Leading Innovative Change
George CourosDivision Principal of
Innovative Teaching and Learning#PSD70
“Transformational leaders don't start by denying the world around them. Instead, they describe a future they'd like to create instead.”
Seth Godin
From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bdesham/3259862682/
About Me
Focus on Relationships
Pier 21, 1958
Dad
“We need to teach kids to respect the past but to live in the future.”
Marc Prensky
Be More Dog
This is not about technology; it’s about relationships and learning.
Why Change?
We need to rethink school.
“If you don't like change, you're going to like
irrelevance even less.”General Erick Shinseki
From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasarobonaut/5478897371/
“The Interwebs (slang) allow students to take their learning into their own hands and give it life, meaning and apply their passion to what
ever they choose....
But the question is, are the schools teaching for yesterday or tomorrow?”
The world is mobile.
Learning happens everywhere.
“I decided to drop out of school to pursue photography...”
We are all connected
tweetping.net
Isolation is now a choice education makes.
Tap into the “human” side of the web.
“As the Internet has become more central in our lives,
we have begun to witness a revival of the importance of being
human.”Notter and Grant
To inspire meaningful change, you must make a connection to the heart before you can make a connection to the mind.
You have an impact.
Our kids look up to what we do...
Our kids need our guidance.
The biggest shift for leadersusing technology is not skill set;it’s mindset.
“What we model is what we get.”Jimmy Casas
Would you want to spend the whole day learning in your own classroom?
The Big Question
It is not enough just to be different; it has to be better.
Notter and Grant
From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/4196773347/
Leading Innovative Change
Start with the “why”
"Create a compelling vision, one that takes people to a new place, and then translate that vision into a reality." -
Warren G. Bennis
vision
Parkland School Division is a place where exploration, creativity and
imagination make learning exciting and where all learners aspire to
reach their dreams.
Learning First, Technology Second
Business vs. Education
What is best for kids?
4 Guiding Questions For Your IT Department
What is best for kids?
How does this improve learning?
If we were to do _________, what is the balance of risk vs. reward?
Is this serving the few or the majority?
“Freedom is actually a bigger game than power.
Power is about what you can
control.
Freedom is about what you can
unleash.”
Harriet Rubin
Create Meaninful Learning Experiences With Staff
“To innovate, disrupt your routine.”
http://georgecouros.ca
http://connectedprincipals.com
Help move people from their “Point A” to their “Point B”.
Simone Bauer, with a Master of Arts in piano performance, B Ed in music teaching, is an
innovative music specialist at Blueberry School.
Day 50: Evan, Student (Blueberry School)
“...And truth be told, teachers should be responsible for their own PD now. Kids wouldn’t wait for a blogging workshop.
Adults shouldn’t either.”Will Richardson
Original from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bombardier/15371858/
Narrow Your Focus
Literate --> Adaptive --> Transformative
Move to meaningful creation.
“Learning is creation, not consumption.
Knowledge is not something a learner
absorbs, but something a learner creates.”
Original from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotologic/410355440/
“They have to be interactive producers, not isolated
consumers.” John Seely Brown
Build Based on Strengths
Our job in education is not to control talent, but to help find and unleash it.
What’s your background in video
editing?
I just do it for fun. I’m self-taught.
How long did it take to film and edit?
I started in November, but then I had to start from scratch a couple months
afterwards, so I spent months and months on it.
“There are intrapreneurs who bring significant innovative changes from
within an organization.” (Swearingen, 2008)
“Intrapreneurial spirit” in schools will more than likely lead to “entrepreneurial
spirit” outside of them.
Embrace an Open Culture
Everyone is a teacher, everyone is a learner.
LearningTogether
"Figure out a way to create systems that
allow those hunches to come together..."~Stephen Johnson
“But kids often defy expectations, if you give them the opportunity.” Shelley Wright
Steps Towards Innovative Change (Non-Sequential)
2. Create Meaningful Learning Experiences
1. Focus on Learning First, Technology Second
3. Narrow Your Focus
Steps Towards Innovative Change (Non-Sequential)
5. Create and Embrace an Open Culture
4. Focus on Strengths
Concluding Thoughts
128
Make sharing the “default”.
Original from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ben_grey/4582294721/
Jump!
The Biggest Game Changer in Education?
Open your world...Open their world.