Raventech Reveals

Bluntly stated, and with almost comedic dead pan, that line was delivered during a session on Web 2.0 tools and Social Media that I was presenting at the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools Annual NCAIS TECH conference a few weeks ago. The attendee, a development professional, was clearly struggling with the conversation that morning as it turned toward personal learning networks and the role that social media tools, like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook play in the lives of those who have succumbed to the allure of these trees of knowledge.

In that moment I certainly could have gone in a variety of directions with that comment; either looking to dismiss the question or prove a point. Rather, I gently offered the analogy that personal learning networks are simply the best of what the six degrees of separation has to offer. And while I probably did not do it justice at the time as I've reflected on that day I've come to realize that that is exactly the proper  way to address the doubting  Thomas who has yet to come to grips with why people blog, tweet, or update walls.

Why? If you stop to consider what it means to be part of a personal/professional learning network or as I prefer one’s “learning ecosystem”, you quickly realize that these ecosystems thrive because of four very distinct members. You have your contributors - who offer content, your connectors - who link people together, your lurkers - who take the knowledge and use it to better themselves without giving back and your casual passers-by – who fall between the contributors and lurkers. Without these four distinct and critical members any type of learning ecosystem would cease to exist and social media and P.L.N.’s are certainly no different.

Consider this; Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his book The Tipping Point “The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social skills.” The same holds true for learning ecosystems; where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole and without each individual member one’s own learning ecosystem would wither and die.

Therefore, the next time someone asks “who cares” when asking about social media and learning ecosystems make sure you tell them that while they might not, their best friend’s brother’s wife’s colleague’s sister just might find what you are talking about important to them. And if that’s the case make sure to remind them to pass it on…they just might make a difference.

Just about a year ago today I was returning from one of my all-time favorite cities, The Big Apple, after attending NAIS’ 2008 Annual Conference. For those that know me well NAIS ‘08 was a life changing event for me professionally. The speakers, the sessions, the ideas and the connections I made have served me well this past year and have dramatically changed how I view that which I do.

Today, as I reflect on the past year and consider how NAIS 2009 has impacted me, I am reminded of a quote from Bill Gates’ recent 2009 TED Talk in which he noted, “Brilliant people who care and draw other people in can make as much progress as they need to.”

Of course, Bill Gates was talking about his philanthropic efforts to eradicate Malaria but his words got me thinking – and isn’t that the point of great conferences - what is it about attending conferences that, whether they be local, regional or national, help educators progress? What is it about getting together at these events that helps us move forward?

First and foremost conferences should challenge our thinking. Through keynote speakers from NAIS ‘08 like Daniel Pink, Sir Ken Robinson, and Ian Jukes, to this year’s speakers Dan Heath, Michelle Rhee, Guy Kawasaki and Oprah Winfrey we are exposed to brilliant people who draw other people in. But that is only half of the equation. The other half is those people who help us make as much progress as we need to.

How is the brought to bear?

Certainly one could argue that having such a high level of talented speakers that are incredibly good at drawing others in at a national conference should be fulfilling enough. I would challenge, however, that it goes much deeper……

Consider this – throughout NAIS ‘09 there was an incredibly powerful back channel of high level sharing and thinking happening during the three days in Chicago. From the live blogging done by myself and Sarah Hanawald to the continual stream of tweets (#nais09) during the conference from folks like Antonio Viva, Sam Morris, Matt Scully, Liz Davis, Jonathan E. Martin, Kerri Richardson, Michael Roguero, Karen from NYC, David Bill, Phillip Cook, Lorrie Jackson, to those who participated from afar like Vinnie Vrotny, Alex Ragone, Peter Baron, Steve Ritchie, Demetri Orlando, Bill Campbell and still others who reaped the benefits of this constant flow of knowledge quietly, this year’s conference was truly a marriage of:

- REFLECTION IN REAL TIME -

So what is the point? I would challenge everyone involved in education to consider how curricular innovation can be achieved through the use of real-time reflection as shared with others. I am not quite sure how one would accomplish such a lofty aspiration. What I am certain of, however, is that my PLN is full of “Brilliant people who care and draw other people in” and with their help I know we will “make as much progress as we need to.”

Back in August 2008, as we began the new school year, I gave a short presentation to our faculty and staff on the challenge of change. The reason for the presentation was during that summer we rolled out a new website and a new campus wide database in one fell swoop.

Going in I knew there would be many challenges associated with such wholesale change on a school campus. Perhaps, however, being the ever optimist that I am, I did not foresee how greatly challenge and change were intertwined.

Since last August I have thought a great deal about how challenge and change are ever present in our lives and I have concluded that these words have a mutually exclusive and symbiotic relationship; one cannot exist without the other.

If you look closely at the words CHANGE and CHALLENGE you will see that CHANGE actually borders CHALLENGE at all times. Without exception, you cannot have challenge without change.

CHALLENGE

So, you might you ask, how can two words have a symbiotic relationship? I fully believe CHANGE and CHALLENGE share an interdependent and mutually beneficial relationship although that relationship, at best, is strained; filled with conflict, hurdles, and barriers.

So how can one impose change and deal with the challenges that exist?

First, in order for one to move successfully from CHALLENGE to CHANGE one must remove the L.L.E.’s which impede progress:

Lethargic; Those who are indifferent or lazy

Luddites; Those unwilling or incapable of moving forward

…who are…

Entrenched; Those who are stuck in one place

When I say remove, I am not referring to people (although at times that may be necessary) but rather I refer to those ideals that prevent a critical mass from occurring which clearly is necessary for meaningful change in real time.

Conversely, and here is where the symbiosis occurs by the way, one cannot experience a CHALLENGE without CHANGE either. The difference is that you must add a different set of L.L.E.’s back into the equation in order to move past the challenge and be successful in your change initiative. Those L.L.E’s are:

Life-Long

Learners

…who are…

Enthusiastic;

So, the next time you are faced with a challenge remember that something; a person, a situation, a time, a place, etc. must change in order for your challenge to subside. But also know that when you have to change there will always be challenge involved in the process.

Comments, as always, are welcome!

Regardless of your political beliefs nary a fellow could argue that President Obama penned what could be considered the seven most critical words spoken during his inaugural address.

Why those seven words? For me, those seven words are the key to economic reform in this country. They are the key to political reform in this country. But more critical than any other they are the key to education reform in this country.

We, and by we I mean any administrator, faculty member or student committed to 21st Century Learning, should rally around those seven words. We should use them in our schools. We should use them in our conversations with our Heads and principals, our faculty and students, our parents and boards.

Those seven words are the quintessential point, the one true arrow aimed at the heart of reform. For me, they hold the key to this country’s education system achieving its goal of strengthening the system….one public school at a time; one private school at a time; one university at a time.

In the weeks and months ahead I am certain that President Obama’s inaugural address will be reviewed, dissected, and analyzed. However, as the days from inauguration to Presidency are defined let us not forget what we can accomplish in our lives and schools “when imagination is joined to common purpose.”