Week 4: Comment # I

Chapter 9. Lighting a Spark. Lighting a spark seems like an easy enough task but I've been in a relationship for over 15 years and can not light a spark underneath my love even if it was a camp fire. In my professional life, I have lit tons on sparks. I have given words of encouragement to many coworkers. Talking to my students in ways that bring them to think, say and do things they could never have imagined. What was truly poignant in the chapter was the idea of enrollment. The story of Ben's influence and spark on the children of Eastlea Community School was very powerful. If you give people a chance to connect to be the person they can be without your judgements then maybe you can light a fire under a them to see a world beyond their imaginations. Change comes from being changed.

Photo by: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Chapter 10. Being the Board: It’s not them. It’s not the circumstances. It’s me. It’s my choices. Trying to imagine a life where someone doesn't blame someone else seems extraordinary. But the concept and the task seems like one that will put a spark of life into a relationship I desperately have been trying to save fro quite some time. Taking responsibility for your part or lack there of in situations is a wonderful tool to not feeling fearful or angry about most situations. Knowing that life is life and that your place in it is owning who your are and what you do. Sometimes the worst part of learning about being the board and all the endless possibilities is that you're alone. The fear that people exude is usually about being alone and the fight to not feel and be that way and utopia of knowledge kind of puts you in that place. How can being the board help me out of that?

Photo by Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=851
Chapter 11. Creating Frameworks for Possibility: The story of the little girl returning to class after chemotherapy and after laughter of having a bald head the teacher comes to class the next day with no hair giving the impression that it was the in style thing to do. It gave the incidence a new framework/spark than the previous one. It is those stories and the idea energy comes from the individual and that they can pass on to others. The goal is to make yours positive ones. Even the story about the students after a concert becoming to unruly and how Ben handled it with punishment or leading the situation into a downward spiral. Understanding that if you create a way for others to see the responsibilities of their actions through the framework of the possible positive action to be or already done than there will be no need to make them feel guilty about what has been done.
I can use this in my daily management with my students. If I take the framework that in order not to create a downward spiral I need to create a vision for my students that embodies the possibilities for them to define themselves in a new way.

Photo from Flickr picture By doug88888

Chapter 12. Telling the WE Story: I told you it wasn’t about you. I haven't had the experience of combining my gifts with someone equally gifted. I can only assume that it would be a powerful learning experience. having the ability to give and take equally with someone would be a ground shaking experience. However I have had experiences and the pleasure of lifting up students, coworkers, family/friends, and even a stranger and enabling them to realize their dreams and exceed anything that you could have imagined. One recent incident is when I saw the potential of my students writing ability. He was a male and even though there are tons of stereotypes about males and writing, he was did not fit the bill. His writing was imaginative and full of detail. I encouraged him to continue to write and through some of my projects, he has continued the passion of writing through music lyrics and short stories.

 

@Tria,

Thank you for your emotional honesty. It takes a lot of bravery to be so frank especially in a blog format. You are definitely a role model in this regard. I have been trying to employ the practices from the Art of Possibility within my own life and it is hard to say the least, so I wish you the best of luck.

Week 3: P&L Think Outloud #1

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With the Publishing and Leadership project, I am of two minds, on one hand I think  a presentation would be easier to put together, but at the same time writing is a strength of mine, and I feel like writing an article while harder will probably work out better for me.

To that end I have been doing a lot of research about publications that would be the best choice for submitting my CBR project. You see the problem that I have is that while I work in the educational field, my position is more geared towards customer service, and technical support. Therefore a lot of the publication suggestions for the assignment are not quite a good fit. With that in mind here are a few possibilities that I have come up with:

Converge Magazine

Educational Technology Magazine (This is my first choice as of right now)

eLearn Magazine

Week 3: Reading The Art of Possibility

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This week we read chapter’s 5-8 of The Art of Possibility. Last week I was somewhat resistant to the principles we learned, if only because I always inherently doubt self help books. They all claim to be a panacea for everything that is wrong with your life. While I do think some of them can give people useful tools for coping with what ails them. It takes a lot of work to find the ones that are really helpful.

However, I didn't feel as much resistance as I did last week, I don't know what it was, but a lot of what the author's talked about. I really gelled with with a lot of this weeks reading, I especially liked the saying, "There is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing." The discussion of the central self, and the calculating self was also very helpful, because I saw a lot of myself, and the way I usually handle things in those chapters. I tend to think to much, and rarely take the time to just be. So, I am now finding The Art of Possibility extremely helpful.

Week 2: Wimba Reflection

In this weeks Wimba we reviewed everything we had learned about copyright in the prior week. Which was helpful, to review, because copyright law is needlessly confusing.  As I said last week, the means of media production as well as copyright law need an overhaul to bring them both more inline with the digital culture of the 21st century.

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About a year ago I read this article by Ken Auletta in the New Yorker and as I was reading I was shocked at the way that the publishing industry is run. "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" is not a good business plan, and the film industry is no better.  In one of the first classes I took as a film major we read an essay on the fact that it is impossible to make money making films. As an aspiring filmmaker it was depressing and a wake up call. I don't know what the new model will look like but it is obvious that it needs to change. Not everyone in media is oblivious to the need for change a great example is Joss Whedon and the way he distributed Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. He initially released it on the internet for free, which is something that had never been heard of in mainstream Hollywood. After about a month if I remember correctly he took down the free version and if you really loved it you could buy it from Itunes or on DVD.  Making the internet and the new digital culture work for him rather than against him, which is definitely a step in the right direction.

Week 2: Comment #2

Nancy's Blog

I was able to fully understand that there is now a significant paradigm shift in how I perceive things. I will no longer view my life as a limited, negative on an unclear path. I will focus on viewing past the unforeseen obstacles in order to achieve…

Writing this letter, as Zander suggested, will be a great exercise to apply on the first days of school. I am looking forward to having my students think about the future (in past tense) in order to have them take responsibility of what they foresee doing, creating, thinking and analyzing. The ownership that comes from this type of exercise is two-fold. One, it empowers students to make the right choices for “their” future and two; it establishes a great relationship based on trust.

This weeks reading has been an incredible eye opener.  Viewing life with a positive attitude in order to achieve great heights has been the underlying theme for this weeks reading. I appreciate this informative insight, especially during this time in my life, since I had a tough year in my present school. Although I was doing a great job, I still questioned my actions. I unfortunately and occasionally found myself focusing much of my attention to the negative aspects of certain students. By doing this, I missed out on what drove their hunger and passion. However and thankfully, I would catch myself, therefore shifting my attention to what excited them the most.  Upon my realization, I found that I was blessed to witness, what Zander refers to as: “shiny eyes”.

I was completely enamored by Michelangelo’s idea of chipping away in order to get to the beauty of the marble (or student). I have applied this specific principle in how I’ve graded assignments and most particularly, hand made projects. I understand that students are not all on the same level and comparing one student to another is unfair. Many of my grades come from projects that students create throughout the school year and even though there are some set parameters, I strongly encourage creativity in order to plant the seed of individuality. It is no surprise that many of my students frequently state that it was during the creation process, that they were able to find their individual skill, mastery and voice. The reading emphasized that this paradigm shift of “giving an A” allows for the much needed mutual respect.

Students’ contributions have always been the theme of my class. In fact, my classroom motto is, Where Your Story Becomes History. I emphasize the importance of participating and contributing in order to excel both in my class and ultimately, in the world. I always display student works, regardless of grade. In fact, I refuse to post the grade on the project as to avoid comparing projects and facing humiliation. I much rather celebrate both their immense contributions and individual creativity.

The reading brought up a really insightful topic: inventiveness. The idea that things aren’t always what they seem. That is why having a positive attitude is important. Some people may even call this religion or having faith in God. Knowing the unknown and being able to see things in a brighter way will definitely create a more superior lifestyle. Being able to navigate through tough times will undoubtedly assure a better outcome.

I truly enjoyed this weeks reading and I am looking forward to giving myself better grades as I continue on this incredible journey (that is only getting better).

Thank you.

Zander, R., Zander, B. The Art of Possibility. Harvard Business School Press. 2000.

Screenshot of Nancy's Blog

@ Nancy

I am always amazed at the positive outlook you bring to everything you do Nancy. No matter how hard we have had to work this past year in the EMDT program. You have always managed to put your best foot forward.   It is a well known saying that no matter where you go there you are, and no matter where you go, you bring your positive outlook and great attitude which can only be considered assets. I am sure that your classroom is an excellent place to learn.

Week 2: Comment #1

Kathleen's Blog

Minnesota hosts a technology conference every year, usually around December, the feature workshops on how technology is used in the classroom and also sessions on how this technology affects schools and the legal issues that may come along with them. I would like to take the things I’ve learned and been able to implement in my own classes and share them with the conference goers. I think that it is important to share your successes and failures in the classroom and open up a dialogue that can help you grow as a teacher as well.

Using technology to increase student literacy is something educators should be exploring more than we are. Kids are plugged in, wired - we need to help them gain the literacy skills they need to be successful in this world. Those skills include traditional skills and 21st century skills. My work with Full Sail has given me the tools to take what I’ve learned and done and share it with others so they too can create a technology rich environment to enhance student learning and engagement.

Screen Capture of Kathleen's Blog

@Kathleen

I found this post super helpful, I also live in Minnesota, and because my CBR project is very specific to my work environment (Educational technology but how to educate workers who support classroom technology.) and there doesn't seem to be a lot of Professional Organizations geared towards this (although maybe I am typing the wrong words into Google, you know how it is.) Anyway this gave me another option so thank you.

Week 2: Reading The Art of Possibility

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To be honest I  am still unpacking this week's reading in my head, trying to assimilate it with my own philosophical view of life, the universe, and everything. (Which is not copyrighted because it is a title.)   The underlying gist of the Art of Possibility, is that we are the creators of our own lives and as creators we need to make sure that we are constantly thinking outside the box of our own assumptions and that we are not "painting ourselves into a corner."
In this week's readingt the author's discuss three concepts, that will assist the reader in finding their own way out of the corner/box. They are: It's All Invented, Stepping Into a Universe of Possibility, and Everyone Gets an A. Of these three concepts I had the most difficulty with the last one, as I read it, because I believe in holding people accountable for their actions, and if you are giving people an A it seems like you are giving them carte blanche. However as I read the chapter I came to understand that giving someone an A does not mean you are giving them carte blanche, it means that no matter what difficulties you might have with them that you always do your best to work with them and understand their point of view.

In general I agree with a lot of what Benjamin Zander, and Rosamund Stone Zander discuss in The Art of Possibility. I am a firm believer in the benefits of meta-cognition, or thinking about thinking for those of you who don't dig five dollar words. I am specifically talking about thinking about the way that  you think about things, which can be quite difficult. I would like to think that I am more often successful than not, but it is hard to rate ones own ability at being objective.