One Innovation Coach’s Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions
I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions because the hype around them drives me crazy. I do set goals for each area of my life, but this year, in the spirit of the Grinch, I’m going to make some New Year’s resolutions around innovation and technology use.
If I’m honest, they’re the resolutions I wish everyone would make.
- I will never reply all to an email.
I am going to make sure that reply all is not my default in Gmail and I will only reply all when everyone needs to know the information. Here is an Iorad tutorial that shows how to check your default reply setting. I will use the BCC (blind carbon copy) feature in email so the recipients of the email do not see who else the email has been sent. This is especially important when we shouldn’t be sharing email addresses. For my own sanity, I might even have to mute the conversation.
2. I will ask students to teach me what they know.
I was in a fourth grade classroom where Google’s My Maps would have been an excellent innovative digital tool. The teacher didn’t know My Maps and was reluctant to use it before she knew it inside out. We put students into groups of four and I showed them how to open up My Maps and we let them “play” with it. Every ten minutes we stopped and let them teach everyone what they learned. Within twenty minutes students were able to use My Maps to create tours of the regions they studied in class.
This teacher and I both learned several things we didn’t know about My Maps. Everyone also knew who the student experts were in the class if they needed help or had questions. We both learned alongside our students. If we amplify their voices, our students will learn more when they can share it. Teachers are no longer the purveyor of all knowledge — we are simply facilitators of learning.
3. I will not share my online credentials.
I will not give my username or password to anyone for any reason — not even reserve teachers. It is our responsibility to keep student data safe. Because it is available to anyone each time we walk away from our computer, it’s important to model good digital citizenship by eliminating the risk of compromised student data.
4. I will keep my email subject brief.
Instead, I will save the content of my email for the body. This sample email is bad, but not just because of the subject.
5. I WILL NOT USE ALL CAPS.
All caps comes across as yelling at the recipient. If I feel like yelling, I should do it in person or, better yet, just calm down. The person I am communicating with cannot see my visual and tone clues and may take my communication the wrong way.
6. I will say goodbye to Comic Sans.
As educators, we strive to present ourselves in a professional manner. Comic Sans was not designed to be a font for general use. It was created for a private company for a particular use. Education professionals found it and loved it and it has been overused ever since. I can’t speak for you, but this educator “bans the Sans.”
7. I will limit my emoji use and limit my exclamation points😀😀!!
Emoji are fun to use in personal correspondence but need to be more carefully considered in professional communication. Exclamation points tell your reader that you are surprised or excited. Your words should convey excitement and the addition of one or two exclamation points may accentuate your intent, but more than two is excessive!!!!!
8. I will remember that all screen time is not equal.
There’s a lot of buzz around screen time and its impact on children, but I don’t think the situation is as dire as people say. As an innovation coach, students associate me with Chromebook time. We code, we create animations and we explore cool tech resources together — all activities students can do at home. There is a wide spectrum of screen time and we don’t need to advocate avoiding it altogether.
9. I will Google it when I don’t know it.
As an innovation coach, I am asked every day something I don’t know. With Google, I can almost always find an answer or a place to start learning. The difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset in technology use is often the willingness to try something or to look it up. A few weeks ago, a student came back to school to tell me he learned a complex coding language by watching a YouTube video.
My son learned how to replace the screen on his phone by looking up the directions and then watching a video. My daughter learned to knit by watching YouTube videos after being frustrated with her (very wise) mother’s teaching. We can all learn something new by starting a Twitter PLN or looking up something we want to learn on YouTube. What is something new you want to learn this year?
10. I will end every assessment with, “tell me something you know about this subject that I didn’t ask you.”
Have you ever studied for a test and then something that you learned that seemed important was not asked? This question gives students the opportunity to tell you in their own words what they learned that they considered important information. It demonstrates critical thinking and communication. This is also a great Flipgrid question for an assessment or end of unit test. I’ve often used Padlet when I wanted to see at a glance how all my students responded to this question.
My most important resolution this year is to put my students first. I will give them the agency they need and deserve. We have a big job but it comes with big rewards. Will you join me in this resolution?
Let us know on Twitter or Facebook your innovative New Year’s resolutions!
