So I did a thing.  In less than 4 weeks, I have read the first 10 books from Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.  I started this little journey in the middle of June when the 50th book was released.  There was a big Twitter hype using #DBC50.  There was a bit of what Dave calls Creative Alchemy going on.  I had a massive amount of the DBC books on a shelf, many of which I had never read due to time constraints.  Something else always came up and those books stayed on the shelf.  I knew I wanted to start blogging again.  I enjoy writing, but hadn’t been inspired to write anything in a long time.  I also wanted to be more involved on Twitter.  I take so many amazing ideas from Twitter and wasn’t giving a lot back, especially with school dismissed for the summer.  I wanted to give back and strengthen my Professional/Personal Learning Network (PLN).  Upon seeing #DBC50, I thought to myself, “Self, do it now. Read them all.”  So before I could chicken out, I mentioned it to Dave, found out the book release order, and blogged it. Boom – accountability.

What I never expected was the huge response I’ve gotten from the Twitter community, Dave & Shelley Burgess, Wendy & Tara of DBC, Inc, and the authors of DBC, Inc!  I have felt so much support and encouragement on this wild little ride I’m on this summer.

A cynic could say, “Of course they are being supportive, Alicia – they’re getting advertisement.”  (I’ve actually had people say that, or something similar, as I share the kindness each of the authors has shown thus far.)  I’ve definitely been picked on for doing this – told that I need to dial it back a notch. UGH – naysayers.  Here’s the thing though… they DESERVE the “free advertisement” and my students deserve a teacher wiling to do something “radical” like read 50 books with cohesion throughout all fifty, then think of ways to implement what I’ve learned to make their experience amazing!  These authors worked their tails off writing each book, poured their heart and soul into it; Dave and Shelley took the time to vet them and put the Pirate seal of approval on them, painstakingly made sure that there was no contradiction and that the message flows throughout the books.  DBC is amplifying the impact of INCREDIBLE educators beyond their own students and districts… so yeah, I’m happy as can be to share their books with my small part of the world!  I can assure that I have gotten much, much more out of this experience than they will by my sharing my ramblings on #DBC50Summer. Sure, DBC is getting advertising for every. single. book. Sure, the authors are getting shout-outs on Twitter – some of them with books that were published 3-4 years ago.  It’s not like I’m bashing their books – however I have been, and will continue to be, VERY honest.  Some of the books, I’ve not really wanted to read.  This is part of why I wanted to be methodical in how I went about reading the #DBC50.  If I read the ones I enjoyed first, I would likely quit before I finished all 50.  As it stands now, number 49’s author and I met several years ago and he’s a local guy.  I adore him and cannot wait to read his book!  I’ve been focused for the past year on taking care of my health and have lost 40 pounds; I am beyond excited to read number 50, which is about building a stronger mind and body.  I had already read number 45 and 46 before #DBC50Summer even started, but won’t publish those blogs until I get to them in the #DBC50 – those authors haven’t seen the blogs I’ve written either.

Several people have joined me in the quest to read and blog about DBC books!  You’re more than welcome to join, too!  For me, it’s a 50 book challenge.  For you, it doesn’t have to be!  It can be just ONE book – because that ONE book is ONE more book of inspiration and ideas that you can implement next year! When you read and blog about DBC books, share with me by using the hashtag #DBC50Summer!  I’d love to read YOUR reflections and how you plan to implement what you learned!  Also – if you aren’t the blogging type (or even if you are), join the Flipgrid discussions on each of the books!  There is a link to Flipgrid in each blog post!  The password for each of them is DBCSummer (case sensitive).  The idea is that while many of us are doing book studies in pockets, which is fantastic, why not ALSO come together as one HUGE global book study of ANY DBC book out there! Imagine the think tank this space could become!  Don’t be shy – share your reflections, your takeaways!  The questions prompts are just suggestions – we just want to hear your voice and share in the learning with you!  If you don’t see your favorite DBC book yet, hold your horses.  It’ll be here soon enough!  The Flipgrid was the brainchild of my new #tlapsister friend, Andrea Paulakovich!  She is an incredible educator from Kansas who approached me about joining the fun when I first blogged about #DBC50Summer!  This girl has a heart of gold and a story that needs to be told! I adore her and am so thankful that #DBC50Summer brought us together, although I feel like we would’ve found one another anyway eventually! We were just meant to be friends!  Be sure to follow along on her journey as well!  Her blog is stunningly beautiful!

Finally, there will be sketch notes added to the blogs from my dear friend, Holly King!  The beautiful artwork in sketch notes takes time, so they will be added as updates and posted as they come in!  If anyone else would like to add their sketch notes, let me know!  I can create a Google Drive folder, with you having full credit for your sketchnote of course, and add the link to the blogs as well! OR you can share your sketch note and use the hashtag #DBC50Summer – woo hoo!!!  I love the collaboration and BOY has my PLN grown in the past month.

So let’s take just a second and recap what we’ve had so far.

1 – Teach Like A Pirate by Dave Burgess: inspiration, inspiration, inspiration. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve read it and it still makes my heart race.  Even more so now that I’ve met Dave twice and been able to actually hear the passion, energy, and enthusiasm behind his written word.

2 – Pure Genius by Don Wettrick: how he put Genius Hour/20 Time on steroids and created an Innovation class in which students are actually running their own businesses in some cases

3 – P is for Pirate by Dave & Shelley Burgess: a picture book for educators to inspire them with every letter of the alphabet

4 – Learn Like A Pirate by Paul Solarz: student empowerment through a truly student-led classroom

5 – DITCH That Textbook by Matt Miller: how will you get messy and “punch fear in the face” to make your lessons Different Innovative Tech-laden Creative and Hands-On

6 – 50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom by Alice Keeler & Libbi Miller: a handbook of sorts that takes you from beginner to pretty dang advanced in the use of Google Classroom (Bonus that the lessons learned go hand in hand with DITCH That Textbook!)

7 – Master the Media by Julie Smith: a guide for educators *and parents* sharing how media literacy can, quite literally, save the world – this is needed more and more with the digitally rich environment and constant stream of media that our world now takes in every single day without batting an eye

8 – The Zen Teacher by Dan Tricarico: I was such a naysayer and this book has proven to be insanely valuable to me! It made me stop and re-evaluate if I was really taking care of myself.  I can’t do right by any students if I’m not taking care of myself!

9 – The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros: The most viewed post to date with over 300 views in 24 hours. This blog barely had 300 total views in 3 years. A cry to eradicate the buzzword pandemic that “innovation” has become.  How can we truly be innovative? Make it new and better!

10 – Explore Like A Pirate by Michael Matera: This book brings the element of fun back into classrooms through gamification.  I want to be a student in his class – it sounds like he makes learning come alive through allowing students to discover the learning rather than spoon-feeding!

Going “way back” in the YouTube archives (the end of 2015), Dave Burgess shares these 10 books with us in 8 minutes.

The most frequently asked question I’ve had since beginning this journey… what will you do with #DBC51, #DBC52, etc?

I will continue. I can’t stop at 50. Number 51 and 52 are already waiting on the shelf for their turn, and 53 is already on preorder.  I have learned so much from just the first ten that I can’t imagine missing out on the learning that future DBC books will bring! As long as DBC publishes, and I am physically able, I will be continuing.

I do have one problem though, and I need your help!  What do I call this adventure when I’m on book 51 and Summer is over?  It can’t continue to be #DBC50Summer… post your ideas in the comments or share with me on Twitter – I’m @iluveducating and follow the #DBC50Summer.

Now… on to the next ten. Having so much fun, and even if no one in the world reads another word, I’ve taken away ideas that will forever change my teaching practice.  To see a simplified spreadsheet of what I plan to implement, titles/authors, as well as the blog link and flipgrid link, click here.

Storytime! (If you’re not into stories, feel free to skip ahead a bit – I’ll let you know when to stop; otherwise, read on.)

When my youngest daughter was born, we were thrilled – as second-time parents usually are. I emphasize second-time because we knew what we were getting ourselves into.  The anxiety and life-altering commitment of BECOMING PARENTS is eased with the second child.  Naturally there are several other fears, but much like the Luvs commercials… “You live and learn, then get Luvs.”  Although, for the record, we were Pampers Swaddlers kind of people.  I know you are wondering how in the world this has anything to do with #DBC50Summer, but give me a minute. Surely by the blog on Book 10 you have a little more faith in me.

So our youngest daughter, Sophie, is the spitting image of my husband. Dark complexion, brown hair, round face, his eye shape… but she has my bright blue eyes. We knew she was completing our family, and we were done having kids, especially with my medical history.  No questions asked, the shop was closed.  Let me just tell you… if we didn’t know before, we knew the second we brought that little girl home.  She screamed for (I swear I’m not exaggerating here) 8 MONTHS! The only time she wasn’t crying was when she was sleeping, and sometimes she cried in her sleep.  She is now five years old, and still has a delicate temperament.  Some things just set her off… and there is no stopping the tantrum once it starts; you just let it run its course & pray nightly that she will grow out of this by the time she finds her life partner (bless their heart)!

Today, I had the privilege of babysitting my sweet nephew and niece (ages 16 months and 5 months).  Yes, you read that right… 11 months apart.  Their mom, my sister-in-law, is superwoman!  This is only the second time I’ve been available to babysit my niece, so we’re still getting to know one another.  Well, today she apparently had a horrible tummy ache.  (Gina, I love her so much & will be happy to keep her again anytime… just know that before you go further, if you read this.) Reminiscent of my picnicking at an 8 month camp out with Hades and Sophie, my niece screamed for the majority of our 12-hour day together – unless she was eating or sleeping, she was screaming. Today, I’ve been pooped on (THREE times), spit up on, straight-up vomited on, then gave her a bath only for her to do it again 5 minutes later, while screaming (her, not me)… and still managed to take care of my nephew and my two girls. Needless to say, it was a LONG day. All I wanted was a long STEAMING HOT shower with the fruitiest smelling body wash they make, my king-sized bed, and my 1200 thread count sheets. (Yes, I splurge on bedsheets. It’s a thing. Some folks drink quad venti cappuccinos from Starbucks every morning; I sleep on ridiculously expensive bedsheets – po-tay-to, po-tah-to. Don’t judge.)

I have been totally honest with anyone actually reading these blogs, and will continue to do so.  Today was the first time I have NOT wanted to touch #DBC50Summer. However, during my pity party earlier this evening, I found a graphic with a pretty hot air balloon floating in front of a sunrise (or sunset, I can never tell – they should have a compass on those things) that read “Find your passion and you’ll find your purpose.” My passion is being the best educator I can be; not the best scores or the best summative evaluation, but the teacher that the kids remember, the teacher that works to build the relationships. The teacher that truly cares for them and shows up every day ready to bust my tail to make school amazing for them. So… I knew with that quote and that idyllic scene in the background, I had to crack open the dang book and at least attempt to read some of it before bed.

(If you skipped ahead, you can continue reading here!)

I did not regret the decision for a minute! It got me excited and put me in a great mood! Earlier in the summer, I mentioned that Learn Like A Pirate made me want to go back into the classroom… well, so did Explore Like A Pirate.  The difference?  Now, I want to go into Mr. Matera’s classroom!  As a student!  I’ve got to figure out a way to visit his class for a day!  Explore Like A Pirate by Michael Matera showcases everything that’s right with gamification in the classroom!  Michael breaks it down and helps you think through exactly how to bring those game-like elements into your classroom! Not only that, but the book starts out with how to convince your naysayers!  Right from the beginning!  Loved that!

Coming into this book, I was no stranger to the world of gamification.  I am so fortunate to have Lucas Gillispie as a director in my district and one of my greatest mentors and friends.  I have blogged previously about EPIC Academy, our district’s gamified online professional development for digital learning. (Go check that out when you’ve got a minute, EPIC Academy is fabulous!) I have worked with Lucas on quest design and participated in the pilot program when it was first released.  Now I am a community mentor for all middle school educators within the program and have created multiple quest chains leading to badges. All quest chains can be found online under a Creative Commons license; feel free to use with attribution!

Because of this prior knowledge, I started out a bit skeptical.  Not because I didn’t believe in Michael or his “realness” because I was given the opportunity to attend #BadgeSummit in Chicago where I met Michael and was able to chat with him and hear him speak on a panel. It was an amazing experience.  I knew he was the “real deal” then! No, I was skeptical because I kept reading “gamification” and “game-based learning” like they were interchangeable.  In my (admittedly biased) mind, these two cannot and should not be used interchangeably.  Then, I read a sentence that changed my tone when Michael said, “I will never argue with the positives of a solid board game, but it isn’t what gamification is about.”  I needed to see that clarification before I could really buy into reading about his gamified approach in his middle school classroom.  I needed to know that Michael and I saw eye-to-eye about the difference between these two seemingly similar concepts.

Gamification is applying basic game theory and game-like mechanics to a non-game environment.  Game-Based Learning is using store-bought games and applying them to the classroom to pull out curricular connections.  These games can be classified as educational, or just choice games (games that we CHOOSE to play, like Life, Monopoly, or for those who like really GOOD games, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Splendor, deck-building games, 7 Wonders, Tsuro, and the like).  These games are also not limited to tabletop games, but also Dungeons & Dragons (Role Playing Games – RPGs) and computer/video games (Minecraft, World of Warcraft, League of Legends, etc). Michael uses gamification in his class, which is what the book primarily focuses on, but the game-based learning (or game-inspired as he puts it) is found toward the back of the book where he shares amazing mini-games that have been used in classrooms, some in his class and some in other classrooms.  Purchasing the book is worth it just for those pages, even if you have no intention of gamifying!

So honestly, I’m not going to talk a lot about what Michael wrote in his book – you just need to go order it now and while you wait for it to come in, you can read about what I’m going to do with his infinite wisdom.  If I were to try to explain bits and pieces of his process, it would be incoherent without reading the entirety of the book, anyway.  Just know that he starts out with how to dispel the myths and be prepared with an answer for those who question the gamification process.  He talks about how it prepares our students for life, and not for a test.  He discusses that not only do his students cover the curriculum, but they EXCEED the curriculum content and do so enthusiastically.  He shares ways to keep students motivated and engaged in the game as the game master, even the “non-gamers” through discovering the gamer-type of each student. Then he takes you through a step-by-step process in which he asks you questions about your game theme, setting, characters, and action/conflict.  He writes so conversationally and is able to break down the concepts in ways that I won’t even attempt. I love that I feel as though we’re having an informal meeting and he’s talking me through my ideas – poking holes at things that might not work, asking those really good questions that make you think! They probably could have titled this book, “Explore Like A Pirate: Folks Who Know Nothing about Gaming Can Gamify Their Classroom, Too” – this is why they leave the book titles to people who aren’t me.  Here are the #BookSnaps from my reading for some insider info.

.@mrmatera bringing truth in #XPlap! Confident Ss won’t be made through spoon-feeding! Allow them to make mistakes & own their learning! #DBC50Summer #BookSnaps #tlap #LeadLAP pic.twitter.com/GOfstOoF0f

— Alicia Ray (@iluveducating) July 6, 2018

 

Totally an Achiever – do ALL the things! #DBC50Summer #owningit @mrmatera #xplap pic.twitter.com/hljqRf0H9k

— Alicia Ray (@iluveducating) July 6, 2018

 

Anyhow, here’s the deal.  I have been gamifying my Battle of the Books for years. (Don’t get me started on the philosophy behind Battle of the Books – it’s a soapbox thing for me and I don’t have the time; neither do you.)  My district is looking for innovative ways to encourage a love of reading and I am desperately trying to steer the ship as far from Accelerated Reader (or anything like it) as I can.  Instead, I want to use the Pirate methodology and make the books come to life for the students.  I want my students CREATING things when they’ve read a book, not just taking a test.  My district is supportive of taking calculated risks and said, “Lead the way.”  Challenge. Accepted.

After a discussion with an ELA (English Language Arts = Reading & Writing) teacher last month, we decided to create a gamified approach to our literacy plan that is similar to the way we run Battle of the Books, but more inclusive of all genres of literature (fictions, nonfiction, articles in magazines, etc).  Upon sharing this idea with our principal, she also gave the green light, then turned my world upside down in an amazing way… She said…

I wonder if we could include other things in this gamification approach, as well. Like, maybe our PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support), extracurriculars, mastery of makerspace materials, etc. What do you think?

~my principal during brainstorming

So wait a minute… you want to basically gamify the entire school?  You want to know if we can gamify the “game” of school?!…. WE CAN ABSOLUTELY DO THAT!  An hour long brainstorming session and a sketch of a quest tree with the end in mind, and I now have a MASSIVE project that I’d love to see to fruition.  This will be the biggest risk I take on this school year.  We will gamify everything from our literacy plan to use of learning spaces throughout the school to PBIS to community outreach to attendance to goal setting and growth on benchmarks.  Don’t ask me how we’re going to do it… I have no idea.  Just know that if it works, it will be INCREDIBLE!  If it doesn’t, then what an awesome risk to even be willing to take on!  We can’t lose here, as long as we stay true to the basic foundations of gamification.  Using Michael Matera’s book, we will be able to do that.  As long as the game designers have his “playbook” in mind, we won’t fail, even if it doesn’t work!

Our mascot is the Mustang.  We immediately realized we wanted to do something centered around horses and what better place to pull from than a Derby.  There was all this hype this year about Justify winning the Triple Crown, so we’re going to build on that.  Our theme is The Derby and the setting will vary depending on which section of the race they are on – it may be the training grounds, or the race, or the stables, etc. Our characters will consist of everything from the horses themselves to the jockeys, trainers, veterinarians, groomers, stable boys, gamblers, horse owners, etc.  The action… have your team of horses win the Triple Crown.  Teams will be split by grade level and by homeroom.  XP will be given for each badge, but the amount for some will not be disclosed until the end of the race season, which will be quarterly.  We will start each race over again, with the opportunity to level up on badges.  Badges will also include soft skills as we want our students to be prepared for the real world through P21 skills.  Past these details, we are still thinking.  We have the perfect guide in Michael Matera and his book Explore Like A Pirate.  Stay tuned because I will be blogging like a mad woman about how this unfolds throughout the school year!

It’s getting real!!!! @MMSMustangs14 @goinssh @knlilly778 #xplap #DBC50Summer #BookSnaps #tlap #LeadLAP #BadgeSummit pic.twitter.com/PMWPEOI4z4

— Alicia Ray (@iluveducating) July 7, 2018

For now, if you didn’t take me seriously before… here are your directions:

1 – Go buy Michael’s book

2 – Check out this picture from #BadgeSummit in June when I met Michael. YAY!

3 – Join the community on Twitter using the hashtag #xplap (Chats are Tuesdays at 10 pm EST)

4 – Check out the #xplap website!

5 – Share your thoughts, gamification experiences, favorite mini-games (I will record one when it isn’t 1:30 AM), and other takeaways from #xplap on Flipgrid! Andrea Paulakovich inspired the addition of Flipgrid for each #DBC50Summer book – follow her and her #DBC50Summer journey here!  She’s incredible!

Whew!  Explore Like A Pirate rounds out the first 10 of the Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc books!  I can’t imagine how Dave & Shelley must have felt when they reached their 10th book from this publishing business they built from the ground up, when others told them it couldn’t be done.  Maybe that’s why I gravitate to their story so much.  As discussed in an earlier post, I also like to do what others say is not possible, so perhaps I feel a connection there.  Either way, their books have touched me – both professionally and personally.  I just wonder if they ever thought that less than 3 years later they would be staring the release of book #53 in the face.  What an incredible growth!  I’m equally impressed because I’ve read many of the more recent books and know that the caliber of content has not wavered from these earliest ten books.

Keep in mind that I’m literally building this ship as I sail it.  I had no idea what these #DBC50Summer blog posts were going to look like when I started, or if anyone would ever read them.  With that, I believe I will do a short blog after every 10 books as a recap, so expect that next.  Probably within a day because I’m on a roll – HA!

The 11th and 12th books are two that I purchased just a week ago and I cannot wait to read them!  Both are shorter books and should be read and blogged pretty quickly.  I’m looking forward to seeing what they are all about (I love reading these in order because I get to these spans of books that – embarrassingly – I don’t know much about; I took a hiatus from Twitter around the time these were released, so I missed the initial hype). You may want to go ahead and grab book 11 – Your School Rocks by Ryan McLane and Eric Lowe and book 12 – How Much Water Do We Have? by Pete Nunweiler with Kris Nunweiler.

Ladies and gentlemen, I went to church this morning. That is… the educational church of The Innovator’s Mindset with a message from George Couros. I read the book in early 2017. I attended the North Carolina Technology in Education Society (NCTIES) conference in March 2017 where George was the closing keynote speaker. During this time, I attended the closing keynote, as well as two other sessions he facilitated: Blogging as Professional and Student Portfolio and Your Digital Footprint. I was so inspired that my #ncties17 recap that I presented to our digital leadership team was solely focused on George’s sessions. I reread the book for #DBC50Summer… and oh my – prepare for the goodness that comes from Book 9 of 50!

I learned through reading George’s book that he has a thing, maybe subconsciously, for the number eight. He starts us off with “The 8 Characteristics of the Innovator’s Mindset”, brings us into “8 Things to Look For in Today’s Classroom,” and he finally loops into “8 Things to Look For in Today’s Professional Learning”. In honor of George’s obvious love (or highly coincidental repetition) of the number 8, I present to you the 8 Things I Take Away From The Innovator’s Mindset, in no particular order.

*Note: I usually only pull ONE thing I will implement in the coming school year, but I’ve just got to tell you that one isn’t going to happen with this book – there’s so much goodness here that I can easily double the eight I’m going to share.  However, I feel that I am granted 8 ideas to hold closely here because I, like George, was put in a pilot position and given a title that makes people stop and say, “WHAT?” – I referenced in an earlier post that having the word “Innovation” in my title scares me silly. It really ups the bar, and if I’m going to have that word in my title, I’m going to darn well own it! I don’t want to feed into the buzzword epidemic; I want folks to see my title, see what my teachers, students, and I do together, and think “Oh, so THAT is innovation”.  Here’s eight ways I can own it in 2018-2019.

1. “Change is an opportunity to do something amazing!” There was a time that I used to fear change. I mean, seriously fear change! As someone who has major anxiety, change triggered all kinds of fear and paranoia. I wanted (read as needed) to know the who, what, where, when, how, and most importantly WHY things had to change. I’m not sure where the irrational fear of change came from, but it was there.  Even to this day, knowing there is a change coming causes that tinge of panic to creep up. I rarely let others see this more panicky side of me because I’m the one who is supposed to “embrace change” and help others work through their own reluctance to accept change. My inner circle sees it, bless their hearts. I have learned to cope with change through talking myself through what I imagine to be every possible scenario that could result from the change. If I am leading the change, I feel much more in control and those fears are waylaid for the most part. This quote is a HUGE takeaway for me because it allows me, and others, to see change as an opportunity and not an obstacle. Our art teacher is insanely talented and has this beautiful font-like calligraphy handwriting. This quote will be on a canvas in our media center before school starts. Period.

2. Noting that when I feel more in control of the change it isn’t as scary, I identify with George saying that teachers, and students, must be empowered and be part of the change. With that in mind, I will be sending a survey to ask teachers what professional development they WANT this year in regards to technology.  I serve as the digital learning coach for our school. Our district offers a ton of professional development based on what they perceive as needs, but it may not meet teachers’ wants. I want to give the people what they want!  This empowers them to be part of the change AND self-reflect, which is another point George makes!  We will go deep with the technology rather than wide.  Instead of throwing out a dozen or more “awesome new tools”, we will invest time into learning just a couple with intention and purpose.  I will still curate for teachers, but they can check that out if they so desire (if their plate is big enough – love that metaphor from the book, as well)

3. Leading into point three, self-reflection through digital portfolios and blogs is certainly an actionable item for me in the coming school year and beyond. I’m looking forward to sharing the implementation of #DBC50Summer via blogging.  I will also be adding my presentations from the past several years, along with my CV, as separate pages to build a full digital portfolio. Students in my district can also utilize Google Sites to reflect on their learning. This is something I need to think through, and is certainly a possibility moving forward!

4. “Sometimes the most valuable thing you get from the network isn’t an idea but the inspiration or courage to try something new.” I immediately starred and did a #BookSnap on this quote! Being a connected educator has given me great ideas and allowed me to share with others amazing things happening in our school.  However, more than that, it has given me confidence and courage. I so appreciate my PLN, and highly encourage you to get involved if you aren’t already.

I couldn’t make it without my #pln– y’all make me want to be better & try new things every day! #ncdlcn #tlap #LeadLAP #innovatorsmindset #champforkids #122edchat #nced #DBC50Summer pic.twitter.com/5HMyBrJG2m

— Alicia Ray (@iluveducating) July 4, 2018

5. Thinking in line with my PLN and being connected I have realized this summer, more than ever before, that the more you invest in your PLN, the more you get out of it. George puts it this way, “The more we connect, the more opportunities will come our way.” Investing time in your PLN and being connected will accelerate your growth.  He also states in his book, and on his blog, this quote.  Creating a school hashtag is something we’ve got to get nailed down. Looking forward to creating something original with administration this year!

6.  Teachers are learners, too!  George references this again and again throughout the pages of this amazing plea for making school’s relevant. I love that he speaks continually to everyone in the classroom being a teacher and a learner. Having a “flattened organization” allows for risk-taking.  This idea that we are all teachers and learners empowers students in a classroom and teachers in a school, administrators in a district, and on and on.  It reminds me of Laura Numeroff’s circular book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. The feeling of empowerment squashes the power struggle that can occur.  With no power struggle, true relationships can form; trust can begin to take root.  When trust takes root, a culture of “yes” can be created.  This culture of “yes” can help eradicate a fear of failure, which can bloom into risk-taking. If we are encouraged to take risks and our students see us taking risks, they are more likely to take risks.  Risk-taking leads to the idea of an innovator’s mindset.  Without feeling the safety net to take risks, how will learners feel lead to create new and better ideas or products? Be a learner in your classroom and in your school.  Never feel like you’ve arrived.  For if you do, you’ve already “fallen behind”.  Be “relentlessly restless” as George puts it. I love that!

7. “What is best for this student?” It all boils down to this.  If you aren’t asking yourself this question with every decision you make, you need to back up and regroup.  When I say “YOU,” I am talking to me, too! It’s easy, within a culture of testing, to get frustrated and tired, possibly wanting to create cookie cutter lessons. Constantly asking ourselves this question keeps us grounded, rooted in what’s important. If we can’t answer this question with the latest initiative, project, idea, etc, that initiative, project, idea, etc is not good enough. Always, always, always have the individual student’s interest in mind.

8. This eighth point I’m taking away is kind of cheating the system a bit. It is one of the things I’m most passionate about, and an idea I come back to over and over again in my role. Hearing it from George Couros was validation and affirmation for me.  For the love of all things holy and good, PLEASE don’t use tech in a lesson just to check a box.  If it doesn’t make sense and doesn’t amplify your lesson to be something you could have never done without the tech, just don’t use it.  Like George says, it becomes a $1,000 pencil! I try to focus on creation with technology. It’s never about the technology as a glittery shiny object, but about what you can DO with the technology! “Technology should personalize, not standardize,” says George.

I could go on and on about takeaways from this book.  It was eye-opening as a leader, and as a learner. I love that our district has renamed the digital “train the trainers” to “Digital Lead Learners”.  It correlates beautifully with all that I am taking away from Book 9 in the DBC line up.  This book should be read by every district team, administrator, and school leader.  If the following applies to you, go get a copy of this book – I’d suggest a paper copy because you’ll be highlighting like crazy! I used TWO HIGHLIGHTERS – no lie!

If you actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader. ~John Quincy Adams

There are fantastic resources available from George Couros, including chapter guides and discussion questions ready for a book study!  George is also kind enough to upload his presentation resources (he practices what he preaches) on his website as well!  You can also subscribe to George’s Podcast and follow him on Twitter for further learning!  Join the community on Twitter using the hashtag #InnovatorsMindset! Please share your reflections, take aways, and thoughts on the #DBC50Summer Flipgrid (Password is DBCSummer)!  Andrea Paulakovich had the AMAZING idea to create an outlet for a global book study using Flipgrid!  This is a great place to connect with others.  Don’t be shy to be the first to share your thoughts – be a trendsetter!

It’s so hard to believe, but we’ve reached Book 10 in #DBC50Summer!  One fifth of the way through!!! Ten books in just over three weeks! Y’all – we’re DOING this!!! I had the privilege of meeting the author of the next book last month at #BadgeSummit and cannot wait to finally get to blog about his book!  Explore Like A Pirate by Michael Matera is coming up next!