster and playground spaces, and endless conversations can be overwhelming. It is possible to keep the "ISTE's Over Blues" from setting in, but do not put it off for later, jump into your content while it's fresh and take charge! 

From the Middle

It doesn't matter what your role is in your organization, you have just spent four days gathering content that you need to share. Take the lead from the middle approach and decide how you can share what you have learned with your peers, administration, technology staff and any others that could benefit from what you have learned. This could also be an opportunity to use a new medium to share information with a presentation platform, blog site, or creative new app that you experienced at the conference. With the pace at which new technologies and classroom practices evolve, technology, curriculum, and professional development teams will appreciate the benefit of the information you provide. 

Stay in Touch

I have said a number of times that the best place to make connections at ISTE is standing in line waiting to purchase that delightful ice coffee or refreshing bottle of water. I do suggest we change the phrase "standing in line" to the "PLN line", because we ultimately exchange email addresses, Twitter and Instagram handles and district names for future collaboration, with educators from around the globe. Now that you have these new contacts, don't hesitate to reach out and continue the conversations and sharing of ideas that you started while waiting in that PLN line.

The power of social media can assist, so take advantage of the new account you just created in those power sessions and use the #ISTE2016 hashtag to share with your new friends. 

Bring ISTE Home

Coming together with 15,000 like minded educators is something magical that ISTE has

managed to create for many years. What many ISTE members may not be aware of is the ISTE affiliate groups that exist in virtually every state in our country, as wells as international affiliates in Australia, Canada, Europe, India, The Philippines, and the United Kingdom. These affiliate groups are all a bit different and have a variety of benefits and professional development opportunities that happen year around. Joining a local affiliate is another way to continue to grow your PLN, attend events in your state and become involved with advocacy movements that can directly affect your classrooms and students. To find an affiliate in your area, check out the affiliate directory and continue making connections!

Small World

CC BY-SA 3.0

Staying relevant in a world continually growing smaller is not an easy task and each new generation of students brings a fresh mindset that as educators we must be able to connect with. Attending events like ISTE, connecting with others through social media, and remaining outside of the four walls of our classrooms, cubicles and offices, will allow us to continue growing and remain the most important part of the classroom. See you in San Antonio! 

25 Pound Backpack

My Back!
Have you picked up one of your kiddos backpacks lately and immediately thought, oh my gosh that seems heavy?  I often compare my backpack that contains a laptop, iPad, and miscellaneous cables to theirs that are full of books, binders, and pencils, and there is no comparison. I literally weighed one of them recently and it weighed 25 pounds, which I thought was crazy heavy. After digging into the backpack, I found the culprits to be a math book and a social studies book. The good news is the school provides two sets of books and the students do not have to transport them back and forth on a daily basis, however it leads us back to the conversation about textbooks and where we are at with them as an educational community.

Timing
I have to be honest, I started this post a few weeks back and it has been sitting quietly waiting to be finished. When I read the recent Center for Digital Education article covering the FCC Commissioner's discussion in San Francisco, the timing seemed appropriate. Jessica Rosenworcel addressed an audience of tech industry professionals, updating them on the recent FCC initiatives, encouraging "digital disruption within the teaching and textbook industry." Rosenworcel pointed out a few things that I feel are worth sharing here.

• “In the rest of the world, we have an infinite array of digital tools to change our civic and commercial lives. Yet somehow we’ve put up some barriers at the school doors, It’s time we started inviting them in and wrestling with them and doing some good things”
• "As a market estimated at $17 billion and with price increases in the last decade at 800 percent, the textbook industry’s services burden educators and students alike — average school districts only able to afford textbook purchases every seven to 10 years"
• “I just think it’s crazy if we keep on doing what we’ve done before because the world and the job opportunities that are out there look remarkably different"

These statements have all been said before in a number of ways by others looking to lighten up backpacks and promote change in a system that has been relatively unchanged for a number of years. I applaud anyone who takes the initiative to start these conversations as a way to reflect on the education we are providing our students. We must provide a relevant experience and not allow a $17 billion industry to give us what we have always had because that is what we have always done. Industry will provide what the educational community wants, so the conversation is important to have at the school, district, and community level. Listen to our teachers and students and allow their ideas, thoughts and needs, drive the industry to develop the disruption that will keep our classrooms moving forward.

Snob
I want to make it clear that I am not a book snob by any means and would never advocate for throwing all classroom texts in a big bonfire. Going to the extreme in any direction is what has kept technology a conversation piece, big shiny object, instead of just an everyday part of our classroom environment. But, providing our students with something other than the same basic textbooks like we have always done, is a conversation that is very necessary for today's classroom.   

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto

Want One

http://insideevs.com/

Every time I see a Tesla driving down the road, I want one. They look great, go fast, are environmentally friendly (don't worry I am not giving up my gas lawn mower just yet :-), and the technology in these cars is cutting edge. I occasionally construct my order online and arrive at checkout, which is where I am brought back down to earth, then go outside and sit in my Prius. Some of the things I find interesting with this company is the process that is used to construct their vehicles and the importance of man and machine working together to make it happen.

 Image: CNET / CBS Interactive

Boring?

I recently came across a Tech Republic article, which after reading I found the title to be a bit silly, but it caught my attention because of a podcast I listened to recently about robot automation. Basically the podcast was stating there are not enough skilled workers who can actually work on the robots to keep them running, and a few big companies were starting programs to train their people for these skilled positions. The "boring" reference in the article title was pointing out how the introduction of bots could increase the "drudgery" of the 9-5 job in some cases. The example was centered around the Amazon Kiva bots that are used in some of their US fulfillment centers, which Amazon recently has been discussing with the holiday season upon us. You can read the article for yourself and determine the message that the writer has intended, but for myself I tend to reflect on the discussion that has been going on for years about the ever changing careers that technology influences.

Skilled Workforce
We have been hearing and reading about the shortage of skilled workers for some time now and how the 21st Century Learner is going to need different skills for the modern workplace. With automation and jobs that require a different skill set, it is important we don't lose focus on the solid foundation needed for our students to be able to leave the K-12 and higher education system ready for the ever changing workplace, on the job training and new careers. The question remains are we preparing them for such a world? I came across this very interesting article about Toyota and the Bluegrass Community Technical College, who have partnered to create the AMT program. A statement that caught my attention was from Dennis Dio Parker, an assistant manager at Toyota, "Parker says high schools and colleges in the U.S. are failing to turn out graduates with the mix of technical expertise, problem-solving ability and communication skills that companies like Toyota needs." Technical fields may not be for every student, but shouldn't all students have the ability to communicate and problem solve? If our students simply master the 4 c's, they will be prepared to adapt to any situation including technologies influence on the world and careers.  

Jobs will continually change and become more technical. Some jobs may be eliminated, while new ones will take their place, creating different skill requirements. Gilbert Passin VP of Manufacturing for Tesla made a comment in Tesla Motors Part 2, "Robots are extremely good at repeatability and accuracy of motion, humans are more intelligent than robots therefore we need to use them where there is a lot of value for that intelligence." The future only has to be boring if that is the way we view it.   

E-rate Reality

Modernization

Anyone who is familiar with the E-rate program has hopefully stayed on top of the modernization efforts and countless opinions, informational webinars, and meetings with E-rate consultants concerning the changes. E-rate works in the past, present, and future and during this time of year is when we prepare for the filing of next year's funding requests. Even though I personally have stayed abreast of the changes, the reality of the phase down and elimination of services gives me mixed emotions about some of the modernization efforts.

Phaseout

The E-rate program has been around for the last 17 years and it is true that during this time the program has remained relatively unchanged. With any program, change must be a part of the road map to insure you are keeping up with the ever changing landscape that is necessary to remain relevant. The overall goals of the modernization do make sense and I applaud their acknowledgement, but they do come at the expense of existing areas of the program that school districts for better or worse have come to rely upon. A few of the affected areas for phasing down and elimination for 2015 include; support for voice services, certain phone features, e-mail, web hosting, voicemail and data plans.

Category 2

Priority 2 services, now known as Category 2, will focus on internal connections to provide wi-fi connectivity within your buildings. As a district we have not seen Priority 2 funding for many years due to our eligible rate falling under the percentage awarded, so the per student formula is a bright spot. However much of the controversy surrounding the modernization effort revolves around how funding will be sustainable in this area. At this time, the Category 2 funding plan is based on a 5 year budget and depending on who you speak with, only the first two years of funding is guaranteed. If you have not begun to review your existing network infrastructure or plan to implement wireless, now is the time. 

Reach Out

There are so many things to discuss concerning the modernization plan, both on a political and philosophical level, that could continue on for pages. I feel there is valid argument for the continued funding of a couple of the services being eliminated and the importance of having a long range plan for Category 2. The conversation about phaseouts and elimination is over, but there is still time to ask questions and advocate for a more solid long range plan for infrastructure hardware. At any rate, if you do not work with an E-rate consultant or do not have a strong group of peers that can assist you through the filing process in this time of change, I would suggest reaching out so that your district can best plan your approach for 2015. Good luck!

le Tour

July

Andrei Loas 

July brings so many exciting events, FIFA World Cup Finals, RedBud National, and Le Tour de France are among my favorites this year. Each of these events brings many rich traditions and I enjoy them for a number of reasons. The Tour de France however, is the event that amazes me for so many reasons. To think these athletes will cover over 2,200 miles, ride through the steep mountains passes in the Alps and Pyrenees, draw 3.5 billion television viewers annually and 12 million spectators along the route, it is not hard to understand why it is the world's largest annual sporting event. For the average person that isn't into cycling, the Tour may just seem like another person pedaling a bike around France, but for the enthusiast, it is the ultimate test of endurance and team work that takes place every July.

Working Together
The Tour de France is a great example of teams working together for one common goal.  Each team has one chosen leader on their 9 person squad that all other team riders (domestiques) will support. The leader may be going for the overall Tour win, a particular stage win, or in contention for one of the colored jerseys each representing a different classification. Each rider on the team has strengths that compliment the leader and the overall team strategy. No matter what the goal is, the supporting riders on the team are servant in helping achieve the leaders success.

Vision
Every school district has a vision statement that defines their goals, creates an identity and shapes their culture. All parts of the organization work together to support the vision statement and make it a reality. Similar to the way a Tour team creates their vision for the team leader, a school district has a number of domestiques working together for the success of their students.  If you follow the Tour closely, you can see how each team struggles with issues and the leader can not go solo as they need their supporting cast. From the classroom teacher to the bus driver that transports students, to the technology staff that provides working devices and a solid network, every part of the team must work together in a school system in similar fashion.

Final Stage
The road to the Champs-Élysées is a commitment that requires all the pieces of a Tour team working together. When they ride the final stage on the last day, all the teams in the peloton are together, celebrating the end of their long journey. Accomplishing such an arduous task is gratifying when working alongside others, think about the stages of the school year as your Tour and pedal on!

Puzzle Pieces

Another Hero

I am not sure what specifically prompted me to begin singing the Tina Turner song "We Don't Need Another Hero" recently. Usually that song only pops into my head when someone is trying to take a little more credit for something than they should, or when reminiscing about back in the day when my friends and I would jump garbage bags with a metal milk crate and piece of plywood on our bmx bikes. This time however, I believe I was watching a sporting event and thinking about how incredible the athletes really are. I am definitely not a fan of the over the top, look at me athletes, those types can curl up to the Tina Turner song and keep telling themselves how great they are. I admire the humble, hard working athletes who let their actions speak for themselves. Thinking about the leadership role that these athletes play in their specific discipline, lead me to draw comparison to leaders in the workplace.

Behind The Success
The humble hardworking athletes I mentioned earlier will always mention the individuals that help them maintain their regiment that allows them to perform the way they do. If you think that a top level athlete is doing it all by themselves, think again. These athletes have strength trainers, dietitians, specific discipline coaches, personal assistants, family and more that assist with putting together all the proper pieces so the athlete can achieve their goals. I find this very similar in many ways to the role that a leader plays on a daily basis. A leader is out front, answering questions, concerns, planning, influencing, basically performing like an athlete. The individuals behind the leader are all part of the puzzle and that leader will only perform well if all the pieces to the puzzle are fitting together. If an athlete or parts of their program are struggling, they must maintain communication with their support team to quickly address the issue. A leader does this much the same way in the workplace to reach the desired outcome.

On The Podium

I am not a huge Nascar fan, but I think most people have probably seen the winners circle after a Nascar race. There are so many team members you often can't find the driver amongst the group. This is a good example of how many individuals are behind that car making it to the winners circle and if just one of them has a bad day, it can keep the entire team from reaching their goal. One thing you can count on from that driver when interviewed, they will thank everyone behind their win that day. Leaders should not be different than that driver, take every opportunity you can to thank all the pieces to the puzzle that are allowing you to be successful, because you can not do it alone.

Too Big

Backlash
Isn't it just crazy how some celebrities work all their lives to become larger than life and then after they get there, things seem to fall apart? It becomes trendy to dislike them at a point, their decision making skills go out the window, they start believing in their own persona, or they relieve themselves in mop buckets and spit on people, allegedly, (sorry Beiber fans). That is when a good publicists steps in and cleans things up. If the situation is completely out of control an entire team will go to work recreating an entirely new image for the person.

Similar?
It may be a bit of a stretch to compare celebrities to companies, but I can't help but see some similarities at times between the two. They start small and many grow quickly to what seems like a larger than life company that can't do anything wrong. But give it enough time and there will be some backlash or their product lines stay the same for so long that disruptive innovation is not a priority. I am not an expert on Blackberry history, but it seems like a good example of a powerhouse that had to play catch up in a market that quickly passed them by, and it seems like their clientele focus stayed to narrow. I am still a huge fan of Blackberry and their influence on messaging and e-mail use on a mobile device, but their name isn't on my radar when thinking about a new phone.

Microsoft restructure
When Microsoft recently made news with their big restructure plan, I couldn't help but think of the larger than life celebrity that became to big and then starting making questionable decisions. Ballmer seems committed to creating something that is more collaborative and focused, but is the direction a catch up approach or create game changers one, that will put them back on top as an innovative powerhouse. If they decide to keep throwing Hail Mary passes like giving away 10,000 Surface tablets at ISTE this year, I am not sure they are going to reconnect with their audience.

Bring it around
So how does it all apply to the local IT shop? I think it is rather simple, do not become to comfortable with the service you are providing and become something larger than life. When you become complacent and feel there is nothing that you can improve upon, the backlash will begin. Continue to look for ways to innovate and ask your customers for feedback on your service and please, stay away from mop buckets.

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.