Monday, December 29, 2014

When winning isn't enough

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As 2014 draws to an end, schools are reaching half time in the 14/15 school year. This last Sunday of the year I watched the San Francisco 49ers win their last game of the year and then bid farewell to a coach who has posted a winning record over the past 4 years. Twitter blew up with comments like “what are they thinking?”, “Winning isn’t enough?!?”, and those are the nicer comments. It made me think and re-write this blog post. 

What if winning isn’t enough. In 4 years, it’s not ok just win and never fail? It all boiled down to relationships. From what I read, they just couldn’t get along. This something that is instilled in students early on. “Learn to get along and play nice”. What does that look like today? 

There are four things to try so you don’t end up in the situation that the 49ers are in. Look for new ways to Curate, Create, Communicate and Collaborate.
                                                        
First Curate. There is so much out there today and so much content. As a school leader or leader anywhere, no one has time to read everything. Also, you don’t want a censored feed delivered. Two of my favorite curated content providers are Zite (now Flipboard) on my mobile/tablet and paper.li on the computer (emailed or tweeted). Only recently have I started tapping all that is available with my Amazon Prime with Amazon music and Amazon movies.

Look for new ways to create and share content with those in around you. This one is wide open. With a camera (both still and video), recorder, and so many new apps/tools released every day, the possibilities are endless. Personally, the Neato app that integrates as a widget on my iPhone is a goto. My family got me a gopro camera and I’m starting to use it to capture life. My daughter is a senior in high school and she is documenting her final year with her own yearbook using the ComicBook! app and the bringing back vintage with the Polaroid app. Don’t forget Augmented reality apps like Aurasma to create 4D. Or how about starting to asking questions that must be answered with video and students can work together and to record then post the video to your youtube channel.

Communicate. It seems like we almost can communicate to much now but it’s a glass half full or half empty view. Like no other time in history this is also wide open. Start where we are and lets see what else we can do! Use Cel.ly, Remind or Twitter to connect with others. Don’t forget classic channels. We sent out a few printed Christmas Cards and letters to those we care about to those not in the digital world (actually my smart wife did, i just printed them). There were some tablets, and other mobile devices that were under the tree. Find a way to communicate with those around you using them so that they are a asset and not a hinderance. If you wonder how many devices are in your school or in your district, go sit on a bench during passing period or at lunch on a campus near you and just be a “fly on the wall” watching what comes out of backpacks/pockets as students/teachers move around the campus. How can these assets be tapped instead of banned?

Finally Collaborate. How can this be fostered? What is the difference between collaborating and cheating? Let’s be honest that is a question that many struggle with. It needs to be answered though and a way to do just that is to start just that. Back to the create/communicate question but start small with something even like google present and have everyone create a collaborative present slideshow. What is your favorite Collaborate tool/app?

There are many things up in the air right now with school funding, changes in staff with retirements and any number of other forces but we are 1/2 time for the class of 2015 and they will gradate in June and a whole new class of seniors will start in the fall as well as a whole new class of kindergartners with backpacks larger than they are walking in. The time is now... it’s not just good enough to win, we also have to get along!

P.S. Share your favorite tools in the comments!


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