Gr8T Quotes from #NAIS09

I've just returned from the National Association of Independent School's annual conference. It was a wonderful experience. I had the opportunity to meet face to face with many people from my online network (always the highlight of a conference), to attend several very good sessions and to learn a lot.

Throughout the conference there was a very active back channel. People tweeted from a variety of sessions and shared some great quotes. In trying to pull together my learning from the conference, I did a twitter search for the hashtag #NAIS09 I've pulled out some of the highlights from several sessions.

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Thanks to my Tweeps above for taking the time to share with the rest of us!
From right to left:
 sarahhanawalddcinc66, raventechcookpnandikerriantoniovivaJonathanEMartintiomikelspecialkrbsamandjt

Sarah Hanawald and Jason Ramsden also live blogged several sessions!

Revitalizing the Veteran Teacher with Peter Gow
  • Raise your hand if you have a teacher in your school who just doesn't get it
  • You have to talk to the "undead" at your school. 
  • Change the physical space, change the team, change the responsibilities of the veteran teacher - keep them engaged.
  • Culture of our society does not value age - our schools mirror these attitudes. 
  • We all are going to be the "senior teacher" someday.
Enhancing Team Performance
  • When working with teams being a 'good listener' is not enough. One MUST contribute.
  • Teams often confuse activity with results masking effectiveness.
  • With teams Trust + Intimacy = Cohesion
  • Discussions on teams are often considered personal. Set the expectation that it is OK to disagree.
  • To avoid conflict most teams manage agreement. Take on the squeaky wheel head on!

Dan Heath's Keynote
  • Sticky ideas are simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and stories 
  • Dangerous situations don't come with "dangerous situation" labels, they just Happen
  • The more you know about something, the harder it is for you to understand what it is like not to know about it
  • Sticky ideas use concrete themes to make things tangible. Details make things tangible.
  • Details cling to us

  • If you don't like the rules - change them 
  • Public education should be the great equalizer, yet skin color and zipcode still dictate how we educate.
  • We will continue to have brick and mortar schools, but the limits of the walls will and are dissolving through digital connectivity
  • No one voluntarily uses a Windows machine
  • Most organizations make mission statements and quite frankly, most mission statements suck.
  • We need a mantra for our school not a mission statement
  • Don't be afraid to be crappy - to be wrong - to take risks.
  • Do not be afraid of polarizing people. Great products do polarize people.
  • To be an innovator you need to be in denial – Don't let the Bozos get you down
  • Teach students how to figure out ANYTHING by themselves.
  • Teach students how to explain ANYTHING in 30 seconds. 
  • Teach students how to do a one page report.
  • Teach students how to work as a group
  • Teach students how to negotiate win wins.
  • Learning is a process, not an event.

The Impact of Technology on the Lives of Boys with Michael Thompson
  • Girls dominate written content creation online, boys dominate video uploading.
  • Parents prefer kids inside playing vid games, "safe" rather than going Outside unsupervised, "unsafe."
  • Laptops are the new outdoors 
  • There is no evidence that video games translate into aggressive behavior. 
  • Boys are trying to get dates Online, Girls are trying to get friendships
  • We must change how we assess and test kids rather than try and ban technology that "gives the answers

Digital Storytelling and Curriculum with Marco Antonio Torres
  • Quit, complain or innovate. Success predictor=attendance. Get kids to want to come to school.
  • Digital storytelling makes kids aware of process & product
  • Product= emotion and process =experience in working w/kids and media
  • Plan, Produce, Present & feedback
  • Is schooling getting in the way of learning?
  • New question, not "what kind of learner are you?" rather,"what kind of producer are you?"
  • Value is in the verbs not the nouns. In schools we focus too much on the nouns
  • What makes you an expert? Can I google everything you shared?
  • Are you an expert because you collect information or because you create info?
  • Experts have one right answer, others see many possibilities
  • Don't ask questions you can look up
  • Studio-->stage-->community is complete
  • Media levels the playing field in terms of 'who's on stage'- everyone can produce
  • Core values of today's workplace are collaboration, innovation not mindless repetition
  • Networked = Connected; often teacher networks are tiny. Branch out and make wider connections and networks
Surviving and Thriving in Challenging Times with Robert Evans
  • People can cope with all kinds of terrible things once there is predictability
  • Most schools practice conflict avoidance. We are good at the nice stuff, not good at the hard stuff.
  • Learning comes from loss, failure and disappointment.

Oprah's Closing Keynote
  • If you are not careful, your daydreams become a reality. 
  • The importance of educating woman: educate a woman & change a community
  • You don't have a visionary school without visionary teachers. 
  • You don't have a leadership school without leadership.
  • The job is not only to enlarge and illuminate the lives of our girls, but also of our staff and our teachers.
  • The only way to deal with a crisis is to stay in the moment.
  • I want them to speak up for the rest of their lives, to speak up for their community.
  • Oprah's goal for girls: "To be seated at the table where the decisions are made about the future."

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