Week 3 / Blog 1 – The Art of Possibility (Ch. 5-8)

I started this week’s reading while on my train commute into NYC. The quiet ride (despite sharing a train car with 250 other riders) was briefly interrupted by my “Wow!” response to page 68:

 It’s so true! The conductor doesn’t make a sound at all. Yet it is his influence and ability to empower others to make beautiful music that counts. I immediately applied the principle to my role as an instructor. It doesn’t matter how great of a designer I may be. Any determination of greatness lies in the work that my students produce. It lies in my ability to help them become problem solvers and critical thinkers. The students our program graduates are, in many ways, a reflection and the product of the instruction they receive. Now, is it a direct correlation? Is there an absolute cause and effect relationship between the quality of instruction and the demonstrated competency of the student? No. There are too many other factors to consider. However, the principle of empowerment and influence simply cannot be undermined.

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Week 2 / Blog 4 – Response to David Middlebrook’s Blog

My Response to David's Post:

David, I share your sentiments regarding the value of contribution. For many years, our society morphed into a very self-centered society concern only about ‘what’s in it for me?’ These misguided principles have infused their way into our classrooms and our students. I have had to make an effort to transition my students from designing to satisfy and make themselves happy, to designing to add meaning & value to an audience. I love the part in that chapter where he asks himself, “How will I be a contribution today?” That introspective question can have such a profound impact, not only on our lives, but also in the lives of our students as we strive to make them better citizens of society.




David Middlebrook's Original Post: 

When I first opened the book The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander, I didn’t know what I was in store for. I’ve read self-help books before, but this one seemed different, went about it at a different angle. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the chapters.

Chapter 1. Its All Invented is about understanding that it is all invented and you can break through barriers that keep you in the box if you recognize assumptions you make about life. 

Chapter 2. Stepping into a Universe of Possibility is about moving away from the world of measurement and into a world that reaches beyond survival and scarcity to one of openness and opportunity. 

Chapter 3. Giving an A was the chapter that really spoke to me. This quote from the book sums it up. “The practice of giving the A allows the teacher to line up with her students in the effort to produce the outcome, rather than lining up with the standards against these students.” The grade, in a sense, takes us out of the world of measurements and into the world of possibilities. It is an invented thing that allows us to be creative without worries. 

Chapter 4. Being a Contribution is all about making a difference in others lives and taking the focus off of our self. “Naming oneself and others as a contribution produces a shift away from self-concern and engages us in a relationship with others that is an area for making a difference. 

“This book and its practices have already begun to make me look at life and the endless possibilities that it offers. I’m looking forward to reading the next chapters.

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Week 2 / Blog 3 - Response to Charlene Swoboda

My Response to Charlene’s Post:

Charlene, the conferences you are considering sound like a great match for you and your research topic. Okay, so there isn’t a “Technology Use in Girls’ Sports Conference”, but I believe that your research has a lot of common underlying principles that can be shared among many disciplines. Additionally, the opportunity to network, meet other people and hear ideas from other presenters can have an equally enriching effect. You mentioned airfare and hotel cost as some of the determining factors. I must admit, I didn’t even think about that! (And here I am looking at conferences in Hawaii, too!) I think if I began to worry about cost, it would be the same as trying to connect those nine dots without thinking outside the box. If there’s a will, there’s a way :) Good luck on your Leadership project!

Charlene's Original Post:

Wk 2- Where I Might Present My Work
After much research, I have found possible conferences where I could potentially present my Action Research Based Capstone Project. Both places seem appropriate as they call for themes relevant to my studies and are more affordable at this time.

At first I considered submitting to the eLearning Conference Presentation in San Antonio Texas.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/386QCQC
Topics for consideration were not limited to, but included the LMS, blended hybrid courses, mobile learning, video applications, and social media in learning environments. My own project was to enhance communication on sports teams and extend practice times through individual video downloads (of routines) from the team interactive website. My project was mostly successful, but there were some surprises, too. For instance, the girls shared more pics through facebook which they felt more comfortable using than the team website gallery that offered both private and public zones. Establishing an LMS for hybrid learning for sports teams is my future “phase 3” vision for further success.

While I have my own experience (through Action Research) to present for others, it would nice for me to be in an environment where I can see and hear how other educators are creating hybrid courses, using mobile tech, videos, and definitely expanding LMS use. Then in addition to presenting, I can surround myself with experienced people sharing their tried and tested knowledge and I can apply that to my own environment for guidance.

However, the 525.00 for registration alone, not including hotel fees and airfare…
I just don’t have almost a thousand dollars to fund my presentation and paper publication. Thank Goodness, though, for places like TIE (Tech in Education) Colorado which offers stipends to teachers so they may attend conferences like this and present their work. Unfortunately, TIE isn’t accepting submissions now, but I’ll keep a future eye out for opportunities there.

In addition to researching appropriately aligned themes and topic, I need to add affordability and feasibility to my search filters! This is stressful considering my teaching job ended in June and I’m still in the job search process for next year.) I think I've located more affordable, viable opportunities for presentation...

Choice #1: This conference offers viable options. In addition to the costly, regular in-person presentation I’ve considered elsewhere, here I could present virtually (for a reduced virtual fee of 200.00 without the need for airfare or hotel room bills) and have my paper reviewed for publishing after the conference. (This way, I’d not just save on airfare and hotel fees, but I’d still get to offer my presentation, and additionally, get the chance to publish my work in a journal, which I want to do for resume/experience building.) Ok this is one I’m going for!
http://ubi-learn.com/conference-2012/register/
It’s offered through the University of Illinois as virtual or in-person presentations!
http://ubi-learn.com/journal/
http://ubi-learn.com/conference-2012/call-for-papers/

Another way to make it all more feasible is to take advantage of early bird specials on registration that encourages students to attend and present. For instance Georgia Ed Tech offers early student showcase options (145.00 to attend the full 3 day conference) as well as session presentation and panel discussion opportunities.
http://gaetc.org/component/content/article/17-program/67-application-to-present However, I can’t imagine presenting for an entire 90 minutes. (It seems like a little long, whereas the other ubiquitous presentation was a 15 minute presentation with 10-15 minute follow-up discussion.) That seems to be more appropriate with what I have to present. They do have student exhibits but I was actually hoping to present verses have a “science fair” type exhibit. I’ll keep looking…

*Going the opposite route for a minute since I’ve always wanted to visit Hawaii, (LOL), there’s actually a conference totally perfect for my presentation topic calling for paper and presentation submissions now! The other cool thing is that there are arts education presentations happening there simultaneously. (That is my passion.)

I learned that Both American and United Airlines offer special meeting fares for attendees of the Hawaii International Conference who use the Meeting ID Code below when they book their reservations. This would help costs but I know it would still be a lot most likely. In fact-I just looked it up and I was able to find round-trip super economy tickets for a total of 830.00, but that doesn’t include hotel and conference fees. That’s not nearly as much as I’d thought, but still a lot. Hey, I’m reading Art of Possibility, so I have to dream some! OK. Back to reality…

Choice #2: Right in my own state, not an hour away, is the “PETE & C” or PA Educational Technology Expo and Conference. It is an excellent opportunity for me to present and I can drive there without airfares or hotels fees! They suggest presentation submissions that improve home/school connections (which mine does), offering tech tools for the classroom (which mine does), and might be specific to a content area (which mine could be-specifically used for team building in both physed activities and sports teams.)

http://sessions.peteandc.org/proposals/newproposal.php
Actually, I just realized that I have not come across any calls specifically for using tech to enhance sports teams and physed activities. This could be my very own “shoes in Africa” opportunity as described by Zander in the book, Art of Possibility, mentioned in my previous blog. Rather than saying “oh they aren’t looking for proposals concerning technology for sports teams” so I won’t apply, I should think that I have an innovative idea, tested project and experience, to share which they need to hear since they haven’t considered it before! Indeed, it seems no one has! This could make my project more interesting for inclusion in conferences that spotlight emerging tech and new, innovative uses of tech for learning.

The PETE &C has become my number one choice for presentation, actually, and it fits within my budget. It makes sense, too, that as I job search, I network within my own state as well. Additionally, on the PETE & C website they requested volunteers to sign up for participation in the review panel. I applied as a reviewer as I think it will be an exciting volunteer opportunity (a way I can contribute) and see what opportunities are offered for presentation in my own state. Hopefully there is not a conflict, and I can help on the review panel and also present my own research. I will find out! If I can’t do both, I can present this year and offer help reviewing next year. It is a good connection for me and I’m excited about it.

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Week 2 / Blog 2 - Leadership post: Where Do I Want To Share My Project?

I spent two days going through the list of conferences provided by Dr. Bedard. Halfway through the list, I was beginning to think I had done something wrong to Dr. Bedard in a past life, and her way of punishing me was to make sure every conference had already taken place or was completely unrelated to my area of interest. Then I got to the “H’s” and struck gold. “I found one!” I yelled, as I hugged my dog. In fact, I found three.

Source: http://www.hiceducation.org/

Conference #1: Hawaii International Conference onEducation

This conference is targeted towards academic educators and professionals from across various disciplines to share and network. I came across their program from the last conference and saw topics on Online Assessment, Digital Media Concerns, and the Affordances of e-Learning. I knew then that my Action Research paper on blended learning would fit right in.

Source: http://www.salt.org/docs/wprogram12.pdf

 Conference #2: Society for Applied LearningTechnology (SALT)

The SALT conference focuses on ways to apply the latest technologies for education. Some of their areas of interest include Gaming & Simulation and Instructional Systems Design. (Did someone say “ADDIE”?) This conference my very well appease my inner tech-geek goddess. I do have to submit fast, as their deadline is July 20. 

Source: http://tassconference.org/pdf/2011%20TASS%20program.pdf

 Conference #3: Teaching Academic Survival Skills (TASS)Conference

This conference calls for proposals that deal with “college students, classroom experiences, teaching strategies, study skills…and the use of technology in teaching and learning”. If that doesn’t say “Julia Hutchinson”, I don’t know what does. This conference is actually my first choice, primarily because of the area of interest.



Update: After Wednesday's Wimba session, I decided that I am going to switch from a paper presentation to a 'presentation' presentation. I've changed the conferences to the Georgia Educational Technology Conference, and the Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference. The format lends more to my creative self, and having recently presented my research to a body of faculty, the experience is still fresh. So, I'm off to power up my Keynote!

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Week 2 / Blog 1 – The Art of Possibility (Ch. 1-4)

I had no idea what to expect from this book, and was actually puzzled as to why this course was even assigned a textbook. Now that I’ve read the first four chapters, I am starting to understand the timing and relevance of this book. “The Art of Possibility” is my personal Oprah/Dr.Phil, causing me to take an objective, external look at Julia Hutchinson. Here’s a look at some of my “ah-ha” moments:

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve convinced myself that an opportunity was unattainable because of one reason or another. At one time, I had an idea to start a business. I didn’t. Why? Because I convinced myself I didn’t have the knowledge or the money to do it. When I got the money, I didn’t have the time. When I had the time, I didn’t have the….well, you get the idea. I kept pinning myself inside this box of limitations, rather than enlarging (or even removing) the box.

As a instructor, it is easy to position myself on the throne of rightful authority. What I say goes because I’m the teacher and you are the student. Why else would you enroll in my course? (And we wonder why students have attitudes.) Over the past few years, I have relinquished my total authority in exchange for a more democratic approach to student projects, even going as far as allowing students to set the criteria and choices for certain projects. What a difference it made! When I let go of the reigns, the truly creative students fly!

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Week 1/ Blog 5 – Wimba Archive Recap

It really bites not being able to attend Wimba sessions for this course. Unfortunately, I’m teaching a Portfolio class from 6pm to 9pm on Wednesdays. I thought I could watch from work while the students were working on assignments, but the connection was so poor, I had to discontinue. I guess I’ll be a W.A.W. (Wimba Archive Watcher) for July.

Watching the archive was a bit overwhelming. There is SO much going on for this course that I have literally cancelled any plans or events on my calendar – except for The Dark Knight Rises on July 20. I’ll just have to work my leadership project around that one. The feeling of stress and panic that I felt watching the archive is not an unusual feeling. I remember having that feeling back in Month 1 and 2 when we were focusing on our Lit Reviews. I made it my resolve to take it one step at a time, one assignment at a time, until everything was done. Needless to say, I’ll have to do that again this month. The Capstone and Leadership assignments have a lot of ‘moving parts’ to them (especially the Leadership Project). Professor Joe did clarify a lot of points. For example, I wasn’t sure about the timeline for the Leadership Project and what would determine our grade. I’m also glad he expounded on the Abstract. One hundred twenty words or less sounds easy, but I’ve learned from previous projects never to underestimate any assignment.

Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to correspond with the Professor during an iChat or via email. Until then, I’ll be watching from the archives…

Image Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/955072

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Week 1/Leadership Post: To Publish or To Present

My comfort zone has always been in producing visually engaging material. Thus, when the choice to publish or present came about, my first answer, without thought, was to present. Then I began to think. My Action Research site has been very successful, and I would be able to utilize much of the content from my AR site.   

Ironically, when I reflect back to Month 1 when Dr. Wyly introduced the Literature Review, I thought I was never going to make it through this program. I never thought my writing was good enough then, and have often struggled with the quality and consistency of my writing even now. Nevertheless, I have decided to publish. By ultimately choosing this option, I will be demonstrating to myself that I can develop my writing to a level worthy of being published for a conference.

Update: After the week two Wednesdays Wimba session, I decided that I am going to switch from a paper presentation to a 'presentation' presentation. The format lends more to my creative self, and having recently presented my research to a body of faculty, the experience is still fresh. So, I'm off to power up my Keynote!

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