If you aren't embarrassed by your first attempt at something, you started too late.

I haven't written a blog post in a while because I was worrying about whether or not it was appropriate for me to be writing about the topics I feel strongly about. That's a silly thought, why shouldn't I? I was pulled out of my mindset on that topic by a dinnertime conversation with colleagues I met via Twitter, and then face-to-face at the California League of Schools Technology and Common Core conference. Someone brought up the idea about how your first shot at something shouldn't be your best if you are always seeking to improve, and I realized I am not going to get better unless I put myself out there!

At the  conference, educators came together from all over CA and surrounding states to talk tech. A theme of the sessions I attended was to allow productive failure. Debbie Silver kicked this idea off with a hilarious talk on helping support student success by building relationships and having high expectations.  Her graphic about how success happens was a good reminder: 

Debbie's Website has resources for parents and educators.

We were reminded by Jennifer Magiera that some people are the Emmas in this video, and some people are the husbands. Sometimes your role may switch from Emma to the husband depending on the subject. If you are in a leadership position, it's important to remember that you need to support the Emmas as well as the husbands.

Another theme at several sessions was allowing students freedom to express their learning through open-ended products, or products that had personal meaning. These are some of the examples I heard:

• After studying the stages of grief, have students choose a song that talks about death and find evidence to support your opinion on which stage of grief the song is about (high school Health class). 
• Students studying the idea of aesthetics came up with a question and hypothesis about what makes someone attractive. They did interviews and Internet research to gather data and had to compose a video explaining their findings. The students often ended up focusing on a feature they themselves didn't possess, and it led to some really intense reflection.
• At Kids Talk Radio, students are discussing the future occupation of Mars. They are designing vehicles, robots, and living spaces to help scientists gather ideas. 
• One of Jennifer Magiera's students became interested in coding and was trying to drum up interest at the school, so he made this video. (Don't freak out about the Chromebooks swinging through the air!) Coding Video
• The session I presented was called: Digital Publishing- How do I Teach That? One of my messages was to not focus on the next cool tool, but to think about what any tool could get students to do. Tech tools should be like a blank cardboard box. They should have unlimited possibilities to support the greatest student success. Here is what the participants said digital publishing was going to look like in their classrooms or jobs when they went back to work:

Holly Clark talked about doing the adjacent possible, meaning: figure out what the next best thing is to move our learning forward, and jump on it! Blockbuster didn't figure this out like Netflix did, so this happened:

She said that kids are most excited about tech in their classrooms because of three reasons: 

1. They will have greater access to information

2. They will be connected to others

3. Their classroom would have variety

I met several Teachers who were on Special Assignment for their districts, several of whom had a technology focus in their title. That would be an awesome job. Also several people who were Instructional Tech Coordinators for their district, meaning they get out and instruct teachers on the use of tech tools in their classrooms. The majority of districts represented were using Google Apps, and a few went the Microsoft 360 route. Some were iPad schools, others had Chromebooks, several high schools had MacBooks, and a few were BYOD. Everyone was open to sharing what was going on and what their struggles were. It was validating to hear similarities from all over the state.

I went to a few sessions on STEM and NGSS where the conversation centered around whether or not to make the move to Next Generation Science Standards, or not. Many teachers were moving ahead in the exploration phase so they would be prepared when the district gave the go ahead. (Not many districts have given the official go-ahead). They shared this website where you can find your path through the standards by clicking categories. The website will then show activities that are aligned with what part of the NGSS you are exploring. The Concord Consortium

At the end of the conference, I left with several new friends, and a lot of ideas brewing. My mood coming back up the hill was: Be More Dog! (Have fun, take risks, and enjoy life)

Until next time Monterey