THE RE-CENTER BUTTON
You know when you are using Google maps, but you get a little impatient with the female voice guiding your way, so you start looking ahead on the map? Then, you start doubting Google’s ability to get you there the fastest way, so you swipe over on the map away from the route to look for other roads to take? You think you know better than Google when she says “you are on the fastest route and your route is clear” - but eventually you realize that she is right. You tap the the “Re-center” button to get yourself back on track.
This January we need to trust Google and Re-Center on our destination. CHECK THE DESTINATION
Before you click "Start Navigation" in Google maps, you need a destination. But the journey can have so many twists and turns, that you look up and realize that you forgot where you were headed. Thankfully, Google remembers the destination.
In my role as Academic Technology Coordinator, I am involved in multiple initiatives and technology implementations across our campuses from the two preschool divisions up to our Upper School division. While rewarding and thrilling, this can often be problematic because I can lose focus on the larger goal and lose track of how the many small project I'm working on relate back to the bigger picture. Vision is the key to keeping focus and filtering ideas, projects, and tasks to keep us on track. So when I find myself at a confused and unsure place with all my tasks and projects, I try to come back to the vision and ask for important questions:
CHECK THE TRAFFIC
When you start the navigation Google reassures you letting you know "You are on the fastest route and your route is clear. You will arrive at 12:07 p.m." But she is also careful to watch and evaluate the route as you go. If she sees traffic up ahead or something else unexpected she notifies you that "We have found a faster route. Click to accept the new route."
In any change effort you will have speed bumps or conflicts that may slow you down. The biggest one for me is TIME. As I strive to train teachers on new technology, I am constantly faced with the limited opportunities to train teachers. Meeting schedules change, another initiative takes priority, or teachers' focus is elsewhere. What I hoped to achieve with training teachers during first semester was no where near completed. I still feel like I have a lot of work to do - and I need to adjust the plan to make it happen. The reality is that we will sometimes need to accept the new route in our change efforts. But the good news is that the destination hasn't changed and as Google says it is the "faster" route. Even though the goal is not necessarily speed in accomplishing goals, you may be surprised how much faster things go when you've made an adjustment. Don't be afraid to even take a U-Turn. As a teacher, I tried hard to have my students achieve mastery of skills. If we skim over material with teachers, they will not gain mastery. If you want teachers to obtain a deeper level understanding of technology integration, then you may have to double back two or three times to ensure that they arrive at mastery. USE THE TURN BY TURN DIRECTIONS
I recently had to travel to my husband's basketball game in Monroe, Ga. Since I didn't know the area at all, I relied on Google to get me there on the "fastest route" as she promised. Next thing I knew, I was driving along back roads in the country and I felt completely lost. I doubted Google had any idea where she was taking me. I paused to look at the turn by turn directions - even though I didn't know the roads, I saw that she would get me to the destination. So I just took it one turn at a time and arrived safely, just as she said.
I am often paralyzed by what to do next. The change effort I'm leading is so immense that it can seem insurmountable. Even though I feel confident about the end goal, I can't always visualize the steps to get there. What has helped me the most has been to take one step at a time. With each project I begin working on, I have to be sure that it connects to the larger vision and goal, and then I am able to work on each step of the project to get toward the larger goal. For example, when we adopted Schoology as an LMS, it was with the goal of transforming the learning environment in our school. But where do you start with that? I tend to want to jump in the deep end first, but one step at a time is more productive. The first step was to train the teachers in the basic features. Now, the next step is to introduce them to more advanced features. With each step in the project, we will get closer and closer to the end goal. YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT YOUR DESTINATION
The truth is... you may not hear these words for several years. A change effort does not happen overnight, and rarely in a single school year. But that doesn't mean that you won't get there. Be inspired by the destination and the vision of what that place will look like. Spend time visualizing it so you will recognize it when you get there.
Find concrete examples of the vision coming to life along the way. Your vision may be a few years off, but you can peek ahead just like you can in Google maps. There are teachers who are early adopters of your vision around you - highlight them as examples of what the vision looks like and help others to identify the traits and characteristics of this fantastic destination you are headed toward.
More posts about casting vision for change: http://alcp.weebly.com/featured.html
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About AllisonAllison is an K-12 Instructional Coach. Her goal is to empower educators to grow continually. Recent Posts#5Tips4LMS Series
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