Kamehameha Schools Distance Learning (KSDL) Owau

Rarely does something spring from nothing; far more often seedlings spring from, well, from seeds.  And seeds come from trees.  And.. Well, you get the picture. Just like forests, organizations and teams do not spring from nothing.  History and energy are embodied not only in the products teams produce, but in the workers themselves.  The adaptive cycle addresses growth, change, conservation and renewal. Take a minute and read about the adaptive cycle: http://www.peopleandplace.net/perspectives/2009/1/26/collapse_and_renewal How does this fit in with the role of organizations and individuals?  How can we use it for innovation, stability and social change? This link offers some good ideas: http://tamarackcommunity.ca/ssi9.html Here's the exerpt: Panarchy: A Summary Writing Getting to Maybe Brenda, Michael and Frances have all been involved in change efforts and have also been teachers, hoping to build experience and competencies in their student...

With new staff members, I thought this would be an appropriate posts and something to think about for the future.  Also, it would be helpful especially as we are in the process of our Blackboard Enterprise project. Many times when we are hiring for new staff for positions the training process may be inconsistent because information shared may differ upon who is doing the training.  Creating an eLearning training course for positions would help with the basic knowledge just to get acclimated.  Some of the items pointed out of how this can be helpful: Does not interfere with real time work process Self directed learning Consistent messaging and delivery Training at one's own pace or available for future reference. When offering this in an eLearning course, it will a start to a good training program.  For examples, the Instructional Design positions, we could use this course for the tri-campus initiative so individual can understand what it takes to creat...

Just today I read an email in my ISC inbox that closed out with the German words "mit freundlichen Grüßen" or "warm regards" in English. The grateful letter, as many of you saw, came from a student all the way in Germany thanking KSDL for the Ku'u One Hanau certificate that followed her successful completion of a course in Hawaiian culture. This small example of KSDL's growing global reach is a great reinforcement of the content discussed during yesterday's "E-Learning Goes Global", a webinar from Education Week. The webinar began with a quick overview of the growth of online and blended learning opportunities in the US, but its main focus consisted of distance learning trends around the world. Based on the iNACOL international report, Online and Blended Learning: A Survey of Policy and Practice from K-12 Schools Around the World , the webinar presenters Alison Powell, VP of iNACOL, and Robert Spielvogel of Education Development Center, Inc. co...

Teachers are always looking for apps to use in teaching.  Here's a site that provides a directory of apps by Apple Distinguished Educators (ADEs). http://appitic.com/index.php

A recent blog posted by Mr. J, an 11th grade English teacher, and how he was implementing the 20% project in his class.  In the education today, we are so focused on standards, assessment, and meeting mandates, but what about allowing students to expand their horizons for learning?  Mr. J came up with the 20% project based off of Google's philosophy and policy.  Google's 20% Time was inspired by Sergey Brinn's and Larry Page's Montessori School experience , where a Google employee spends 20% of their time (the equivalent to a full work day each week) working on ideas and projects that interest the employee.  Google encourages this type of exploration and has shown results of 50% of Google's products come originate from this 20% free time, which includes Gmail. I have read Daniel Pink's book Drive , just like Mr. J, and I do think people need more than just the extrinsic motivation for just doing their day-to-day job.  Based on Pink's book, there are thr...

The Fred Pryor workshop titled "How to Supervise People" covered material focused on effective leadership skills to maximize employee performance. A few of the main topics included: Choosing a leadership style, interviewing and hiring for success, building a highly productive team, training new and seasoned employees and avoiding common management mistakes. Below are some key points: Choosing a leadership style Leadership style should depend on the situation Keys Issues to Consider How well defined is the job versus how poorly defined is it? How much attention is needed to maintain harmony, attend to "people problems," keep morale up, etc.? How achievement-oriented are your employees? How educated, experienced and able are they to work on their own? Four Basic Styles The Prescriber: high task, low relationship The Persuader: high task, high relationship The Participator: low task, high relationship The Permitter: lo...

The KS workshop titled "How to Give Feedback and Recognition” covered three main areas: Keys to Effective Feedback, Constructive Do’s and Don’ts and How to Recognize Staff Using Powerful Praise. Below are some key points: Keys to Effective Feedback Seek First to Understand What happened? Listen for understanding, not to respond Rephrase back to confirm understanding Then to be Understood When You, I Feel, Because Formula: When you …describe the Specific, Example or Event I Feel … set the emotional hook. Because…larger impact on you or others Constructive Feedback Only after both sides feel understood discuss, Next time Next time is not about fixing blame it’s about fixing the problem Agree on what we will do next time to get the desired result. Characteristics of Effective Feedback Frequent Actionable Specific Two-way Constructive Do’s and Don’ts ...