7 Benefits to Ditching The Paper at Meetings + Events with a Great Agenda

We're deep into the 21st century, but you might not know it if you went to a meeting or event. There is still so much that is paper-based...fraught with broken promises of materials to be sent later or telling all participants to send separate emails to acquire materials digitally. If materials are handed out, the stacks of paper handouts usually end up forgotten in pile or waste space in a file cabinet. If you wanted to reuse, or refer to these paper presentations, you'd have to waste time recreating them.

This was a problem for me recently after attending an all-day conference sponsored by a few large ed tech companies. There were several presenters. No digital materials were handed out. Each presenter had a slide at the end of their presentation with information on how to reach them or their secretary to get materials. The conference organizer also say he could be emailed to acquire materials. What a waste of everyone's time. Rather than having the materials in the moment, participants would have to wait days or weeks later to receive materials. At that point, the opportunity to make the most meaning is lost.

I decided followed up on the promises and tracked down every single presenter and the conference organizer to get materials. After several hours of my time and several weeks, I had the materials that could have been provided up front. Most people wouldn’t even bother trying, but imagine if they had. There would be dozens of hours of everyone’s time that was wasted.  

All this can be avoided by updating agenda methods to save everyone's time. The agenda for every event (meeting, workshop, seminar, conference) should be digital with all materials digitally embedded.

This means that the answer to every question when it comes to materials is: “It’s on the agenda.” Every presentation, handout, url, hashtag, contact information...everything, is on the agenda.

Benefits include:

1. Save time: No one needs to waste time sending and responding to emails about materials.
2. Find materials: Materials don't get lost as various email attachments
3. Editable: Participants can make notes directly on the materials rather than separately on a paper document that they will likely never go back to, to transcribe.
4. Get to Thinking Faster: When participants know they have materials they can get to the thinking faster because they don't need to take notes on what you are saying but rather they are making meaning of what you are saying because they have the materials.
5. Information is Accessible: No more repeating or reminding people of hashtags, social media sites, urls. It's all on the agenda.
6. Save Money: Forget the stacks of paper and folders. When you go digital you can even toss that old copy machine.
7. Save Trees: Less paper = More Trees.

Think about it. If you've attended an event or have organized one, you know the promised follow up materials are often forgotten. Why even promise? Just do it once and do it right before the event and everyone wins.

Wondering what this looks like? Here are some examples:

• Five Steps to Harnessing the Power of Cell Phones for Learning
• Google Educator Certification
• Becoming A Make Believer
• Graphite Certified Ed Tech Integrator

The Hottest Posts Everybody's Reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog.

A new post takes the lead this week. It questions the role of the teacher in a tech-rich classroom. How might a teacher's role change? Check out the post and see if you agree with my take. Following that is a post that challenges the assumption that the teacher is the most important factor when it comes to learning. Next up is a post from my #VibeEdu tour of Israel that shares important lessons learned. Read it and you'll discover lessons like the importance of questioning authority or the value of being a part of a Youth Movement where nearly every young person spends time focusing outward to make their community a better place. 

There are a few more posts to round out the top including one that addresses why we need to stop freaking out about screentime and another that suggests we're ready to move beyond the factory model and teach students to use calendars rather than herd them from place to place with bells. Rounding out the top is a post that looks at the value of sharing a meal to learn about history and diversity. 

I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment.

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What If Society Would Pay for Specialized Schools? #VibeEdu @VibeIsrael Tour Takeaways

Government schooling comes with strings of compliance, conformity, and dictatorship attached yet most of the elected officials determining what happens in these schools don’t send their own children to them. Even when they do, when you scratch beneath the surface you may find these are specialty schools that look very different from the rest. For example, in New York City, these are called Performance Based Assessment Schools. The students there don’t have the same requirements for the curriculum, standards, or assessments required by the rest of state. Instead they have more real-world and project based work and assessments. Montessori is a favorite school choice for many of the nation’s leaders. Waldorf schools are in favor for those who value an environment providing artistic development of pupils. The governor where I live sent his children to boarding school. Democratic schools provide another model that has become a popular choice among parents who value self-directed learning, that incorporates responsibility to community along with personalized learning for their children.

Why is it that all members of society don’t have access to these type of school that those with means select for their own children? This is the way it’s always been, but must it always be this way?

This is the question that came up in Israel nearly a quarter century ago. Citizens did not agree that if they chose to send their children to what they call a “unique” school, that this should mean no government funding is allocated to that student.  Parents mobilized for change so that funding was tied to pupils, regardless of the type of school, that their family felt was best. Today, for the most part in Israel, all schools receive per pupil funding from the government. Traditional schools are provided at no cost to families. Unique schools require families to pay a contribution of what comes to about $200 a month. Scholarships help poorer families pay the annual tuition. Students who come from truly impoverished backgrounds, have the opportunity to attend boarding schools like Mevo'ot Yam Youth Village. Immigrants and refugees have schools with substantial wrap-around services for students and their families such as the Bialik Rogozin School.

RIP to @Joe_Bower A Learning Inspiration

Joe Bower began inspiring me about 5 years ago when I came across his blog, "For the Love of Learning" where he shares his distaste of grading and blogs and his admiration for the work of Alfie Kohn. It didn't take long before his blog became one of my favorites. He was one of my 25 favorites on Twitter as well. How wonderful is it that via the power of a social media Twitter chat I could learn and connect with people like Joe as well as other innovative educators such as Will Richardson, John Spencer, Gary Stager, and Justin Schwamm?

I was shocked to learn last night that Joe was taken from us too soon and too young as a result of an unexpected, heart attack. Joe's writing was always informative and inspirational. I am deeply saddened that the live conversations can not continue. However, social media provides a great opportunity to learn from the knowledge and ideas he shared with others.  

If you want to learn from one of the best about progressive ideas in the areas of grading, assessment, and homework, check out Joe's book, De-Testing + De-Grading Schools, and his blog. At his blog you'll find this picture and description: 

I am Joe Bower (and that is Deborah Meier) and I teach in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. I wish to challenge 'traditional' schooling while exploring more progressive forms of education. I intend on using this blog to uproot some of the most deeply rooted myths that continue to distract people from a love for learning. And I am going to have fun doing it!

In his last blog post, Joe wanted to instil the idea, that assessment was not about a number, but rather about a conversation with students and those who support them.  Though his words will live with us, he will be deeply missed by all those who knew him, face-to-face and/or will know him online. 

How to Use Social Media to Change Perceptions - #VibeEdu @VibeIsrael Lessons

This is just one in a series of ongoing posts on the educational innovations in Israel. You can see additional coverage here.

If you're reading this blog you are likely involved with a school, district, museum or some other educational institution that is engaged in innovative practices. But do others know of the great work happening there? Is there a misconception about your school or district? Perhaps the community or even the world is not aware that in your district every student has a digital portfolio that can lead to academic and career success. Maybe your school has a Makerspace and 3D printing, but few know of the magic happening behind closed doors. Maybe the neighborhood is perceived as rough, but the the truth is that there is a strong, cohesive environment where the community comes together to ensure children are safe and watched after. What might you do to change or even drive awareness?

Typical practices might be to advertise in the local paper or on the local radio station. Maybe pass flyers out around the community.  Perhaps distribute a press release or maybe even buy a spot on a local television program. While those practices may have been the most effective in the past, today, there is a shift. When millennials want information, they don’t go to mainstream media, they look to UGC or “user generated content.” This means they don’t want to hear from the media. They want to hear what friends and peers have to say via updates and photos in places like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or blogs. And they spend a lot of time engaging with UGC from social media, in fact more time with any other media type. About five and half hours a day are spent with UGC and they trust and remember what they read from their peers more than any other source.

Check out the stats:

Source: Smart Blogs

The Hottest Posts Everyone's Reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog.

The top post is holding strong for a third week, and is the most popular post of the year. It challenges the assumption that the teacher is the most important factor when it comes to learning. Behind that is a post from my #VibeEdu tour of Israel that suggests that the dinner table, rather than a textbook or teacher, may be the best way to learn cultural awareness. 

There are a few more posts to round out the top including one that addresses the role of the teacher who uses tech to support learning and another about a strategy to ensure conferences, meetings, and really any even provide learners with a meaningful experience.

I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment.

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