Category Archives: edtech

Open AI and Satya Nadella: Contrasts in Effective Leadership

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It’s been a rollercoaster ride for the past few days as we watched and waited for the board members of Open AI to come up with a reason for their abrupt decision to fire Sam Altman, CEO and co-founder. However, the reason is still unclear despite our cumulative shock at how it was handled. But this isn’t the subject of my post today. My post focuses on leadership or lack thereof. 

I wanted to post as soon as I heard about the news on November 17th. However, I’m glad I waited because now I can contrast the good and bad of decision-making and leadership between Altman’s previous employer, OpenAI, and Microsoft.

Here is some background for those who haven’t been following the news.

In 2015, Sam Altman co-founded OpenAI, a non-profit research organization focused on artificial general intelligence, with 10 others, including Elon Musk and Greg Brockman. Brockman became a board member, and Musk left in 2018 after a disagreement about who should run the company: Altman or Musk. OpenAI aimed to offer artificial intelligence to “all of humanity.” 

The company grew and, in 2019, decided to begin using Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPTs). GPTs are similar to a neural network or a machine learning model, which functions like a human brain and is trained on input, such as large data sets, to produce outputs, meaning answers to users’ questions. The downside is that it needs a lot of costly infrastructure and doesn’t fit a non-profit business model. So the founders decided to into two organizations: a ‘capped-profit’ organization called OpenAI Global LLC and OpenAI Inc, the non-profit and sole controlling shareholder in OpenAI Global LLC, according to an article published by the Guardian and written by John Naughton, an Irish academic, journalist and author. At that point, Altman convinced Microsoft to invest $1 billion in exchange for an agreement to license and commercialize some of OpenAI’s technology. The primary goal for Altman and Brockman was altruistic; however, several board members, including Ilya Sutskever (a co-founder and AI researcher), expressed concern about the danger of AI being used for illegal or lethal means by bad actors. Many believe this rift is the main reason Altman was fired. 

Now that you have some background, we can focus on why actions in this situation exemplify poor leadership versus exemplary leadership. 

Basic facts that OpenAI’s previous board members should have considered:

  1. Not valuing/trusting your employees/management team.

Altman had become the face of OpenAI, as evidenced by his November 6 hosting of the first OpenDev event. At the event, he announced several major enhancements for developers, including GPT 4-Turbo, an improved version of GPT-4 that can analyze text or text and images, and the ability to build GPTs and add them to a GPT store, among other innovations.

  1. Overlooking loyalty and team spirit

Brockman resigned from the company as a board member.

      2. Poor communication

Many employees at OpenAI trust Altman, which has implications for their loyalty to a board that decided to fire him without prior notice to shareholders, employees, and Altman.

     3. A lack of empathy

Microsoft, the major shareholder in OpenAI, was blindsided by the announcement. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, was not consulted by OpenAI’s board. He was told only briefly before the Board made the public announcement.

According to David Goldman of CNN, “Involving Microsoft in the decision, informing employees, working with Altman on a dignified exit plan…all of those would have been solutions more typically employed by a board of a company OpenAI’s size – and all with potentially better outcomes.”

Employees immediately began to leave the company or threatened to leave, and investors were angry they weren’t consulted. Board members had second thoughts about their decision and considered inviting Altman back. However, Microsoft beat them to it. On November 20th, Nadella announced that Altman agreed to be CEO of a new AI research department at Microsoft. Brockman will be joining him, as well as several other OpenAI researchers.  In the meantime, OpenAI announced xxxxx as interim CEO.  

Microsoft announced it will remain an investor in OpenAI and provide them with cloud services. However, most OpenAI employees have threatened to leave after losing confidence in its management. Microsoft has already hired several of them. 

Nadella has noted in multiple interviews and speeches that he believes there are three important concepts behind great leadership: clarity, empathy, and a growth mindset. A prime example of his beliefs is the email he wrote in January 2023 to Microsoft employees when announcing the layoff of 10,000 employees. 

As reported by Forbes magazine, Nadella’s email included the following:

“The senior leadership team and I are committed that as we go through this process, we will do so in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible. First, we will align our cost structure with our revenue and where we see customer demand. Today, we are making changes that will result in the reduction of our overall workforce by 10,000 jobs through the end of FY23 Q3. [Nadella doesn’t make readers wait to learn the headline news. He brings it up front].

Second, we will continue to invest in strategic areas for our future, meaning we are allocating both our capital and talent to areas of secular growth and long-term competitiveness for the company, while divesting in other areas. [Nadella also announces the $1.2 billion charge Microsoft will take to cover severance payments].

And third, we will treat our people with dignity and respect, and act transparently. [Nadella details the “above market” severance and benefits Microsoft is committing to affected workers]”.

A high-level employee who had been laid off noted after hearing the news that “he had the opportunity to hold various positions, including launching new ad types on Bing!, supporting international customers on Azure, and launching a new language for customers in Indonesia, thereby opening up a new market. In the past two years, he had focused on diversifying Microsoft’s supply chain and reducing onboarding costs while improving efficiency.

The challenges he faced had helped him to grow both professionally and personally, and he could not express enough love and gratitude for being part of the company. When the news was announced, the immediate leadership response was not to rush the transition but to check in on everyone and ensure they were doing okay. He was heartened to see that even those who were not directly affected showered him with respect, empathy, and support.”

                                       Contrasting Leadership Decisions

Satya Nadella OpenAI Board 
Clarity and Communication Listening is an important skill 

Bring clarity when there is uncertainty

 No communication of the decision to fire Altman to anyone 

Infighting among board members about the direction of OpenAI
Teamwork and Empathy Empathy is key to innovation

Collaboration is key for companies to thrive

 Lack of awareness of employee loyalty to Altman and his vision

Worries that profits would override ethics and safety 
Growth-mindset A culture of learning from mistakes 

Risk-taking while being mindful of what lies ahead

 Fears of OpenAI’s rapid growth 

Risk-aversion 

By contrasting the management of the same situation, we can see which one was more effective. In addition, the relationship Altman and Nadella have forged is key to whether it will end successfully or not. 

Sam Altman posted on X (formerly Twitter) on November 20:

satya and my top priority remains to ensure openai continues to thrive

we are committed to fully providing continuity of operations to our partners and customers the openai/microsoft partnership makes this very doable

The essence of effective leadership is evident in how it all turned out (within an extremely short timeline of 5 days).

Update as announced on X on November 22, 2023

OpenAI: (@OpenAI)

“We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo.

We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.”

Sam Altman: (@sama)

“i love openai, and everything i’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. when i decided to join msft on sun evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. with the new board and w satya’s support, i’m looking forward to returning to openai, and building on our strong partnership with msft.”

Satya Nadella: (@satyanadella)

“We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board. We believe this is the first essential step toward more stable, well-informed, and effective governance. Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed they have a key role to play along with the OAI leadership team in ensuring OAI continues to thrive and build on its mission. We look forward to building on our strong partnership and delivering the value of this next generation of AI to our customers and partners.”

This story was evolving as I wrote this post. I think you can see the result has satisfied everyone. Based on reporting by CNBC, I believe that Altman and Nadella were involved in all aspects of this solution. 

 Clarity through Communication. Empathy. Growth mindset.

   Selfie posted by Greg Brockman on X 

More information in this Wakelet collection

Detours, Discoveries, and Digital Delights

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A graphic that depicts happy students and their teacher working in a group and learning together.

Courtesy of Firefly

As I shared in my recent video, stepping back into my consulting work after a year-long hiatus spent cherishing special moments with my kids and grandkids has been invigorating and enlightening. While I was busy changing diapers and cooking dinners, there was an astonishing surge in the realm of LLMs (Large Language Models) and generative AI. I couldn’t resist diving right into this new wave of innovation. It’s fascinating how our perspectives shift as time goes by – a year ago, I might have shied away from these novel technologies, but now, I stand as a staunch advocate of embracing the unfamiliar. It’s akin to a form of playful exploration that has rekindled my sense of creativity in ways I never thought possible.

My latest focus has been on crafting videos that spotlight the myriad of ways educators can cultivate a sense of belonging within their classrooms and educational institutions. I’ve been penning video scripts with a little help from my AI buddy, ChatGPT. I interacted with the chatbot by honing my prompts (which was part of the fun). Then, lights, camera, action – I’m using Streamyard to capture my thoughts on video, bringing them to life. After that, it’s all about the magical touch of Microsoft’s Clipchamp to polish up those videos. Adding eye-catching thumbnails that I created using Firefly with Adobe Express. Oh, and don’t forget those super cool Canva brand templates from Ed2Market that I can enhance and modify with apps like Text to Image. It’s like turning words into captivating visuals in the blink of an eye. One of my favorite parts of all of this is creating the prompts and figuring out how to word them to ensure I get the results I have in mind. The whole process of creating, editing, and jazzing up videos feels like a thrilling adventure, and it’s all because I’ve unlocked my sense of self-belonging.

Courtesy of Text to Image Canva app

If you’ve ever wondered, “Can I really wrap my head around all this new tech?” – the answer is a resounding yes! All it takes is a pinch of self-belief and a dash of confidence, and you’re ready to conquer any tech challenge that comes your way. Trust me, it’s an exhilarating ride, and you’re in for a treat! And you’ll have so much fun while you’re learning and doing! 

Whether you’re a tech newbie or a seasoned pro, remember this: finding your sense of belonging is the key. It’s what fuels your fearless exploration of the tech universe. So go ahead, embrace the unknown, and let your creativity and tech prowess shine bright. And encourage your students to do the same. You’ve got this, and I can’t wait to see the incredible things you’ll create!

Here’s the link to the video I created this week. And the IG reel version.

 

My #oneword 2021 – Advocate (noun and verb)

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Ilene’s #oneword 2020 poster showing app logos Buncee, Wakelet, Flipgrid and the word Community

We were all so hopeful 2021 would be a better year than 2020, but on January 6th we witnessed frightening events in Washington, D. C.. Our dream of a better year was shattered as we watched the Capitol building overtaken by an angry mob of insurrectionists out to destroy democracy from its very roots. We’re all still struggling to come to terms with the ease of entry and exit this mob had. There is lots of analysis about what and who brought us to this moment. There is much blame flying around which centers on recent events, but if we look more closely we will find the deep-rooted history of racism, fear of “other”, and selfish greed are reasons.

This year I chose advocate (noun and verb) as my #oneword. The dictionary definition of advocate (noun) is one who defends or maintains a cause or proposal or one who supports or promotes the interests of a cause or group. The word advocate can also be used as a verb meaning to support or argue for (a cause, policy, etc.) or to plead in favor of someone or something. While they are pronounced differently depending on how it’s used in a sentence, the meaning is clear and unequivocal. Someone who advocates or is an advocate is able to see all sides of an issue but place himself with empathy and compassion. Here are some examples:

When my son was a few years old, he was diagnosed with chronic asthma and a severe allergy to all types of nuts; peanuts or legumes and tree nuts like walnuts and cashews. His asthma was seasonal and mostly occurred during the winter or when we had a dust storm. His nut allergies first appeared when he was 4 years old when he had a reaction to counting with cashew nuts in his kindergarten class. In the early 1990s when he was newly diagnosed and too young to explain his own needs to his teachers, classmates, and friends, I was his advocate. Nut allergies were not common and management of chronic asthma in children wasn’t a major concern. In school, I made sure the nurse knew about his health concerns and allergies. In fact, when I found out they didn’t have a nebulizer in the school clinic, I gifted one. My son often ended up in the nurse’s office if something triggered an attack and having the nebulizer on hand meant not having to take him to the hospital for care. However, he faces the most difficulty during school or class celebrations since he was not being able to eat food prepared outside our home. I was his advocate every year until he was able to explain himself. He is very good at advocating now and will tell waiters, “I can die if you serve me anything with nuts, nut oil, or even the smallest bits.”

I’m writing this on Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I’m an advocate of the Black Lives Matter movement and gender rights. I am a co-host of Courageous Conversations in EdTech with Melody McAllister and Victoria Thompson. We advocate for inclusivity, equity, and accessibility to edtech for all students. We want to hold companies, leaders, policymakers, and teachers accountable for the decisions made about what we use in our schools and classrooms. Perhaps it’s my age and all the years of acquired wisdom, or maybe I am more aware of my voice aand how one person can make a difference.

Here are some examples of how we can all become advocates for our students and children:

Does your school have Spirit Days? Crazy Hair Day for example? When we have children in our classrooms from a variety of cultures and races, someone’s idea of “crazy hair” maybe another child’s normal hair. As I listened to Ramona Meharg’s podcast guest today, her guest Arianna Lambert mentioned this as a traumatic memory from her childhood. There are many other ways to create community and a sense of fun at school without making some feel like they are different.

Learn about all religious holidays to create an understanding and respect for all celebrations and beliefs. I wrote more in a recent blog post.

Before making rules like this learn the cultures of your students
Create a sense of belonging in your classroom by welcoming, accepting, and validating each student’s heritage. Literature is a great way to showcase different cultures and languages.

Allow your students to use their voices and offer them choices when planning your lessons and assessments. This will increase their confidence and create a safe space for them to learn and reflect on their learning.

How will you become an advocate for yourself, your students, and causes important to you? What are some ways you can begin this journey if you haven’t started already?
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the Comments.

Buncee and Adobe Spark for Creativity in Lessons

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My Journey to Belonging and Wellbeing Buncee activities

One of the major things I missed as an administrator was teaching a classroom filled with students. Even more than being physically present with students, I miss planning and innovating in my lessons. Over the past few years, I’ve learned a number of apps and educational technologies that I wished existed when I was teaching years ago. Tools like Flipgrid, Buncee, Wakelet, Book Creator, Microsoft Teams, Google for Education, Canva, and Adobe Spark have challenged my learning and enhanced my ability to communicate my message about belonging, inclusion, equity, compassion, and supporting refugees. And lately, I have seen the amazing things teachers are creating for their students to ensure learning continues even as we face so much disruption and uncertainty. Talk about being FOMO!

There are two apps I am now creating with and have decided to jump back into creating lessons. The apps, Adobe Spark and Buncee are fun to use and extremely versatile, AND there are educators involved in the creation of new features and templates all the time which makes them so up to date and user friendly. I’m sure there are many other creative apps that are versatile and easy to use for students and teachers, but I’m most familiar with these two and I can get lost for hours creating and sharing. I’ll start with my Buncee journey first.

About a year ago, I gently dipped my toes into the Buncee waters. Initially, the water felt a bit cool since I wasn’t using it very often, so it seemed a bit daunting to figure out. But then I heard about the Buncee Summer Challenge and decided to join in the daily activities. I could choose when and which ones I wanted to complete and then share them on social media I started figuring out the different and multiple ways I could fulfill each challenge and when I shared my finished Buncee, the reaction from the community and from Buncee was so gratifying! One day the challenge was to use the draw feature in the app to create a “copy” of famous artworks. I thought to myself, I feel intimidated by drawing, so how do I feel about drawing and sharing it with people I don’t know? Well, as you can see from the finished product, I didn’t do too badly. And the best part was I had fun while I did it! How amazing is that from someone who has always suffered from a lack of confidence in my ability to draw anything?

But then I realized I wanted to share my expertise in Belonging with teachers since many are wondering how to build safe spaces and relationships in a virtual space or mask to mask in the classroom (and 6 feet apart). So I created a Buncee lesson about how to become a Good Ancestor which is posted in Ideaslab: https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/9a0d4c4f25784f74a03b9cdda5f91691

“Treat the world well. It was not given to you by your parents. It was willed to you by your children.” Kenya proverb

I have also used Buncee templates to create activities related to “My Journey to Belonging and Wellbeing”. I am also working on a lesson plan to go along with the activities. https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/13d2f34486a84f8791406a26a54025e5

Lately, after a competition announced by Wakelet and Adobe Spark, I found even more creativity that I could use to amplify my voice and the voice of the refugee leaders I support in Kakuma (who are now using Adobe Spark). The competitive challenges and supporting training videos by Dom Traynor really helped me understand the amazing ways I can use it to tell stories and market ideas. Then I found out about the Adobe Creative Educator training track with badges and 1-3 hour courses. I started with a Storytelling course and then followed with the Level 1 ACE course. Once I uploaded the assignments, I felt so accomplished!

The Level 2 course was recently released on https://edex.adobe.com and I couldn’t wait to start. Once lessons are completed, there are two assignments to complete. The first is a lesson plan using Adobe Spark and Assignment 2 is creating a video with Spark. There are examples and templates which is really helpful and a variety of educators present videos throughout the 3-hour course. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to complete the lesson plan since I’ve been out of the classroom for seven years, but I decided to try anyway. Once I saw the exemplar, I knew I could do it! There are so many lessons I used when I was a third-grade teacher before the age of apps and edtech. This would be my chance to upskill my lesson and show how to incorporate creativity. I remember having my students create a school newspaper and how much they enjoyed choosing the section they would contribute to and create the final product. Here’s the lesson I created which can suit ELA standards and language objectives in almost all grades 3-12, and with a bit of support, even scaffolded or scaled down for KG – 2.

I’m so excited to be back into the lesson planning mindset and am looking forward to creating plans for the book I am writing about belonging. I’d love feedback about the lessons and activities I’ve shared here.

ISTE and Belonging

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ISTE20 conference is now November 28-December 1 in Anaheim, California

ISTE 2019 poster with various pics from the conference

This weekend, I and at least 15,000 other educators and exhibitors should be attending the ISTE conference in Anaheim, California. But, as we all know, that’s not happening due to current circumstances. I have been seeing posts on social media by my PLN with photos of past ISTE conferences they attended which are showing up in their “memories”. Each and every one of the posts exclaim their sadness at missing this very special time with other innovative and passionate educators who are also a bit flaky (and I say that in the most loving way). I also thought about posting photo memories on my feed, but ISTE is more than just a one-time memory. ISTE is a community where so many of us feel like we belong. So I began to wonder what it is about ISTE that makes so many of us feel that way. It all relates to feeling accepted and a strong sense of belonging.

In 2016, when I was still mostly a lurker on Twitter I came across a post by someone in my PLN (honestly I would give credit here, but I don’t remember) who was #notatISTE and posted links to live streaming of some sessions at the conference. As I watched, I felt this strong connection to those attending. I also found #passtheschopeEDU was interviewing attendees which gave me an inside look at all the activities that happen during the conference. I was hooked! and made up my mind that I would join right away and attend the 2017 conference in El Paso, Texas. Looking back, I realize that it was a life-changing moment which opened up my world to edtech, amazing people to add to my PLN, and moved me out of my comfort zone.

Quote from Brene Brown-Definition of Connection

People don’t usually move out of their comfort zones unless they feel welcome, included, and accepted. Finding a sense of self-belonging within ISTE meant I had to gain confidence and feel accepted for my lack of knowledge about edtech but willingness to learn. I found all of that and more among the ISTE community. Alison Taplay, in a blog post from October, 2018 writes, “(Belonging) is a feeling of connection to others and a connection to place. It means feeling welcomed and accepted. It means feeling safe enough to be me; to show up and contribute! When everyone in a community experiences this sense of belonging, there is a natural shift toward an attitude of taking care of one another.”

GCN Leadership team members 2019-2020

During the year leading up to the 2017 conference, I began to follow others who were involved in edtech and ISTE PLNs. I made sure I received the regular newsletters and updates from ISTE and my ISTE PLNs. I added my name to the Global Collaboration Network and indicated my interest in volunteering for the leadership team; I became an at large member and loved attending the synchronous meetings and supporting the planning of conference activities like the Playground and Scavenger Hunt. I got to know the rest of the team and learned so much from them. In addition, I added my name to the ISTE17 group and learned how to make the most out of the conference (it’s packed with so many things going on at once that it’s easy to get overwhelmed and FOMO if you’re not careful). All of this made me feel valued. Everyone needs to feel valued.

upper right: Leigh, Barbara and me; lower right: Scavenger Hunt team “WonderWomen”

In June 2017 I attended the conference in San Antonio, Texas. ISTE17 was daunting, but I was determined to meet people and make the most of my five day experience. The Badge Summit was my first day. I have always been interested in digital badges as a way to show competency mastery for personal and professional development. I had no idea that I would meet someone I had been following for a while and admired for her knowledge and caring about education and educators. That special person is Barbara Bray. Barbara saw me sitting alone at one of the Badge Summit sessions and, as she told me later, she dislikes seeing anyone sit alone. She joined me at my table and we struck up a conversation. If you know Barbara, you know that it’s immensely difficult to resist chatting with her. She is one of the nicest and friendliest people you will ever meet and so good at networking! After the session finished, she asked if I’d like to join her to attend a special event later that evening. I was thrilled and felt so honored. Here was someone I considered an education icon asking me to join her. I’m quite shy and introverted, so my answer normally would have been, “That’s really nice, but I think I’ll just go back to the hotel.” However, there was something about Barbara that made me feel like we had known each other forever. It was the beginning of our friendship and sisterhood. We’ve been roommates at ISTE since then and keep in touch often even though she’s in California and I’m in Kuwait.

From left: Barbara and me goofing around; upper right: my PLN circle; lower right: passthescopeEDU 4 year anniversary poster

There is something else about Barbara that I want to mention here. She opened doors for me to go through that I never would have had the courage to enter. She connected me with other amazing and caring educators who helped me grow over the past three years. When you’re at ISTE, there are thousands of people around you, but if you recognize someone you’ve been following on social media, time slows down and as you bound across the room to give that person a hug, they welcome you and make you feel special too. Besides the amazing networking opportunities at ISTE, there are a variety of sessions and special events like Flipgrid Live and EdTech Karaoke. But probably my favorite is the GCN Scavenger Hunt. Barbara and I teamed up with three other amazing women, Heidi Carr, Melissa Eddington, and Christy Cate. Even my children were surprised at the things I was willing to do like making a pyramid with the rest of my team (like cheerleaders do), or asking a stranger who sort of looked like me to pose for a photo (in the middle of Chicago’s Chinatown). I don’t think I’ve ever had that much fun!

Upper right: Flipgrid Live 2019; lower right: Jess, Jornea, Ann from Fipgrid selfie with me; upper right: ISTE 2019 sign on Philadelphia Convention Center; lower right: Ilene and Michael Harvey (GCN team) with Misbah and Jamil of Wakelet

In 2018, I became the president-elect of the Global Collaboration Network and just finished my year as President. With so many of our team in different time zones, scheduling synchronous meetings wasn’t easy, but we managed to meet four times and also became active users of Slack (something else I learned about-thank you Simon Helton). ISTE strives to be more international and has members all over the world. They also organize training in the ISTE standards in a variety of venues globally to ensure digital citizenship and equity happens everywhere. Besides stepping out of my comfort zone to join the GCN team and have the courage to network like my mentor, Barbara, I have also started blogging and podcasting about my journey to belonging.

ISTE members welcomed me with open arms and created the opportunity to meet so many awesome people who have made such a difference in my life. Because I feel like I have people I can count on for support at any time, I continue to venture out of my comfort zone. I’m more active on social media and speak out about causes I believe in. I am also learning how to use apps and showing others how to use them. At ISTE, Sharing definitely does mean Caring! A membership in ISTE is a gift that keeps on giving.

My website, podcast, and social media details.

What are we learning about education during COVID19?

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What students can do offline to continue learning
Sketchnote by @Claribel716

I’ve written about my two previous experiences with schools being closed and have mentioned that it’s ok if there is no content reviewed or introduced as long as children are “learning” from their life experiences. Two weeks ago I was on a call with some of my PLN ‘besties’. The Our Global Classroom, affectionately known as the #OGC fam are real outside the box educators. Although we work within the system, we tend to push the edges a bit to be sure our students’ needs are met. Everyone on the call was from a different state or country and we all are experiencing different messages from schools and school district administrators. And the conclusion we all reached was children, parents, and teachers are stressed and feeling overwhelmed. This is definitely not an ideal way to learn.

In a recent article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper. Stephanie Jones and Hilary Hughes both University of Georgia professors in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice and co-directors of the Red Clay Writing Project note, “What we’re doing today is teaching and learning to be in Covid-19” and not distance learning or remote learning. The emphasis, they say, is learning to be. Since we are not under normal circumstances, learning at home during this pandemic is not the same as learning at school.
The full article can be found here: https://www.ajc.com/blog/get-schooled/opinion-this-not-home-schooling-distance-learning-online-schooling/b9rNnK77eyVLhsRMhaqZwL

For my part, I will “put my money where my mouth is” and outline some areas that all stakeholders in the education of our youth should consider as we move forward into a different world then we had before COVID19. This is a huge topic but I will do my best to keep it simple.

1. Focus on student outcomes and not content
We have talked around this topic for a long time and some of the solutions included teachers being able to plan units and lessons starting with the standards and outcomes (ie. Undestanding by Design/backward design). However, many teachers have never been trained in how to plan with the end goals in mind. Many teachers plan activities based on following a textbook because that is their guide or they believe the activity is interesting and will keep students “engaged” in the learning.
Resources for planning with the standards and outcomes in mind are available at:
ASCD has a page of resources based on Jay McTighe’s and Grant Wiggin’s work with UbD http://www.ascd.org/research-a-topic/understanding-by-design-resources.aspx
There are also resources here:
https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/understanding-by-design
I highly recommend this series of guides from Learning Sciences International (LSI)
https://www.learningsciences.com/study-guides-and-reproducibles/essentials-series

2. What can they learn while at home in their contexts?
Author, John Spencer (@spencerideas on Twitter) recently published a book about vintage innovation. “Vintage innovation happens when we use old ideas and tools to transform the present. Think of it as a mash-up. It’s not a rejection of new tools or new ideas. Instead, it’s a reminder that sometimes the best way to move forward is to look backward. Like all innovation, vintage innovation is disruptive. But it’s disruptive by pulling us out of present tense and into something more timeless.” His recent post, Taking Distance Learning Away from the Screen http://www.spencerauthor.com/distance-screentime outlines what he is experiencing at home with his teenage children during COVID19 and he offers some ‘mash-up’ suggestions.

Dr. John Spencer ideas for home learning

We can think of activities such as cooking (math, science, language), helping with household chores, assisting with scheduling, taking part in decision-making, joining a family meeting to look for solutions to every day problems, learning how to keep themselves busy while their parents are working, making music/playing music, learning how to strategize by playing board games, make their own games with rules and directions then test them out are some of the ideas I used with my own children while they were growing up. Now that they are on their own, they manage their finances, arrange their own schedules, are creative thinkers, and caring adults.
Resources for learning at home include:
https://www.smore.com/71uxq-the-kids-are-home-now-what a blog post by Andrea Segraves that has multiple resources listed.
From the parents’ point of view: https://newschannel20.com/amp/news/local/what-parents-think-about-e-learning-while-schools-are-closed

3. How can educators support parents and students who lack English language proficiency to help their children?
It’s always important to stay in regular communication with all parents to support them with their child’s learning. It is particularly important during this time to keep the communication going to de-stress parents who are probably balancing work and home responsibilities on their own. Strategies for helping them and their children cope include encouragement, suggestions about scheduling, and showing empathy towards their situation. A recent report by Hechinger, a national nonprofit newsroom that reports on education, noted that “(a)mong the more than 55 million students forced to stay home because of coronavirus-related school closures are at least 4.9 million English-language learners (ELLs)”. Teachers are using snail mail to remain in contact with families that don’t have access to the internet. A school district in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania partnered with a local television station to produce educational programming. But first and foremost schools and teachers are checking on students to ensure their social and emotional needs are being met. https://hechingerreport.org/teachers-use-high-and-low-tech-means-to-reach-english-language-learners-during-coronavirus-crisis

For parents who lack facility in English language, this can become a barrier to their child learning at home. A few resources are:
The Talking Points app which translates messages to a variety of languages.
The Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) has a vast number of resources, PD, guidelines and webinars that are applicable for everyone right now. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rv6fikncVfkOagbdSUvp13Lx0ExJhh1MS6d7qcQM5iM/edit
From the NY Times: Imagine Online School in a Language You Don’t Understand
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/us/coronavirus-immigrants-school.html?smid=em-share

4. What messages should schools/administrators/leaders/teachers be sending home?
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is most important right now. If there is someone sick at home, or a caregiver is working in essential services, then cut them some slack. Ask them what they think they can do within their home situation and digital access. Use apps that support immersive reader (Microsoft) such as Wakelet, Buncee, and Flipgrid to translate and read aloud the written communication. Show empathy. Unless required by your school or district, don’t discuss grades and assessments. Students can be assessed later. Post-COVID19, we should be looking at mastery of skills and knowledge and not what content children “learned”.
Some of the resources for SEL are available at CASEL: https://casel.org/covid-resources and also www.inee.org

5. Assess whether the school population has access to technology.
If not, either skip it or find ways to offer access (devices and/or internet). Don’t hand out copies of worksheets for those without access; be inclusive.
Some suggestions for ensuring equity and inclusion during learning at home are:
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/55608/14-tips-for-helping-students-with-limited-internet-have-distance-learning

It’s a lot to digest while we are in the thick of it, but it’s also important to take time for ourselves. Teacher self-care is always important but often forgotten; however, right now it’s even more important. The suggestions I listed and points I outlined are for reflection and further study. There really is a lot that can be learned at home without textbooks, online materials, or Google docs.

Perhaps we can all take a deep breath and meditate on that for a moment. It’s important to reflect while it is fresh on our minds. Let’s not forget all the lessons WE are learning during COVID19. Your feedback and comments are always welcomed and I look forward to hearing more suggestions from my #PLN!

Empowering Students to Design the Change They Want to See in the World by Dr. Lindsay Portnoy

Feeling like I belong in Buffalo, N.Y.

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Birthday cake that says Happy Birthday, Ilene in Arabic

Most of my posts so far have been about my transition to life in Kuwait since October 1984, and I haven’t mentioned much about my life from March 29, 1956 until 1984. I believe it’s important at this point in my blog posting to tell you about my 64th birthday celebration to give a perspective about why I feel at home in Buffalo, NY where I grew up, and, as I have been writing about in previous posts, I also feel I belong in Kuwait.

I return to Buffalo several times each year and stay at least a few weeks each visit. Although my parents sold my childhood home in 1978 when my they decided to move to south of the city and also coincided with me leaving home for grad school. It doesn’t matter that the physical space is different because I still feel at home wherever my mother is, wherever my family is. I feel I belong here because it’s familiar; I feel accepted and appreciated.

Yesterday was my 64th birthday. I usually don’t make much of a fuss over it since, 1. I’m reaching an age where every day is a blessing and 2. Most of my family is scattered all over the world, so there’s nobody in Kuwait to celebrate with me except my husband and a close friend. But this year, due to Covid-19, I am still in Buffalo, NY with my mother. A short visit that has turned into a much longer one. So you may be wondering if/how I celebrated and that’s what today’s post is about.

The answer to ‘if” I celebrated is yes; no cake but lots of virtual birthday wishes. The answer to “how” I celebrated is the focus of this post. Last week, while Skyping with my brother, a retired rabbi in Atlanta, he mentioned the idea of the family (his family, my sister (Buffalo), my daughter and son-in-law (Boston, MA), my oldest son and his husband (Chiang Mai, Thailand), my younger son and daughter-in-law (Pittsburgh) could meet virtually to wish me a happy birthday. I loved the idea and immediately messaged my children about it. They set a time and sent a calendar invite to everyone.

At the appointed time, my mother and I signed into Zoom along with all of my close family members (minus my husband in Kuwait because it was the middle of the night there). I cannot tell you how wonderful the whole experience was for me since family is one of the most important things in my life. And, upon reflection, it was an amazing experience for our whole family because it would not have been possible years ago, not only because of a lack of connectivity. Each member of my family is very different and has led a different life path. This has led to conflict over the years and periods of misunderstanding, but we each worked hard to ensure that our relationships remain the focus and not the differences in our lifestyles, personalities, or problems communicating. Last night we all came together on Zoom and had 90 minutes of catching up, laughter, checking in, and memories. They all sang “Happy Birthday” to me and celebrated milestones like my younger son’s recent marriage (also virtually).

As I reflected today on this most memorable birthday, I realized what a milestone it was in our family’s history. A momentous occasion, not because it celebrated me, but because it celebrated all of us and how much we mean to each other. It underscored the work we have all put into making sure our relationships are filled with love, honesty, communication, and most importantly, respect. Why is respect so important? It shows that we accept that each one of us is different, but we put our love and caring for each other above those differences. We accept each other because we care. I hope that now you can understand why I feel at home in Buffalo. I am blessed to feel like I belong in both of my “homes” which are thousands of miles apart.

In case you are wondering what gifts I received, here’s a photo of my mother’s gift. It is perfect for this post and for representing my feeling of belonging in Buffalo AND Kuwait.

Small pillow that says, the love between a Mother & Daughter knows no distance and a heart near Kuwait and a heart near Buffalo, NY

Note:
I know how stressed everyone is feeling right now due to the global crisis we are all facing and being “stuck” at home for an uncertain amount of time. We must use this time to focus on improving your relationships with those we live with and those who are dear to us, even if they live far away. On Twitter, I sent out my birthday wish which was for each person to reach out to someone they hadn’t contacted in a while. I received so many replies from my PLN thanking me. No, I thank each of you for fulfilling my wishes, and I am sending a virtual hug to each of you.

Dealing with a crisis: personal reflections

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Trauma informed responses.

With gratitude:
We are living in a strange and unusual situation right now that nobody expected and few were prepared for. But educators are a special group of people who immediately stepped up to the plate and began sharing their knowledge, expertise, and resources on social media. I’ve retweeted and shared numerous posts from those I saw in order to amplify the effect of their generosity. I want to be sure to give credit to all who are trying to ease the stress and strain of this epic moment in our history. I also want to note the number of companies and apps that have offered their services for free in support of educators around the globe. If we all work together, we will get through this and be better than before.

My post today is not about the content and curriculum of school. I want to focus on how we’re all feeling and what we can do to support each other and our students/children who are suddenly separated from their friends and peers. My family and I experienced something similar to the COVID19 crisis in 2003 when the United States declared war on Iraq. I am sharing this very personal and professional story with you all to try and put things in perspective and also focus on SEL and self care.

In January 2003, the major news networks and regional news in the Persian Gulf were reporting that the U.S. was planning to move into Iraq and step up its presence in the Gulf. Rumors began spreading in Kuwait that if this occurred, we would be in danger of any fall out from a war in Iraq since American troops staged from Kuwait on bases set up after the Gulf War in 1991. A sense of uneasiness set in at that point among the population but especially with foreigners who were worried they’d get stuck in Kuwait or be in extreme danger. These conversations continued for a few weeks while news continued about an impending war.

At the end of January, with the news still a bit uncertain about a war, my two sons traveled with other students from their school to the Hague. They were part of a Model United Nations team and were attending an international MUN conference. They traveled on a Wednesday and were expected to return early Sunday morning. On Friday, my sons called me, and I could tell something was wrong by the tone of their voices. “We heard they are closing schools and don’t know when they’re going to reopen, mama! Have you heard anything?”

Of course, I had heard about it since I was elementary principal of another American school in Kuwait, and we had already discussed contingency plans and timelines in case a war actually started. I have always been honest with my children and I told them that nothing was confirmed yet, but there was some truth to that rumor. My oldest son started to panic and began asking me what that would do to his senior year of high school and would he graduate, when I reassured them and said, “Find out what you can from your classmates and the teacher chaperones, and we’ll have a family meeting to discuss everything when you return. In the meantime, I will find out more from my school management and other schools about their plans.”

By early the following week, it was obvious the foreign, mostly Western staff of private schools were beginning to panic about getting stuck in Kuwait if there was a war. The war seemed to be imminent although the timing was unclear. My sons returned from their trip and went to school to find out they were planning to close in March and reopen as soon as the hostilities were over. The school they attended was closely associated with the U.S. Embassy, so we also received guidance from that source. The notice went out to embassy wardens that the it was recommending their non-essential staff to leave Kuwait and once that news went out, the panic among foreign staff began. “When will we be allowed to leave Kuwait since we are concerned about our safety”, they asked. Schools needed to make some difficult decisions.

Private school owners met with each other to discuss plans and then returned to meet with school administration to discuss options. My school decided to close for the week of the National Day holiday at the end of February and then reassess the situation to decide if the closure should be extended. However, by the middle of February it was clear that the war would probably begin in early or mid-March and flights might be canceled at that point. Teachers were receiving messages and calls from their families in the U.S. and Canada insisting that they return home before anything started. The writing was on the wall, as they say. Private schools needed to close and allow their staff to travel if they wanted to.

Once my sons knew the schools would be closed indefinitely, we met as a family to decide whether it would be wiser to stay in Kuwait and hope the war would be short, as predicted, or to leave so my son could finish his senior year in the U. S. I had called my mother and she found out that in order for him to attend school in New York, he had to have specific courses required by the state regents which meant adding time to his projected graduation of June, 2003. As a result, we decided to stay in Kuwait and hope schools wouldn’t close for an extended amount of time. It was a difficult and stressful decision since my son had already been accepted to university for Fall 2003 and any delay would impact him greatly.

The emotional toll on everybody was considerably high. Students from kindergarten to grade 12 were at home and needed to be cared for. Parents had to decide about childcare if they went to work. Suddenly, children were at home, away from their friends and out of their routines. In 2003, the internet of things was much less sophisticated, so that wasn’t a way to continue their studies. Some schools asked teachers to send home packets of worksheets for students to complete, but the lack of teacher guidance and the fact that worksheets are not an ideal learning method left students with disrupted education. In my school, the seniors asked if they could continue their studies with teachers who were still in Kuwait. I was the only principal who stayed in Kuwait, so I went o to school a few times a week and the seniors and their math and history teachers were able to continue their lessons. I did what I could to teach 12th grade English.

My own senior suffered from several episodes of depression due to the situation. He was stressed about graduating and felt so far from his peers. At one point, he stood in our kitchen and emotionally told me he felt lost without school and seeing his friends. The only way they stayed in contact was by Yahoo chat which was a poor substitute for the daily face to face contact they had in school. In addition, as the month wore on, he found out there were several of his closest friends who left Kuwait and weren’t returning to graduate with the class when school finally reopened, including the class valedictorian. My reply may seem harsh, but it was true. I told him, “It’s a difficult time for you, I know. I wish it was different, but think of it this way; your class has been the ‘golden class’.” He looked confused. “I mean, your class hasn’t ever experienced any adversity. You have the best grades and are accepted at the top universities. The school lauds you all for your accomplishments and teachers compliment you often. You are going out on your own in a few months and will be making adult decisions. If you never failed or experienced disappointment, life will be very difficult when that comes your way for the first time without your support system nearby.” He slowly looked up and nodded his head. He knew I was right even though it was so hard.

Schools did close at the end of February, 2003 and didn’t reopen until the middle of April. When they reopened, some teachers were unable to return due to a lack of flights which meant that school administrators had to find temporary subs. Many seniors in my son’s graduating class left Kuwait to continue their studies and decided not to return to graduate. But we got through it and we did it as a family, as a school community, and as a local community. In these most difficult times, we need to remember that if we work together and support each other, we will get through a crisis.

Some personal advice: Continue passing along positive messages to each other, express yourself with kind words and make sure to check on each other; our family members, our colleagues, and our community. In 2003, I was able to keep in touch with my staff and others by email. Now you can stay in touch so many ways. Please do that. Let your everyone know you care about them. Make sure we all feel like we belong.

Fixing My Fixed Mindset

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Three years ago, I gave the Keynote speech at a local teaching conference in Kuwait. The goal of my speech was to encourage educators, like me, to move from their comfort zone and embrace the use of technology. I had realized that my “fixed mindset” about being a digital immigrant, was holding me back from experiencing all the useful technology available in my personal and professional life. Basically, if all else fails, watch a youtube video to learn how to do something. So now, at aged 61, I am learning about the maker movement, document sharing apps, flipped learning, digital badges, Twitter PLNs, and just about anything else that has the potential to upend and reform the current state of education.

My interactions with students and educators were the reasons for my change of heart. In my role as Director of a Foundation Year program, I meet students who have given up on learning. I began studying how to engage students in their learning and encourage them to extend the amount of time they spend outside of class practicing or exploring what they learned. In addition, as Director of the program, I coach and mentor faculty who struggled to find ways to motivate students to learn the college readiness skills necessary to be successful in the university’s undergraduate program. I began by following edtech Twitter accounts and participating in online PLNs. And Voila! I became an advocate for technology in the classroom.

Once I made the switch, there was no turning back.

Stay tuned! My learning journey will be the subject of the next few posts.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

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Really? Is it that time of year again already? It seems it was just June and we were getting ready for vacation. So “how did you spend your summer vacation?” I hope you had time to relax and prepare for a new school year…
What did I do, you ask? I spent time on vacation in Gdansk, Poland with a friend and her family. What a beautiful city, full of history, culture and delicious food. It was my first visit to Poland and I hope to return and see more of the country. I may even try to learn a bit of the language; you’re never too old. My friend’s daughter asked what I enjoyed the most and after thinking about it since there was so much to enjoy, I decided it was the Solidarity Peace Center and the museum inside with 7 rooms that took me on a journey through a turbulent time in Poland’s history. It struck me how one person and a grass roots movement of peaceful resistance, can change the course of history and people’s lives.
I was also busy gaining more confidence and knowledge about blended learning and how to use technology in the classroom. Now that I am back at work, I have resumed my pursuit of a deeper understanding about how to use technology to support instruction in the classroom. As Director of the Foundation English and math programs at GUST, I have the opportunity to ensure students will receive the best from their instructors; that includes the use of our LMS system, Moodle, mobile apps and smart classroom solutions. Moodle has a lot of great functions like blogging, communicating and online quizzing. There are so many mobile apps that can be used by students and educators to streamline classroom management systems and reinforce skills; very exciting to think about but daunting at the same time. How shall I decide when and why to use technology?
I keep returning to the SAMR model for guidance. SAMR stands for Subsitute, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition and was created by Ruben Puentadura to guide my decisions related to technology integration in the classroom and is based on sound curricular decisions. Without such guidance, technology will result in a false sense of student engagement; false because it doesn’t lead to learning gains.
This link has more information and examples: https://thatedtechguy.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/guide-using-the-samr-model-to-guide-learning/
Happy Blending!