Tag Archives: gcouros

OSSEMOOC

Innovators Mindset Panel Discussion Reflections

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OSSEMOOC has been running an  online book study this month based on the Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros.  Last week’s activity featured an online panel discussion which focused on exploring some of elements of the first chapters more deeply.

The panel discussion recording:

In reviewing the twitter conversation that occurred while the panel discussion was live, I wanted to share a few perspectives that I wanted to reflect on.  Perhaps these tweets will push your thinking, identify a challenge you are willing to try or make a new connection  that will ignite new opportunities for you too.

My Reflection Prompts: 

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Additional Resources

Check the OSSEMOOC Website for more details about the Innovator’s Mindset book club.

#InnovatorsMindset Storify (Chat #1)

The  #InnovatorsMindset Twitter Stream

~Mark
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OSSEMOOC, reflection

Innovation: Think Outside of the Triangle

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This blog post is in response to the Innovator’s Mindset Blog Hop activity tonight inviting people to post about a personal definition of innovation as a kickoff to the book study.

As I pondered what I might write about tonight, I decided to consider two different angles that come into play in my view.

On the personal front, I believe innovation is connected to curiosity, creativeness and play.  You react to new ideas, readings, questions, prompts, devices etc.  Giving yourself permission to play, explore, take risks and let the mind wander in a boundless way is key. Through the act of play,  new ideas are built and remixed.  Sometimes, there is that unannounced AHA moment – something ‘concrete’ to try perhaps on your own or in your classroom.  Be purposeful about this – the more you engage in play and creativity,  innovative ideas will become more plentiful.

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Personal innovation is one thing, but I believe it really comes alive when you can exist in a culture of innovation — a culture where: people wonder, conversation is encouraged,  new ideas are received without judgement,  open sharing is a norm and one suggestion or question leads to a new interpretation.

Nurture yourself by surrounding yourself with those who will contribute to your innovative energy — in all aspects of your F2F and online endeavours, take risks and think outside of the triangle!

~Mark
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Image via Flickr creative commons license

Check out what other Ontario bloggers are saying about innovation:

 Amit Mehrotra,  Stacey Wallwin,  Jennifer Casa-Todd, 

Paul McGuire,  Tina Zita,  Donna Miller Fry,  Patrick Miller, 

Michelle Parrish,  Jason Richea,  Jancey Clark,  @PeelASP,  

Julie Balen

Check out more at OSSEMOOC!

CATC, Just pondering, Leadership Perspective, ProfessionalLearning, reflection

CATC Camp – digging in deeper

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Once again our annual summer computer camp,  CATC By the Water,  was a great learning experience. You can check out some of the learning and innovating thinking at: CATC Camp learning and sharing or CATC innovators.

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One of my favourite conversations this year happened when I took the time to sit down with George Couros and Donna Fry to  revisit a conversation from a year ago, where we debated why educators look to one well known lead or theory to follow rather than leveraging the room – the educators who are learning, changing, innovating and sharing publicly.  After all,  the smartest person in the room, is the room!

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Digging deeper into the conversation this year we talked about another angle that I believe is important in this discussion.  Perhaps the most important element is not if fact “the one” vs “the room”,  but each of us recognizing which one of these causes the personal disruption needed to learn, change, grow and share.  After all, we each have a responsibility for owning our professional learning journey. Perhaps a good term for this would be “differentiated disruption“.

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Where do you stand: the one, or the room?  What does it take to shake up or clarify your  practice?

~Mark

 

21st century learning, Leadership Perspective, Social Media, Technology in Education, Web20

Leadership Day 2010

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A few days ago, I saw this tweet from @gcouros while reviewing the daily action from my PLN.

This certainly caught my attention, so I read the blog post and decided to participate.

Lets be straight up to begin. Administrators are busy people with many responsibilities to juggle. They can’ t ‘know everything’ – and they don’t need to.  I do believe there a some critical elements that are attached to their role in terms school success and staff development that will make a key difference.

School Administrator To Do List

  • walk the walk & talk the talk
  • understand digital literacy and digital citizenship
  • be familiar with, and understand the power of  web 2.0 and social media tools
  • establish a PLN (self directed, job embedded learning) and share the learnings with staff
  • promote technology use as an embedded & key part of the learning process
  • understand appropriate technology use, highlight/showcase it as a part of good teaching practice
  • include technology use in the learning process as part of the teacher feedback and evaluation process
  • require that staff learn about best technology integration strategies as part of ongoing PD/learning plans
  • ensure that technology uses are well connected to Province/State and Board/District level priorities
  • understand the role of technology in establishing and/or improving school and classroom community
  • build a culture, not a ‘one of’ island
  • embrace change
  • be vocal: share, promote and connect with other administrators
  • STAY THE COURSE!

~ Mark