Re: Tria's comments-Wk 4

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On 6/23/11 Tria Wrote:
Chapter 9. Lighting a Spark. Lighting a spark seems like an easy enough task but I've been in a relationship for over 15 years and can not light a spark underneath my love even if it was a camp fire. In my professional life, I have lit tons on sparks. I have given words of encouragement to many coworkers. Talking to my students in ways that bring them to think, say and do things they could never have imagined. What was truly poignant in the chapter was the idea of enrollment. The story of Ben's influence and spark on the children of Eastlea Community School was very powerful. If you give people a chance to connect to be the person they can be without your judgments then maybe you can light a fire under them to see a world beyond their imaginations. Change comes from being changed…….

On 6/25/11, John Wrote,
Tria,

I am compelled to write on this post as I am finding myself in a very similar situation in one of my “lives”

I find personally, that I address how I react to the situation is that I spend a lot of time working on myself and the things that make me a better person/professional. In “many” cases, I find that I’m preoccupied enough by what it takes to make me a better me that I am less and less connected to what is wrong with the other people in my personal/professional circle. Its not a unconcerned attitude of what happens on the outside…it is more that some things I do as a person/professional because I choose to, because it makes me feel accomplished…because my desire to be the best at my undertakings won’t allow me to snuff my cinder or have it snuffed by personal or professional stimulus simply because that is not how they do things.

At the end of the day if I fall short…I don’t want it to be because I am reactionary to my personal professional circle. I want to do everything life exactly the way that my spark in me motivated me to do…. regardless of who does not operate that way.

Just a thought…
JCIII

RE: Ishia Granger's Wk4 Reading Post

On 9/24/11, Ishia Wrote:
The Zanders have a very common sense approach to life that obviously isn’t common among us. The anecdotes and connections to music are particularly insightful as I embark on new and uncharted choices in my life and career. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the practices discussed in the The Art of Possibility are biblical and it makes sense, as the author’s father was a student of the Bible and history.

The idea of enrolling others in our dreams is eye opening. Often when we make requests, we operate on the presumption of being turned down. I have heard myself say on many occasions, “The worst he/she can say is no.” I did this to make myself feel better, but did I really? Of course not.

In “being the board” I saw similarities between this new idea of responsibility and blame and being in God’s Will. Like being the board, being in God’s Will makes it possible to accept the circumstances of life knowing that those circumstances will yield positive results in the end. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28.

What I enjoyed about the frameworks chapter was the whole idea of creating a vision and not division. In all honesty, mission statements do create a competitive spirit and while they may be designed to inspire, it typically is ignored. Now a vision is something that can be seen even if it does not exist at the present. To me, the vision resembles a five-letter word: F-A-I-T-H.

The Zander's story of their father's passionate recount of the Arab and Jewish peoples’ history and arrival in Palestine was interesting. Even more moving was the student’s response, “What a wonderful opportunity! What a privilege for both those peoples to share that land and that history!” What is that saying? Out of the mouth of babes come words of wisdom? Well, that young person definitely has it [wisdom]. What is ironic about division is that the multiple parties are often so similar. The “We” story recognizes the sameness that so often divides.

 

On 6/25/11 John Wrote:

Ishia,

I honestly found myself a little confused on the Being the board concept initially. You put a spin on this that I had not thought of before. Ironically, I should have, as I have spend more than my share of time in the word and church over the years.....

I think on occasion In my quest to take the academic aspect of my work here for the last year serious and professional I read to much into the readings from that standpoint and don't always take time to dissect it and tell myself what it means in the context of my existence; I did it for my 9-12 chapter reading, and as I saw where my thought took my reading, I actually started mentally telling myself my words were wrong...that because it wasn't speaking from a certain context that it wasn't of worth! That is indeed a shame. …But the joy in this is that I could recognize the error; and my further saving grace is that I have these e-books for my library and I can go back and try again.
JCIII

Wk4- Ch. 9-12Reading

"......a man could light a fire with ease wherever he went because he always carried the spark- "

Zander, The art of Possibility

I have always been a lover of strong witticisms, sayings or nuggets of truth. I guess the rationale behind that is that when you can't remember the whole story it is sometimes easy to get some strong yet fundamental truth from the nugget to help you along on your way.

With each chapter of this book, I always have found some specific nugget like that. It could be at the front, the middle toward the end; but whatever else is said, that one piece stays with me. It is usually those things that I share with others. Case in point the last part of the story about the Middle ages gentlemen who always carried a cinder with him so he can start a fire with a little bit of kindling.

Not necessarily an earth shattering epiphany I admit, but I do sometimes think that many of us serve as the cinder to the fire of these students. Moreover, our ability to see things on a more creative, visionary or grander scale sets us apart from many.

As Artists, educators administrators and mentors our spark creates the inevitable ability to stick out because of this trait. A responsibility of enrollment as it relates to others results from this. When I speak of this, my interpretation from the context of this post is that we are charged and in some cases overwhelmed by the desire to invite others to either become part of the energy that we have about what we do, or allow them to catch their own spark from their proximity to us. This, I think is how we continue to contribute to and inspire others to bigger thing well after we have left.

I also think that EMDT has been the Cinder to my projects kindling, which has restarted a fire for me. The fire was there, but as life got in the way...the cinder went out. I am starting to think again about other dreams that had been snuffed...and dreaming others...I think I smell smoke again!

Okay, I think I have beaten this metaphor to death enough!

Wk4 Publishing_Leadership Project

The irony of this project, and many of the challenges that Full Sail University has offered me, is that for many years my technology Professional development growth has been stunted for lack of access to resources. Now I find myself many times overwhelmed with the wealth of resources available to me to the point that it paralyzes (albeit temporarily) movement on said resources. That being said, I am still on the fence with the type of places I would like to present my information to.

The only places I wanted to submit to without question were Edutopia

Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC), ISTE 2010, E-LEARN 2010 – World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare & Higher Education. TechTrends – Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning - Submission Guidelines

Outside of organizations who seemed to zero in specifically to what the scope of my research is and actual academic organizations interested in integration of technology in education, my thought process was to submit information locally and/or regionally and access the response accordingly before branching out to submit further. The exception to this approach was is Edutopia whose work has gained massive attention by me since my enrollment in EMDT.

Thinking out Loud Links

•  Pubishing Leadership Website
  
• Publishing/Leadership Thinking Outloud Blog #1
• Publishing/Leadership Thinking Outloud Blog #2  

• Presentation Link

Publishing Leadership Project: Thinking out loud II

The irony of this project, and many of the challenges that Full Sail University has offered me, is that for many years my technology Professional development growth has been stunted for lack of access to resources. Now I find myself many times overwhelmed with the wealth of resources available to me to the point that it paralyzes (albeit temporarily) movement on said resources. That being said, I am still on the fence with the type of places I would like to present my information to.

The only places I wanted to submit to without question were Edutopia

Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC), ISTE 2010, E-LEARN 2010 – World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare & Higher Education. TechTrends – Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning - Submission Guidelines

Outside of organizations who seemed to zero in specifically to what the scope of my research is and actual academic organizations interested in integration of technology in education, my thought process was to submit information locally and/or regionally and access the response accordingly before branching out to submit further. The exception to this approach was is Edutopia whose work has gained massive attention by me since my enrollment in EMDT.

Wk4-1 DB Quickies: my dream teaching/presentation environment

Topic #1: Briefly share what your dream teaching or presentation environment would be like, be specific about what such a place would include (beyond just the tech toys).

I think based on where I am today, my dream teaching or presentation environment would be like, what I thought my last Job would be.

The students in the curriculum would be based in a curriculum that is immersed enough in technology that the student has at least half of his/her day within on it. I would be able to lend my technology skills within the classroom and as supplementary resources to the teachers with regards to their technology training.

As a creative staffer and a teacher with certification in art, I would like to take some time in my workload to teach art studies, but my contribution would be a hybrid of the technology and the creative studies that I have picked up over the last 20 years.

I would also like to be an integral part of the art and humanities department to ensure that there is a advocate for their continued presence in the curriculum and that they all can accent one another in a form of collaborative relationship as so that the students get more from their “multiple intelligences”

Wk4-2 DB Quickies: my dream teaching/presentation environment

Topic #2: What stands in between you and your dream job?
I could throw out many different excuses as to why, but I honestly don’t know. Perhaps I am thinking too small; maybe my net isn’t cast wide enough as I look,  part of it could be that failed attempts have me very Gun-shy about confidently standing in front of the gatekeeper to my dream job and saying “I’m you man, can I start tomorrow?”. In my heart I hope that the time spent getting to my dream job would be preparation time and not just an indication that I am nor prepared.

Why do you deserve to work in a dream job environment?

I deserve to be in the dream Job environment because I have proven time and time again, whether it is a small project solely under my care, or a large project that I am on a team to accomplish, that I not only am committed to the best work and results, but I genuinely love the work enough to continue to put forth the same effort each time.

What do you bring to the table? Be specific. 

I have true committed to the work, the job and a love for it. I utilize my skills as a part of my service to my ministry at church. I have incorporate some form of creative contribution to every position I have worked in the last 10 years; I have committed to constant improvement and knowledge of my craft by either seeking out employment opportunities to use it of in my the case of my Higher education…. continuing to commit to more knowledge of my craft in a changing field. It is time to move forward!