Risk Taking and Innovation

Innovative Learning at Woodward Hill Elementary 

Risk taking and innovation seem to go hand in hand.  This point was driven home to me this week because the school at which I teach, Woodward Hill Elementary, was recently asked to share the innovative learning and teaching happening there with a group of educators at our district’s Engaging the Digital Learner Dinner Series workshop.   Neil Stehenson, Delta School District Principal of Innovation and Inquiry, was the keynote speaker discussing inquiry based learning.  We were honoured and excited to attend and share.  This was difficult for me since it was a risk to take to share your work in front of a room of talented and inspiring educators.  The video we shared showcased different ways technology was used to innovate and differentiate learning.  It was an interesting experience putting this video together.  I mentioned at the Dinner Series that at first when I asked to be able to take photos or videos in various classrooms, everyone was hesitant because everyone thought what they were doing was just ordinary.  This idea is echoed in the following video.

 

After sharing our school’s video, I was surprised by the number of people who later asked for a link to it because they thought it was of value to be shared to a larger audience and that is why I shared it again in this blogpost.

Another risk I have taken recently is to have joined the Fellowship of Open Spokes, started by Ben Wilkoff, where a group of educators vlog weekly on a given topic.  You can learn about and subscribe to the Fellowship of Open Spokes here.  This is a giant leap for me since I have just started blogging.  After, I joined, I questioned my sanity at such a decision.  I am a private person who does not easily share my feelings and thoughts with people I don’t know.  Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!  “Oh well,” I reasoned, “Since, I have started a journey of change in my teaching and risk-taking, why not add vlogging to the picture?”  This is the vlog I posted this week on the question of my view of education in the next 5 years.  Excuse the grainy footage, I have yet to figure out how to upload iMovie without losing the quality of the picture.