Em's Ever Evolving Erudition

Exploring Audrey Watters website and blog has taken me down many rabbit holes.  Her work is layered with connected ideas that it is easy to spend a whole week exploring it.  I appreciate her skepticism.  I feel that I am often consumed with the same concerns about how technology is influencing education and our society.  The EdTech industry is a capitalistic enterprise that deserves to be scrutinized for their motives and end results.    I see people jump on board the next big thing in technology without thinking about the downsides or hidden costs associated with it.  We forget that if something is free of monetary costs, there is still a different kind of cost.  Companies are not giving away their product with no benefit to themselves.  And regardless of the inventor/investors intent in developing a new technology, there are always unintended consequences.  Youtube's algorithms were trying to find videos that best fit the viewer but th...

A small group of my classmates from UVM's EDCI 325 and I worked together recently to create a vision statement for our ideal school.  The end result is this website:  EA School of Innovation .  We had a focus around equity and access which is a theme very near and dear to my heart.  It was great to be able to work on this vision statement with like minded and passionate educators. 

How does a school district know how to leverage technology in the most effective way to increase student learning?  There might be a desire to do this, but leaders might feel like they don't know what the right steps are to achieve this goal.  ISTE has scripted the critical moves to help with this mission.  Using the  ISTE Essential Conditions , leaders can use research based practices to help boost student learning and engagement through technology. Here are a couple of ways that schools can use the ISTE Essential Conditions: Shared Vision This is like the school's destination postcard.  It is the end goal that all decisions will point towards.    Often mission and vision statements come from the top with the expectation that it will be followed by the grunts on the ground.  This essential condition is different.  The important thing to remember is that it is a shared vision.  This means that all stakeholders (admin, tea...

I appreciate all the resources we've examined on digital citizenship this week in my Leadership and Technology class.  They have me really examining my current practice and contemplating future goals.  When reflecting on current practice, I've felt very negative.  Changing jobs has changed my role and what I'm required to teach.  This has left me unsure about how to address digital citizenship for my students.  The little that I have done seems to be in a vacuum.  It's not because I'm fighting a culture of fear and a list of don'ts, but more that there just isn't a conversation happening.   But I'm not feeling completely negative because I am inspired by the participatory digital citizenship model discussed by Dr. Mattson and reinforced by so many other resources.   I think it's exactly what I am looking to dive into for the future.  I've been inspired by other's around the state that use social media and technology to empower the...

There are many people in my PLN that act as either a maven, connector, or salesperson.  I think of Donna  Sullivan- MacDonald from Orchard School in South Burlington as a maven  extraordinaire.  I think of Meg Allison at U32 High School and Peter Langella at CVU High School as a wonderful salespeople.  And I think Shannon Walters from BHS might actually know everyone in the world so she would be a good example of a connector.  These four Vermont librarians help me so much with my professional practice.  I feel that our librarian network in the state works well with leveraging people's strengths to help our members throughout the state.  We often work together in these different roles to achieve our goals.  I would like to expand this though as there are many new librarians in our state.  I think we could leverage even more people.   The other place that I would like to expand my connections to mavens, c...

Social Media by xkcd. https://xkcd.com/1239/ I know a couple of people who aren't on Facebook or Twitter.  They either never joined or purposefully stopped.  I find a desire to also be part of that crowd at times.  The negatives of social media can sometimes feel so overwhelming.  Too much hate, uncivility, showboating, time sucking, ungenuine moments happening on these platforms.   At the same time, it is hard to ignore the good things coming from social media as well.  It can connect us in ways that transform our lives and our learning.  Being connected to ideas, experts, and supporters in an instant can open the world for us.  It can give us a voice and power when otherwise we would feel alone and hopeless. The idea is that we should use technology in a way that is meaningful for us.  That we find a balance in our use so that we reduce the negatives and enhance the positives.  In George Couros's blog post Has Twitter C...

There is an educator whom I admire.  It is her heart that wants me to follow her as a leader.  She cares deeply about her students.  Not just care that they learn specific curricula and skills, but care about the whole student.  She cultivates them as she would a garden.  Carefully tending to them, watching them grow, and celebrating them for who they are.  She is filled with and models empathy.  She sends kindness out into the world.  She is a safe place for her students.  It is her passion for her students that drives her to take risks, problem solve, and speak out.  She is brave.  Her leadership style is driven by integrity.  She stands up for what she believes.  She models the behavior she requests of others.  She is the first to tackle the problem or try a new plan.  She asks questions.  She tries to find answers for them.  She actively involves others and listens to what they have to say....

About 8 years ago, I read a book that kinda changed my life.  Well it changed how I look at myself as a leader and that is what has made all the difference.  The book is Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking  by Susan Cain. If you can't tell by this book selection, I'm an introvert.  It is very much a part of my identity.  If you talk to my friends and family, they will immediately identify that being an introvert is one of my top defining qualities.  I will sit and listen to people who converse with ease and charm with wonder.  Easy conversation and charm (with unknown companions) just takes so much energy from me that I only do it when I've psyched myself up for it or find it necessary for my goals.  Before reading Susan Cain's book, I had the mindset that leaders were extroverts.  They were loquacious and easy to get along with and the life of the party.  As an introvert, I would be more suitabl...