Reflecting on the Start

This image was created with Gemini.

It has been a whirlwind start. I know that is a cliche, but it is the truth. (There will be more cliches in this post, so if that bothers you — feel free to pass this post by without a read. Most of my blog is shouting into the void anyway, so your lack of engagement won't bother me.) Last week, we made it to the Chuseok holiday in Korea and it was the first time I felt like I could really catch my breathe. All transitions are difficult, even with the best laid transition plans in place, so the chaos isn't surprising or unexpected by me. This isn't my first rodeo as they say in Montana. But now that I'm having time to reflect, I want to look back at the successes and failures of the first few months as the Director of Technology at St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju.

Success #1: The team is coming together nicely. I need to commend my IT team. Jason, Kihyun, and Howon have really pulled together and stepped up to the challenges. It has been a pleasure to see. They seem happier, more confident, more ready to meet the problems we face daily. Teachers and students feel more comfortable asking for support. 

Success #2: Giving a facelift to some of the old and tired digital items. I have created a new digital subscriptions website where teachers can explore the digital tools that we have available. Previously it was a list of links on a Google Doc. Not very engaging and little explanation of the products. Teachers have limited time, so presenting some simple, quick explanations of what the tools actually are gives them the opportunity to decide if they want to invest time in learning about the tools. This led to another new website called Who-Should-I-Ask that explains the different roles of the IT and EdTech positions at SJA. Again, previously this was a Google Doc with an explanation of each person, but no photos or clear reason to look at it. Both are works in progress, but the change is an improvement.

Success #3: We made it to Chuseok! Things are working. Teachers are teaching, students are learning, and the admin team is making lasting changes for the better.

Failure #1: The paperwork involved in purchasing the digital tools is cumbersome. I didn't fully appreciate just how difficult the process was for Kihyun until really seeing it in action. Unfortunately, during summer, with the time difference and trying to squeeze in time to see family, the flow of the documents needed and the process wasn't completely clear to me. This led to confusion and frustration for both Kihyun and myself. But to be fair, this situation was mostly my fault. It was one part the system itself, and two parts my understanding of it. Once I was back on the ground in Jeju, I quickly started to see my errors and adjusted my approach. I was more careful about the quotes, invoices, and receipts that are all part of the documentation process. This definitely made things better, but the initially failure was mine.

Failure #2: There are always blindspots in any position, but PowerSchool is a definite one for me. I'm working on up-skilling my knowledge, but it is a huge hole. Luckily we have Jason King and Dave Griffith who both know the system, but they are continually having to "fix" things for me or help me understand the system better. I appreciate and respect their support, but I sincerely hope to reach a level where I will be able to know the answers with regard to PowerSchool.

I recall a job-a-like for tech directors and coaches hosted by Matt Harris for 21st Century Learning HK several years ago where he said we needed to lean on our skills, but be accountable to our deficits. Those words are just as wise and true today as they were when he said them back then. Thanks again for those words, Matt.

Part 5: Avoiding the Professional Blind Spot

You must realize from the beginning that just because something comes easy to you doesn't mean it comes easy to others. Because of this fact, you should never make someone feel inferior because they learn slower or because they are interested in different things. We have a tendency to be incredibly patient with students, but not patient with colleagues. If you want to be an effective support person, you will need to avoid the professional blind spot and tame your tongue.

I remember when I first started in EdTech, I was humble because I didn't have a computer science degree. I was working in someone else's field in a sense. The most negative interactions I had as an EdTech person have generally been with computer science people, but not CS teachers -- with IT Admin. I don't want to paint all IT Admin the same way, because I have meet and worked with some amazing IT people. But there are some folks in IT, as there are in any subject, who seem to want to look down on others. Nothing will kill a program faster than people feeling pushed away by negative attitudes and experiences. I've had teachers tell me that they didn't want work with Mr./Ms. X because of his/her attitude/sarcasm/negativity. You need to respect people and appreciate their abilities, even if those abilities are low by your standards. You are building capacity; not everyone has it when you start with them.

I remember one conference I attended and in the first session it seemed that everything was blocked. We had no access to social media at all. I went to Twitter, my go to for sharing my learning and was blocked. Facebook -- blocked. Edmodo -- blocked. EDMODO! I approached the conference presenter about the problem and he said that everything was blocked. He was concerned because the first thing he wanted to show us was Edmodo. He then pointed me to one of the conference attendees who was the IT Admin for the school where the conference was being held. I walked over and introduced myself and asked about Twitter. The conversation went something like this...

Me: Hi! I'm Tim from ____ school and I noticed Twitter is blocked. (in a pleasant and unassuming tone)

IT Guy: Yes, it is. (short and curt)

Me: Would it be possible to unblock it? (still being pleasant)

IT Guy: Why? (now snotty)

Me: I'd like to tweet about the conference. (continuing to be pleasant, but struggling)

IT Guy: Tweet about the conference? (sarcasm and some eye rolling)

Me: Yes. I like to share my learning with my PLN. (more forceful now)

IT Guy: I'll look into it. Give me a few minutes. (sort of a strange look on his face; I think he realized that he was out numbered in the room or something)

It was like I fell into an episode of the IT Crowd. Surreal and bizarre. I realized later that I was a threat to his little kingdom. He was the authority on computers and Internet at his school and was very used to having others simply go along with his decisions and rules, so someone questioning that was a challenge and a threat to the status quo, which he usually crushed with sarcasm and rudeness. When it didn't work, he wasn't sure what to do. Within five minutes, I was on Twitter and Edmodo. To this guy's credit, by the end of the two day conference, he seemed like a changed person. I think the openness of other educators and fresh ideas expanded his mind. He was asking our team about social media that we allowed (everything) and how teachers were using it. He learned that he had things he could learn from us and that is the secret to avoiding the professional blind spot. Remember that other people may not have the level of skill that you have in a certain discipline, but they may have great ideas about the field anyway. When you are helping someone build capacity, keep your ears open and you may find that you learn something surprising and new. At the very least, you will learn more patience and that is something valuable.