Category Archives: ADE

Ireland Here I Come

Several weeks ago, I applied to go to the Apple Distinguished Educator’s Global Institute in Cork, Ireland. Why did I do it? Same reason I applied for the ADE in the first place. I wanted to see if I could do it. I have written about my reservations and thoughts about corporate sponsored educational programs, and I know it is a heated debated online. Everyone has their own opinion about the merits of being “selected” by a huge corporation to do anything, much less educate kids. At the risk of hurting my street cred, although I am a bit embarrassed to say- I was pretty excited and proud to wake up to this email:

I am not vain or stupid (maybe I am a bit of both) enough to think that my acceptance is anything more than a chance to get some great PD and hang out with some pretty amazing educators. Ones I already know here in Asia, but more importantly, it is a great chance to meet some new Tweeps out there and expand my network with some face-to-face expereinces.

The best part is that I applied with a total “nothing to lose” attitude and it worked. See for yourself:

What have I been up to since my “branding” in Ho Chi Minh City last year at my ADE induction? That is the question right? What have I been doing to show that I am an Advocate, Advisor, Author, and Ambassador? What content have I authored online for others to learn from my expertise? Have I presented at local, regional or national educational events to share my school’s successes and promote ideas for improving education? You bet I have. Excuse my unorthodox voice, but I think that my passionate yet casual tone best illustrates my style and strengths.

I see myself as an emerging leader in the field of educational technology, but not in the sense that I am a traveling consultant disconnected from the front lines. No, my fires are lit in classrooms and schools, with students and teachers. I am in the business of igniting imaginations by showing what Apple technologies allow people to do. Sit back and let me take you for a ride…

As the new IT coach at my school in Jakarta, I have been instrumental in writing our vision statement as well as designing the proper steps to implement this vision into school wide, systematic, day-to-day action. We have designed- eHub: a new style of online environment where students and teachers use WordPress Blogs and Google Educational Applications to create, communicate, collaborate and connect as a learning community.

I have designed and taught a course called DC101 to help teachers make the shift to new 21st century realities. This six week course is an introduction to Digital Citizenship as well as basic digital storytelling concepts. We explore iLife software to help teachers find better ways to share the stories of their classrooms on our new blogs. This experience has been invaluable for me in terms of being an effective ambassador and teacher leader. We are also in the process of creating an Apple Regional Training Center, where we will have weekend workshops for our staff as well as other teachers in the area.

I have been active beyond our school walls. I was asked to be a cohort leader at the regional tech conference- Learning 2.011. Beyond leading the English cohort and leading several workshops on Design (Keynote) and network building, I presented a keynote presentation. I am currently on the planning committee for next year’s conference, working closely with several other regional ADEs to make 2012 the best conference yet. Furthermore, I presented at a local IB conference on the subject of Digital Storytelling and will be presenting at the 21Century Learning Conference in Hong Kong this February.
All of this is in addition to the cutting edge work I have been doing in my English classroom. I have Skyped in photographers/bloggers to help us understand the culture of Afghanistan, created collaborative digital stories, as well as guided students to learn to be confident online content creators and bloggers.

I hope that my ADE journals are up to date enough. I am not sure if a series of links like the ones I have added above are enough to give you a clear indication of who I am as a teacher, artist and technology enthusiast, but I hope you can see that I lead by example, that my passion is infectious and I love working with people, young and old. Don’t take my word for it. Google Jabiz Raisdana and follow the leads…see where you end up. I think you would agree I would be a valuable asset at Cork this summer.

My one minute video:

Even as I post this, I am asking myself why? Is it all just an exercise in ego? Maybe, maybe not. Isn’t all professionalism, interviewing, resumes, recruiting, branding all just a game we play to prove to others that we matter? Whatever the case, the game seems to be working for me at this time, so I will keep playing. I am just excited that I have reached a place in my career that I can say something like this, “Google Jabiz Raisdana and follow the leads…see where you end up.” and be confident that it is all good. So often we scare students into posting online, and how future employers and schools might crucify them for taking a picture with a beer can in the frame, but what I am here to say is that it can work in your advantage as well. If you carefully build your “brand” life story, portfolio, whatever you want to call it, then you can apply for things and dare people to just google you and know that what they find is who you are and what you do.

The important thing, however, the thing that I always keep in mind, is to keep the work as the most important part of what I do. Nothing matters, unless we can back up what we say with the effect our work has on kids, day in and day out in our classrooms.

So if you are going to Cork, drop me a line and let’s get the conversations going early.

Thoughts from The Nam (An ADE reflection)

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The fact that I don’t like corporations comes as no surprise to anyone who has read my work or talked to me for five minutes. They’re big and scary and faceless and subversive and greedy and dictate too much of how things are done in the world for my taste. Because integrity, honesty, passion and art are so important to me I am constantly disappointment by the concept of selling out. Giving in. Joining the dark-side. I mean, is there anything worse than seeing a song you love, being used to hawk a car or a TV?

I came to the Apple Distinguished Educator’s conference with a heavy heart. Was I selling out? Was this ultimate copulation to the very corporate forces I am constantly deriding? Because while Apple is hip and shiny and sexy on the surface, their main goal is still global domination. Of this there is little doubt. So what would a corporate sponsored educational institute look like exactly? How much of my soul would I have to sell? What was in it for me? There is a running joke surrounding the ADE program, likening it to a cult or saying that once there you drink the Kool-Aide you will be never shut up it again.

This post is random scattering of thoughts and ideas of my experience over the last four days in Vietnam.

Every organization, every conference, every school, every company, every story is about the people. Who they are? Their beliefs and values, and how they work with others are critical aspects of how they function as a bigger group. And so of course, it was the people that really grabbed my attention. From the talented and inspirational speakers like Rebbeca Stokely and Joseph Linaschke, to all advisory member facilitators and sixty plus ADEs, their was a tangible sense of excitement about the future of not only technology but how these tools can be leveraged to a global shift in how our students learn. The wild card group for me was the ADE educational team from Apple. I was excepting a bunch of disconnected suits from the corporate office, but really the Apple team are a dynamic, diverse group of men and women dedicated to the success of this program.Let me throw a quick thank you to Adrian for his dedication and passion to education.

Which brings me to what I think is an important point. What is the point of the ADE program? Here is my take:

To take innovative educators from within a region, who are already using and excited by the Apple brand, connect them to each other, build a tight-knit (almost cult like) community, so that they can work more closely together, have a wider global audience in hopes that they, (we?) can build a critical mass in the institute with which we work, in order to shift the paradigm. Could the cynic argue, he always does in my mind, that Apple created this program in order to have the sales department move in right after and turn whatever schools these ADEs are working in to Mac schools? Of course. But really, I am not here to write about that. Stop it! I can here murmuring , “sell out” under your breath, but really the truth is that I would choose to go to a Mac school over a PC school with or without the ADE program. What I learned this past week was the dedication this company has shown to this program. Hold on….had another cup of Kool-Aide, but really at the level I am working in now, I am proud to be a part of it. Should it ever change or demand more of me, than of course I will reconsider. For now, I feel a part of a healthy and exciting symbiotic relationship. I feel that I have the opportunity to stay honest, keep my integrity and write openly and honestly about my role as ADE. If at any point my views and theirs should diverge than I am sure we will be happy to end the relationship, but in the mean time I am stoked and excited to have met so many other amazingly talented individuals. Many I already knew through the network, but others who are a bit new. They are doing amazing work in their schools, but needed this platform to join the global conversation.To all the new ADEs I met this week, welcome to the conversation. Please leave a comment below and share your thoughts. This is where the remainder of our work together will be done.

My favorite part of this week was the professional development I saw. We were seldom asked to listen or watch. We were asked to do, to create, to reflect, to share. It made me feel like a student and I loved it. It taught me how to work with others and listen. It taught me that you might learn more if it is not done your way, that another person can add to your ideas and together you can sculpt shared ideas. I really hope to incorporate some of the activities and general ethos of the instiute to in-service days at my school for next year.

And of course it reaffirmed my belief that learning is done in process and cannot be assessed by product. The very experience of creation is important not the creation itself. We all know this, but we often need to be reminded of failure and mediocre products, so we can ease the pressure we put in students. The conversations I had with members of my group during our day on the river, or the emotions I felt while talking with locals being pushed off their land and from their homes in the name of globalization and progress, is impossible to document or assess in a four-minute video. I was left thinking of how much learning from our students is lost or forgotten in the search of a grade. There must be so much they are learning that we never see, because we are asking for such specific proof. This experience made me appreciate the role of reflections and student blogs as places of more holistic learning. A sort of expansive landscape, where if done right students as well as teachers can really design a more accurate picture of learning, one that does not require a rubric or standards, but when experienced as a whole over time reflects the journey of its creator. Much more on this soon.

This institute also gave me a chance to really look at my own current landscape and take inventory. Who am I? Am I spread to thin? What are my values? What do I want to promote and share? Am I on the right track? What does my name mean to others? Does any of it matter? Stay tuned for updates. I am working on re-worked, consolidated brand. I still hate that word. Maybe when I can articulate it, it will have a new name.

In the meantime, I am proud and excited by the work I did, the thoughts I had and the people I met. It is always a shocking experience to be thrown into such a crucible. I am sure the effects will be long lasting. I am looking forward to continuing the conversations we had this past week with everyone who was there, as well as all of you who were not. Not sure if I answered any of the questions I had going in, but I don’t feel like a sell-out and that is good. I feel like I am leading a fast moving train headed to great places. Come on! What are you waiting for. Get on. We have work to do.
Of course I would appreciate all my critical thinking, trouble making friends to tell me I am wrong about all of this, because there is nothing more dangerous to growth and learning as complacency

Journey Part II

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We, I, have started my journey of “branding” myself for the ADE institute. I recently wrote about my apprehension of using corporate language when sharing my online identity, values, and mission, so I remove my critical hat of the language for the time being (but will continue the thought process and growth on my original post)

In this post, I want to drink the Kool-Aid a bit so to speak and go through the process with an open mind. I have been given a workbook as a guide to investigate and reflect on my values, mission, passions, and purpose. I have been meaning to do this for some time, so the activity seems relevant. I am, at the moment, not concerned about the brand or the product, but a closer look at what it is I believe in. I have spent most of career looking closely at who I am. Identity in general is a passion of mine, but I see the value in consolidating the pixels of who I am into a bite size snapshot. And that is what I will be doing for the next few hours.

I love to write and wrestle with ideas through text, so this is where I have chosen to start. I hope to move into media and more dynamic forms of engagement, but words are where I am rooted and this is where I will plan the seed. I apologize in advance for walking through what may seem like a scripted process, but if it proves to be too restrictive I will, as I am apt to do, fly in a new direction.

Step one: Explore my roles…

Father, artist, writer, educator, open/free-sharer, filmmaker, photographer, storyteller, leader, friend, husband, trouble maker, rabble rouser, revolutionary wanna be, critical thinker, button pusher, observer, inspirer, fire starter, a process…in the end I am an ongoing project that will only end, or perhaps continue, upon my last breath. At this moment in time: I am a father, and educator and learner.

I have been asked to look at these disparate roles through the lens myself as an ADE and a professional educator. I think the three roles that jump out are: open/free-sharer, leader, and artist/storyteller.

Let’s take a closer look at what each role means to me and what that can look like:

Open/free-sharer: I believe that openness leads to empathy, understanding, and authentic human connection. By openly sharing many aspects of our lives with as many people as we can, we connect on a deeper level- we are more than teachers and so we must connect beyond education if we want to truly create a community.

My mission is to lead by example. Prove to people that being open with ideas, dreams, and fears is valuable and liberating. Help others understand that their fears and inhibitions are obstacles. Help students and teachers deconstruct the walls they have built around themselves so we can better see each other- with our flaws and failures, but also to share our light.

This is a passion of mine because I was an awkward shy kid who carried inside me a tremendous weight. I would have loved an opportunity to have access to the global stage now offered digital citizens. The experience of sharing my voice has been a vital shift for me both personally and professional. My whole life I have been hearing my voice, but not able to share it. But that has all changed.

So will this work for others as it has for me? Will it work for you? I am not sure, but I am a believer in these lines from Modest Mouse: I know this of myself
I assume as much for other people. We have to be more alike than we are different, but purpose is to see if I am right

Leader– I believe that leadership is not about pushing or pulling, but by inspiring and modeling. It is about listening and caring. I am not good at this. I know. It is new for me. I am often excitable, passionate, and have been told I am intense. I know what it is right and I want to prove it to you, but I know this method will not work. We need to be humble and kind. As a mentor working with other teachers, I need to meet learners, students or teachers where they are, not where I want them to be.

My mission as a leader is to learn how to slow down. I want to listen more and talk less. I want to understand why teachers fear technology, not make confident assumptions. I want to learn to lead.

I am passionate about being a leader because I am enthralled by politics and the way we human beings interact. A school is a microcosm of our society and if we cannot learn to function within one of our most important institution how will we ever work toward s a more peaceful, sustainable functioning world.

The purpose is easy. World peace! Not too ambitious right? I have been intrigued by human connections since I was a child. My life’s work is to continue my journey toward self-understanding and peace, in hopes that it will open a window to the global stage.

Story teller/Artist– Novels, music, photography, film, poetry, sculpture, dance, doesn’t matter the medium I love stories. I love exploring how we all, in our individual ways and collectively experience reality.

I want to continually fine-tune my story telling abilities while also helping others understand that they too have a story to share.

Feeling a bit repetitive here. So I will say it all in one line: I want to connect people through stories, so we can see clearly our similarities and our differences, in hopes of creating empathy and understanding.

Now I have been asked to ask a friend about how you feel. As a perfect way to model behavior, I want to ask you, my network to share what you think:

What do you notice about what I have written?
What seems important to me?
What do you know about me that is missing?

Time is of the essence, so please just take a few minutes, read skim, browse and jot down a few thoughts. Thanks!

Journey Part I

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Instead of trying to post a post-ADE post (How ya like that three posts in first sentence) I want to just drop a few random post here and there. We are talking about our personal stories using this format:

Everyday…
But one day…
Because of that…
Because of that…
Because of that…
Until finally, Ever since that day…
The moral of the story…

Once upon a time there was a little boy born in a far off land. This land was suddenly thrown in upheaval and he actually once saw blood on the streets, men with guns and anger fill the air. There was cruel king who tortured his people so he could sell his oil to foreign lands. The people had had enough.

The boy’s family needed to leave because the people were so angry they forced the women to cover their faces and the people to shut their mouths and close their minds.

Everyday his mother would drag the boy to the place that would let them leave, until finally one day they ere given a ticked and told to go to a far off land. A place where they hated the people from the boy’s country. The new country loved the old king and the cheap oil, so now they were angry.

Because of that it was hard for the boys parents to fit in. They did not speak the language and had little money.
Because of that the boy often felt out of place and alone. He longed to belong, to connect, to perform, to share, to be in a community.
Because of that he ignited an inner fire that kept him warm.

Until finally he gained enough strength to become the fire and he was ready to spread it on the world and burn down to the grown and recreate both the kingdom he had fled and then one he had fled to, so that maybe there could be one kingdom.

Ever since that day, he feels alive and connected. The moral of the story is to light your own fire regardless of your circumstances, fuel it, stoke it, then let it spill beyond your mantle.

So there you have day one, activity one. More to come I am sure.