Bobby Bracken

When I first looked at the assignments for my master’s in education from Lamar University I was amused at some of its simplicity. “Create an eportfolio, read this book, write a paper with these prompts.” However, the details were more difficult to process. I learned for the first time that the eportfolio is a good resource to document your work, so it can be easily shared. We made an eportfolio because it is an increasingly important aspect of today’s digital learning environment. This showed mastery of what I was learning. It documents what I have done and what I plan to do in the future. I have learned that as I create a significant learning environment, having an eportfolio demonstrates knowledge.

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I learned in my college course that in order to really revolutionize education we must create significant learning environments (Harapnuik, n.d.) for our students. This involves putting the student at the center of their learning and also allowing avenues for authentic learning which will develop that motivation inside the learner.

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I have not had an eportfolio before, so this required me to grow. My college course did not instruct me how to build an eportfolio, I had to do it myself. This created even more growth in my life because I was learning something new, implementing it, and sharing it with the world. That was a big breakthrough in my life. Usually I feel pride and accomplishment when the project is complete.

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Learning new innovative practices for education was my original goal, but I had no idea what a wonderful journey I was about to embark on. The big project we needed to accomplish in this master’s course was to research and develop an innovation plan. This was supposed to be an authentic effort that would not only impact me, but those around me. People like students, coworkers, teachers, etc.

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My innovation plan is like a trendy spot in Houston- small but mighty. While going through my master’s class, I worked at a small school district north of Houston, Texas. My innovation plan was to coach teachers to make videos for their classrooms. While I was in college and learning about how to create an innovation plan, I was not in a position to implement it. I was enthusiastic about my plan, so I would share with my coworkers in education about the wonderful benefits of getting teachers to create videos.

 

I feel now that I have learned a lot about creating significant change in my organization thanks to my work on developing an authentic innovation plan. The significant change that I wanted to see was leading professional development utilizing my innovation plan. I realize the strategy and planning that goes into creating something huge. I see now how challenging it can be for teacher to implement new ideas into an established system.

In our third week of taking classes at Lamar, we learned how important the COVA model (Harapnuik, n.d.) is to making that significant change. This is a way to make learning more relevant. Each student was to identify a learning quest they would like to go on. We each had to understand what COVA is and why it is important. COVA breaks down into choice, ownership, voice, and authentic. Each student must decide for themselves what was important about COVA.

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The big takeaway from this Digital Learning and Leading class from Lamar University is that we are more prepared for tomorrow’s digital learning environment. Education is rapidly changing and we must change with it. What I learned is that, it is more important to be a self educator than waiting around for someone else to teach you the material. That is the foundation of the COVA model.  

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I was required to develop an innovation plan very early in my graduate courses. This innovation plan was required to be authentic and be implemented in my current job, and at that time, I was at Klein ISD. My innovation plan is like a golden thread throughout my master’s program from Lamar University. Since the beginning, I have been through a lot of changes in my life.  By working on one project alongside learning new innovative educational concepts, I was able to find my authentic voice through self-education, while building up my portfolio of skills. Very little of my courses were taught, and most were theory based. It was up to us to conceptualize and implement educational concepts into our everyday work life.

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Furthermore, to make significant change, we touched on advanced educational technology, but just enough to spur an interest. We learned about disruptive innovation in technology, concepts of ed tech, digital learning in a global context, and more but it was there for understanding not training. That has been a big blessing in my life, if I am really interested in a subject I will personally take the time to learn all I need to know.

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In my COVA project I created a innovation plan to coach teachers to make videos for their classroom. I did not have to go far to find great evidence that supports my position and instruction how to do it. If it was this easy for me to do the research, why was learning and doing not easy for me before I took the course? I think that it had to do with mindset. If we think we can not then it is difficult to change, if we think we can than nothing can stop us.

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My innovation project right now is in the dream stage. I have left my school district, and the coworkers that have helped me along the way are gone also. There is still a great chance that my innovation plan can be implemented to change the world. I have been fortunate in this class to be exposed to great teachers and brilliant educators to emulate.

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One person I am motivated by is the amazing educator John Spencer. As I have grown as a person in the COVA environment, I have been finding additional new resources that support the strategy that authentic learning is good for student motivation and achievement. Spencer has written three project-based learning books that will change a person’s career. His three books are about teaching students design thinking to boost creativity and bring out the maker in every student, student owned learning, and engagement. The titles of the books are Launch (2016), Empower (2017), Making Learning Flow (2017).

 

I realize that my innovation plan is not just missing more research, it is missing more of my time and energy. Self publishing is easier than ever today. No longer do we need to convince big publishing companies to spend millions of dollars. We can research, publish, and promote all from home. That decentralization of power is incredibly effective. I would love to work with another passionate educator about publishing materials. I have caught the bug for being a world-wide educator.

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After reflecting more about my innovation plan, I have learned that there is many steps to getting a project to be successful. The real reason projects are successful is that they influenced a large number of people.

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In the book Influencer, our professors assigned us to read, we are given tips on creating the power to change anything. This book is very practical in its research. The book identifies ways for finding vital behaviors. Tips like finding the obvious, look for behaviors that can help overcome crucial moments, look for people who do well in challenging situations, and spot culture busters.

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This insightful book is wonderfully crafted to building leadership. We learned that it is necessary to change individual behaviors before being able to implement organizational change. We learned that people must believe that change can happen and it will be worth it. Influence is not easy, but there is a tool they identified that can help called the six sources of influence. There are the top two influencers of motivation and ability. Without these two key things it will be hard to change. There are the three side influencers of personal, social, and structural. If we combine one of the two top influencers and one of the three side influencers, we will be much closer to our goal.

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When it comes to reflecting on what worked about my innovation project I focused on the positive. What worked great about my project is identifying all the people who want to support me. Many people want me to be successful, and I had no idea. They were there to listen. I know now, at the end of my graduate classes, that there will be people in my life that want to hear what I have to say. They listen because I have built up a good relationship with people close to me. By learning that my talented coworkers are willing to listen, this has given me the confidence to work by myself, knowing my efforts will be heard. Getting reliable feedback can only improve my plan, and give it a better chance of being implemented.

 

In order to get a plan implemented, I have learned that, it is all about influencing that I still need to learn. Too many people have their own agendas that it takes a lot of convincing. I realized that there are certain influencers in the building. Usually the command staff. They are the real movers and shakers. This has been a challenge. I wish I had done more to implement my innovation plan. I have followed the graduate recommendations to getting my plan heard, but it still was not accepted. This has given me bouts of frustration, but I am inspired knowing that my cohort of fellow students are well on their way of implementing their innovation plan.

 

After I graduate with my master’s degree, I plan to take some time off, and to continue to refine my process. Looking back I now understand that my eportfolio is too bloated and my plan will be helped with a website that is more streamlined. Also, I need to diversify my material into different avenues like books, videos, podcasts, so people can experience my innovation plan on their terms.

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In the Youtube video Everyday leadership - Drew Dudley (Dudley, 2013) talks about finding our lollipop moments while we go through life, and while we practice our leadership skills. I have heard this lollipop story before. Having been inspired by the video, I posted the link to my twitter page asking my followers what will their lollipop moment be tomorrow. We are all standing at the edge of what could be, and what will happen. It’s important that we recognize the potential we have within ourselves. Honestly, before I started this program, I felt that there was a zero percent chance of me ever getting a master’s degree, especially one education. I spent my entire teenage life running away from school, why would I want more of it?

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Because I had a lollipop moment. I saw a master’s degree as empowering, as a stepping stone for not only my life, but my family’s life as well. I had people hand me lollipops of encouragement to get me to push forward. I realize my innovation plan is not the hardest thing in my life- that was saved for getting into Lamar University and meeting all their requirements, doing their homework, and having a growth mindset.

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I will have the same attitude now about my innovation plan. It will be a lollipop moment. I will use my innovation plan to be the catalyst for change with the person taking my course. It’s very important that I not only teach the subject, but I teach a love of learning.

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On my way to work I listen to youtube videos about different subjects. I love the Youtube channel Crash Course. They have short videos about popular subjects, not just history, but books, philosophy, sociology, and more. It has made my boring drives much more exciting.

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My innovation project needs to be just as enlightening. I need to make all the neurons inside a person’s brain light up. Because I do not work for a school my innovation plan lives in my heart and the hearts of the people I tell. When I was working for a school district I told everyone I could. I was constantly interrupting people’s day to explain this BRILLIANT concept to them. “Listen, we will coach teachers to make videos. Yes I know they do not like being on camera, but they will LOVE the results.” Like Professor Dr. Harapnuik said at our Feb 26 meeting “Administrators will kill your plan.” He’s right. Most administrators have years of experience, advanced degrees, and do not appreciate lowly teachers (or in my case a video editor) making suggestions. That does not stop me from sharing, though. I tell others about my exciting ideas, and even though I know they hear me, I do not think they are receptive. Nonetheless, this is a project that I am dedicated to.

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Going forward, I will build a better coalition on my innovation plan, and find a better support team and energetic leaders that can help make my vision a reality. I will delve deeper into action research, pitching my plan, and creating a more memorable videos. I realize that change is like a snowball going downhill. It takes momentum before you get a large enough snowball. As the snowball barrels down the mountain it picks up other snowflakes and gets larger and larger. That is my goal. I am more aware now of big things happening. I want to be apart of something big and I want to be apart of big changes happening in education.

 

Dudley, D. (2013, August 15) Everyday leadership - Drew Dudley. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAy6EawKKME&feature=youtu.be

Harapnuik, D. (n.d.) CSLE+COVA. Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6991

Patterson, K., Grenny, J., Maxfield, D., (20017) Influencer: the power to change anything. Highbridge, 1st edition.