We had a George Couros (@gcouros), a friend of #sd36learn who visits our district regularly, come as a guest to help facilitate the blogging session.  During the session, we were challenged to reflect upon and share our answers to a number of questions.  You can see these questions and a storify on each of the answers here on fellow passionate educator Joe Tong’s blog. (@teacherTong).

Our final challenge was to answer the following questions:

Why did you become an educator?  

What do you want your legacy to be?

• So, why did I become an educator?

Looking back, when I was younger, I would never have believed I would be able to accomplish what I have accomplished thus far in my life.  I never thought it would be possible for someone with my background to be able to accomplish what I have.

While I can truly say I have enjoyed every job I had, including flipping hamburgers at Burger King in Grade 11,  filling donuts at Tim Horton’s in Grade 12, and another 8 years of serving customers at Boston Pizza and ABC Family Restaurant. But, I never thought I would find a career that I was truly passionate about. A career where I could truly make a difference each and every day in the lives (and future) of children and the educators who support and nurture their learning.

Growing up, for me, school was a safe place for me to be. I spent a great deal of time in and around the school during after-school hours. I saw school, education, if you will, as an opportunity to move forward, to find my way (a place no one in my family had).  For me, school signified hope. Possibility. A break of a cycle.

I wanted to make a difference in the lives of kids.

I wanted to be a part of a school where kids could come to school and have a positive experience.

I wanted school to provide an opportunity for students to see what is possible. I knew that I could have a positive role in that.

I wanted to make a real difference in the lives of children – particularly those whom others may have “given up on”.

I knew that these are things I wanted to have impact on, however, I didn’t really realize the depth of my desire for this to happen, until I started to work at my current elementary school.  It was here that I saw students whom I could really relate to in so many ways:

Students who may have had a difficult home-life.

Students who may have difficulty believing in the possibilities of their future.

Students who may have come from some difficult situations at home.

It was seeing these kids, learning about the families, learning about their stories, making connections with my own upbringing when I started to really understand my need to be an educator. It is then that I truly understood the impact I could have. It was then that I truly understood my passion and need to contribute. It was then that I started to believe in myself  (however strange that might sound).

• What do I want my legacy to be?

What do I want left once I am gone?

I long to ensure each of us has someone at school who they know believes in them. As Judy Halbert and Linda Kaser write in Spirals of Inquiry: For Equity and Quality, one of they key questions our students to be able to answer in the affirmative is, “Can you name two people in this school/setting who believe that you can be a success in life.” (pg. 38). I want to be one of those two people who our students (and educators) necessary to help “build in a needed protective factor for learners who struggle.” (pg. 38).  I want students to truly believe that they can achieve what they never thought possible.

I want this to be my legacy.

I want to be a part of building a true community of learners.

I want this to be my legacy.

When I am gone, I want people to remember me as a life-long learner who had a growth-mindset and who continued to see struggles as opportunities to learn.

I want this to be my legacy.

Caring and Sharing. I want to be remembered for the importance of caring and sharing. A culture of care, which is focused on what is best for our students, is paramount on my list.  A culture of sharing, which is focused on the fact that we can all learn from one another – and we are better together – is also important to me.

I want this to be my legacy.

A teacher approached me at the end of last year and said, “Tia, I don’t know how you did it, but in your quiet way, you gave me my wings this year and then just let me fly – not getting in the way.”  I was taken aback by this comment, but it felt good knowing that she gave me my wings as well (along with other teachers on staff).  I wan to continue to inspire and be inspired by amazing educators.

I want this to be my legacy.

Why did you become an educator?

What would you like your legacy to be?

You may want to take a look at this video below about Spirals of Inqury by Judy Halbert and Linda Kaser:

Last week, we had the Breakfast Clubs of Canada bring in a group of individuals who wanted to learn more about our Breakfast Club and how it impacts students and student learning.  There are the usual answers, of course (you can find some of those answers here and here). Yes, the students are more able to sit and concentrate when they have food in their bellies. Yes, they are more likely to be more cooperative (and less cranky) when they are not hungry. Yes, they are more able to think more clearly. Yes, they are more likely to have fewer behavioural challenges. All of these things lead to better student achievement and more overall learning. But, Breakfast Club is so much more than about the food and the benefits of eating breakfast. It is more than filling those bellies which makes our Breakfast Club (and others) an essential component to these kids days (and future, I would like to suggest).

Our Breakfast Club fills our student’s hearts and souls and allows them the opportunity  to start the day in a positive way.  If you are a parent, you will understand how tricky it is, and sometimes quite stressful, to get everyone ready and out the door for school.  As a mom of three kids, I am fortunate that my husband does this each day – with a smile on his face and without any stress, yelling, or frustration.  OK, maybe he doesn’t have a smile on his face – he doesn’t smile as much as I do, but it is a calm morning as he gets our kids ready to go each morning. (I actually witnessed this for a couple of days this winter when I was stuck at home in bed with bronchitis. I was in awe.)

Unfortunately, the calmness of our household in the morning is not the norm.  Usually, people are hurried, trying to get kids out of their nice warm bed, trying to find socks (not be mentioned “matching” socks), trying to eat breakfast, trying to make lunches, ensuring planners are in backpacks (signed), finishing unfinished homework, and the list could go on. And on.  And on.  Morning time is a very stressful time for many families. Very stressful.

Many kids come to school with a sad face, tired eyes, and grumpy demeanor.  These are not just our Breakfast Club kids, but all kids.

It is different for the kids who come to Breakfast Club each morning though.  They are greeted by smiling faces by our Breakfast Club Food Services Worker (Marlene), our Community Schools Facilitator (Alisha) and, more importantly, their friends.  The time before school allows them precious time to connect with people in a positive way.  They eat breakfast together, share books together, and play games together.  They are making positive connections with staff and peers.

They are welcomed, and they feel it.

They are accepted, and they feel it.

They are honoured, and they feel it.

They are believed in, and they feel it.

They are liked, and they feel it.

They are cared for, unconditionally, and they know it.

Our Breakfast Club more than breakfast. It is more than filling those bellies. It is about these students making connections that will make them resilient. It is about the relationships with one another that will make them stronger and more willing to accept others. It is about these students knowing they are cared for unconditionally. It is about their future. It is about them knowing that others believe in them in a way they may not have ever known. It is about our students learning to believe in themselves in this same way.  It is this knowledge that will have lasting effect on them for the rest of their lives.

It’s so much more than just breakfast.

We would like to thank all those who make the Breakfast Club at our school a reality! It really is making a huge difference to the lives of our students – now and in the future.

So, I thought I would share my thoughts here.

The position of elementary principal can be a powerful one – both positive or negative. A principal really shapes the culture of learning in a school. Go into any school that is thriving and full of excitement around learning, and I believe you will find a principal with that same enthusiasm and excitement. Likewise can be said for the opposite school as well.  Being a principal is a very important role and must been seen as such and not taken on lightly.

Here is my powerpoint (and, as funny as it might seem, this is the first powerpoint I have ever created! – Although, I did create my first Keynote presentation on my iPad here):

Next, I was asked to talk about what constitutes student achievement to me.  Wow! That’s a big question that, again, could take a thesis to answer.  For me, student achievement isn’t about the “test”, it isn’t about “scores”, and it isn’t about “grades”.  To me, student achievement is about the whole child learning. It’s about each child moving forward in some way, challenging themselves to achieve their potential (or, better yet, beyond).  In an effort to mix it up a bit and truly demonstrate who I am, I created a video to answer the question about what constitutes student achievement to me. Take a look:

Is there anything you’d like to add?

I’d love to hear your views on student achievement: the role of the principal and what constitutes student achievement to you.

It is important to mention that while I enjoy sharing what I am doing and what I am learning, I enjoy the reciprocal nature of the sharing. I learn a considerable amount more, from others sharing their stories than people receive from my sharing.

Sharing Face-to-Face

There are so many opportunities to share each and every day.  I do so in a number of ways, both formally and, more importantly and perhaps more effectively, informally.

Study Groups – I have the honour of being involved in two different Study Groups of Administrators. We share the wonderful things going on in our schools, our challenges, and our successes. We also share any new learnings we have.  In addition, we often have a book or some other focus for our group sessions that helps to guide our discussions.

Digital Coach for Administrators – During the past two years, I have been fortunate to be one of our Digital Coaches within our district who has tried to help our fellow administrators through the challenges of technology and constant change. I learn just as much from them as they learn from me, of that I am certain.

Digital Sandbox Series – This an opportunity for administrators to be involved in learning more about various tools at our disposal within our district: surreyschools.ca, iPad strategies, along with other ideas.

Digital Playground Sessions With Staff – We have had a number of sessions for our staff, including sessions about Twitter, Dropbox, iMovie, SurreySchools.ca, various apps, social bookmarking (diigo), blogging for teachers and students and other sessions. These are not always sessions I have led, but sessions have also been led by other staff members as well.

Informal Conversations – one-on-one or in small groups – staffroom, outside, in the hallways, in teacher’s classrooms, in my office …

Sharing Online

• my blog - This is a place where I share my learning as a learner, an educator, and a leader in education. At times, I will also share my learning as a parent and a wanna-be photographer.

• staff blog - This is our weekly staff blog where we share any important information for staff for the week. I post upcoming events and important dates on this blog as well. Each week, I also include things to stretch people’s thinking. Some of these items include Items of the Week, including Video(s) of the Week, Tweet(s) of the Week, Blog Post(s) of the Week, Website(s) of the Week, and a Quote of the Week.

• School Success Blog - This is a blog I share with our school community. Each week, we highlight some of the wonderful things that happened during the week. I include photos, videos, and other samples of student work.

• Kids Inspire Us Blog - This is a blog that I started with fellow Vice-Principal, Erin Paynter (from Ottawa). There are so many inspiring children out there – we wanted to have some of their stories in one place so others could also share in their inspiration.

• School Website - On our school website, I try to share about different upcoming events happening in our school. One of our wonderful secretaries adds all the newsletters and calendar items.

• Innovative Learning Design Collaborative Blog - This is a collaborative blog for those on our Innovative Learning Design Team at the school in which I work. It is a place for each of us to share our reflections, our successes, or challenges, and the many things we learn.

• Twitter - Twitter has been an amazing place to learn from and make connections with people from around the world. It has been instrumental in many aspects of my ever-evolving pedagogy.

• Facebook - This has also been a great place to make professional connections with educators around the world.

While it is really important to share in person, one must not forget the importance and possibilities in sharing in online spaces.  In the busy-ness of the everyday, one needs to consider the effectiveness of sharing online.

If you do not share with others, perhaps you should consider the following video (one of my favourite).

Please keep this video in mind. Happy Sharing!

How do you share your learning or the learning of others?

What is one thing you can do to increase the amount of sharing your do with others?

I’ve been reflecting a great deal lately about what I’ve learned (and continue to learn) about leadership and leading. I would like to share a few of these reflections here. During my nearly 8 years as a vice-principal (with two 6-month maternity leaves thrown in there), a number of leadership lessons stick out for me (if you click on most of the bolded titles, you will be brought to a more in-depth post on that topic).

1.  Go slow to go far. We will move forward faster, with more sustainable change, if we go forward slowly than we would if we moved forward quickly without the input of those we work with.

2. Relationships first. We truly can not move forward without first developing relationships with those we work with – students, teachers, education assistants, or parents. It is important to develop trust with everyone – without trust, people will not feel comfortable to take risks in their own learning which is what is needed to move forward and make change.

3. Parents are our students first and most important teachers. They know their children better than we ever will. It is imperative that we realize this.  Parents are also doing their best with their children, even if sometimes it may not seem like it.  We are all after the same thing – for students to be the best they can be – to prepare our students/children for their future. We must keep student learning at the centre of all we do.

4. Everyone has a story.  All people (teachers, parents, students, etc…)  are doing their best with what they have at any given time.

5. Kids want to do well. Our students do not want to be labelled as “bad”. They really don’t. They want to do well and are trying their best to deal with the events of their life in the best way they can. We need to believe in them and work with them to develop self-regulation and strategies for dealing with situations. They want to do well. We just need to help them along the way.

6. Inspired by all.  Leaders and teachers who are learning new things are very much like our students who are learning new things – some ready to go and excited and others may be very apprehensive. Important to value all. It is important to realize that while it may come “easily” to some, it will be quite difficult for others. We must value everyone and their efforts.

7.  Contain my excitement. Curb the enthusiasm. As an administrator, it is very important to read your audience and take their thoughts and feelings into consideration. You need to remember that perception is key.

8. We are all different. No two people are the same and no two situations will likely be able to be addressed in the same manner.

9. Life long learner.  The more I learn, the more I realize what I don’t know, and the more I realize I have so much to learn.

10. Be true to yourself.  I will always be true to myself, my feelings, my thoughts, my values and my beliefs. As an administrator, you are pushed and pulled in many directions.  It is important to always keep what’s important at the forefront – the kids. Sadly, this is a position that often causes the most grief from others.

11.  There are some things you have no control over.  At times, it is very difficult because there are things that, no matter how hard you try, no matter how much you care, no matter how dedicated you are, you just don’t have control over things that happen. As frustrating and challenging it is, at times like this, you must try to keep your focus and keep on keeping on – making a positive difference in the lives of kids.

I feel truly fortunate to be able to have influence on, and be influenced by, so many people who care about kids and make a tremendous positive impact on kids every day. These are some of the lessons I have learned over the years.

What lessons have you learned?

Are there any lessons with which you struggle?

What a great question!

I could go on and on for hours about all the people who inspire me each and every day.  As administrators, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with many people: kids, teachers, education assistants, parents, community member, administrator colleagues, and our PLN.  I general terms, let me tell you about some of the people who inspire me:

• I am inspired by those students who struggle on a daily basis to work at the level that is expected of students their age.
• I am inspired by students with learning disabilities who find ways to display their learning in unconventional, but very effective, ways.
• I am inspired by students who come to school without breakfast and welcome what we have to offer them.
• I am inspired by students who are pushing their learning to new levels and who are embracing new ways of learning.
• I am inspired by our students who are blogging for the world to read.
• I am inspired by our education assistants who are embracing new ways of learning and ways their student’s can express this learning. These professionals are rolling with it and doing their best to make the learning of their students the best it can be – all with a positive attitude.
• I am inspired by our education assistants who continue to get more asked of them and they continue to take on more students, more demands, and more responsibility, all with a positive attitude, knowing that we are all doing our best to meet the diverse needs of our students.
• I am inspired by our teachers who are pushing their own learning at their level. Some of our teachers are completely transforming their entire educational pedagogy. Others are making smaller changes. ALL of these teachers should be celebrated! ALL of these teachers inspire me!
• I am inspired by our teachers who continue to take risks in their learning (this is not easy) and try new things daily.
• I am inspired by the collaboration of our teachers – with teachers within our own school and district and with professionals around the world.
• I am inspired by our teachers who are finding ways for their students to represent their learning in different ways.
• I am inspired by our teachers who are blogging for the world to read.
• I am inspired by our teachers and their willingness and interest in helping one another (and accepting the help of others).
• I am inspired by our parents who continue to support their children to the best of their ability.
• I am inspired by our parents who ask questions, trying to find the best way to support their child at home.
• I am inspired by our parents who work long hours to give their children more than what they may have had growing up.
• I am inspired each day I see my administrative colleagues post on Twitter and learn from others.
• I am inspired by my fellow administrators trying new things and pushing their own learning.
• I am inspired by my administrative colleagues who are putting themselves “out there” and blogging for the world to read.
• I am inspired by our community members who continue to offer their support in many ways. Members of our community continue to offer to read with kids, help with our breakfast program, provide after-school opportunities for our students, and offer food/clothing/hampers for our students and their families.
• I am inspired by my PLN – in every single tweet, direct message, email, google hangout, skype call, and personal conversation (either via the phone or face to face) we have together.
• I am inspired by colleagues around the world who find a way to fight forward each day when they and their family are struck by horrible news (like death or cancer).
• I am inspired by all those who take the step to share their learning with others – whether that is online or in person. Sharing is imperative and it is so inspiring to others.
• I am inspired by others who are open-minded and non-judgemental.
• I am inspired by photographers who share their amazing images with the world – flickr/facebook/twitter/instagram, etc…
• I am inspired by those who share their story. We all have powerful stories to share – stories that will inspire others. Our stories make us vulnerable to others. That vulnerability is powerful!
• I am inspired by others who reflect on their actions, their life, their work, their success, and their challenges.
• I am inspired by those who realize that they are not there yet, but continue to learn each and every day.

I am inspired by so many.  Each and every day.

I value everything I learn from those around me – near and far.

I love learning from all those who inspire me.

You all inspire me to continue to be my best each and every day.

Thank you.

I am inspired by you. 

Who inspires you?

In part, he World English Dictionary defines passion as

“A strong affection or enthusiasm for an object,

 concept, etc: a passion for poetry.”

We’ve been hearing a great deal about “Passion-Based Learning”.  People are realizing the importance of giving our students the opportunity to learn about things that are of interest to them – things they are passionate about.  We talk about the importance of involving students in real-world solutions to real-world problems.  Our students and children thrive on doing things to help others. They thrive on knowing they can (and are) truly making a difference. They are motivated by knowing that they are making a difference and that they can inspire others to do the same.

Here are a few examples of passion-based learning:

Bill Ferriter (@plugusin) visited our school district in January to talk to 200 very enthusiastic educators in our school district about how his students were clearly making a difference with their involvement with KIVA. They were making micro-loans to people in Third World Countries who were trying to raise money to start a business to support themselves and their family. These students were passionate about supporting others around the world. They were so passionate, in fact, that they took their own time to support other classes, make videos to promote their project, and present to businesses to raise money for their passion. 

The Grade 3 students in Diana Williams (@teacherdiana1) and Trisha Uppal‘s (@teachertrish_U) class are also raising money to lend money to individuals through KIVA. You can read a little more about their story here.  To say the students are motivated, inspired, and are demonstrating a zest for school and learning would be an understatement.

Diana Williams also did another Challenge-Based Project with her class.  Just before Christmas her students made cookies (hundreds of cookies) and cards for the homeless living on the streets in East Vancouver.  These students were so sweet, engaged, and motivated to do this meaningful work from their heart. They were passionate about making a difference with these people they didn’t even know, at a time of year when most may have found to be the most difficult. You can read more about their project here.

Genius Hour has been growing in popularity around our district (and the world). It is when students are given time to learn about and create whatever they want. These projects are not graded. Students work on their projects because they love them – not because they have to do it. When my students did Genius Hour (I called it 100 Minutes of Genius because I only had my 4 classes for 100 minutes each week).  You can read more about what some of my students did for their projects here.  I have never, in my almost 20 years of teaching, seen students as engaged, as motivated, as hard-working, as enthusiastic, and working as collaboratively with their peers, as I saw when they worked on their Genius Hour projects. It was amazing! They were so passionate about their learning! This was personalized learning at its finest. (If you want to learn more about Genius Hour, take a look at the Genius Hour Wikispace created by some very inspiring educators: Gallit Zvi, Denise Krebs, and Joy Kirr).

I must say though, to truly transform education, to truly make a difference, it cannot stop at Passion-Based Learning for students. Instead, we must focus on the adults as well.  We need to work toward Passion-Based Teaching and Passion-Based Leading. All of the teachers who are encouraging their students to participate in activities as listed above, are passionate educators. Their students know that they are passionate – they feel it each and every day they are together. Their passion does not stop at these activities. These teachers have passion in most everything they do (even if they think the do not).

Just imagine what our education system would be like if all teachers are truly engaged in the learning process and are teaching things they are passionate about – things that truly interest them.  At a student forum in the district I work, our Superintendent of Schools, Mike McKay, tweeted this gem:

Teachers’ joy and passion for what they are teaching is the real difference-maker!  It is not the “what” they are teaching, it is the “how” that makes them stand out. Those are the teachers you remember forever!

I would say that those are the leaders we remember forever as well! Just imagine what our education system would be like if our leaders were passionate about learning and leading. Imagine administrators learning about topics of interest  (or what they know others are interested in) and then passing this knowledge on to staff members, students, and parents.

We have all seen people who are passionate about what they do – whether they are children or adults.  I don’t think we can deny that this passion is contagious!  The excitement that can be generated by passion-based teaching and leading would be incredible.

So, let’s not stop at our students.  Let’s go further. To make a true difference, a long-term difference, let’s also focus on the adults in our education system.

As a teacher, what are you passionate about and how do you demonstrate this passion to your colleagues, your students, and the leader(s) in your building?

As a leader in education, what are you passionate about and how do you demonstrate your passions to those around you? How do others know you are passionate about what you do?

Dean expressed interest in doing something in a classroom with kids and maybe doing something after school with educators around the district.  So, that’s what we (meaning @teacherdiana1) started planning.

Grade 3 teacher, Diana Williams, was very excited and took the idea and ran with it – literally.  She had already planned on creating a video to promote her student’s involvement in KIVA (a website where you can make micro-loans to people in Third World Countries who are trying to start businesses). What a better opportunity than to create the video with help from Dean Shareski!  So, through pneumonia, Diana worked tirelessly (even though we did order her to stay home recommend that she stay home and rest and this opportunity would present itself again another time) rewriting the lyrics to a song so her students could become KIVA Ninjas.  She taught the song to her Grade 3 students, complete with props and actions. They were adorable!

Dean Shareski and Austin Dolan (from Discovery Education) came and we all had a great time!  The students were engaged and enthusiastic.  They learned about what a green screen was and  why it is used.  The interacted with Dean and Austin for the entire afternoon.  It was great seeing how natural Dean is with the children.  It was evident how much fun everyone had together. Austin has a great sense of humour too (sorry Diana, but it was pretty funny).

After further assisting Diana with the technical aspects of putting the video together – taking out the green screen and adding Discovery Education photos in the background, Dean was then ready for his after-school event – a Smackdown!

Now, when Dean discussed hosting a Smackdown at Bear Creek, I was a little curious. I had never been to a Smackdown before!  In case you are curious as well, a Smackdown is a sharing event.  You can share a website, an app, a program, an activity, or really anything that has been meaningful to you and/or your students. You can learn more about it on Cybraryman’s page here.  It was really an awesome time to share among friends!  We had approximately 20 dedicated and inspiring Surrey School District educators in attendance and 3 fantastic educators via Google Hangout.  With great energy in the room, and Dean facilitating the Smackdown, the sharing began.

First up was Robyn Thiessen (@robynthiessen) who shared what her Grade 3 and Grade 4 students are doing with The Global Classroom Project. Dean also mentioned the Den Connects resource through Discovery Education which has numerous global collaboration opportunities available as well.

Heather Blacker (@heatherblacker) from Winnipeg was our first visitor via Google Hangout. She shared her great sense of humour and her knowledge of the free app HaikuDeck and how she used it with her class during their animal studies. We learned that HaikuDeck is great for allowing only the use of Copyright images through the app. What a great way to ensure Copyrights are being honoured!  I really need to check out this app! Here is Heather’s Tech Blog! Take a look and you will find loads of different projects to try with your students.

Our own Gallit Zvi (@gallit_z) was up next sharing wonderful things she and colleague Hugh MacDonald (@hughtheteacher) are doing with Genius Hour with their students. Genius Hour allows students to explore their passions within the school day. You will never see kids more enthusiastic, motivated, and engaged as you do during their Genius Hour time.  Jodi Pulvers (@JPulvers) and Iram Khan (@TeacherMrsKhan) both shared how their kindergarten students do Genius Hour projects with their Big Buddies. You can read about their experiences here and here respectively.

Brad Fountain (@bradfountain) was up next via Google Hangout. He shared with us the  CoachesEye app and talked about the multiple purposes of the app. He also recommended people download the free app, AppShopper which tells you when apps are on sale.

One of our secondary Teacher Librarian’s, Lisa Domeier (@librarymall) shared a couple of books with us:  Steal Like an Artist  and The Virtual Self. Lisa also shared the new Engaging the Digital Learner: Going Deeper Podcast, which can now be found on iTunes U. The latest district dinner series session, with Chris Lehman, can be heard in this podcast series. Lisa went on to talk about the importance of having students have an authentic audience when they are completing assignments. That is one reason blogging is so great – you are writing for the world to see – not just your teacher.

Kathy Cassidy (@kathycassidy) from Moosejaw, was up next to talk to us about some of the things her Grade 1 and 2 students are up to. She shared with us that Skype now has group skype for educators (you need to apply online in advance). Kathy has just recently written a book, Connected From the Start (due out the end of March).

Local Educator, Marilyn Carr (@MSMEcarr), shared her love of the books, Drive by Daniel Pink and Reality is Broken by Jane McGonegall.  Marilyn suggested taking a look at the TED Talk by Paul Anderson about classroom game design.

Dean talked to us a bit about the Discovery Education Network that all educators in our district are a part of already.  He also talked how to become a DenStar and about the Den Summer Institute. It all sounds very interesting and exciting. (If you are an educator (including administrators) in Surrey and you are not sure how to access your Discovery Education account, please ask your administrator or you can email or direct message me on Twitter and I will try to help.)

Surrey Vice Principal, Iram Khan, talked about how blogging has connected her with her families more than she has ever felt in her years of teaching. She emphasized that it is important not to be discouraged by parents not commenting on the blog. Even though they are not commenting in writing, they are commenting in person and feeling much more connected with their child(ren)’s education. You can read Iram’s blog post about this topic here.

Dean Shareski then shared about ifttt.com (if this then that) recipes. If you want to have your recent blog post immediately posted on Twitter as soon as you press publish, create a recipe!  There are countless recipes to be created. Take a look!  You can use the ones already listed on the site, or create your own.

What a great day we had!  The only problem was, our time together went by way too quickly!  There were many wonderful educators present who didn’t have the opportunity to share their wonderful ideas and things they are doing in their classroom. Next time!

Of course, a day isn’t complete without a little bit of cake . . .  We wanted to wish Dean a Happy Birthday and thank him for spending his time with us.  What a great experience. We welcome Dean back at any time.  :-)

A big thank you goes out to the amazing Diana Williams (@teacherdiana1) for all her hard work organizing this event and to Iram Khan (@teachermrskhan) for helping as well.

Here is a Storify of the BCSmackdown Event.

Here is a collaborative Google Doc of Smackdown Notes created by Gallit Zvi.

Once more people begin to use SurreySchools.ca, it will become more and more useful and more and more powerful.

One of our main purposes to demonstrating some  of the capabilities of SurreySchools.ca was to have people realize how powerful it can be to share with others. In doing so, it was important to share some of the main parts of our new platform and some examples/possibilities of how to share with each of these components.

In addition to presenting our administrators with information about our Sharepoint platform, we also provided our administrators with something even more important – time.  After the brief presentation (below), everyone was given time to explore, ask questions, and create in SurreySchools.ca – together.  This togetherness, experimenting, sharing, and exploring together, is imperative in the development of our community of learners.

We are the lead learners in our schools and we are proud of it!  It is when we share our learning, our mistakes, our challenges, and our triumphs that we get better – together.

Here is the presentation from our Digital Sandbox Session last week. Enjoy!

First of all, I have a bit of a confession.  When I started on Twitter again almost 2 years ago, I didn’t deeply understand when I read, “It’s not about the technology.” Yes, I understood it on a surface level, and nodded in agreement whenever I heard those words. But, I didn’t really deeply understand.

Fast forward almost 2 years and I am beginning to get it. I say beginning because, really, I am not sure if one can really understand the depths of this new ever-changing, ever-evolving learning environment. Just when we think we “figure” one thing out, something changes (similar to how I feel about raising my children, I might add).

So, this is my take on it….

It is not about technology at all.  It is all about pedagogy.

The battle of the OGY’s – technol-OGY and pedag-OGY.

No technology in the world will truly change the way you teach, unless you, first of all, change the way you think about teaching and learning and change what you value in the learning environment (note: I said environment and not “classroom” on purpose – it’s not about the classroom anymore. Learning is everywhere.)

Technology is here (and here to stay, I might add) and can truly transform the way we our students learn, the way they take ownership over their learning, the engagement of our students, and the way our students make connections with the world around them.  It can truly make a difference, however, pedagogy must come first.

According to the Collin’s Online English Dictionary, Pedagogy is defined as “the principles, practice, or profession of teaching”.

To truly make a difference in our teaching, our way of reaching our students, we must continue to reflect on and develop our pedagogy. Our pedagogy must change and evolve with our students and with the times.

We must first understand the importance of student choice, the power of students choosing how they are going to learn and what they are going to learn. We must see how students can and should be representing their learning in a variety of a ways – their ways (not our ways).  We must understand the power behind giving students choice in how they will demonstrate their learning.  When you have some of that figured out, it is important to truly see how powerful, meaningful and motivational it is for students to choose what they are going to learn about.  It is then when you will see your “unmotivated” students become your “star” learners in your classroom.

Once one has figured out that learning should be focused on the student and not directed by the teacher, that is when technology can truly make a difference.

Once one understands that learning goes far beyond the walls of the classroom, that’s when technology can transform the way your students learn.

Once one starts to have students take ownership over their own learning, that’s when technology can help support their goals and objectives.

Time and time again, I’ve heard that “technology should be used to do things you’ve never been able to do before”.

That’s transformative.

If you are using technology to do research or something else that you would be able to do without it, why are you using it? Looking critically at your practise means letting go of the methods that do not fully engage ALL students, instead of throwing technology into an old, tired pedagogy that doesn’t meet everyone’s needs.

I am starting to get it.

Are you?