Make Writing Better. Start With The Writer.

I have been learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable all year.  As a first-year technology integration coach, I’ve worked to determine and understand the needs as we have embraced learning and teaching in our one-to-one classrooms.  

Being in a one-to-one community means every student, kindergarten to twelfth-grade, has an iPad.  Teaching and learning in a one-to-one district offers multifaceted changes for students, teachers, coaches, and administration.

I am searching for a more focused path for my work next year. I need a plan or a phrase to refer to when I hit bumps. I need to ensure I am moving forward, supporting students and teachers to as they continue the one-to-one journey.

I have had three opportunities to listen to George Couros speak just this spring.  As I listened to @GCouros, the ambiguity I have been struggling with began to lessen.  George spoke of the value of innovating learning and making learning better.  He showed examples of how technology has lifted learning to make what was once impossible, possible. 

In a recent blog post, Don’t Add. Make Better. George Couros asked us to consider the following;

How do I make learning better and deeper for those I serve?  Too often we look at all the flashy tools and try to decide how we can implement them, making technology an addition to learning, as opposed to starting with the curriculum and showing the value to improve opportunities. Tech is rarely mandated in any document. Deep learning though should be everywhere.

Reflecting on George’s message, I began to see things move into focus and my perspectives brighten. Using the frame of mind above I began to think about the writer and making the writer better. What are the needs of a writer? What opportunities does technology offer to make the writer better?  Notice how I stayed away from focusing on the writing and kept the focus of the writer?   

This graphic is just the beginning of what we can do to make writers better, lifting learning with just a small adjustment in thinking,

Further Reading

The Innovator’s Mindset, George Couros

Learning First, Technology Second, Liz Kolb

Literacy Coaching Transforming Teaching and Learning with Digital Tools and Technology, Stephanie Affinito

The Principal of Change Stories of Learning and Leading, George Couros