A Call to Action

Over the last year or so, I have been working diligently to perfect my innovation plan for my graduate program through Lamar University. A plan that was rough and amateurish, to say the least, in my early writings. Through research, readings, and experimentation in my classroom, I have come to realize that it takes so much more than just the presentation of a solid idea and plan of one individual. We have to get all stakeholders on the same page or our proposed innovation plan will be dead in the water before it ever gets going.

I think the idea of needing "the whole village" to bring my plan to fruition was fully realized when I visited a magnet school, The International School of Americas, last week to interview the students and teachers who learn and interact through their ePortfolios on a weekly basis. I must say it was eye opening.

The first leg of the visit was with a grade-level team to glean some information about how the initiative is implemented in their classrooms. I was shocked to discover they had been using ePortfolios for ten years. I had never even heard of them until I became a student at Lamar, and I felt like my classroom instruction was way behind the times when I explained that we were looking to implement them for the first time. I think they were a little surprised that we hadn't done this before.

After that, we began discussing instructional strategies; the how, when, and why? The teachers on the campus explained that their ePortfolio initiative is not specific to one core class; it is cross-curricular, and the students must create entries in all their core courses.

Writing across the curriculum? Wow! We have been wanting to implement something like that for a while. An ePortfolio initiative might just be the vehicle we need to make it happen, but It's not going to catch on quickly unless it has some "teeth" behind it. Administration must make it a requirement of those teachers, or they simply won't do it, no matter how interesting I make it look. It was obvious to me that the team at the ISA was all on the same page and had embraced the innovation plan since they all seemed to be harmoniously planning their curriculum around this digital tool. There were math, English, science, and social studies sitting around the table planning together for the approaching week. It was a new and refreshing sight to see.

The next leg of our visit was in a classroom with students during their advisory period, and this proved to be the most informative portion of the day. I had the opportunity to interview a small group of students ranging from Freshman to Senior-level, and the passion they exhibited for their school and its technology practices was inspiring.

We talked about whether their comfort-level with technology usage had increased since they began their high school years at ISA, and the students expressed how much they had learned by maintaining their own websites in connection with their classroom learning. In addition, they all felt that the structure of their curriculum was highly effective since the school requires them to make real-world connections to everything they are learning. For example, while reading a novel in class, they are researching its commentary on a human condition, and studying the groups of people who my be affected by such a predicament. Finally, at the end-of-the-school year, each grade-level takes a trip to visit an area that has a historical connection to the circumstances the students have spent the year focusing on. What a wonderful way to ensure that the impact of a year of learning will stay with a student for years to come!

The idea of writing curriculum that is based around a central question for each grade-level and cross-curricular in nature while centering reflection around a common technology initiative is compelling to me, and one that I feel should be implemented in Boerne Independent School District. However, it will take some work to get there. I believe the first and most important step in that direction will be streamlining our technology stability, staff training, and implementing ePortfolios in a test group. Once we have all those pieces are aligned, we will be able to write curriculum that is interconnected and infused with daily technology integration.

Since we have quite a bit of work to do to get us where we need to be, we should act now to kick off our initiative. The video I have created below illustrates the rationale behind the use of ePortfolios in the classroom, what works and what doesn't work when working to roll out a new technology initiative, and finally the what, why, and how necessary to steer us in the right direction. It is my hope that all District stakeholders will view my video and consider helping me to kick off my proposal. Thank you in advance for watching!