Art of Creating Awe

"When we're sort of infused with either enthusiasm or awe or fondness or whatever, it changes and alters our perception of things. It changes what we see. It changes what we remember."

- Rob Legato, movie effects creator from his Ted Talk "The Art of Creating Awe"

Being introduced to the School Board

Last week I started a new job. No longer in Educational or Information Technology, I am now the Executive Director of Innovation and Design for a K-6 school district. Leaving my former position, and district, was not a decision that I took lightly. And yet, it was an easy decision to make. Why? Because this new district is in pursuit of awe... of wow... of creating wonder and joy for students. It was evident in their five year plan published on their website. It was evident in the weekly videos produced showcasing students engaged in learning. It was evident in the questions they asked me during the interview process. It was evident in every conversation I had with employees, colleagues around the county, and community members. And it was even evident in the description for the job being offered.

So often, in education, we get bogged down in the bureaucracy crap... test scores, union contracts, budget cuts, uninvolved parents... and heaped on that are the jargon of the day crap, like "teach with fidelity" and "21st century skills" and "1:1." We lose sight of the fact that we do all this for those doe-eyed precious hearts smiling at us from their desks. We forget to bring the awe into what we do.

Awe can't be found in any of those items I listed. It's not found in a standards-based report card or in a data team meeting. It's found when we play, when we dream, when we listen, and when we lead with our hearts. That's what I have found in this new role. The opportunity to listen to my heart, and provide for students the opportunities they deserve, they desire, and they expect from us.

I'm excited for this new journey. And excited to bring life back to this blog to share my awe journey.

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SAMR Sort: Getting Teachers To See the Bigger Picture

A couple months back I attended an executive briefing about digital learning and our 1:1 initiative. During the briefing, we were led through a SAMR sorting activity. Eight different classroom projects were shared with us. We had to sort the projects in to the SAMR level we thought it best fit. We then had to defend our decisions. It was an enlightening experience. Back at the district, my ed tech team decided to recreate that opportunity for our students. Using ISTEs Student Profiles for learning as a guide, eight K-8 grade scenarios were created. On Tuesday, teachers attending the "New to Classroom iPads" professional development completed the sorting activity. It led to fabulous discussions about looking at learning from different perspectives. Teachers commented that most of the lower level activities could have easily been modified to advance in SAMR level. With so much focus on using technology meaningfully in the classroom, activities like this one ...

Creating Wonderspaces

Jordan inside the "Daydream v2" exhibit. On Sunday, my daughter and I attended the Wonderspaces exhibit in San Diego. It is described on their website as " a pop-up museum of extraordinary experiences." Each of these experiences was given their own space in which to reside so that each piece could speak its own voice, without the presence of the others. "The Last Word" exhibit As we explored the 16 unique experiences, Jordan and I experienced a range of emotional reactions to the art. In some, we were completely awestruck. In others, we were perplexed. At others, raw with emotions. And in some, we felt playful. "The Last Word," consisting of hundreds of pieces of rolled up paper, allowed participants to leave their "last word" to someone... a way to "recapture what was never uttered" ( website ). This opportunity to peer into the soul of others silenced my mind, and opened my heart to the emotional plight of oth...

Technology has NOT Over-Promised Anything

I get so many daily emails with tech digests that I hardly ever go through them all. But today, my last day of work before Spring Break, I had a little extra time on my hands so I thought I'd read through all my "junk" email. And hidden at the bottom of one of my emails was this gem of a quote: We have mistakenly believed that giving teachers and students new software or a new box will help fix education, but the technology has over-promised and under delivered. – Larry Ferlazzo I would like to politely disagree. I don't think technology has ever promised to do anything. It's just a tool. People may have promised that these tools will revolutionize education, but people tend to make a lot of promises that aren't filled. People are the only fix to the problems in education. People who are willing to have tough conversations about the sad state of affairs many (but not all!) of our classrooms are in today. People who are willing to ackno...

Igniting Awe in Learning

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