Wk4 Free Post - WHAT did you say?!

So here I write at last  - the final assignment post – of the final week – of the final class of my Master’s [ish – 12 incoming!]  It simply must be a reflective post right?  All about what a journey it has been and the friends met along the way…

Ah as if I could just end like that!  It has been an epic journey, one I am proud of having participated in, but this week I write a bit about something that has occupied almost all the free moments in my families household.  It is a serious issue that pops up again and again going on EVEN AS I type this last post out.  What issue has brought this house to its proverbial knees?  The dark, crime ridden streets of 1940’s LA is what!

LA Noire – a video game. =)

I share this with everyone who DOES read my blog because I find it amazing!  The game you ask?  Well somewhat – the facial recognition and animations are amazing but not so much the game but what has happened here.  I have been usurped as the Xbox 360 player and get only what time my adoring non-video gaming wife is willing to give up. 

You see – this game isn’t about running around and shooting bad guys.  That does happen.

This game isn’t about driving in high-speed chases to stop the guy from getting it away.  That does happen.

It is about looking carefully over clues – asking questions of numerous P.O.I’s [person of interest] or suspects – and determining if they are lying or telling you everything that you need to know!  It is about weaving the separate elements of the case you find into a solid piece of What Happened.  In short – it is the exact type of game that my wife dove right into after just watching me muddle through the tutorial levels.  It appeals to her because it is more weaving together interactive puzzles into episodic stories.  All glossed over with the glitzy life and time of 40’s LA and the big time Hollywood folks.

I think I share this because I am amazed that a game this different exists.  That something SO far outside normal models of what games ‘are’ has come into being by a major studio in gaming!  I am happy to sit by working on homework as my wife fails the dramatic car chase a third time and is offered by the game engine the chance to skip past the chase and back to the story [missing nothing I might add].

Most of all I wanted to share this because last night, after she had along day at work – dinner was finished, the kitchen cleaned, our beloved daughter asleep and the night starting to get late for her early morning shift…I heard something truly magical from her – something I have often said myself:

“Just one more case my love!  Then I’ll go to bed!”

Wk4 Reading – Art of Possibility [9-12]

What a great read this week!  The Zander’s manage to remind us about positive things in such a delightful manner.  This week we cover passion, apologies, blame and a host of other heavier type aspects of discussion but shared with stories and a refreshing view.

The start of this weeks reading grabbed me – mainly because the story about Some things are just better done in person was one of my childhood memories as well!  Great to see some thing echoed throughout the world.  It really covers engaging others with the possibilities.  They key trait to this though is not cajoling them into joining in, but by opening up the doors to share the way.  One of the stories Ben shares is great in the way it unfolded – the trip to London to get a company on board with his companies desire for sponsorship turning into Ben enrolling into their plan for education! 

This truly comes up a lot in education, especially as we move up into possibly more administrative/political arenas – you cannot always insist on the way things may be carried out – but by really being committed to what we do we can get others on board supportively more readily!  Ben’s school tale in London is the best example of this – awesome things happen if we share our passion and share possibilities with others.

We move on later to discuss being the board – seeing ourselves as the framework for all that happens in our lives.  This was a great twist – as almost universally I think folks view themselves as pieces on the board – moving around in response to stimuli and such.  What a refreshing change to take the active role and understand that our life itself is the stage upon which all things happen instead of just reacting to the moves of others.

They also cover the whole aspect of blame – of apologizing – but in a refreshing manner that is also a different approach than we may do out of habit.  It is not to say that others have no fault in things that go wrong – but that a kernel of all faults lay within us as well.  What could we have done differently to avoided getting into the conflicting situation?    Making the act of apologizing not being a sign of our remorse over an action, but instead taking it as responsibility in our part.  These are all great things to remember when we interact with others throughout our lives and open up doors of possibility!

I am grateful for the chance I’ve had this month to read The Art of Possibility – it is not the normal sort of book I delve into as I am an avid non-fiction fan in the form of history books.  This pushed me outside of that and was a wonderfully refreshing reminder of things we can keep in mind in OUR lives and enjoy more satisfaction.  

Wk4_ResponsePost: Tricia Atkinson

Response Post: Tricia Atkinson

Wow, these last chapters were a lot to take in! Just when I thought my personal reaction could not possibly be more profound, the Zander’s prevailed with more stories and more implications of living a life of possibility. Most notably were chapters 10 and 11 when adversity was discussed in more detail, including the analogy of self as a game board (versus the typical interpretation as a participating piece). I will admit, when the idea of mutual responsibility in every situation was introduced, I felt some indignation. I mean, who doesn’t want to ostracize the drunk driver or the blatantly rude reaction or the frequent absentee. But how fascinating to think about their perspective and how it will not improve attitude and happiness by being upset and throwing blame.

As easy as it is to get into a downward negative spiral towards my students, blaming them for their negative, rude, and apathetic actions. But what about what I have done to contribute? What about my negative sarcasm or mediocre effort? Not to mention what they have eaten lately or when the last time is that they got a hug or “good job” from a parent? Trying to remember myself in each other person’s shoes will help me to react with a more enlightened attitude, just as Ben did when his students partied in South America. What would it have helped to “go off” like so many of us teachers are expected to do. Instead, the kids understood, felt enabled, apologetic, regretful, and still valued. Amazing. This Art of Possibility stuff is definitely not second nature in the world of modern education, but I feel like a breath of fresh air, a reminder of options and how to go with the flow, giving students and others in my life the benefit of the doubt, has been given to me…I am inspired and grateful.

Response:

I completely agree with your mention of a shifting to others perspectives and embracing what we may not know about their actions.  Not just in the cases of drunk drivers and such, but very much for our students and difficulties they maybe going through.  Our peers as well, there might be plenty of reason for ‘that one receptionist’ to be curt and angry all the time – she might have insomnia that she battles with regularly!  It is a telling thing to shift that perspective to see what others are going through and one of the strongest tools I think the Zander’s remind us about.

I also feel that you are on target when you mention it is not part of modern education.  It is so easy for individuals to get wrapped up into their own courses, classrooms, and troubles that we forget we are on the same team – students and teachers alike.  What a great epiphany to realize that our journey through EMDT capped off with The Art of Possibility is our chance to make a shift in that existing world!  I have enjoyed our trip this year and am glad to see that happiness reflected in your writing as well – we’re ALMOST DONE!!!!!! [happy dance]

Wk4_ResponsePost: Patricia Ort

Patricia:
Of all of the Zander's ideas, I think the concept of not blaming others, or yourself, for things that don't go the way you'd like is probably the most challenging.  I don't know if it is a cultural thing or just a human thing to assign blame, however, we seem to start doing it pretty young.  The fine difference in thinking that Ben Zander speaks of when he says we should be the board, not the chess piece, takes some practice.

As always, the Zanders made me really think about how a person could change their mindset in this way. When Ben Zander speaks of apologizing, he does it in a completely different way than I, at least, am used to.  I think it is a good idea to apologize to others when we've offended or hurt them.  But Ben's approach also includes not blaming himself. In the letter he wrote where he gave himself an A, he admitted his faults but didn't really say he was sorry to the violinist directly.  He also didn't ask her to come back to the orchestra, although she did.

As usual, I spent some time thinking about how this might apply to working with the at-risk teens in our program. If, as Zander says, this approach allows you to turn relationships into effective partnerships, how might that work at our alternative high school?  Right now, we are planning a totally different concept for next year. Rather than teaching in our own little boxes, the English teacher, the math/science teacher, and I (social studies/computers teacher), are going to team teach using a project based learning model.  We are especially interested in building relationships with the teens who enroll in our program.  Reading Zander's thoughts about "being the board" really fits the conversation about how to build good relationships with our new students.

I'm a creative person, so I really liked the thrust of Chapter 11.  I think most people are happiest when they are creating. There is a special energy that fills you up when you are working in synergy with others, making something new and different and exciting.  I think my colleagues and I feel that way, when we are not being distracted by things that seem to have gone wrong at school or are trying to find someone to blame for the situation. Hmmmm.  I am glad we are reading this book at school.  I think a shift in a positive direction would be very good right about now.


Response:

As always I have enjoyed your reflections and views on the readings for the week.  It was a ‘heavier’ week than the others with blame, apologizing, being the board and such being not just meaty in content – but in what they mean to us.  I agree with you that the way Ben Zander speaks of apologizing is different than what it has meant for me in my life, so to with regard to blame and those aspects he mentions.  There is always that drive to blame – but the situations that resolve themselves the best are where time is not wasted in that direction but instead on pushing to complete what needs to be done.  I am also inspired by your direct application of this reading into your unique work environment with the project based learning model!  That should be one awesome journey – hopefully you will get some rest from the equally awesome EMDT journey! ;)

Wk4 Publishing Leadership Project

I have opted for a publishing route for my ARP, wrangling my information and results into a paper ready for submission.  I focused on two journals in particular, with distance collaboration being the focus of my research and directly tied to my online course they seemed the best fit.  The first is The Journal of Interacting Learning Research – their focus is generally on collaborative efforts and my ARP addresses those particular issues in depth.

The journal however that I feel will likely be the best option is the Quarterly Review of Distance Education which seems to be a direct portal for the focus of my ARP.  They focus on finding solutions to teaching and collaboration in an online environment.  With the fit to both my cloud computing collaborative ARP and my online teaching situation I feel they will be the best option to pursue.

Thinking out loud posts:

http://lioneljacques.blogspot.com/2011/05/wk-3-free-post-think-out-loud-1.html

http://lioneljacques.blogspot.com/2011/05/extra-post-thinking-out-loud-post-2.html

Paper link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jg2TsUXjtvI0Disri687vQ16ImnujkaxZsKnfLDAZow/edit?hl=en_US&authkey=CKbY1ZEJ#

I am looking forward to pushing forward with this - more research cycles, refining the methods, and publishing!

Extra Post: Thinking Out Loud – Post 2

Going with a paper brought with it a large list of journal’s to search through and see which one would be the best chance for initial publishing.  I say initially because I plan on running further cycles and continuing refining and sending out my paper to various journals.  So far I am considering Journal of Computing in Higher Education – as they were one of the journals that came up frequently in my initial research and literature review.  However there are two others I think may be more ‘inline’ with exactly what my ARP covered with the chief one being Quarterly Review of Distance Education – that is likely the one I will pursue as they are inline with what I hoped to accomplish with my research.  A final option if I opt to go that route is Journal of Interactive Learning Research as they focus on distance collaborations, which is one of the aspects found in my ARP. 

I think I’m focusing on the Distance Learning Journal – there is a panel review and being quarterly it they mention APA 5^th edition.  If no result is had on this choice– it will at least be a great place to start.

Wk 3 Comment Post: David Hotler

David’s Post: 

First of all, what a great book! The light hearted and joyful expression of the Zanders makes reading this book a joy. I wish all books were just like this one. Now as I read I become more and more aware that this is not a book you read and put down but a manual you reference and then go and make a change. So every chapter I think of how I can use this practice in my own life. Here is what I have come up with for this weeks reading.

First and foremost Rule Number six should be rule number one for all teachers. I try to be sure not to take myself or my course too seriously. In the grand scheme of the world learning photography and photoshop is not that important. However, for some students my class is a doorway to a passion they never knew they had and leads to wonderful things. Taking things too seriously can make things no fun and who wants to spend the rest of there lives having no fun at what they do?

Next, I want to make the students the leaders. I admit from day one that I am still a student of photography and photoshop and will always remain that way. I am simply a student who has been doing it longer and with great intensity than the students just taking my course. I tell them that if they know something they should shout it out. If I am wrong they should shout it out. I want the students to realize that we are all in this together and they are just as powerful in the classroom as I am. This coming year I hope to take this one step further and have the students make their very own tutorial in photoshop. That means they need to create something and then walk the class through how they made in a way that everyone can understand. This makes them the leader and the expert and enables them to be that leader outside of their seat in my classroom.

Our work is never done. I tell me students all the time that the work they do in my class is never finished, it is always a work in progress. This leaves some students in distress so I do let them know that somethings just come to a nice stopping point but are never finished. As they work on Photoshop projects I want them not to think the assignment is to make theirs look like mine but to realize that the journey is the destination and creativity is not about conformity but about making something unique. As long as the student can show me they understand the given tool or technique we are learning I have no problem with them turning in something that looks different than my teacher example.

The last great thing that I have realized from this weeks reading and from my time at Full Sail is that passion is the most powerful motivator of students. If you allow students to work on something they are passionate about you will have to force them to stop (if you so choose). All of the projects that I assign are built in a way that allows students to incorporate a part of their personal life that they are passionate about. This might be a pet, a birthday invitation, or a photo retouch job for their grandma. No matter what when I allow student to work on something they care about they always work harder and to a greater degree of complexity. As this is true with my students it is also true with me. When I start to plan projects I pick something that interests me as well. Now this means creating something new each year and in turn more work but I find that I am more passionate when teaching if I am teaching something I really care about.

Response:

I found your post as inspiring as the book David!  It is great to see the reminders of the book being brought to life in your classroom.  Rule number 6…I feel that is a tricky one to remember at times but agree that every teacher needs to keep that fully in their minds every day.  As my own responsibilities grow at my job with more Associates coming to work for me and additional departments being over seen – not taking it all too seriously is at the top of my list as well.  As you say – we are the doorways for others to travel through in pursuit of their own excellence.  Be it our peers that we inspire to greater heights or our students, by not getting bogged down in the immense weight of our tasks [said with a smile there btw] the journey for everyone is improved.

I also love your take on each student as leader.  It is a great thing to be able to share our passion with others – and even greater when we can relinquish control and allow the others to soar in their own direction.  The understanding is still important – but as you say, so is allowing them to make it their own.

Great post and I’m happy to have shared in this EMDT journey with you this year!  A toast to the rapidly approaching graduation!! =)