eTech Ohio Education Technology Conference Reflections - Part 1, Phill Nosworthy

Phill Nosworthy's two presentations at the eTech Ohio Education Technology Conference had me locked in this morning.  I had originally only planned on attending his first session, but by the time the first session was ended I had already texted my entire grant team to join me in attending Phill's second session on educational leadership.  Phil Nosworthy is the leader of an organization called, "Beyond Chalk" and he also works with Peter Sheahan at Change/Labs. Here's his Tedtalk at the TEDxYouth@CityofLight event:

Here are a few things I took away from my time with Phill today:

-->  We all don't have to become experts at using technology in the classroom for things to change.  We just need to learn one or two new tech skills and use them effectively.

Sometimes the concept of having a tech "guru" at our school is a hindrance and source of intimidation in our efforts to effect change.  We tend to look at the teachers that seem to have a grip on the use of technology in the classroom as some kind of a special case or outlier with a weird knack for working gadgets.  But really, these people are just people with an interest that they decided to pursue and cultivate.  If we were to ask any random person one thing that they are good at, we'd find that we are surrounded by experts everywhere we go.  Some might be photographers, or day traders, great gardeners or superb scrap bookers. Most of these experts would love to share their love of whatever it is they love, and I'm sure that they wouldn't want me to avoid their areas of expertise because I don't have the skills that they already have.  An expert scrap booker would probably enjoy suggesting a few easy steps that would get me feeling confident with my own scrap booking abilities.  An avid gardener might really like helping me plant a few flowers to get my garden started.  In the same way, those of us in the ed tech world should do everything we can to share what we are learning by helping people learn one or two new skills in the classroom that they can employ effectively.  I know that I'd enjoy helping people become more confident and competent in their desire to work with students in this new way.  

--> Don't always rely on the young teachers to drive the change.

I've been fortunate enough to have many examples of more experienced teachers taking the lead in education innovation, and as I get more experience under my belt myself, I am also hoping to be the same kind of role model to our fresher faces.  Phill Nosworthy made the point that our GEC ("global economic crisis" - I had never heard it put this way before), has really put a damper on hiring and maintaining novice teachers.  We know that in Cleveland, a whole slew of young teachers were laid-off last year.  New York City laid-off scores of new teachers this past year.  We can't wait for the whipper-snappers to change the world, we're going to have to start doing it ourselves.

--> A great quote about leadership

“If you think you're leading and no one is following you, then you're only taking a walk.” - Afghan Proverb.  I heard that one a few times this week.  Phill Nosworthy used it in connection with the important difference between having a position of leadership and a position of influence.  He suggested that we might want to work with those teachers in our building that have an obvious influence on the culture of the school, rather than only seek out people in positions of leadership.  

--> The four traps of technology in education

   1.  Failing to use the rule of relevance.

       - He warns that our decision making should always be informed by a firm conception of what is both relevant and engaging to our students.  I like the emphasis on relevance, as I want to be sure that I'm thinking about all of the things that my students need to learn and know to be as great as they can be in life.  

  2. Using technology as a public relations strategy instead of for learning.

  3.  Thinking the cheap option is the cheap option.

     - This trap is probably the most easy to fall into considering our global and local financial situation.  Nosworthy warned that we often settle for a desire to get "more" instead of "best".  He feels that schools should buy the best tool to put in the hands of students, even if it means getting fewer of them.  I know that this is something that we thought about during our purchasing process for the grant.  We'll have to watch how we did on this one as we get deeper into using the new tools.  

 4. Thinking this will all blow over.

     - The hula hoop? Fad.  Yo-yo's?  Fad.  The internet? Not at all.  It's now at the point of being essential.

The sessions with Phill Nosworthy were a definite highlight of my time at the conference.  I was glad to be there with several other members of our grant team, including our building principal and district IT co-ordinator.  We walked away with plenty to think about , discuss and reflect upon, which is a great way to end our time at eTech.  

More on eTech to follow...