Media: Guiding the Future Innovators

Five hundred years ago a young German monk walked from his monastery to the door of a church castle to nail a poster with ninety-five statements. The door of the church acted as a kind of public bulletin board. Luther's ideas spread across Europe, speeded by the recently invented printing press. Luther inspired many people longing for change. Changes in society are often accelerated by individuals who use technology to create inspiring passionate content, communicate effectively, think critically and in collaboration with others. These are the same skills we must develop in our students if they are going to be effective in making changes in the civil rights movements of our time.

During my childhood my friends and I met at the park to shoot hoops, wrote letters to pen pals, and occasionally chatted over a good old fashion phone. My cousin lived 100 miles away. To keep in touch we created mix tapes. I'd spend hours recording short clips of our favorite music combined with our investigative reporting of our mysterious neighbor whom we nicknamed Mr. Jolly Rancher or a nighttime journey deep into the Green Mist of Chino Hills. Those tapes took a long time to make and took awhile to deliver. Due to the cost of postage we usually waited till we saw each other during the holidays to exchange tapes.


Today technology is ubiquitous. As I write this blog my daughter is Facetimig with her cousin. An instant connection. Facetime and other videotelephony technologies provide an instant connection with the world around us. In business, meeting room reservations are no longer needed, coordinating around travel time and other hassles are eliminated. These technologies bring many opportunities, but also many challenges. Our students and staff need to develop new skills to navigate this digital world.

This graphic, commonly referred to as the "Turtle" is an excellent visualization of how the California English Language Development Standards and the California Common Core State Standards are integrated and interdependent. The visual also speaks to the importance of us as educators to develop the 21st century communication skills of our students. Guiding our students to make meaning, effective expression are essential skills for college, career and civic life in our global society must be our passion if we are to survive as a society.

In "The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity" George Curos uses O2 video (below) to illustrate how a decision can lead to innovation. A line from the video states "look at the world it's amazing. We have the world at outlet fingertips, the ability to connect and create with people around the world through so many different mediums." Curos contrasts schools who make the choice to focus on all the things students can't do with technology: cyber bullying and digital safety instead of all the things are students can do with technology (connect the world).

What is the culture of your school or district? What decisions will you make tomorrow that will impact lives and change futures for years to come?

Experience The Difference

Today I visited Superior Pool Supplies in Chino to pick up some Silca sand for my sand filter. This was my first time at the store.  I was having a very casual morning, not a lot planned for the day. After a quick glance at some of the pool equipment I grabbed my spot in the checkout line. The cashier immediately looked up at me and as he simultaneously continued to ring up the customer in front of him said, "Good morning, I'm sorry for the wait, I'll be with you in just a moment." I was a startled. I hadn't even been waiting for a moment and didn't think I gave the impression I was in any rush. As I waited I glanced up at a large banner strung out over the cashier that said, "Experience The Difference." I didn't give the sign much more thought at the time. In a matter of moments I was to the front of the line. Eric, said "Welcome to Superior, please help yourself to a free drink," as he pointed to the fountain drink machine on a nearby counter. I explained my need for Silca sand and he processed the order. After finishing up he again offered the free drinks and let me know he'd bring the sand out to my car. "Out to my car and a free drink?", I thought. Wow that's quite generous. Eric was treating me like I was CEO of a large company. At Home Depot I need to haul it out to my truck on my own with no drink offer. Since he offered a second time, I figured I might as well take him up on his offer for a free drink. Filling up my drink I noticed a picture of a guy holding the "Experience The Difference" banner at the top of a mountain. I couldn't help to think back to the way Eric made me feel like I was a CEO. Eric hustled to the back room to grab the bag and met me at my truck just as I arrived with my soda. As Eric rolled up, I pulled down my tailgate for him to lift the bag in. When he was done I gathered the nerve to ask him for some more details about the banner and Experience The Difference Brand. Eric shrugged and explained it was part of the company culture to make each interaction with guest the best experience possible. I also discovered he is an accomplished underground musician. He composes his own music and publishes on sound cloud. Check out his stuff here: https://m.soundcloud.com/phantomdog/temptationEbec Sound Cloud

The visit to Superior Pool Supply inspired me to reflect on how our department can create an amazing  experience for the staff, parents and community we serve.

Digital Badging To Inspire Student Success

The Rubidoux high school football team is on a roll. This team has already made history by going 10-0 for the first time since 1981 to win the Mountain Valley League Championship. They are currently ranked #1 in division 10 and have won their first two playoff games. Tomorrow night they play in the CIF Semi-Finals against St. Anthony's of Long Beach.

In a recent interview (min 12:56) Head Coach Patrick Thompson and his team discuss the sledge hammer helmet stickers they earn if complete their assignments during the game. Players earn the stickers by making tackles, getting an interception, and completing their individual game assignments. Each position has a unique standard and criteria they must meet to earn their sticker. Every Monday, the team has a meeting to give out their Sledge Hammer Award Stickers. Players proudly display the stickers on their helmets for all to see.

The stickers reminded me of the opportunity for digital badging in education to motivate learners who otherwise may not be motivated by traditional report cards and transcripts. @dajbelshaw defines digital badges as "useful moments of transition. They are human-scale way to credential knowledge, skills, and behaviors using the web". Digital badges, like the Sledge Hammer stickers, can be showcased to a larger audience. The Sledge Hammer stickers are worn on helmets for everyone in the stands and on the field to see. Digital badges can be showcased through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Another similarity is, like the Sledge Hammer stickers, each digital badge has a unique standard and set of criteria before the badge is earned. The badges form a digital resume.

In Jurupa we've started our digital badging journey by encouraging staff to earn Leading Edge Badges, Google Apps for Education Badges, Common Sense Certified Educator and others.

We've created our own badges for staff that complete education technology staff development.

Other districts are providing badges for attendance, behavior, work habits, meeting math standards, developing career plans, fulfilling college-entrance requirements and scoring proficiency on state exams. The possibilities for digital badging in education are endless:

Credit: @bryanmmathers, visual thinkery and @dajbelshaw

Time - Embracing Life's Challenges

According to Cortana, the intelligent personal assistant created by Microsoft for Windows 10, between 50 and 70 billion cells die each day due to apoptosis in the average human adult. The average person takes between 3,000 to 4,000 steps per day. On average person takes about 16 breaths per minute and 23,040 breaths a day. We do a lot in a day. Even some things we aren't even aware of.
This past summer we took a road trip up Highway 395 to Oregon. The long drive gave me time to unwind and free my mind.

Fossil Falls, covered in volcanic rock.

Randsburgh, Ca. Road doesnt't go straight through so they don't get a lot of visitors.

Manzanar War Camp, a dark time in U.S. History.

Ghost Town of Bodie, Ca.

As we visited these locations I continued to think about time. How do the people of Randsburg spend their time as they wait for visitors. The time it took for the fossil falls to form. The long winters residents of Bodie faced and of course the time Japanese Americans spent in the interment camps.

On our return to California we visited the Oregon Caves and Alcatraz. Once again I wondered how the prisoners of Alcatraz, especially those in solitary confinement, spent their time. How long did it take the caves of Oregon to form?

Alcatraz

Oregon Caves, One of the darkest places on earth. 

Ultimately the trip helped me to think about my life and the lives of our students. Many of them have had one or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Adverse childhood experiences are potentially traumatic events that can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being. These experiences range from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse to parental divorce or incarceration of a parent or guardian. A lot of research is now being done to study the connection of ACEs with negative behavioral and health outcomes (ie. alcoholism and depression). I would have to say I cannot remember any ACEs in my life. I know I'm extremely fortunate. Life isn't always filled with roses. All of us will face challenges and tragedy in our lives. I had no idea that when I returned from the trip our department would be rocked with life's challenges. When these events occur we naturally ask why? Another approach is to ask what? What are we to do with this challenge or situation that has come in our lives? Could it be that we are going through this difficult time for another reason? Perhaps to make us stronger, to teach us a lesson, to help us grow. Whether it is a colleague going through a difficult time or our students I think it's important we embrace the challenge. The tragedy or difficult is that consumes us for the moment is quite possible vital to our future, a critical lesson that we must learn. Possibly to help others, or to grow in our personal or professional lives.

Reflections on 15-16 School Year - All About People

One my favorite hobbies is hiking. @krysshayes had recently conquered Etiwanda Falls and it inspired me to take my family on the hike over Memorial Day weekend.

My wife (Felicia) and I studied Biological Sciences in college. Felicia took a Botany course and loves to identify plants along our hikes. My daughter Kaylee posed for this picture of the parasitic plant witches hair (Cuscuta). 

The three mile hike ends with a stream that cascades into a fall. As I watched the peaceful, cool water flow down to the thirsty ground below I reflected on the past school year. 

In education our chief goal is to impact lives and change futures. The projects, events, deployments and upgrades that have mattered the most have been the result of working with amazing individuals. I came across this video from Jerry McGuire that reminded me of this. 

Dale Carnegie gives some great advice on working with people in his classic book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People." 

1. Don't criticize, condemn or complain.

2. Give honest and sincere appreciation.

3. Become genuinely interested in other people. 

4. Smile

5. Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. 

8. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.

9. Talk in terms of the other person's interest.

I coach basketball for my kids (Kaylee - age 13, Jacob - age 8). This Saturday was the first Saturday in months that I've been able to sleep in. I spent the morning catching up on a verse that also reminded me of the importance of others in my life. 

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4. 

This year has been an amazing ride! My 7th grade English teacher Mr. Garcia told us, "Find a job that you love and you'll never work a day in your life." I love my job! I look forward to coming to work everyday to work with great people: @veronicajusd, @Jheckman, @edtechgypsy, @krysshayes, @pfordjusd, @joseramirezedu, @aalaniz, @nriverajusd, @jusddwhitman, @mgarciajusd, @netspecjusd, @matthahnjusd. Many more to list that I have time for at the moment. They mean a great deal to me. Their talents, passion and desire to give their best everyday for the students and community of Jurupa inspire me. 

#CUE16 - Day 2 and 3

#CUE16 Student Power Showcase

My CUE day 2 began with an inspiring keynote from Code.org CEO and Founder, Hadi Partovi. Hadi reminded attendees of America's proud future in inventing the computer and the need to continue to inspire the next generation of computer programmers. Hadi highlighted the new Inland Area Consortium with Code.org which includes Jurupa Unified.

Robert Craven, CTO for Tustin Unified shared the work he is doing to create a 1:1 deployment guide in partnership with CUE. Some of the key insights he shared was to use student, staff and parent surveys as well as infographics from Haiku and other platforms to show the benefits of going 1:1.

Next up was a student data and security session from Angela Larkin, Program Manager from Google. Highlights of the session included: 

• Students can view all personally identifiable information. 
• If Google did have a data breach (let's hope not!), the district would be responsible for notifying all students.

Coachella Valley USD's Darryl Adams, Michlelle Murphy and Israel Oliveros shared how their IT department has evolved with the California Standards and SBAC. These changes have lead them to focus more on customer service, operational effectiveness and ensuring that computer techs are aware of the California Standards so they can be better prepared to support teachers. 

My Friday ended with an amazing Inland Area CUE affiliate meeting. Ina Arbuckle's Jason Atkinson and Mira Loma Middle's Mary Ward received awards for their work with the Student Powered Showcase. The affiliate meeting was a great time to network with other like minded colleagues from the area. 

Day 2 ended with the annual JUSD CUE dinner. Our group is getting bigger every year. 

Saturday was an incredible day seeing JUSD students participate in the Student Powered Showcase. The event is designed to help us reflect on how students are learning by doing. This was a special year for JUSD as two projects from JUSD were chosen to participate. Temecula Unified was the only other district in Riverside County to have a presentation in the showcase. Way to go JUSD! JUSD was represented by a Sparki the robot project by Jason Atkinson's Ina students and Mary Ward's Mira Loma Middle students wind power project. Both were very impressive. Special thanks to our CBO Paula Ford @pfordjusd and our board trustee Mr. Robert Garcia @gamiroo1969 for making the trip out to support our students. 

Student Power at the CUE Student Powered Showcase.

#CUE16 Day 1

 @veronicajusd, @edtechgypsy, @joseramirezjusd, @richardsroom16 and I had a chance to discuss #JUSDdigitalgateway with @tomtorlakson.

My #CUE16 journey began with a pep talk from  @iamkidpresident who reminded us we were made to be awesome.

@pgilders shared how her staff is personalizing their learning by creating personal learning plan. Professional learning in her district is broad-based, inclusive of classified staff, geared to inspire passion, intentional. Many professional learning options were shared including virtual collaboration using Voxter and Skype. In her blog pgliders.com , Pam shares recommendations for those interested in Leadership, Education and 21st Century Learning. The biggest take away was to get out of our comfort zone.

Esther Kligman shared the power of multiple primary resources to help students gain a deeper understanding of history and the complexity of the past. 

Joanna Conrado, Teacher Tech Coach from Ballico-Cressey School District shared several strategies using Google resources to teach writing skills, promote collaboration and publish writing. Many of their resources including their CUE presentation can be found here.

Here's an example of how a teacher pushes out an image to students and then asks them to write what the character is thinking or saying. 

This was an example of a picture that was shared to help students develop character by asking them to describe who is in the picture using creative details. 



In my final session Jeremy Davis, executive director, Capistrano Unified, explained how they were able to deploy 24,000 chromebooks in 24 months (#24in24). Jeremy's homepage for all users of Chrome is a genius idea we will need to develop in Jurupa. As part of the initiative parents, students and teachers were surveyed to capture the impact of the tools (chromebooks) in the classrooms. Jeremy shared many inspiring quotes on failure include (FAIL=First Attempt In Learning).

My first day ended with a CTO focus group. As a group we discussed the challenges, opportunities and specific next steps the CDE can take to support our work. The main topics discussed included Data Privacy, Equity of Access, and Infrastructure. Some of the ideas from the brain trust included:

• Data Privacy Certification similar to the new mandated reporting and sexual harassment trainings. 
• Equity of Access - Susan McPeak is advocating for Internet For All Now. The homework gap is a reflection of the income divide and opportunity divide. Access delayed is access denied. Charter article regarding affordable internet. 
• Infrastructure - The Common Core Standards require more bandwidth than SBAC. We can't have one-time funding for devices and infrastucture. We need to develop a minimum bandwidth needed for CCSS (not just SBAC) and receive adequate funding.