Paper Rationing

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Reflection Essay #1 Sheninger

Lately, with all of the information coming at me I am constantly trying to compartmentalize the information and place it into a graphic of some sort. Go figure I would be using multiple technology tools to create this and then share on a social media site. At any rate, I created the graphic below using Gliffy which is a flowchart/mind mapping web based service. The graphic is unfinished, but it shows how things are interconnected and yet separate. I decided to breakdown the topics in Sheninger's book into the 3 B's. While branding is one of the 7 Pillars, I thought of it more as a broad topic that uses multiple sources for branding one's image. Bolstering is needed in the areas of professional development and student engagement. When it comes to technology implementation we can get lost quickly without enough quality PD and at times student engagement can look like learning, but actually isn't. And finally, building capacity among and within your staff to lead others in a continuos cycle of improvement and analysis for their own technology understanding is how I believe a digital leader continues to grow and develop among peers.


As I read the book I realized that it seems school districts follow the prescribed layout of the pillars in regards to how they are chaptered in the book. Having only been in one school district doesn't give me a great sample size, but I would be curious to see what you think. The way the book delivers the 7 pillars is:
1. Communication
2. Public Relations
3. Branding
4. Professional Growth and Development
5. Increased Student Engagement
6. Learning Environment and Spaces
7. Opportunities

How would you reorder these 7 pillars with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important? Click the survey link here.


As I did this myself I realized the challenges districts must face in rolling out technology with so many working parts that don't always seem to mesh. In my experience the communication of these 7 pillars is needed for staff to see the interconnectedness of the pieces and also to see the effect one has on another. Honestly, there is no one most important piece to Sheninger's 7 Pillars and I'm hoping you had as much a challenge as I did trying to order them in importance. Furthermore, what is important to the school district, parents, teachers, students and community may all be very different. It would be interesting to have parents and staff do this quick little survey as well.


The most interesting read of the whole book had to be in the area of learning environments and spaces. I found this information to be a large piece missing from current 21st century classrooms. Right now everyone is trying to play catch up and I wonder if new schools or renovations are having to meet a specific code or requirement for the needs of 21st century students and devices. Sheninger's blog shows pictures of the high school he references in the book, Clark Hall, as one that has made significant changes to the learning environment that supports creativity and function for today's learners and instructors. It will be exciting to watch as new buildings are developed and renovated in the coming years.


4 comments:

  1. Great graphic Ryan...this stuff seems to be right in your wheelhouse.

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  2. Great graphic Ryan...this stuff seems to be right in your wheelhouse.

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  3. Thank you Glenn. I love this sort of thing and you've been a great model of infusing of technology in everything.

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  4. Ryan, as usual, I love your infographic! Thank you for sharing how you use these daily. They are really great.

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