Let's face it...we have all been to the mall or an amusement park and at some point felt lost. Did you sit down and cry with your head in your hands? Did you walk around aimlessly hoping a stranger would take pity on you and offer to help? Chances are you were smart enough to seek out the one thing that could quickly get you back on track...the huge illuminated property map shining like a beacon in the night. Hallelujah! You can almost hear a choir of angels singing as you rush to the map and locate the big red dot proclaiming "YOU ARE HERE".
As in anything in life, knowing where you are makes it a whole lot easier to get to where you are going. In the first two weeks of EDLD 5315, Assessing Digital Learning, I found myself sitting at the kitchen island with my head in my hands not knowing which direction to move. We were asked to look back at our disruptive innovation plan from a previous course and measure the impact and success of our plan on our learning environment. Okay, my red dot had appeared, but it was still a little out of focus. Through many valuable peer discussions on exactly what to measure, how to measure it and why we were measuring it, my red dot became quite clear. I knew exactly where I was and where I needed to end up on this journey to becoming a digital leader and learner. With Hubbard's book, How to Measure Anything, in hand, I set off to quantify any uncertainty, compute the value of reducing that uncertainty by measurement and then apply these methods to assessing digital learning environments. My initial plan focused on how to get stalled out 1:1 initiatives back on the road to success. Through much research, I pinpointed the factors detrimental to technology integration. While the devices themselves were viewed as enormous roadblocks in most initiatives, overwhelming evidence pointed to the teachers having the most impact on the success or failure of 1:1 initiatives. In a previous blog post, I submitted a plan that addressed the issue of how to get more teachers using their district device for personal and professional productivity. This was a great place to start, but something was preventing my plan from moving forward. I got so caught up in all the ways teachers could use their devices, that I neglected to connect the device usage to the learning. My revised Prezi below expands on the vital connections needed between teaching and learning.
Week 4 of EDLD 5315, brought about one of my biggest challenges...a literature review. Although I felt extremely overwhelmed at times during this week, I never felt completely alone in the process. I found the sharing of articles and collaboration with my peers to be the most beneficial in identifying the proper resources to review. Below, is a revised copy of my literature review. I added more articles to be sure the technology connection to learning was properly made.
Week 5 of EDLD 5315 was not without its challenges as well. However, these challenges came more in the form of travel constraints rather than course work. On a plane traveling from Houston to Denver, I took the time to view the weekly video assignments. As I quietly viewed the videos, I noticed a very well dressed man sitting across the aisle studying what appeared to me as a rather in depth report. I had Hubbard's book out on the tray table. The man acknowledged the book and told me he was a patent attorney headed to Colorado for a business meeting.
A very nice conversation ensued about the level of measurement skills needed to decipher patent drafts. Asking the right questions about a product helps the attorney navigate for clients the tricky path to obtaining a patent. A special knowledge is needed to understand the scientific and technical documents related to the field. I never realized the learning curve for a patent lawyer was so steep, but it makes sense that as technology rapidly advances inventions become increasingly more complex. Our conversation about measurement skills led into a discussion about skills in general. The attorney definitely agreed that students are rarely equipped with the communication and analysis skills needed to be a standout in today's highly competitive corporate world. What a great and unexpected way to pass the time on a very bumpy flight. Although my attorney friend did not watch the videos, I did ask him what was the most important skill or skills that our students lack. I followed that up with the question, "why" do you think communication and analysis skills are the most lacking? He blamed it on students not having the soft skills needed to be successful and not being problem solvers. I was like...are you sure you haven't seen these videos before? Most of us agree that this generation lacks in skills. However, it would be interesting to ask professionals of all types to give their elevator speech on "why" this occurs so frequently. Hubbard says that anything can be measured. After 5 weeks of assessing digital learning and much speculation, I am becoming a believer of this concept. Starting off any measurement by asking the right questions makes the impossible possible and if you learned a little more than you knew before then consider it a successful measurement. Early on in this course, we were asked to describe how a business book relates to education. At first, I was on the fence in my opinions. Now, I can definitely see how valuable Hubbard's book is to me as an educator, instructional coach and overall pretty cool human being. I believe the key to connecting our learning in this course goes back to understanding the fundamentals of learning and measuring. It is here in their symbiotic relationship that we can see how one benefits the other and vice versa. In forming my plan and finding ways to measure my plan, I temporarily lost sight of the importance in connecting my plan to learning. I am happy to report that after much valuable feedback from you all, I have found my red dot, the balance between measurement and learning. Knowing exactly where I am is a great place to rest for now on my journey to becoming a digital leader.
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AuthorMadeline Brandi Collins is a Louisiana girl through and through. Raised by her beloved Maw Maw and namesake, she moved to Texas 13 years ago to pursue a career in education which proved to be one of the best decisions EVER!
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May 2017
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