Question 87 of 365: What looks like planning (but isn’t)?

In many ways, the working world around me is in a shambles. People have left or are leaving, transitions and uncertainty abound. I hear daily that things will get better soon, but I see many institutions with which I associate, that this is clearly not the case. The further fragmentation and agenda hunting is clear and ongoing. I see newcomers and hangers on as having basically the same core attribute, and that is for being incredibly distrustful (of what is here now, of what has come before, and of anyone who is trying to create change that they didn’t think of themselves).

And I have come to the conclusion that many of these institutions are engaging in activities that look like planning, but actually give the exact opposite effect to anyone else who is watching I would like to take a moment to explore a few examples of what I am talking about.

Powerpoint presentations- These are a really good way for a given individual, or better yet, a branded institution to look like they are in the throws of intense organizational restructuring and action. The bullet points that are coming across the screen seem to hint at a greater depth if one were only permitted to ask a few key questions. The intentionally business-only themes chosen aim directly at just how serious everyone is taking the current economic situation. The fact that these presentations are given at a break-neck pace also gives the illusion that there is just too much going on to slow down and talk through the details.

While a good presentation lets us see how carefully crafted words and images can persuade an audience to rally around an idea, these presentations seem to only be about conveying information that could have been put into an e-mail, or even more likely, a single tweet.

Putting Draft on Everything- I have seen this on so many documents recently that it makes me think that I’m beta testing a single piece of paper just to find out that the only revision that is happening is the removal of the “draft” watermark. I have seen the full page DRAFT background recently so as to not confuse folks that anything on the page is worthwhile. I have seen the upper-corner lowercase “draft” label and it seems to be casually motioning to the horrific display of “tables as content.” This kind of drafting is someone’s way of sending out an idea that has been touched by no more than three people but is going to be made into binding language for hundreds or thousands. It is done because version control is too abstract and collaboration too difficult to muster. It is a way for the illusion of planning to really take root, but in reality, it is simply pursuing the easiest path to the finish line, never mind the consequences of backlash or loss of buy-in.

Holding lots of meetings (or holding none at all because you are too busy)- The two sides of the coin to this particular issue are equally terrible for trying to show people that planning and action is taking place. When people hold lots of meetings, many of which are scheduled at the last minute, it is incredibly rare for anything of importance to be said. It is much more likely, for someone to call the meeting convener on the fact that the meeting is ill-planned. More likely still, the originator of the meeting will lose all credibility with the participants because they feel as though their time is being wasted. The participants will most likely be back-channeling about how bad the meeting is being run, which will further deteriorate any support that the leader is trying to instill in a given project.

If no meetings are being held because the stakeholders are just too busy, this is also the illusion of planning for the future. By appearing busy but having no work products or communication to show for it, you look like you have been squandering valuable time. It also looks like you lack passion and a direction for all of the work that you have done. It looks like you are replaceable. Being busy means that you schedule things in advance and stick to those appointments. It means that ongoing meetings don’t work, but purposeful e-mail exchanges do. It means sending updates and new ideas out to people and letting them think about it while you work on something else. Planning and action are not the product of an empty schedule with nothing but “work time.”

Arbitrary Deadlines- I have seen a rash of deadlines that are tied to almost nothing. There is a hint of importance in creating a deadline, but only if that deadline has a real purpose. It only makes sense when there is something really driving that date to have meaning. The deadlines that make sense are ones that come from laying down a series of dominoes and nocking them over. The ones that don’t are a single event that could affect a future event, but only if the stars align correctly.

We all feel an impetus to get something done, but there must be consequences both good and bad for doing those things. The deadlines that are self-imposed seem to require more planning than a lot of the arbitrary ones that float around in times of “almost planning.”

And while there are many other examples of other things that look like planning, I don’t think that beleaguering the point will do any good. Suffice it to say that I am looking forward to the day when planning and getting things done are one in the same and when all stakeholders are consulted for the future. I also look forward to the day when collaboration makes sense for everyone and not just as a cherry on the top, and when transparency isn’t an excuse to do things half-cocked.

Planning should be a part of the art of creation instead of the art of obfuscation.

(This came off as more condescending than I had meant it to. I should state for the record that I have been guilty of all of these except putting “DRAFT” on things. I get why people do it, but I just can’t bring myself to put the word on a Google Doc.)

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Question 66 of 365: What kind of relationships do our communities require?

I have a daughter and a son. My wife is my best friend. I live in the suburbs. Whether these are cliches or not, they are the truth that I live each day. The seemingly mundane existence found within these three facts is a lot of what makes me who I am. And yet, a lot of the communities that I have tried to be a part of, do not value these kinds of relationships.

Many of the communities I believe in are not interested in “staying home” with my son on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that my wife can go to work and school. These communities could not care less about the fact that I would rather watch a dvd with my wife than answer e-mail or tweet more consistently. They require a certain amount of commitment that I reserve for my family. And so I must be on the outside looking in, sometimes.

That is not to say that they that they aren’t worthwhile, or that the people that are more committed have given up their families. I believe that there are some families that understand the level of commitment required to take part. Mine doesn’t want to understand that. And, I respect them for it.

Yet, the communities of Entrepreneurs, and Ed Tech folks that I am interested in allow for many different ways of engagement. I can lurk and I can attend on occasion. I can go to a bar to talk about an idea. I can travel to a conference out of state.  I can attend a webinar. I can blog.

These little pieces of attendance that I can string together will allow me to keep the pulse on these communities. They will not allow me to lead them, but they will allow me to engage people in conversation and create something with those people who can overlook my unwillingness to get past my “other commitments.”

I do look forward to a time, however, when my family and life in a suburbs will not be a liability. I look forward to communities that do not make the distinction between having a family and creating something great.

When I come right down to it, I will not be able to develop software or create engaging professional development as fast as someone without children or a significant other. I just don’t have that kind of time. What I can commit to, however, is creating something every day. I can commit to the knowledge that my family sustains me more than any amount of work ever could.

My wife pushes me to blog every day. She makes sure that I have deadlines. My children always make me think from their point of view. They make me understand what it is to be human and learn things for the first time.

And those are the type of people I want to work with. I want people who would rather go out for dinner with their family than people who want to go out for a night of drinking. I want a community that requires deep relationships, not a lot of tenuous ones that are interchangeable. I want a community that respects all forms of taking part as equal, and not just the folks who have the most time on their hands. But, I may just have to create it because I don’t see a whole lot of it going on right now.

Question 53 of 365: Who are our board of directors?

All organizations have a Board to govern them. They check in on what the org is doing and they have a unique perspective to see the whole rather than having to worry about the everyday. Board of Educations guide policy for school districts and Board of Directors guide companies and non-profits. In many cases, Boards are looked down upon as meddling in the affairs of an institution or issuing directives that are absurd or counterproductive. Often decisions that must be “run by the Board” are ones that we agonize over. The Board has the power to kill our projects of passion or redirect our efforts with their ability to fund or unfund at will.

However, this is not the kind of Board that I am trying to invoke. What I am talking about here is a form of mentorship that you can’t get without actually stating who your mentors are. You can have friends and family and you can get advice from them, but if they don’t know that they hold a pivotal role in helping you to envision a direction and a future, there is a lot of unfocused pushes toward nothing.

As I have embarked on answering questions and figure out the next steps for my career and my life, I have enlisted my Board of Directors because they are the people who I want to share my future with.

Here is how I chose my Board:

I looked for the people who have a passion for getting things right, those who are not satisfied with a first attempt. I chose those who will not let me be an expert for too long. I chose people who have something to teach me, or who will let me learn with them.

My Board is all older than me. While this isn’t essential, I mention it because I think that people who have the experience to put things into context for me are essential. I looked for those who take pictures. I watched for people who could express themselves, and express frustration well.

(An aside: Frustration has to be the hardest emotion to express well. We mostly give off noises to show it. The people that can really do this well, however, are capable of getting genuinely mad in the face, describing their frustration and letting it flow through them as they work out their next action. They never put their hands up in the air and then never write someone off. They see opportunities for frustration and pursue them in order to alleviate other’s frustrations. They express frustration with steady pressure and focused fanaticism for the way things should be.)

The people that I wanted to elect to my Board do not have everything figured out. They are failures sometimes. They are disinterested at others. They are honest about both.

What I wanted were wrecking balls for my thoughts.

I wanted writers. I wanted people who go out for coffee. I wanted people who use pens and paper.

And that is what I found. I found mentors who I talk to on a regular basis and whose conversations I cherish, save and come back to quite often. My mentors change my perspective on a regular basis. They make me better at asking questions and finding answers. And, they are the reason why I learn.

Finding people to push you to learn is the best thing you can ever do, no matter the workflow, tool or job at hand. It is the people that will prevail, no matter what.

(And perhaps, that is why so many organizations struggle. Their Boards don’t push them to learn, just to work harder.)

SpeedGeek Learning Version .1

Strategic vs. Slow

Am I just imagining things, or are more and more educators using the term “strategic” when they want to move slowly? Since when does having a strategy mean that there is no hope for reason to feel urgency.
 
I believe in research and I believe in planning, but these things do not seem to have anything to do with how quickly you can get things done.
 
I have had major conversations about making sure that everyone is on the same page before we move ahead with an initiative or roll out a new tool. While I seem to agree in principle, I think it is much more about our wish for everyone to be great, rather than it is based in reality. In reality, you will never have everyone on the same page. In reality, you wouldn’t want all teachers to be doing the same things in their classroom, only reaching the same kids. Why shouldn’t we let the truly exceptional work and ideas be what they can be? Why shouldn’t we run with a great, well thought out proposal, even if it doesn’t fit in with a strategy of standing still.
 
Now, I am not interested in only my ideas. I am not so egotistical to believe that I have a monopoly on change. However, it is my contention that the glacial pace of educational reform is not in place because of a lack of good ideas, but rather, it exists because of a lack of urgency.
 
How do we show the immediacy of how powerful connected learning is? How do we make sure that all of what we say has an overwhelming sense of need? I love the direction that our schools are headed, but I worry that we are going to strategize ourselves out of options for saving public education and reaching our kids. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Posted via email from olco5′s posterous

The Ripe Environment: Collaboration as Instinct

I sat at the over-long table, as I always do on Mondays and thought about the next time I would meet my students for Extended Learning Time (our version of a multi-discipline course without any set curriculum or standards to give guidance or restrict us).

“Well, it is earth day in a couple of days.”

Immediately, my colleague and I started a Google Document called Earth Day 2008. We started dropping in links to pages we found.

“Oh, I did hear something about an event on the National Geographic Channel. Did you hear about it. Something about the human footprint.”

We were pushing hard now, 25 minutes before kids arrive. Link after link being proposed as a starting point.

“What is the question we are really trying to get our kids to answer here.”
“Is Earth Day important and why?”

And we we started writing out a discussion, a plan of attach. We eventually came to the conclusion that there were others who were interested in asking this same question, experts even. And yet, within 30 minutes we created an authentic question and activity around it. Our instinct was to create and collaborate, rather than offer worksheets as an attempt at lesson planning. This is our Ripe Environment, and the class that the students came into that day was Ripe too.

They couldn’t wait to see who had the bigger footprint. They couldn’t wait to collaborate on their own weekly or monthly collection of soda cans or milk jugs. This process of not waiting to be told, of instinctively knowing that it is the right thing to do, that makes it truly authentic.

So, how do you foster this instinct for collaboration. Well, by saying yes to it as often as possible. It is my personal belief that there is never too little time to create, too little time to collaborate.

If you have only a minute:

1. Put a request for a resource out on twitter.
2. Do a delicious search instead of a google search (it is a community of people waiting to help).
3. Link to someone who is talking about it.

If you have a half-hour:

1. Start a google doc and invite a few others to join in.
2. Search technorati for new blogs, videos, and people who are interested in the same thing.

If you have a longer:

1. Start a wiki and get people to contribute.
2. Start a blog and get people to contribute.
3. Start a movement and get people to join.

The Perfect Online Professional Development Community

I have really been thinking a lot about how to create an online community for all of the teachers in my school district who are as passionate about technology integration, reflection and collaboration as I am. The way that it stands, I feel so isolated in my quest for new and more effective ways of teaching. I know this is not the case, that there are probably hundreds of teachers who feel the same way, but that isn’t really much comfort when I don’t know who they are and I have no way of contacting them. I almost feel like I need to send out a classified ad: Young passionate teacher seeks the same in order to learn and collaborate about technology and pedagogy.

I can’t think of a better way to ask for a community than to create one and hope that other people join up. I have already run this idea by a few, more experienced, Edubloggers, Bud Hunt and Karl Fisch. They have both responded pretty well to the idea and are willing to help me get it off of the ground.

After my initial e-mails to my administration and these two great teachers/resources, I thought that there would be no way of stopping such a mammoth idea. My principal loved it, and the feeder area coordinator thought it would work well with some of our other goals. But last night, I received an e-mail from the Web Services manager of my district. In it he said that I should consider using two semi-crippled technologies (Firstclass and SchoolCenter) that teachers in my district are already fairly comfortable with (and the district has already paid for). I say that these are crippled technologies because they have real holes in their capabilities. They just can’t do everything that I want to do with this community.

Even with this minor setback, I have decided that I will not compromise (at least initially) my vision of the “Perfect Online Professional Development Community.” I would like to see just how collaborative, easy to use, scalable, social, and reflective I can make this experience for other teachers. So, without any further explanation, I would like to unveil what I think are the essential pieces of a new generation professional learning community.

A central portal will give you access to the following (I am thinking about using protopage):

1. A master blog that would guide discussion.
2. Blogroll
3. Recent Blog Articles (a la SuprGlu)
4. Archived Blog Articles (in a newsletter type format)
5. A Google Earth Mash-Up of all of the school represented in the community
6. Bios of the teacher bloggers (if they wish to include them) done in a social way so that collaboration is easier (an Elgg.org-type personal page)
7. A calendar for event planning (Skypecasts, Classroom Demonstration Webcasts, Classroom Picture Flickr Stream)

The other aspects of the community that will not be directly shown on the portal’s front page except for simply linking to them:

1. A Q+A section for both teaching questions and technical help questions (Ning.com has a great set-up for something like this).
2. A Digg-Style Article/Website recommender.
3. A Wiki for success stories of technology integration or improved practice (a little like David Warlick‘s Telling the New Story Wiki)
4. Walk-Throughs (screencasts) for how to create blogs, collaborate, etc.
5. A way of dealing with comments both attached to and unattached to their original posts. (co.mments.com has a pretty great strategy)
6. A professional development bookshelf (akin to either this one or this one)
7. A way of signing up for an e-mail RSS system for new posts (most teachers check their e-mail religiously)
8. A belief statements wiki about technology or teaching in general for certain collaborating members or individuals (this could be a running list of belief statements and/or a running list of questions that these belief statements beg to be answered. I also like the idea of using standpoint.com somehow).
9. A system for sharing lesson plans and ideas (both formatted and unformatted) including a collaborative document center.
10. A cross-school project starter (partnering up similar teaching styles)

Questions I still have about how to get this done:

1. How do we get as many different positions represented in this community (principals, core teachers, librarians, elective teachers, etc.)
2. Should we try to protect anonymity on the blogs?
3. Just how much do most people know about these technologies? Will it be like starting from scratch for most people? And if so, should I send out a formal (or informal) survey about these ideas (What have you done in your classrooms with technology? Do you like to create you own lessons? How much do you enjoy reflection? Do you want feedback on your classroom ideas from other teachers? How worried are you that this is going to take too much of your free time? How many of you already blog?)?

Well, that is pretty much it. I would like to make this project as appealing and voluntary as possible, so that everyone who is in the community has a lot of buy-in. Let me know what you think of this grand scheme. What is possible and what is not possible?