5302-A3 – MAKE an Impact

Based on the amount of growth I have observed in myself thus far in the Digital Learning & Leading (DLL) program, I am very excited to see what is coming in the rest of the program.

Teaching and learning must start with an attitude conducive to learning. Studying the growth mindset and developing a growth mindset plan serves as a persistent reminder to focus on the learning process and making sure it it meaningful. Developing this plan also led me to see the connection between the growth mindset and the maker movement . I intend to use making as a basis for my innovation project, so its focus on the process and allowing failure to be a catalyst for learning.

Making also values creative problem-solving, teamwork, and other “soft skills” which are increasingly important, yet undervalued in our society . Creating a learning manifesto helped me to focus on the issues that are important to me in education both broadly and in my own context that and what I can do about them. This has been, and will continue to be, tremendously valuable for me, as I had to formulate and articulate my “why,” the guiding principles for my learning and my impact going forward .

Finally, collaboration–another core value of the maker community–is vital to fostering creativity and valuing diversity. Researching and joining new learning networks will help me to connect with peers who have different perspectives on some of the same problems my institution faces and open me up to new solutions.

Underlying all this is the COVA learning approach . The choice I have been afforded in this course has allowed me to take ownership of the learning process in a way I had not before. Having taken ownership, I am beginning to develop a voice–my unique perspective on the topics we are discussing in the program–that will carry forward as I develop my ePortfolio. Since the ePortfolio will be authentic to my specific context and in my own voice, it will be useful outside and beyond the DLL program.

References:

Present Learning Networks

I’ve worked for many years as a one-person web development department, learning networks have been tremendously important for me–especially since professional development and travel budgets seem to be the first to go when budgets tighten. Most of these have been pretty technical, how-to boards, but those technical discussions are often the catalyst for broader discussions when I get to meet those people in person.

Hannon Hill Client Community

The most important network for me up to this point has been a user forum for the content management system my college uses. When I was learning how to use the program, I searched and browsed through the forums looking for answers and, if I couldn’t find any, asking questions myself. A few years later, as I became more proficient, I started to realize that I was able to start answering questions as well and started to contribute more in that way. I viewed it as a way to give back to the community that had helped me learn. A couple years later, I noticed that they waived the conference fee for people who speak at the annual user conference. Since I figured that was the only way I’d be able to get my college to send me, I submitted a proposal and it was accepted. I was surprised how strong the connection was among these people with whom I’d only exchanged technical information. I spoke a few more times at the annual conference, and that community has been very valuable for me in developing a professional network.

HighEdWeb

Another beneficial network for me has been the Higher Education Web Professionals association, or HighEdWeb. I’d followed conference hashtags for a couple years on Twitter to glean information and ideas and later was able to attend the national conference one year. After that, I joined the member community and was able to interact a bit more. I also spoke at a regional HighEdWeb conference. This community was a nice balance in that there was a more even mix between some technical information and some broader education or research-focused discussion.

EDUCAUSE CIO (Chief Information Officer) Constituent Group Listserv

As I was moving into my current position, my predecessor recommended that I join this listserv. At present, I’m still at the stage of being a “lurker,” but as I get more comfortable and confident, I imagine I may have more to contribute. There are a few other listservs at EDUCAUSE I follow, but this has been the primary one thus far.

New Learning Networks

I do want to find some more networks, especially ones with a more specific educational focus. Here are some new networks I’ve found and joined.

Maker Ed

I’m involved in a project to create a maker space at my college and I’m hoping to start some youth clubs (primarily so my kids can be in them), so this looks like a great resource and community. I’m also following them on Twitter (@MakerEdOrg), along with Make Magazine (@Make) and Maker Faire (@MakerFaire).

Update 5/13/2017: I haven’t used this much, yet, but I’m sure I will as the projects move forward.

ISTE

Came across this in the class discussion boards, and I was initially really interested in the Learning Spaces PLN, but that’s only with the paid level of membership. I’ll hang out in the free section for a bit to determine whether it makes sense to bump up to a membership.

Update 5/13/2017: I haven’t really seen much come through or followed up much with ISTE, so I think I’m just going to let this one drop off, at least for now. It seems like there isn’t much to be gleaned from the free version.

Edutopia

Edutopia was another one that seemed popular in the discussion boards, so I checked it out. It looks like it is a good community, I started by following the Learning Environments and School Leadership topics.

Update 5/13/2017: I’ve found really great resources from the Edutopia communities I’ve followed, I’m sure I’ll be mining the back catalog for this one.