Technology Focus Group

We are pleased with the outcome of our first Technology Focus Group session. Thank you to all who participated, including parents, teachers, and LMP tech specialists. Our work together was substantive, the conversation spirited and far-ranging in its implications.   

We spent our time together acknowledging the following:

Undoubtedly we are committed to putting more technology in the hands of our students so it becomes a regular and increasing part of their daily learning....

However, two big essential questions arise:

1.              What technology?

2.              And for what purpose?

In starting to form our answers, we as parents and as school acknowledge:

•   That many of our assumptions about technology may be obsolete before they have a chance to be put in place, such is the rate of change in technology

•   That our children, as digital natives, will have or already have greater fluency with technology than we as digital immigrants do

•   Nonetheless, there are critical thinking and high-level reasoning skills that we as adult learners have that must betransmitted into a student’s use of technology

•   Our prime mission is to teach critical thinking and determine how technology enhances that mission

•   The answer is not to teach technology per se, but use it skillfully as a tool to inspire students to reason and create at high levels

•   How do we prepare students to think like this?

•   How do we create a culture of innovation? and how does technology lead to that?

We encourage you to watch the same video we started our session with and ask yourself the same questions we asked: 

·      How do we prepare students to be able to think like this...like the composer who wished to lead a choir of 183 people around the world simultaneously via internet?

·      How do we prepare students to be participants in an innovative project like this, willing to engage in risk and sing in a virtual choir?

·      How do we prepare students to seize opportunities that haven't been thought of before?  (Or are they already thinking this way?) 

Either way, what role do we play as a school to equip students to be successful in a world that is not-yet-imagined?

We invite you to join in the conversation! We welcome your comment below and invite you to stay connected using this virtual document. We will continue to discuss ideas and questions on this doc until our next Tech Focus Group on Wednesday, December 12^th, 8:30-9:30am in the Griffin Café. We hope you can join us, or feel free to join remotely through Skype or TodaysMeet. Send us a quick email to be added to the group or click the links below.

Your voice matters.

The World According to Glenn...

Continuing the Conversation...

Last week I described how places we have lived, the things we have seen, the conflicts we have resolved--or abandoned--largely determine our values and perspective on the world.

I recognize my experiences in education may be different than most, so thought it important to share how two great influences have shaped the priorities I have for schools and the game plan at LMP.

Growing Up In Silicon Valley & Coming of Age in a Global Society

For me the world changed when my family moved to San Jose, California:

• We lived just a few blocks from where Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs were inventing the first Apple computers in their garage.
• Silicon Valley was beginning to take shape: Engineers, risk-takers, and dreamers were moving in to lead the revolution in information technology.
• Intel, HP, Apple, Yahoo, Google, and later Facebook, Twitter, Zynga and Angry Birds followed, and the world has never been the same.

Family and friends were involved in that revolution, and from them I learned the power and importance of innovation. To see things anew, to think differently, to add improvements to something that already exists, that is the spirit of innovation.

In Silicon Valley young and old alike seek out opportunities to innovate and celebrate new ideas when they arrive. This spirit transcends age, gender, race, and political or religious belief, and the world is richer--in countless ways--as a result.

Schools need to teach students how to innovate, not merely study how others have innovated. The desire and ability to innovate is a survival skill in the 21^st century.

Schools need to be places where students grow ideas and learn to harness their power, both for utilitarian and humanitarian good. This is the spirit of innovation. We learn math and science and languages in school for a reason—not only for our own growth and career ladder success, but to contribute to the vast library of human knowledge and find ways to put it to good use.

How do we get started? We start small and find things within reach. The potential to innovate is inborn in each of us; it is a creative response that comes naturally and can be trained to high levels.

One of the first steps is to become fluent in innovation. Just as in languages, we start by giving names to things. When we name, we recognize. Have you ever noticed how you see more birds flying overhead if you know the different species? Or see a play unfold by a football team if you know the players’ names and their positions? Otherwise, without basic naming, that flock of birds taking flight or that football team racing down the field is just a mass of movement.

Let’s give naming a try. Check out this exciting example from marketing guru DannyBrown.  Here we see innovation as a chess match between two European automotive titans, Audi and BMW. Click on the caption to see the story unfold.

Two Awesome Examples of Marketing Done Right...

Boasting its newest model, Audi posts a billboard publicly challenging rival BMW.  BMW seizes the moment, innovates with the perfect response and plants a billboard right across the street. AUDI counters with a knockout punch, only to be upstaged one more time by BMW.

Innovation is seen in both companies as they rise to the challenge of the moment. They spy a new opportunity to respond; they see something anew.  Recognizing how they can build upon their reputations as tastemakers and trendsetters, they take the chance and zing! the effect is impressive. This is innovation.

Closer to home, let’s name how Lake Mary Prep students use innovation for a higher cause:

• Grade 10 student Briana Bloss identified early in her educational career a wish to support breast cancer awareness.
•  Rather than simply fundraise for the cause, Briana instead built an entire campaign to increase awareness, student and parent involvement, and ever growing support for a therapeutic spa at Florida Hospital.
• Her innovation--to reach out with new ideas and add to something already in place—continues to inspire everyone Briana comes in contact with. In turn, these students are crafting innovative strategies to build upon ideas and causes they believe are important.  

Next week we’ll explore further student innovation at LMP and the multiplier effect it has.

The World According to Glenn

A word from our Headmaster:

As a young man charging into adulthood, I looked to writers and novelists for what my future might hold.  John Irving’s seminal novel The World According to Garp provided a wealth of insight that I continue to draw upon to this day. The novel describes the unique, colorful life of one TS Garp, and 35 years later I continue to see parallels. I happily borrow the title.

You see, Garp led me to understand how each of us is profoundly shaped by past and present experiences. The places we have lived, the things we have seen, the conflicts we have resolved--or abandoned--largely determine our values and perspective on the world. We mirror back our past as priorities about what we want to do in the future.

The purpose of this blog is to begin a conversation with you about education and priorities at Lake Mary Prep--to blend our past and present and forge a strong future. Around the world education is undergoing significant change, and we at Lake Mary are standing right in the middle of it. It is an exciting time to be involved, to share ideas and opinions and shape that future. For many parents, the education their children are receiving is different from what they experienced. How to make sense of this and feel assured that new directions will deliver results?

This is where our conversation begins. We may agree or disagree, or find we share common ideals and uncommon truths. Regardless, we’ll all be richer for the discussion and our school stronger as a result.

Let’s start with a handful of topics we’ll be discussing in future, to broaden our understanding and build capacity:

·      What is a Critical-Thinking School?

·      Is There a Meritas Advantage?

·      What is Brain-Based Learning?

·      What Are Colleges Really Looking For?

·      Is an International Perspective Really Necessary?

·      What Happened to Letter Grades?

·      The Essentials:  Why Do We Use Essential Questions?

·      Has the United States Lost Its Edge? Can It Be Regained?

We’ll use social media tools to brighten the conversation and celebrate your voice. Welcome to the future!

Sincerely,

Glenn Chapin
Headmaster