Over the Pond and….

Hi, it’s Miguel again.

Gee, this is fun. I feel like I’m writing on another teacher’s blackboard when they’re not looking. It’s creepy.

Anyways, thought I’d share that Dave Cormier (of Dave and Jeff EdTechTalk and WorldBridges fame (how do they have time for that?)) has graciously invited the Over the Pond folks–Wes Fryer, Darren Kuropatwa, Ewan McIntosh–to join them for an EdTechTalk some future Sunday. How exciting! If you have some suggestions for topics, please speak up and offer them!

Dave and Jeff recently had Will Richardson on with a fascinating conversation. Will shared that some of the big impediments include time and fear of disruptive technologies. Yet, at the end of the conversation, Will found himself offering few solutions. I could hear it in his voice, he was a bit disappointed about that…as are we all. It’s like, “Man, I have this awesome tool that can rock your world,” and there’s not only dis-interest, there’s active rejection. What formula can you share, O Wise Bloggers, that will help others transform their world?

It’s at that point that you realize that while you may be an expert in THIS thing, you’re not sure how to bring about the changes with everything else. How do you deal with that? What are the solutions?

To develop solutions, we really need to the doctors of education to speak up. I sense that they know the answers but don’t say anything…they’re wiser than that and it would embroil them in too many changes…not enough time, then, to publish or perish.

In my educational leadership studies, when I read about the diffusion of innovation research, concerns-based adoption model (CBAM), I’m struck by the fact that we ALREADY KNOW what needs to be done to get people to adopt innovations. But every situation is different, requires modifications on the fly. What we need is a course for change agents on how to bring about radical transformations in their work environments.

IF YOU ARE NOT RISKING YOUR JOB, YOU ARE NOT DOING YOUR JOB.

I like what Martin Luther said, and, of course, I’m going to take it out of context. He said, “Sin boldly….” I like to interpret this as, “Go ahead and screw up, ’cause God is bigger than that and can pull you out of the hole you dug yourself into.” Well, Life is bigger than your job. Go ahead, risk it and be willing to lose the job to do the right thing for the organization. 9 out of 10, it will work to your benefit. I know, I’ve suffered the 1 and the 9, and know.

When you decide to become a leader–and that’s what we’re all doing out here, by advocating for Read/Write Web tools in schools–you have to be willing to risk failure. There’s no faking putting yourself out there. You either do it…or you don’t. Like the story that goes, you can’t jump a 20 foot chasm in two 10 foot jumps….

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On this day..

• Storychasing in the Heart of Oklahoma Cherokee Country – 2011
• Hugo Chavez urges Fidel Castro to join Twitter – 2010
• Learn to draw better (for free) using Art Snacks videos – 2010
• Slidecast of Part 2 of 2: Storychasing – Empowering Students as Digital Witnesses – 2009
• A ready-made slideshow of great education quotations – 2009
• Slidecast of Part 1 of 2: Storychasing – Empowering Students as Digital Witnesses – 2009
• Exemplary digital stories by educators in Stilwell, Oklahoma – 2009
• The joy of data in the clouds – 2008
• Good thoughts from Carl Honore – 2007
• Metacognition – 2006