Week 4_Comment to Tracye Salters

The final chapters of the Art of Possibility do not disappoint.  I found many insightful nuggets to incorporate this school year and many things that will keep me focused and sane throughout each day.  The first important concept is becoming the board and having the power to transform my thinking.  The idea that ultimately I am in control of everything that I experience in my life is quite revealing.  I thought about a Monopoly game, and how we always thought the game pieces gave us so much power that we fought over the top hat or the shoe each game.  In reality, according to the Zanders, the game board has the power.  The game board determines what the game pieces will do, how far they will go and helps to determine the winner. I discovered that as a game piece I have limited power, but as the board I make room for all of the moves to happen.
The next novel idea was the concept of vision.  Vision, defined by the authors, means to invent and sustain frameworks that bring forth possibility.  After reading this, I realize I need vision for my classroom.
In the Bible it states, that without vision the people perish. This made me think about the vision I have for my students when they come to my class. What possibilities are in store for them based upon the vision I have cast for the year?  Vision goes beyond goal setting and reaches a wider range of thought.
And finally, taking risks are necessary for anything great to occur!  I believe I take some risks, but maybe I need to take more.  I constantly encourage my students to take risks, but now I need to be willing to experience the same possibilities. The inclusion of the Marianne Williamson poem is the icing on the cake.
I love this poem and everything it represents.  A couple of years ago, I posted it in my room as inspiration for my students, and I believe I will post it again so my students can imagine the potential that is within each of them.  Another school year brings forth so much and I am excited about experiencing it with fresh eyes and a fresh heart!

Photo obtained from Microsoft clipart

My response to Tracye:

What a great way to begin the school year~with fresh eyes and a fresh heart!!! This is such perfect timing for each of us to find that risk-taker within us, dig deep and begin to experience the possibilities and let those great things occur and happen.

Week 4: Comment to Erica

Lighting a spark

This chapter speaks greatly to the saying if your excited about a subject, it will show through in your teaching and your students will become excited about it. It can be difficult for teachers to keep that level of excitement all the time. Im not saying they are not enjoying what they are doing, but sometimes as per our standards or curriculum chances are that we have to teach something that really doesn’t excite us. For me personally it is social studies, particularly historical lessons. This is something that never interested me in school and to e teaching it now, it still doesn’t excite me. I would much rather pull out a science lab or go exploring in a fiction story. But it is something the kids need to learn and it may excite some of them, and you don’t want to put out that possible light for them. So we put on a happy face and muscle ourselves through it. Will you always get a win? Probably not, but at least you can say you gave it your best.

Being the board

This chapter spoke volumes of the things going on within my school. Many of my co workers, myself included are to busy placing blame on other co workers or our boss to try to get any real movement forward to make our school a better place. Our school is clearly divided into 2 sections, the upper and lower elementary. It seems impossible right now for me to believe that there is hope for our school. That may be my skepticism and blame placing speaking but I believe for some of our bridges to be mended that many of us would need to change our thinking. To follow through with something like being the board, takes a strong person. I sometimes think it is engrained in our DNA to place blame on others. I cant say that sometimes after the dust has settled you cant look back and see that maybe you had some fault in the incident also. But to be completely honest, im not sure I am ready for this way of thinking, at least where I am now. Maybe at a fresh start, or a new place, or maybe in my personal life. But at work I feel like it is too much of a “fight for your life” place and there have been too many wedges driven between myself and some certain co workers to really be mendable at this point.

Creating frameworks for possibility

This chapter was a little hard for me to take in. Trying to compare it to the mission statements that we wrote for our school this year, or trying to think of it as a personal goal that you might write for yourself. Im really just not understanding and I just think its because I do not have much to compare it to. He makes some nice points about things to make sure you include, or don’t include when you are making a vision statement. Maybe finding a vision and having some kind of goals to reach that vision written down would be a good thing for me to try. Would probably really help you reach your goals. This I should really have some more exploration in.

Telling the WE story

This was a great chapter. Explained how one should be thinking in any relationship regardless if it is with a lover, a friend, a co worker, or anyone else in between. This also goes back to the placing blame. To point fingers and place blame puts people on the defense. But to talk about WE, then people are less likely to feel backed into corners and will be more receptive to you and your ideas.

Erica,

I strongly believe that you should have a passion for what you teach so that the spark ignites when you share with your students. However, that spark can easily fade to black, and completely go out and that is when we need a boost such as this book, conference or any material that lights that spark again. I have written a vision statement and have in the past have made my students write one. It is that roadmap that guides you to where you want to go. It can be difficult to move from the game piece to the board, I agree. Sometimes so much is going on  in life that it is easier to be the game piece. 

Week 4-Comment to Tonneche Brown

As teachers we are definitely responsible for lighting the spark in our students but we sometimes wonder how. Most of our students are not amazed by anything we do or say. It's just teenage natural to see parents and teachers as uncool.

So it is our job to outwit them by letting them find of light their own spark. Or let them think they are lighting their own spark. This can be done by simply becoming more a facilitator of learning whether than a teacher of learning. Allow room for error in yourself as well as in your students. You will that you both may be finding a spark.

Tonneche,

I completely agree with your statement that we should become more of a facilitator of learning rather than a teacher of learning. It’s amazing when you empower students with their own learning and you can watch them discover and take off from the direction we, as teachers, give them. When they know that as teachers, we make mistakes and errors, the students feel safe to also make errors ~ only then will we all begin to grow.

Week 3 Comment to Angela

Photo obtained from Microsoft Clipart

 My response to Angela:

Angela what a compelling story. When you are sincere in your intentions, you never know how one will respond. that manager put you at ease and made you feel comfortable.

Week2: Free Choice - Comments to Tania Shaver

Tania’s original post:

I believe open mindedness is the key to stepping outside the box we live in. I believe that some of the assumptions I make sometimes tend to discourage me. One very key assumption is I assume everyone understands what I am trying to convey in a message. I run across this at work all the time when trying to get my vision across to big people like the owner and the CEO. I have come to realize that more work on my part is in order. I must invent some visual stimulation for them to behold. I guess I had a duh moment when I realized that all the while I am in school I am learning about multiple intelligence theory and I don’t even think that they need it as bad as our clients do. Wow!

Possibility: I am filled with it! So many things have happened since I sought out education. First this person that I am always thought as a child that I was below average. After starting college I realized that if I apply myself anything could happen. I guess I measured success before by what I couldn’t do and when I change my focus from negative to positive the whole world opened up! On a regular basis I help people recreate their lives and help families reunite after long periods of despair.

My worlds just came together over the last year. For a few years the need to create was stronger than anything else. When the economy got bad I had no idea how this great thing that I had worked so hard for wasn’t putting food on the table. I realized that sitting still was not an option. I swore that I wouldn’t go back to school. When I saw and researched this degree program I felt the world of possibility open up again. Most of my Graphic Design career was spent in education because I had no desire to feed the media with cereal or alcohol commercials. I can now begin to use what I have learned here to educate families in the area of addiction.

This book while it offers great insight, reminds me much of several books I have already read. “The four agreements” by Ruiz, “The Book of Secrets” by Chopra and “The Power of Intention” and “Manifest your Destiny” by Dyer.  

Rainbow Lewisville TX Fall 2010 ( photo taken by Brandi LeBlanc)

Tania,

What an inspirational story Tania. I am so glad that you have found your calling and the possibilities of what you are fully capable of. I liked what you said about how you changed your mindset on your success from what you couldn’t do, to what you could do.

Week 2: The Art of Possibility Chapters 1 -4

Heceta Head Lighthouse~Yachats Oregon (photo taken by Brandi LeBlanc)

I found the Art of Possibility Chapters 1 -4 was hard to grasp at first. I understand and appreciate the whole paradigm shift in thinking and how you can shift your thinking to be more positive. However, I struggled with the thought of just thinking and it happening. I am not one to be jaded or negative, but how I wish life was this simplistic and easy. The practice of art of invention was difficult for me to just wrap my thoughts around.

We live in a world where everything is measured, from the food we eat, places we visit and shop, to our own bodies, work ethic and personality. I can only imagine a world where there was no measurement. I wonder what it would look like?

The practice of giving an A really blew me away. What an amazing story and an inspiring one at that. I wonder what kind of work I would get if my students knew they had an A form day one. Would the seniors shut down the second semester as their high school career winds down? I’m not so sure my high school students would appreciate and embrace fully the practice of an A. I really think the majority of students wouldn’t do anything and take the easy A. But I could be wrong.

Now the practice of contribution I can totally grasp and relate to. Contributing to others is a practice that more people should take up. I have tried to instill this practice in my children as well as my students. Nothing is more enriching and meaningful that contributing to another ones livelihood. This reminds me of the stories of dipper and the bucket and paying it forward.

Week 2: comment to Manuel Miranda

Manny's blog post:

For this weeks readings of chapter 1 through 4 of the Art of Possibility, the underlying tone throughout the 4 chapters was of how oneself should view and act in our world today. The chapters talks about tools for reframing how we think about ourselves, others, and the world we play in and about choosing how we feel, how we respond, and how we decide to play.

But there is a concern on my part when one reads this book. The authors depict these steps as mere simple actions from “deep inquiries that we might meditate on”. How can anyone with huge struggles and burdens be able to dwell on such ideas when issues like hunger and lack of housing preoccupying their minds? It is easy to give oneself an A if you have not had to struggle in life. For the everyday person, to dwell on these ideals are a luxury. A luxury that most cannot afford to dedicate time towards. 

This world has always been a world of measurement. From the dawn of time to the present. There are only two types of people in this world, the ones that are well off and the ones who are just survivors. To the foremost, it is easy to think of the possibilities and “Oh I can make a difference” attitude because they have the least of the worries. To the latter, the survivors, they hope someday be at a point to have that luxury. 

While the authors intentions are well and meaningful, like many others that deliver the same message but using different analogies, it is still a choice or lifestyle that is difficult for most in this world and I do not see mankind changing anytime soon.

Double Rainbow Lewisville TX Fall 2010 (photo by Brandi LeBlanc)

Manny,

You are so right when you say mankind isn’t going to change anytime soon. It is so easy to have the rose colored glasses when one isn’t struggling, but when one is just trying to fulfill basic needs, these actions are hard to swallow. 

week2: blog post comment to Tonneche Brown

I tried to post a comment to Tonneche Brown's blog but , it would not allow me to post , so here is my response:

Tonneche Brown original Blog post:

Thinking outside the box is allowing your imagination to flow and run wild. it is the birthplace of creativity. Most of the time the fear of being different or even being wrong keeps us from thinking outside of the box. Thinking outside the box and allowing ourself to fail will in turn help us to grow. Knowing that there make be options other than the norm and exploring those options is thinking outside the box. Being confident and knowing that failure can equal to success will invent out of the box thinking.

I always encourage my students to think outside of the box. I teach marketing and especially in advertising, they have to think creatively. I show them way outside of the box examples ~some successful others, not so successful. It gets their creative juices flowing. It’s ok to fail~you are right when you said that is how you grow and become confident. 

Sometimes it is difficult for students to get out of the norm because sometimes as educators we teach them to be like everybody else.  

You may have seen or heard this story already but, someone gave me this story when I first began teaching, so I though it would be perfect for your post:

I found a copy from the following website: http://virtual.yosemite.cc.ca.us/childdevelopment/Academic%20Program/instructors/prusso_laurie/The%20Little%20Boy.htm

The Little Boy by Helen Buckley

Once a little boy went to school. It was quite a big school, but when the boy found he could go right to his room from the playground outside he was happy, and the school didn’t seem quite so big anymore. One morning when the little boy had been in school for a while, the teacher said, “Today, we are going to make a picture.” “Good,” thought the little boy. He liked to make pictures. He could make lions and tigers and trains and boats. He took out his crayons and began to draw. But the teacher said, “Wait, it’s not time to begin.” And she waited until everyone looked ready. “Now”, said the teacher, “we are going to make flowers. “”Good,” thought the little boy, and he began to make beautiful flowers with his orange and pink and blue crayons. But the teacher said, “Wait.” She drew a picture on the blackboard. It was red with a green stem. “There, now you may begin.” The little boy looked at the teacher’s flower. He liked his better, but he did not say this. He just turned his paper over and made a flower like the teacher’s. It was red with a green stem.

On another day the teacher said, “Today we are going to make something with clay.” “Good” thought the little boy. He could make all kinds of things with clay – snakes and snowmen and elephants and mice – and he began to pinch and pull his ball of clay. But again the teacher said, “Wait, I will show you how.” And she showed everyone how to make one deep dish. The little boy just rolled his clay in a round ball and made a dish like the teacher’s. And pretty soon the little boy learned to wait and make things just like the teacher’s. And pretty soon he didn’t make things of his own anymore.

And then it happened that the little boy and his family moved to another city and the boy had to go to another school. On the first day he went to the school the teacher said, “Today we are going to make a picture. “Good”, thought the little boy and he waited for the teacher to tell him what to do. But the teacher didn’t say anything. She just walked around the room. When she came to the boy she said, “Don’t you want to make a picture?” “Yes, “said the boy. “What are we going to make?” “Well, I don’t know until you make it, “said the teacher. “How should I make it?” said the boy. “Why, anyway you like!” “And any colour?” “Any colour” said the teacher. “If everyone made the same thing in the same colour, how would I know what and which was which?” “I don’t know”, said the boy, and he began to draw a flower. It was red with a green stem.

Week1: Blog Post - Crystal C.

Response to Crystal C. - For some reason, it would not allow me to post a comment to Crystal's blog, so here it is :

Crystal,

I felt the same way after watching Good copy, Bad Copy and I see it in my own classroom. I Truly believe people choose simply to ignore them.

It would have been nice and also very helpful in having this information at the beginning of the EMDT program. This generation especially, needs to be equipped with the knowledge of copyright and we as educators should be responsible for making sure they have up to date and accurate information on the copyright.

It is a lot to take in ~thanks for the web link to www.teachercopyright.org ~that will help me in teaching my students.

Oh I love the infographic!!!

 

Week 1 Reading: Shared Culture

"Our best thoughts come from others." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The reading, videos, and other media this week explained copyright, fair use, and creative commons. The one common thread that wove all of these topics together was the idea of shared culture and the effects that technology has on it. What implications does the kind of technology and the way we use it effect our culture? 

Copyright, fair use, and creative commons have been referred to by many as moving targets. This too could be said about the cultural implications that technology has on us as a people. Previous generations have dealt with the fixed forms of content in which users traditionally consumed it in comparison to the way the current generation learns and operates today in which consumers have become the creators (or remixers) of the content.

CONSUMERS = CREATORS

Here is the lay of the land as it stands today (click for the larger image):

With all this user generated content how could we not be sharing and feeding off each 0thers' creativity? I am a proponent of using others work fairly. I think that is necessary to perserve validity and value of the work, however, I do think that we need to continually examine how we protect the content and how we limit it. In watching Good Copy, Bad Copy it is obvious that many are not educated on the rules of copyright or if so choose to ignore them. It all seems to boil down to a matter of approach and how we as a culture value what people create and how we choose to share it or protect it. 


The relevance to what we are learning in our EDMT program for me is how to continually provide innovative and creative ways of teaching and training while presenting it in a manor that is understood by today's learners. By accepting the cultural shift in the way technology is used and consumed we can become better teachers and trainers. 

I must say that all the information provided can be overwhelming and a lot to take in. Here's a website that can be used to assist in teaching copyright to others: 

http://www.teachingcopyright.org/

After going over all the material, I realize now the importance of teaching these concepts to others, especially in today's digital age. That being said, I would have liked to have been presented with this information in the first class of the EMDT program. I think having a better understanding of these ideas would have really helped in making my way through the program.

Week1_Copyright

When I first started teaching, it was such a big deal for students to be able to get on the Internet and access information. They delighted in the opportunity to copy “cool” pictures and put them in their PowerPoint presentation or on a poster project instead of using  lame clip art ~this was a BIG deal. Teachers at the time, delighted in the professional pictures students had and didn’t think twice about where they came from. Not only were they able to have really high quality pictures, we then taught them how to loop music into their PowerPoint. All they had to do was bring their favorite CD, choose the track and voila- they now had “cool” music for their presentation. A few years later, we were then told the music played in PowerPoint could only be so many second long ~that’s it.

How times have changed! These students have been raised to just cut and paste and image from Google and add any music from a CD to add pizzazz to their PowerPoint. Now we are telling them they can no longer do that. We have sent them mixed messages and I believe they see no issues with borrowing someone’s work.

I am of the opinion that we need to give credit where credit it due when it comes to images, songs, photos, works of art, etc. However, where do we draw the line? I see this in my own course- Marketing. Businesses use pop culture images and music to sell their products and I’m sure they follow the copyright laws to the tee. But, just as Fairey used the picture of Obama from Google and manipulated it (regardless of how much he changed it), how many companies or advertising agencies find an image and change it up a bit without ever acknowledging the original producer? I bet more times that we think.

So when I ask my students to create an add for a product and require them to include a logo, is this violating copyright laws? Should I get special permission for the companies? It is for educational use and I cannot teach the unit without it unless I have them create their own logo and company and for each assignment??Is that truly providing real world opportunities?? Hmmm… How much longer can I continue to claim “for educational use” before that right is challenged and I will have to resort to my own music recordings and   freelance pictures to be free from being a copyright violator~ or search for creative commons material and sort through the fine print of do’s and dont’s of creative commons?

 Microsoft Office clip art

Copyright is muddy waters and will continue to be as long as we have the opportunity to search, copy & paste, download and reuse content from the web.

As educators, it is our responsibility to model this behavior for our students and give the m the knowledge of copyright so they can make a conscience decision on whether to download, cut and paste or remix. Only time will tell.