Notes From METC

Last week I had the good fortune to attend the Midwest Educational Technology Community conference. The conference was a fantastic experience. I would encourage anyone who has a chance to attend future METC conferences to take advantage of the opportunity. This conference was especially enjoyable, as I had the opportunity to attend it with Wendy, who let me co-present with her.

A few notes, I'd like to remember from the conference.

-George Couros (Keynote): Couros was the perfect keynote for the conference. His presentation was engaging and energetic. I hope to channel his commitment to using educational technology to strengthen relationships and allow students to develop their voices.

-Google Administrator: This breakout session was led by tech coordinators from Orchard Farm. Even though I'm a principal in a GAFE school, I've never done anything on the administrator side of the system. From the training, I learned that the administrator console is very flexible. Various "buckets" can be created for users and administrators. Each bucket can be given different rights and restrictions. All users can be uploaded as a CSV file.  I appreciated the presenters promotion of "friction free" environments. They worked to make GAFE as headache free as possible for students, parents, and teachers. Setting up accounts for students under 13 did not become an insurmountable challenge. I also appreciated that various account administrators were given the ability to change student passwords without giving them any other responsibilities. I plan on taking advantage of the free GAFE administrator training soon. The presenters also praised several third party vendors (Bettercloud, Gaggle, Github) who assisted with management, monitoring, and filtering that followed students home with their district devices. Another good bit was the suggestion that a "sample student" account be created and enrolled in all classes. All administrators would have access to this account for viewing google classes without cluttering their in boxes with notifications. 

-Michelle Schmitz, Principal EPiC Elementary: Dr. Schmitz shared her experiences leading an elementary school with a STEM focus. The school's enrollment is comprised of students who applied.  Learning is personalized, project based, and standards based. The school operates with an extended school year. Schmitz shared that when the school opened some questioned if enough parents would enroll their children to keep the school open. Since that time the school has thrived. I especially appreciated Schmitz's commitment to honor the idea that learning is messy and her commitment to "flatten" school leadership by engaging and collaborating with teachers. Her school's map scores prove that learning and fun can coexist. I also appreciated her district superintendent's commitment to trying something new. The story of Epic's creation was a story of leadership collaborating with stakeholders to be innovative.  As a district level leader, I hope I will be willing to take risks for the sake of students.

-Professional Development: Kristen Swanson, an expert in professional learning, led this session. She drew on research from outside education to demonstrate that professionals learn best when they take control of their own professional learning. Two questions, she stated, should guide professional development: Why is this learning important? Who decides? Teachers will be empowered when they have voice and choice in their professional learning. Her presentation made me want to check out an EdCamp. The structure she recommended for teacher driven PD was curation, reflection, and contribution. I'll admit that her session made me realize how little room I had allowed for collaboration in my recent efforts to lead professional development. 

-Dark Side of One to One: Listening to the team from Poplar Bluff describe their struggles in implementing one to one was a fitting counter balance to Couros' keynote. Everything Couros said is true, but it is also true that many details must be managed to allow students to have those experiences. The presenters outlined many challenges they faced, from overestimating their wireless capabilities, to thinking through the logistics of deployment, to considering the policies that come into play with some of the choices students make with technology. If I ever end up in a position to lead a one to one initiative, I hope I remember their call to consider vision and manage details. I also hope I remember that microwaves in the teachers' lounge can interfere with wireless hubs in the classroom. 

-3D Printing: Much like the one to one session, the 3D printing session left me in a better position to consider 3D printing implementation. I posted my notes from this session here.

Overall, I'd say the conference fed my desire to empower students and teachers through technology, but I benefited a great deal from the calls to be patient (something I'm not great at) in collaborating to establish a clear vision for the use of technology and to mind all the details before committing district funds to major technology investments. I was also inspired and challenged by seeing how technology is being implemented in various districts. It's clear to me that communities who support technology will provide richer, more powerful experiences, to their students than communities who neglect this responsibility.