Just got back from four days in Houston - A.K.A. The Surface of the Sun!!! - at the ASCD summer conference. If you read my early post, you know the trip down was less than stellar - thanks to no air conditioning on the bus and a heat index of 105. There were some other issues with wifi, etc...that if you follow me on Twitter, you're more than familiar with (Hilton.Meh.). So...here's what I learned - some serious, some sarcastic, some silly - from my trip.

1. Air conditioning in Texas in summer is non-negotiable. From the bus to the unit in our room that would turn off every 2 hours (try getting up at 2 and 4 and 6 to turn it back on!) we almost roasted - then you could knock icicles off our noses in the workshops! Someone's gonna get sick with those extremes! Lesson: All things need BALANCE!

2. Almost every session I went in used the same terminology and definitions for teacher/student experience level regardless of the topic (assessment, differentiation, etc.). Novice, Apprentice, Practitioner, Expert. And they all knew that to reach the next level (whatever that means according to your topic) a Novice must acquire skills, an Apprentice must apply those skills, a Practitioner must assimilate those skills into daily use, and an Expert must adapt them for new conditions. It was refreshing to have a common language and scale to use as a self-evaluative tool and a reference. Lesson: A common vocabulary is ESSENTIAL when aligning curriculum, training teachers, or doing just about any darn thing else.

3. A lot of the sessions I went to talked about feedback - giving rapid, valid feedback to your students so they understand...and they emphasized using that feedback for YOURSELF as a self-evaluative tool. Look at what your kids are doing...how does that reflect on your instruction? What are you nailing? What are you missing? Too often that step is completely left out - we look at what the kids are doing and miss the critical connection between teacher and student. We ignore the cause and effect of our instruction. We do not take responsibility for doing what we want kids to do - learning! We have to constantly reevaluate ourselves using our classroom data to tweak, revamp, start over, improve. NO ONE is so good that they can't improve. And every student, every class, every day is different...so resting on your laurels will only work for about 5 minutes...then it's time to reassess and readjust. This is something teachers don't know how to do, won't do, etc. And all of the research they've projected on those countless screens on countless PowerPoint slides tells us that when the teacher improves his/her skills - the kids improve too! Why wouldn't we want to get better? If you're happy with mediocrity - you're in the wrong profession. Lesson: Instead of just pointing to the students, we have to look at ourselves, our methods, our procedures, our instruction and always be in a state of evaluation, reflection, and IMPROVEMENT! No one is perfect, everyone can AND SHOULD improve.

4. We need to look at what skills and knowledge are implied when looking at our standards. We spend so much time worrying about what we have to "get through" to make it to the end of the year that we don't pay attention to what implied knowledge or skills are hidden in a standard. Does the standard imply that your student knows how to take notes, use a dictionary, research and evaluate information on the web? If it does, you better make sure you give them the background knowledge they need to be successful on that standard REGARDLESS of whether or not they should "already know this." Lesson: Meet your kids where they are not where they should be. Look for potential stumbling blocks built into your standards/curriculum through implied skills and knowledge - and then remove those stumbling blocks for your students so you can level the field and give everyone the same chance to be successful.

5. Dr. Robyn Jackson, of Mindsteps and author of Never Work Harder Than Your Students had a fantastic session that made me dig her book out of the incredibly large pile of professional reading I've been meaning to get through and start highlighting!  # 4 came from that session. During that 2 hour workshop (not long enough) the first concept that she addressed that struck home with me was the idea of currency - we all deal in our own currency. We have "things" or "capital" that we are willing trade our currency (time, effort, etc.) for. It's our jobs as teachers to find ways to turn our content into capital that students are willing to trade their currency for. We do this through relevancy, technology, interest-based learning, relationship-building, etc. How much do you think your kids are willing to trade for a lecture and a PowerPoint? About as much as YOU are probably - and that's not much! Get her book - read about it. Good stuff here. Lesson: If what you have is not valuable to your students, they will not trade currency for it. You have to give your content value that the kids are willing to trade their time and effort for. (And yes...that really IS part of our job!)

6. The second lesson I learned from Dr. Robyn Jackson is the concept of setting the floor. We set goals and often those goals are the ceiling - they are the ultimate pinnacle that we (or our students) will strive for. So in setting the ceiling we tell our students how HIGH we want them to go. But by not setting a floor - we're saying that there is NO cut off for how LOW they can go. Dr. Jackson reminds us to set the floor - we will ALL score at least a 75%. That lets kids know the minimum acceptable score - and allows them to go beyond it (no ceiling!). Don't let a zero be your floor...give them a minimum standard and then let them go above and beyond that. Lesson: When setting goals, be sure to set them so that a minimum acceptable performance is clear - do not let them have one target for achievement and NO LIMITS for failure. Set the floor!

7. Bob Marzano had tons to say that was inspiring and the reactions from attendees were depressing. The first point he made in an afternoon session about school reform was that change has to be systemic to be successful. The teacher sitting next to me, who'd played solitaire on her palm during the session, heard this and said - "well, I might as well leave because I am just a teacher and change has to come from admin and they're not here and not on board." So she packed up and left. At the first break a fourth of the room left and didn't come back. (Okay people, if you haven't read his work and you came in because you know he's famous...wrong reason to attend a session and a waste of your district's money). I believe in the power of one person to affect change...but I believe if change is going to REALLY occur at a school/district level that it has to be systemic. It must be wholly supported and EXPECTED by administration. It needs to be modeled, discussed, debriefed, celebrated, etc. Teachers must be trained and supported and HELD ACCOUNTABLE for implementation. Teachers that refuse should be helped to find a new place to work that is better suited to their beliefs and values. No more closing your door and doing it your way. We stand or fall together. If you can't hang, we'll help you find another job somewhere better suited to your belief/value systems. This is true of administrators too. There have to be some well-thought out non-negotiables. Lesson: You have to WALK THE TALK. Systemic change or reform will only occur with consistency, support, expectation, and accountability. All for one and one for all.

8. Assessment should not be a snapshot, but a photo album. We need more than just a test to see where kids are, what they understand, how they process. We need to give teachers and students the time to build progress portfolios that track mastery over time. We are slaves to the schedule, the budget, and to time and they reign supreme over the one thing we SAY should be paramount - MASTERY. I understand that this sort of shift will not occur overnight (Marzano says 3-5 years) and that it is an unpopular ideology amongst the schedule makers, bottom line watchers, and pragmatic coin counters. I also understand that what we are doing and the system we are using is not keeping pace with the needs of our students. Lesson: Mastery is a process that needs to be supported by data that has been gathered from multiple assessments over time. Now we need to give people the tools and the time to do it right. The end goal is the same - Mastery - the road is just less traveled but may make all the difference.

9. We must teach our students, teachers, and administrators that it's okay to be a Novice in something. Identifying where you are on a scale is just finding your location...like your location on a map. Just because YOU ARE HERE - doesn't mean you can't move to somewhere else. It is not a judgement or a condemnation...it is a LOCATION. And like any location...you can move from it. Let's just make sure we're moving forward or...like "Weezy" we're movin' on up! Lesson: Take the judgemental aspect out of admiting where we are - and make it all about finding out out how to move to the next level and providing the tools and support to get us there.

10. On a personal note: The lack of decent wifi (or enough power outlets) was an incredible lesson for me in differentiation. My learning style is that of DIGITAL PROCESSING! I need to twitter, blog, voicethread, google, and embed my experiences in order to process them, make connections, get feedback and commentary, and find value in what I've learned. ASCD, for all it's student-focused ideas and forward thinking in curriculum and teaching, is lightyears behind in differentiating for it's Digital Processors. I was uncomfortable having to resort to pen and paper rather than to tweet my notes (all of which can be found here). I was frustrated by lack of power, lack of stable wifi, and by having to pay $10.95 a night to access the internet in my room (I really hate hotels that do that - if the Days Inn can give me free wifi - why can't the Hilton?). But I digress...for all their talk of differentiation, ASCD failed to meet my learning style needs or provide an environment for learning that was relevant to me. Now - I'm an Ed Tech geek, no denying that. I live on my electronics....I'm not ashamed to admit it. I am ALSO exactly like most of the students you will teach. If you can't hold MY interest and I'm here on purpose...with a desire to learn...because you will not let me process/remix/mash/post/and collaborate in a way that is relevant to my world, my background knowledge, and my learning style needs....HOW do you expect teachers to do it with their students? I realize that this is a rather lengthy diatribe over patchy wifi and an inability to Twitter - but it is so much more than that. It strikes right at the heart of the "Power Down" argument - that we force our kids to take an evolutionary step backwards to learn. It doesn't work.

Lesson: If  Ed-Techers want to really make a difference and you want to see integration with academic rigor and technology as a true learning tool...you went to the wrong conference this week. NECC was probably phenomenal and I'm profoundly jealous that I couldn't be there - but I am also grateful. As I sat shoulder to shoulder with more district/university administrators than I'd ever met at any tech conference, I realized that THIS is our battleground. If we want to integrate, THIS is where we must infiltrate! It is necessary and wonderful to meet with like-minded individuals and learn from each other, celebrate successes and become inspired to take those successes and make them happen in our own corners of the world. But the real battle is in conferences like ASCD where curriculum and best practices are being discussed, developed, and disseminated to the movers and shakers, the decision-makers. This is where we have to make our presense felt, to bring our tools and technology, to bring these subjects into the global conversation from the very seat of their power. It's time to bring curriculum up to speed and for technology to dig in deeper. No more fluff, no more enrichment. If we are going to really teach the Whole Child we need to make our voices heard, demand sytemic changes that embrace technology integration on a deeper level (bye-bye internet recess) and we are going to have to collaboratively work with the leaders in the field to make sure that  we can integrate to educate!

And....

I'm spent.

I'm a little bit freaked out to be honest with you...because if we are going to get to where we are going to be expected to be...we'd better get moving...from the Legislature in Austin to the livingrooms of our towns. There's no time to waste...and no money at the moment. Some serious changes are going to have to happen. Big changes...in attitude, in priorities, in funding, in professional development, in staffing...big changes.

If you've not read the Long Range Plan for Technology - you can do so here. If you have anything to do with education, this is going to effect you.

After I waded through the first 15 pages of who did what and who's who...sorry, I just can't bring myself to care - let's get to the meat of the matter, shall we? - I was a little frustrated.  I strongly believe every one of these people deserves recognition...but can we put it at the end? Could we put the relevant and interesting info up front? Guess I am a lot like our students that way. Don't build me a clock - just tell me what time it is! I don't have to know how it got made...I just need to know what it says.

But, I digress...

One of the sections that really caught my eye was the one describing 2020 roles:

"Learners
All learners engage in individualized, real-world learning experiences supported by ubiquitous access to modern digital tools; robust anywhere, anytime connectivity; and dynamic, diverse learning communities. They access, evaluate, manage, and use information in a variety of media formats from a wide array of sources, and they create knowledge, apply it across disciplines and creative endeavors, and purposefully communicate that knowledge, and the results of its use, to diverse audiences. Learning experiences take place in authentic settings and require collaboration and management of complex processes. These experiences involve critical thinking, global and local social responsibility, complex decision-making, and sophisticated problem-solving. Learners develop the self-directed learning skills and attitudes that enable them to learn effectively for a lifetime of global citizenship.

Educators
All educators, PreK-12 through higher education, are well prepared throughout their careers to use current digital tools, digital resources, and modern, effective teaching-learning processes to mentor, monitor, and motivate students. They leverage the technology and information-rich learning landscape of 2020 to provide flexible, seamless, and learner-centered environments that meet the individual and diverse needs of all students and communicate to learners and parents progress toward learning targets. They participate in communities of learning and inquiry, as co-learners and researchers, with students, colleagues, and other experts to ensure their own development and professional learning as both accomplished education professionals and content experts. All educators contribute to the education profession by informing policy, recruiting, and supporting colleagues, and they represent the profession positively within and outside of education.

Leaders
All education leaders create and secure adequate support for innovative, flexible, and responsive technology-rich environments and services to maximize learning and optimize teaching. They develop a shared vision for world-class learning in all instructional settings – face to face or virtual and for technology’s role in achieving that vision. They engage in data-rich planning for and evaluation of learning and management systems that leverage resources and opportunities throughout the community and around the world. Leaders provide and demand participation in sustained, relevant, engaging, and timely professional development that enables teachers and other instructional personnel to provide leadership for learning in 2020. Education leaders provide stewardship for universal education.

Infrastructure
An industry-standard infrastructure system supports all students, educators, and education leaders by enabling high quality access to learning, communications, and management systems anytime and anywhere. It ensures access to appropriate technologies, quality and relevant information, and effective just-in-time technical support for students, educators, and other stakeholders. Interoperability, accessibility, and ongoing upgrades as needs and standards change are characteristics of the infrastructure system for learning. Education infrastructure is benchmarked against other education entities in the state and the nation and against successful and progressive commercial information-based enterprises.

Well if THAT isn't enough to get you excited and nauseous all at the same time...

It sounds like a great educational technology fairytale. The problem is that we have to make this fairytale a reality. And THAT is where I get worried. I'm not an overly negative person, despite blogging to the contrary. I like to consider all the pitfalls and roadblocks so I can try to prepare a way over or around them. I like to try to think of what the naysayers are going to naysay...and come up with a solution, rebuttal or response. While that can frustrate some people I work with, I think it's foolhardy to charge headlong into situations without a firm idea of what's lurking around the corner (under the stairs, in the lake, in basement). If we don't look at potential problems, we're no better than the dumb blonde in the slasher films who runs UPSTAIRS to get away from the killer....or goes into the creepy woods alone to see what that noise was. Just not smart. It makes me think of Miguel Gulin's post on Web 2.0 - we have to think about sustainability, about maintenance, training, implementation, replicability, supportablity,  and effectiveness before we commit.

I'm not saying we shouldn't commit to this vision of 2020 educational technology and our roles in it. It's a fine vision - one that needs to happen. But is that all it is? A vision, a fairy tale? Are our state entities going to actually do what needs to be done to make this happen? Are they going to unfreeze their contributions to us (sitting where they sat back in 2006 - the start of phase one of this vision)? Are they going to pony up the money so that districts can have even a slight chance of making this vision a reality? Doesn't look likely.

So while I thrilled at all of the exciting verbage about engaged learners, global citizenship, professional development models for 24/7 teacher access to improvement, and more...I'm a bit bitter. I feel like the State (as an ambiguous entity) is being hypocritical.  We must produce, perform, grow! We must advance, improve, engage, and compete globally! But we cannot do these things without funding, and as it is not coming, we are choking back - cutting loose - letting go - and laying off.

The plagues of Austin have struck. The State-imposed drought is upon us. Before long, there will be no more straw...and then no more chaff. What then shall we make bricks from Pharaoh?