EduTECH Day Two: Digital Leadership with Eric Sheninger


He's quite shouty, which coming from me is really saying something.

What is truly possible in education?

There is always excuses to not move forward. We need to stop making excuses and make a difference and make changes. 

Leadership is action, not a position.

This brings to mind what we tried to achieve with #hackyrclass Every teacher can be a change agent, regardless of what's happening in the wider school.

Check out the Hack Your Class project here: http://www.teachingandelearning.com/2014/04/hpss-bloggers.html?m=1

Are we seeing the fundamental shifts in schools that we are seeing beyond school.

As an aside - how long do we need to keep talking about this before we get a critical mass doing it??

What does school really teach students? Sheninger shared how he was a Principal doing what he thought he had to do - focusing on control and compliance.

March 2009 Sheninger got in Twitter and connected with people who helped him to take the blindfold off. It was time to make sure the school wilted better for the kids than it did for the adults...not the other way around.

Pedagogy first technology second.

Couldn't agree more. Pedagogy is the driver, technology is the accelerator. This aligns beautifully with my thoughts around how we can use Teaching as Inquiry as a mechanism for leading meaningful and manageable pedagogical change. 

You can read an essay I wrote in the topic here: 
http://www.teachingandelearning.com/2013/09/teaching-as-inquiry-mechanism-for.html?m=1

Sheninger then went on to share how he observed his teachers, five times a year. Ensuring all lessons had a clear learning outcome. Opening up and making practice transparent and visitors came, observed anyone as long as they have him feedback, things they could improve. Students could learn anywhere. The whole campus was the classroom. School was an extension of the real world.  

You need to make school a place kids want to be. Free wifi, device charging stations, free coffee and thinking games. Sounds like school I know rather well...

Great leaders hire people smarter than them. 

Give people autonomy, give the space to be different...and better.

Check out New Milford High School's Maker Space: http://youtu.be/zZE8nCABAX4

Milford High went 1-1 devices give years ago, even when many warned against it. But you get on with it. You do it. 

Engagement does not always equate to learning. 

It's got to be great learning. 

We can no longer be disconnected nomads.  We need to all be collaborative learners. 



Every educator needs to be part of a personal learning network. 



Anyone and everyone can lead their own professional learning in the way and own time as suits them.

I'm not smart, I'm resourceful - Eric Sheninger 

Be digitally resilient - nice message.

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