Two weeks ago, I attended an event called “The Convening” where recipients of the North Carolina Digital Learning Initiative Grants (DLI) shared the work that they have been doing this past year. I was totally blown away by the incredible work that so many of our PSUs are doing. As I reflect on what the PSUs shared, I noted a couple of commonalities and best practices that we can use going forward. Earlier in the day, Dr. David Stegall, the Deputy State Superintendent for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, shared that the “legacy that the DLI is creating is a gift” for future generations. His words really resonated with me throughout The Convening as I saw amazing ideas put into action and innovative practices being implemented. Here are some of the key takeaways that I noted:

1. Teacher Leadership Is Important - Many of the recipients shared that teacher leadership was a key focus of each of their implementation models. According to the New Teacher Center report “School Leadership Counts,” “students perform better in schools with the highest levels of instructional and teacher leadership” (“Why Teacher Leadership Matters and How To Build It In Your School, National Institute for Excellence in Teaching).  The recipients of the grant have definitely maximized teacher leadership in their grant execution. Many of the recipients shared that their teachers have transformed and grown in their leadership during this experience.  While the importance of teacher leadership has been known for some time, the grant recipients reaffirmed the emphasis that must be put on teacher leadership as a way to improve student learning outcomes.
2. “An Inside to Outside Model” - Recipients referenced that a focus on working with teachers directly was transforming outcomes and many of their schools.  I believe that this goes hand in hand with the emphasis on teacher leadership in many cases.  Too often, teachers receive professional development that works from the outside to inside or top-down.  In my experiences, these models are temporary, often year to year, until a new initiative is launched by the school or school system.  The outside to inside model lacks sustainability and, more importantly, teacher "buy in."  Many teachers are weary of the latest initiative since many feel “that this too will pass” if they just outlast it.  However with the Digital Learning Initiative Grants, the focus is on starting with a model that transforms from the inside by investing in teachers who see value and purpose.  This also leads to more sustained levels of investment over time by the teachers targeted in the grant.  They learn together and invest in each other.  I would offer that this approach of “Inside to Outside” will benefit teachers and students for many years even after the grant has run out.
3. Invest In Professional Learning - the grants have allowed many systems to invest in professional learning opportunities for their staff that honor educators through personalization.  Too often, professional learning is not personalized in a way that targets the needs of educators.  Additionally, it often does not inspire educators to be innovative and develop more ambitious learning goals for their students.  A common theme that was reported by recipients involved an enthusiasm by teachers to seek out innovative uses for digital learning.  Additionally many recipients reported that teachers included in their grants were beginning to share with other teachers and connecting with educators outside of their buildings.
4. The Need for Common Language and Vision - Almost all recipients reported that one of their earliest activities involved developing common language for teachers.  The use of language is important and offers clarity.  This common language ensures that everyone is clear on the purposes and processes associated with the grant.  Common language also leads to the development of vision which provides a roadmap for progress.  Many PSUs reported developing a common language and vision created interest and “buy in” from school principals and other administrators.  Many of the recipients also reported that many school level principals were won over by the progress observed by teachers in the grant.  
5. Learn From Others - As each of the PSUs shared, other PSUs were taking notes, asking questions, and learning.  This is a keystone to the DLI grants.  There are many extraordinary practices occurring and each PSU was sharing their best practices and lessons learned.  I also learned a lot and was compelled to write this blog as a result.

Based on my experience, I see much value emerging from the DLI grants. Many best practices are being developed. Recipients are pushing their teachers and educators to change paradigms by investing in personalized professional learning and creating a culture where innovation is valued by stakeholders. We must continue to share the lessons learned from these grants and replicate them moving forward. This is the legacy that Dr. Stegall referenced as we continue to create learning opportunities that inspire teaching leadership, innovation, and student success.

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It is difficult to believe that just one year ago, we had what would become the last major face to face conference at NCTIES 20.  It was a wonderful experience just like other NCTIES conferences.  I remember that concern was growing with increasing spread of the Coronavirus and the first few cases in North Carolina were just being reported in North Carolina at NCTIES20.  Little did we know that when we drove home that weekend from NCTIES 20, our world would change drastically in just a week.  Governor Cooper closed schools to minimize the spread of Covid-19.  As we neared the planning for NCTIES 21, the board of directors made the decision to host the conference virtually.  While we would have preferred a face to face conference, we instantly set in place processes to create an online conference with very few models available.

But in the true essence of collaboration, the board of directors proved that we are “better together than when apart.”  The collective wisdom of the group synergized to create plans and procedures that resulted in an amazing conference experience for all.  A big appreciation to all on the all-volunteer board of directors and especially to Jeannie Timken, Meredith Bates, Andrew Smith, and Erin Wolfhope who all really went above and beyond to deliver a conference experience that was second to none.

For me, this conference showed the importance of how and why we must humanize our relationships with others.  Below are some of my key takeaways from this year’s conference:

1). Educators are amazing!  We had educators join us during their planning period for sessions.  As is always the case, many educators are often immersed in multiple worlds ranging from teaching students in person and virtually as well as expanding their professional learning.  My hat is off to those who joined in between classes and during their planning.  You are amazing.  I am glad that our virtual format will allow educators to view recorded sessions for the next few weeks at their leisure as well so they do not miss out on any sessions of interest.

2). Virtual conferences provide amazing resources.  I saw our presenters give so freely and share their best practices.  Many presenters remarked that they often worry that they may not live up to the “NCTIES” expectations as what they share may be stuff everyone already knows.  There is no “NCTIES” expectation other than to share and learn.  I reassured many presenters that what they know will be valuable to other educators.  We can learn so much more together.

3). Given that we have been in some variation of remote / hybrid learning, I saw huge shifts in digital teaching and learning at this year’s conference.  The necessity to deliver instruction digitally has been a worthy challenge for us in education.  First, we still realize that the basis of digital instruction is a knowledgeable teacher designer who realizes technology is simply a tool to support learning.  Technology should never be the star in the classroom; it should always be a supporting actor or actress.  Second, many of our presenters shared tips rooted in sound pedagogy and instruction.  This was the driving force for much of what was shared in the sessions I attended.  References to research and best practices supporting instructional decisions made in the classroom served as a keystone for many presentations.  Our presenters collectively engaged participants to share ideas and feedback creating a rich and engaging learning experience for all.  Many attendees jumped into chat and shared supporting resources and ideas.  Seeing this occur in the virtual conference was extraordinary and something that I have not have seen at such a high level in a face to face conference.

4).  I also saw many amazing educators share their experience and craft to help others.  This act of humanity confirmed what I realized during the conference and shared earlier - “We are better together.”  Below are some attendees and presenters that I want to give a special shout out.  I encourage you to connect with them as they have much to share to help us grow and become better and stronger for our students:

• Marsha Sirkin - (@MarshaSirkin) Marsha is a long time NCTIES attendee and an instructional technology facilitator at White Oak Elementary in Carteret County.  Marsha is so encouraging and can really help shift your mindset.  She has brilliant ideas and always leaves things better than when she found them.  She is a strong networker and a lover of all people.
• Mariel Gomez de la Torre-Cerfontaine - (@MGomezdelaTorre) in addition to having the best name ever, Mariel is a strong advocate for EL students.  I have regularly presented with Mariel for the past 9 months with “The Power of WE:  How Technology Helps ELs.”  Mariel also delivered a “Learn and Learn” talk with a former student of hers turned teacher, Jessica (@JessicaYauriCr1).  Jessica joined NCTIES from Peru to help Mariel share about virtual field trips.  Mariel has taken her students in Rowan County all over the world including Egypt, India, Germany, and Tanzania.  In her session “Let’s Go .. Virtual or NOT Virtual .. That’s the Question,” Mariel and Jessica describe how they use the power of technology to transport students from their homes to places around the world with the help of a local guide.  Be sure to check out this session.
• Sarah R Lasseter (@SarahRLasseter) - Sarah delivered an amazing session titled “Videos That Slap” where she connected brain science research and multimedia design to create videos that engage students and help them learn.  Her tips and strategies are based on cognitive science and I encourage you to check this one out if you are interested in making videos that support student learning. Plus, she is highly energetic and engaging.
• Jessica Wolf and Laura Bernhard - (wolfkhscd) & (bernhard254).  Jessica and Laura delivered “Using Breakout Rooms for Everyday Engagement, Intervention, & Enrichment.”  They focused incredible strategies and ideas on how to use breakout rooms to maximize virtual learning with their students.  The ideas that they shared will work on any video conferencing app whether zoom, google meets, or other app.  I was also inspired by their approach to focusing on the students individually  and humanizing the relationship between learner and teacher.  Don’t miss this one.

There are a number of other attendees that I would recommend that you follow as they had some incredible insights:

• Adam Cobb (@ACobb1991) - Adam is an digital integration specialist in Anderson District 5 in South Carolina.
• Aaron Steele - (@smARTwitSteele) - Aaron is an art teacher at Knightdale High School in Wake County.  He presented a “Lunch and Learn” session on gamification.  Be sure to check him and his session out.
• Check out the dream team from Durham Public Schools - Willow Alston-Socha (@Williow_STEM), Heide Perez (@DPS912English), Kelly Stevens (@KellyStevensDPS), and Liz Moffitt (@MsLizMoffitt).  They were assisted by Tamika Henry (@Tamika_B_Henry).  This dynamic team of curriculum specialists shared how they worked collectively with their technology department to integrate the TPACK model with teachers with a focus on equity and ensuring that the tools and apps available represented the educators and students in Durham Public Schools.  Each has amazing ideas on their twitter feeds as well.

These are just a few of the amazing sessions and educators who attended NCTIES21.  I encourage to follow the #ncties21 to continue connect and learn from many amazing educators.

Earlier this week, I attended a webinar where the speaker focused on the importance of the mental wellness of teachers.  This topic was part of a larger topic related to teacher burnout.  She mentioned the importance of schools and districts allocating resources to support the mental well being of teachers especially those who who are teaching face to face currently.  Her point really resonated with me and I have spent time thinking about this much today.  I am compelled to write this post to being attention to the mental well being of teachers and all educators who are working to deliver quality instruction to our students during this pandemic.

Earlier this year, the system where I taught opted to bring half of our students back on Monday/Tuesday with the other half being brought back on Thursday/Friday.  On Wednesdays, all staff work from home.  Days when students are not physically at school, students are expected to be engaged in remote learning.  Last spring, there was much focus on supporting the social emotional wellness of students.  I experienced and lived this first hand.  Our students needed this and they still need it.  For students, it was challenging.  They are growing up in an uncertain world.  Navigating this ever changing landscape is challenging especially for students who may have not yet matured enough to develop the necessary coping skills and resilience to adapt and thrive in our world.  Our schools and district with support from the federal and state government has invested in resources and personnel to support students.  We need to continue to do this and ensure that we do our absolute best to make sure that all students are supported, encouraged, and included.
As previously stated, supporting students is a nonnegotiable.  However, we must also extend our focus on mental wellness to include teachers and all educators who support those same students.  We must acknowledge the trauma caused by the pandemic on our educators.  As last semester drew to a close, our teachers were concerned and troubled by the high number of students who either failed courses or did not experience high levels of success.  Our teachers absorbed much of that stress.  Teachers want their students to be successful.  When students are not successful, this creates a dilemma for teachers who want their students to be successful.  This in turn perpetuates a cycle of additional stress and challenge.  We cannot ignore that educators are subject to enormous levels for stress; in fact, we must acknowledge and seek to actively support them in positive and productive ways.
We must actively share strategies and opportunities that help educators focus on their mental wellness.  One such strategy involves the use of mindfulness practices. Often providing educators with the opportunity to learn deep breathing techniques where they focus on their self can be extremely useful and liberating.  Additionally engaging in regular physical activity such as walking, running, or swimming can great ways to deter stress.  Another sometimes overlooked practice is simply listening to educators.  Many educators fell ignored and neglected.  Coupled with this, often educators are focused on helping others and don’t focus on their own self care and wellness.  We need to change the narrative of educators sacrificing their own wellness for their students and profession.

We must also ensure that our schools and districts make teacher wellness a priority in much the same way that they do for student social emotional wellness.  We cannot neglect them.  For the district where I teach, our community spread is covid is classified as critical.  Our local health department ran out of their allotted covid vaccines earlier today.  Just a few hours ago, I received an emailed where we told to discontinue any PLCs immediately and no two adults can be in the same room at the same time.  Our governor and health secretary share daily reports imploring citizens to stay in their homes and limit their trips outside of their home.  With all these indicators, it is easy to understand why educators are stressed.  The mental wellness of educators should be a focus of all schools and districts.  Many educators feel that they are, in some ways, sacrificial lambs with limited voice and influence.  For our school and government leaders, we must step up and ensure that we are fully supporting the mental well being of our teachers.  If they do not feel safe or are not at their best, they cannot give their best to support our students.  Let us remember the importance of teachers during this pandemic. 
May our actions and commitments ensure that our educators see that their mental wellness is valued and a focus as our leaders make future decisions.

As 2020 draws to a close, we can all agree that we won’t quickly forget many of the defining actions and events of this year ranging from a pandemic to the continued grappling of equity for all individuals in the United States to a very polarized America.  2020 will definitely be a year that we will revisit and continue to learn many lessons based on this year’s events.  As an educator, I saw the wide scale closing of schools.  I saw the quick and abrupt transition of teachers teaching face to face to digital and remote teaching.  Over the period of several months, educators grew their technology repertoire and focused on meeting the social and emotional needs of our students.  One area in education that has not received nearly enough attention is that of leadership.  Over my twenty-one years in education, I have worked with some amazing principals and other school leaders who have been extraordinary.  During the pandemic though, I have the seen firsthand the transformative power of effective leadership from three of my either current or past principals.  I think that too often we overlook what I dub the “admin effect” where effective leadership transforms the learning conditions of students and the working conditions of educators.  We cannot overlook the impact of the admin effect and how empowering and transformative that it can be.

Vision and execution is a major factor that I experienced under the leadership of Meredith Williams, principal at North Rowan High School.  She took over a historically struggling school and has worked to implement a school that leaves the factory model of education behind and is evolving into a school that prepares students for living and thriving in the 21st century.  Mrs. Williams had an initial vision of transforming the school into a health science school.  However, that vision hit some roadblocks.  As a result of this obstacle, a fantastic opportunity resulted in creating a school that was based on Design Thinking and Challenge Based Learning. I experienced first hand this vision in action.  Many of the students at North Rowan High School had endured being victimized by curriculums that did not incorporate their talents, aptitudes, experiences, and interests.  Further, many realized that the curriculums that were imposed on them would not serve them well.  As a result, these students developed amazing resiliency skills to make it through school until they were able to really succeed in life.  Mrs. Williams realized this and recruited passionate and capable educators who worked tirelessly to create and implement a school that prepares students for an ever changing future.  The implementation of the vision resulted in a curriculum that emphasized critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creative thinking, problem solving, and student agency.  Students found this curriculum to be engaging and exciting.  Having connected with the students that I taught during the initial year of implementation, I have heard first hand from these students that this curriculum transformed their lives.  They routinely use the skills, knowledge, and experiences to navigate life and solve problems.  Many students who had previously been disconnected and disenfranchised from school found school interesting, empowering, and worth attending.  They were able to incorporate their past experiences into learning and saw value and purpose.  Students no longer were forced to endure a curriculum that was static and stale; instead they were doing, experiencing, and growing.  This was achievable due to the combined efforts of educators who united under a common vision that was well developed and executed.  Mrs. Williams’s efforts and investment will continue to serve these students for years to come.

Another extraordinary educator, Dr. Amanda Macon, had one of the most interesting leadership styles that I have experienced.  During this past school year, she served as the principal of China Grove Middle School.  She brought a wicked sense of humor mixed in with an intuitive sense of understanding others.  She seemed to innately know and understand others.  She was able to pick up on their situations and provide any needed support.  She has a strong sense of empathy in working with both students and educators.  However, she was mindful to use this empathy in a way that would result in the growth and progress of others.  She developed relationships that were authentic and genuine.  However, she always kept an eye on supporting the growth of the individual.  She stressed the importance of a growth mindset.  I saw her on several occasions counsel students on improving their behavior and academic performance while letting them know that she valued them.  She humanized her relationships with others.  She provided the necessary paths to help others grow but also held them accountable for doing so.  She was able to provide accountable while still helping the individual feel valued.  Her ability to humanize relationships made a huge difference during the pandemic.  She routinely focused on individuals and made sure that they were okay.  She also provided the necessary leadership in an uncertain world that reassured us that we could do this.  She modeled the actions that she wanted teachers to emulate with students. Her leadership was also very humble as she always deflected personal accolades back to those who she sought to empower.  She used her leadership to lift others up and as a result, we all grew and transformed.
A final leader from who I learned much is my current principal, Ben Crawford.  I have worked with Mr. Crawford for nearly four years.  He served as the principal at China Grove Middle for three years when I was a technology facilitator.  He is currently principal at Jesse Carson High School where I serve as an instructional design coach.  As a middle school principal, I thought that Mr. Crawford did a great job.  But as a high school principal, he has done a phenomenal job.  Bringing back a school of over 1200 students and over 100 staff members during a pandemic is a gargantuan challenge for any principal.  But doing this along with creating entirely virtual virtual classes for some while others are on a “A/B” schedule and balancing out staff needs would be enough to overwhelm anyone.  However, Mr. Crawford’s superpower of developing and executing an effective safety plan met and exceeded this challenge.  He spent time thinking, designing, and developing a plan that met the needs and concerns of both staff and students upon returning to schools.  He spent time considering all the potential challenges and questions associated with returning to school during a pandemic.  He was able to assure staff of safety while providing them with support for handling different situations.  He even modeled the type of behavior and practices that teachers needed to utilize in their classroom with cleaning desks, using hand sanitizer, and responding to mask questions.  He was open to receiving concerns from staff members who were worried.  He listened to them and helped them work through their concerns in a way that empowered them to problem solve.  His plan was a model for many other schools in our systems.  He spent great efforts to ensure that the plan created the safest environment for all.  He was open to modifying the plan as needed.  Most of all, he was there to support each person and ensure that they felt as comfortable as possible with returning back to school.  His well designed plan has helped to minimize the potential problems that could have resulted at Carson and we are forever indebted to him for his attention and detail to planning for safe and orderly return to school.
Each of these leaders have created learning and working environments that promote student success.  Each of these leaders have built genuine relationships that humanize learning.  Most importantly these leaders have shared their power, built others up, and empowered others to do what is best for students.  We often don’t give our leaders the credit that they deserve.  In many ways, being an administrator is a “thankless” job.  But we need to recognize the outstanding leaders that each of us work with and let them know how much we appreciate them.  It is not an easy job but it is one that makes a difference.

As we move through this holiday season, we engage in many traditions such as decorating the Christmas tree, lighting candles, singing, and celebrating. At the center of these activities are the ideas of light and hope that serve as focal points for many cultures and traditions. Historically during this time, many Western cultures have just finished gathering up the remaining harvest and our days are growing shorter with nights growing longer in duration. For us, this has been an eventful year with many unanticipated twists and turns. While we continue to navigate an ever changing landscape, it is these focal points of light and hope that will continue to move us forward.

If you are like me, your life has been up and down much like a New Jersey roller coaster. The first few weeks of quarantine was so unfathomable that I could only process it as an extended set of snow days. However as the closure of face to face school continued, my thoughts transitioned to worries about students and staff at school. Did they have everything that they needed to be successful? Was I adequately serving and supporting them in teaching and learning? Was I doing enough to help everyone? These were all concerns that I dealt with frequently. In thinking back about this experience, I now realized that my concerns were rooted in my desire to make sure that my family was good. Yes, for us, our students and colleagues are part of our school family. As part of that family, we may have many different views and experiences. But at the core of it, we are motivated to care and protect the family unit. We don’t all see things the same way, have different motivations, and may argue passionately for what we believe to be the best for our students. Yet. we strive to ensure that the family is safe, protected, and progressing.
We all have had challenging moments this year both in and out of school. We, as educators, continue to grapple with supporting our students and ensuring that they are learning. We have also had to change the way that we deliver instruction including learning new tools and organizing our content in new ways all while trying to make sense of our world. While these challenges have been great, the one thing that has gotten me through those dark and challenging moments is the sense of hope.
Hope is like a light that helps us find our way through the darkness. I don’t think that it is a coincidence that so many cultures have a celebration of light embroidered with hope during this time of year. Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, was celebrated in mid November this year. It is often described as the celebration of light over darkness, triumph of good over evil, and new beginnings. Hanukkah starts later this week and is often called the festival of lights. Hanukkah celebrates the rebuilding of the Second Temple after the Jews reclaimed Jerusalem from the occupying Greeks. As traditional services were restarted, there was a need for pure oil in order to light the Menorah. But only a small amount of oil could be found and it should only have lasted for one day. Miraculously, the oil kept the light shining for eight days. During this time, Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ who came into the world to light the way. Jesus is often described as light personified.
Within each of these traditions, we see the importance of light especially during the darkest time. Much like a lot of the past months, we must continue to see the light of hope moving forward. For many of our students, we represent the only normalcy that they have experienced in the last nine months. While our experiences with our students may not always show this, know that we have made a difference by showing up and supporting our students. While parts of this year has been extremely dark, and our light may have been challenged at times, we still have our light going forward and much hope. Let us continue to think about the ways that we will continue to light the world for ourselves, our students, and our community. May the new year usher in much joy for each of us.

Educating in a pandemic has become increasingly challenging for educators.  Learning in a pandemic is challenging for our students and their families.  As we continue to traverse this ever changing landscape of education, we must leverage the resources that we have available and use them in the most productive way.  This can include devices, applications, paper, pencils, and almost anything that you can imagine.  This combination of both digital and analog resources are often remixed to help students when they are challenged to learn.

My eight year old son is amazing for many reasons. One of those reasons involves his use of resources that we have at home such as stray notebook paper, a ragtag collection of pens and markers, and many pieces of toys.  He is often inspired to create new things based on an active imagination that is unbridled by shame gremlins.  He is an innovator and creator.  He uses the constraints of the materials that he has to create and make something new.  He does not let obstacles stop him.  In fact, sometimes, I don’t even think that he realizes that obstacles would often be dead ends for many individuals.  He somehow finds a way to go around them and create something new and different.  In addition to being a proud father, I am mesmerized by his determination to stick to his intention and allow his idea to evolve.  Constraints only improve his creative capabilities.

As I think about educating in a pandemic world, many of our teachers have embraced their creativity or what is more appropriately called creative thinking.  I have seen teachers, based on necessity, develop and enhance their digital teaching skills tremendously.  Educators who in the past had shown minimal interest in using Flipgrid and Canvas have transitioned into being the “go to” people in their school on these tools.  Many of them are providing leadership and direction to other teachers in areas that used to matter very little to them.  For many of our educators, their desire and commitment to support students and their learning have made a tremendous difference in how they have become active and creative problem solvers.  The impetus on supporting students have pushed many educators to grow tremendously in expanding digital pedagogy.  Further, our educators are supporting each other through various social media by sharing their resources and expertise to support others.  It is amazing to think about how much our educators have grown in such a short period of time.

While teaching and learning in a pandemic has and will continue to present challenges, I hope educators will reflect on how much this disruption has challenged them to grow and evolve.  Additionally, I hope that we will use the lessons that we have learned to implement in our work with students.  Our students, much like my son, actually strives to be creative and innovative.  He wants to be a maker and creator,  He likes to show how he sees the world and how we imagines the world could be.  We should work to support our students in doing the same.  Our students bring a variety of experiences and ideas with them.  We must create learning experiences where students incorporate these and remix them with new ideas to show a deeper and most impactful learning.  As we move forward, I encourage all educators to think about how we can maximize the impact of this disruption to empower our students to grow into become creators and innovators.  If you are looking for resources to support in the journey, I highly recommending snagging a copy of “intention: critical creativity in the classroom” (yes, I am using the official name of the book and disregarding standard excepted rules for book titles), by Amy Burvall and Dan Ryder.  They provide a great explanation on critical creativity with insights as well as ways and paths to implement various activities in your classroom. Another amazing resource is “Educated by Design” by Michael Cohen.  Cohen’s book is a game changer and will change how you approach design and creativity with your students.  Finally, I would encourage completed both parts of Adobe’s Creative Educator Program (adobe.ly/ACE).  This program is free and provides a lot of resources to help guide your thinking around creative thinking.

Over the past six months, I have  become increasingly more focused on how we alleviate barriers to learning for our students.  With the move to emergency remote and hybrid learning, I have grown more aware of this need.  I have seen students struggle with connectivity issues at home.  I have spoken with parents, grandparents, and guardians who were beyond frustrated with technology and devices as they sought to support their students in digital learning.  This, coupled with the focus on ensuring equity among all students, has forced me to pause and really think about how we can ensure that technology supports learning with all students.  

I have spent the past six months working with an extraordinary ESL teacher, Mariel Gomez de la Torre-Cerfontaine (@MGomezdelaTorre) on developing and delivering a powerful professional learning presentation titled "The Power of WE:  How Technology Helps ELs."  Mariel brings a career worth of experience in supporting students whose primary language is not English.  She grew up in Peru and lived in the Netherlands before coming to the United States.  She is very focused on literacy and helping students improve their abilities to read, write, speak, and listen.  I have learned how to better support EL students and so much more from Mariel.  

Another benefit from working with Mariel is that I have come to realize that what is good for helping one type of students can also support other students.  For instance, the website, Rewordify, will take a passage and help break down complex words into more student friendly and easier to understand terms.  Here is a short video demonstrating how to use this site (which is free for use by the way).  While Mariel focused on using it to help break down text for her students learning to speak English, I have used it in the past to help students struggling to comprehend Shakespeare.  Based on my experiences, I can see how this site would also support struggling readers and special education students as well.  This site is very straight forward for students to use as it involves only a copy/paste function.  

As I continue to think about the many barriers to learning that exist, I increasingly saw Microsoft's Immersive Reader stand out.  As an Apple person, I often did not pay as much attention to Microsoft products due to my internal bias for Apple.  By not paying attention to the developments that Microsoft has invested in education support, I missed out on some amazing developments and arrived late to the party.  Microsoft has now caught my attention with carefully designed tools that will support all learners especially with their Immersive Reader.  I started using Immersive Reader after its integration with Wakelet.  When Wakelet added Immersive Reader to their ecosystem, the game changed.  While Wakelet has always been an an amazing tool for curation and innovation, the addition of Immersive Reader to their ecosystem moved Wakelet even further into "awesomeness."  Through the use of Wakelet and Immersive Reader, students are able to take websites and transform them into environments were many of the barriers to learning are eliminated.  These practices include the following:

• Students can eliminate many of the distractions and ads that compete for their attention
• Students can add a color overlay to what they are reading
• Students can have the text read to them at a variable speed level they prefer
• Students can have the font size increased and changed 
• Students can click on a word and have a definition available immediately 
• Students can break up words into syllables to help with reading
• Students can have certain parts of speech highlighted in different colors
• Students can have "line focus" to help them focus on one line at a time (this can be super useful for students who may have attention challenges)
• Students can have text translated into different languages (both by words or the entire document)

In working with Mariel and others, the transition feature is powerful.  The translations are much "tighter" than other translation tools.  I am impressed with Immersive Reader's ability to eliminate many barriers to learning.  Immersive Reader integrates with other tools such as Flipgrid and Microsoft Office.  I have recently started using it with Microsoft Lens, a scanning app where you can take a picture of a text and export it to Immersive Reader.  The potential of Immersive Reader to help all students should cause all teachers to pause and integrate its use into their classroom.  My excitement continues to grow as technology evolves to better support all students and reduce their barriers to learning.  We as teachers must ensure that we support all students and remove barriers to learning.  What works for one group of learners often works well for other groups of students as well.  I encourage you to spend time investigating various tools that eliminate barriers to learning.  Don't forget to check out Rewordify and Immersive Reader.

Imagine going to a country that you have never been to before.  One where they speak a different language where you recognize just a few words.  Then imagine that the locals expect you to be proficient in just a few days of arriving.  This is what the experience has been like for many educators as they have adapted to teaching in a digital/virtual environment.

When schools closed in March due to Covid, many teachers were immediately thrown into remote learning where the natives expected to them to instantly adapt to this new environment and solve problems.  My analogy demonstrates the many challenges that educators faced last spring and continue to face this fall.  Too often, students, parents, and the community have expectations that educators can be accomplished in digital teaching and pedagogy.  However, simply adapting your face to face learning experiences to digital instruction is not as straight forward as many seem to think.

We must continue to give our educators grace as they work to become proficient digital teachers.  I equate this shift as my experience as a English speaker when I hear German.  I recognize a few words and feel like I should know a lot but sadly, I don’t.  German has some similarities but the truth is that I am not very functional in German.  This is exactly what our teachers are experiencing.

Good teaching is good teaching.  We all know it when we see and we definitely know when the teaching is not as good.  But adapting to a digital environment requires educators to navigate through many barriers.  Some of these barriers involve ensuring that all students have access to high speed internet at home.  Some of the other barriers involve making sure that students know their log in credentials and that parents understand how to use digital tools if their students do not.  Often these barriers are beyond what teachers have the ability to influence, yet, they try.

These barriers are challenging.  But perhaps, more challenging than overcoming barriers, is developing a plan to support all learners using sound pedagogy and technology.  Merging them together is often a challenge.  Further, the teacher must adjust and provide multiple ways to support learners who may learn in different ways.  In some ways, it requires looking into a “crystal ball” and hoping that you receive the messages needed to support all the ways that students can learn.

Another important factor to consider is that in face to face instruction, teachers have trained for a minimum of four years with lots of support from college professors and experienced practitioners.  Most teachers also receive at least three years of support when they start teaching from their school and experienced professionals.  All of these help to create a path in which a teacher has the opportunity to grow into success with support from others.  Sadly, most educators have had minimal experience with practicing to become a digital educator.  Most school systems lack dedicated professional learning opportunity and digital teaching specialists to help teachers.  Further, most educators have received minimal, if any, experience in being digital educators during their undergraduate preparation.  In fact, I am not familiar with any teacher prep programs that provide an introduction or extended experience with digital teaching.

​Yet, given these challenges, teachers still manage to make it work.  While it can be a bumpy road, it is the desire to ensure that all students can become independent and resilient learners that motivate teachers to move forward.  Teaching digitally is not easy.  It takes time and requires much deliberate and intentional preparation.  It also requires ensuring that the necessary support and preparation is in place.  It seems that many of the systems and processes that are in place still have much room to grow to fully support our educators though.  As we move forward, let us remember that the grace, understanding, and empathy that we want our teachers to show our students are the same qualities that we must show to our teachers as they work to navigate this foreign world of digital learning.

Earlier tonight, I watch my local Board of Education meet mostly in an empty board room and approve a plan that would return students back to school in a few weeks.  While I had my own strong opinions about the return of students and educators to school this fall, I listened with open ears and really sought to understand.  Our superintendent and district staff has worked hard with input from school administrators to create three plans for the return of students.  Last week, our Governor shared that systems may only choose one of two plans eliminating the plan would return all students fully to the classroom for now.
As I listened to tonight’s board meeting, three things were very obvious to me.  One is that our district administrators have spent a tremendous amount of time and effort to create the best plan possible.  Also, they have worked really hard to provide forums for educators to share concerns.  One of the more uplifting things that I will remember about this time is that I have seen a lot of empathy shared from administrators at both our central office and at the school level.  I know that this is not easy for many individuals but I am so pleased to see that our system worked hard to model what they wanted educators to have with students, take the time to listen, be present, and humanize relationships.

Another thing that I observed during the board meeting is that I felt all board members really wanted to do what was best for students.  I don’t think anyone can question that.  The way that we resume school is not an easy answer.  Everyone wants students back in the building in a face to face environment.  However, there are safety concerns and we must acknowledge that.  Many educators are uncertain about what the next few weeks will hold and several are anxious about their own safety and well being as well as their students' well being.  I was also happy to see that the board strongly considered the working schedule of teachers who were teaching both face to face and virtually.  I was concerned that the hybrid plan that was approved would translate into double work for teachers.  While this may still be true, several board members realized this and shared that they did not want this to be double work.  I hope and pray that that will be closely monitored as we move forward with the plan that was approved.

Fast forward toward the end of the meeting and the board approves a plan to have our students attend 2 days a week in face to face with 3 days at home with virtual/digital learning.  Cohorts will rotate and Wednesday will be a workday for teachers.  Families may also opt to do entire virtual instruction as well.  While many may be unhappy with the plan and will be challenging for many educators, I realized that we are now seeing a new challenge for our parents, stakeholders, and greater community.

As we move forward, we will have to rely on parents in a way that we have never before.  I realize that parents have much not their plate.  As the father of an 8 year old son, I know the challenges associated with getting my son to do his work in a timely fashion.  I also realize that my son is fortunate in that he has two educator parents who will support him, see that the has the resources needed, and push hard to learn.  Unfortunately, not all parents have this ability.  We are privileged enough that we can take time out in the evening to help him or find friends who can assist him.  We don’t have to work multiple jobs and make the difficult choice about helping my child learn or making sure that rent or the mortgage gets paid.  We must acknowledge this and find ways to fill some of the gaps that many of our students  face.  It is time for those parents who can to be deeply involved in the education of their own students.  It is also time that other stakeholders including elected officials work to actively support rigorous learning that transforms all students into independent learners.  It is time that many community organizations such as churches work to fulfill this missions to help all.  We have got to have everyone on board supporting all students, especially those who may not have advocates.  I would encourage each person to ask what the organizations, businesses, and community agencies can do to help ensure that all students are successful. 

While many will be unhappy with the board’s decision, it is time that we unite to find the resources, support, and materials needed to ensure that no students fall into the gaps that will exist.  We also have to ensure that our students are prepared to be active participants in their learning.  Learning is something that they need to be willing to take the responsibility for and not lay it all on the teachers.  Students must be active partners in their learning along with educators and the community.  When we went to emergency remote learning, I heard many parents say that this did not work for their student.  Part of this may be due to the sudden and involuntary change in instructional delivery.  But I also wonder how many students were prepared to be online students.  This is a mindset shift and requires responsibility on the student that is not required in the face to face classroom.

As we move forward, we must help our students understand what is needed in order to be successful as an online student.  It can be a completely different set of behaviors and expectations than being in the classroom.  It also requires students to be active in the learning process, to ask questions if they don’t understand, seek help when needed, and use feedback appropriately.  We have to also work to provide the professional development needed for teachers to learn best practices and what works in virtual instruction.  We must provide time for teachers and students to learn how to learn digitally.

Each of these are extraordinary challenges that no one individual can surmount.  But collectively, we can and will rise to meet these challenges.  We must work together to support our students and ensure that both the students and educators can safely learn whether in the face to face classroom or virtually.  We must continue to show empathy to all and work to find real solutions to the problems that exist.  This challenge is too important not to overcome.  Let’s remember that as we move forward.