Ideas

a. Graduate-level school technology leadership (STL) courses that prepare tech- and globally-savvy school leaders (grad certificate, Master's, and PhD; all online) b. Lots of (primarily F2F) professional development and training for principals and superintendents; also sometimes technology coordinators/CTOs/CIOs, teachers, curriculum directors, media specialists, etc. c. Research into any and all STL-related topics d. Work with university-based and other higher education school leadership preparation programs to better integrate technology-related issues into their teaching, scholarship, service, and outreach (see the attached) e. Creation of various STL-related online resources (blogs, wikis, podcasts, videos, training modules, etc.) that can be used by school leaders (or by educators trying to help their school leaders 'get it') f. National and international thought leadership about what schools need to look like, what kind of leaders we need for those schools, how to get there, etc. We're comfortable in the worlds of government, foundation, and/or corporate funding and - between the 4 CASTLE directors - have many millions of dollars of grant experience

November 6, 2008 Discussion (Scott, Denice, Ahmad, Laura, Jamie, Julie): What does CASTLE have to do with [|Seth Godin's] [|Meatball Sundae]?
 * Being remarkable
 * Nurturing the people who find you remarkable
 * Create mechanisms to share information with others -- simultaneously finding ways to connect
 * We are doing it right so far, getting the information to the teachers
 * Helping people see the importance of technology
 * Technology teachers within the building who has the skills, and can teach teachers
 * Helping educators know they are not alone, and there is information available to help them become better educators
 * Affirmation of the fact that we are doing what Seth Godin[[image:http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/t_mini-a.png height="13"]] suggests to do
 * Flipping the mindset of how technology should traditionally be used in school
 * Technology can inspire learning
 * Toss away the graveyard and bring in the new kind of pipeline
 * Sensitive to the people we are trying to reach -- the Montessori way of doing things
 * Being effective bridges
 * The world has changed
 * The people you want to read the blog, are not reading the blogs -- old channels are still reading newspapers, and watching television without TiVo
 * How do we reach the people we want to reach with the connective technologies?
 * Reaching the groups who are seeking it, helping them, and they will be catalysts for others to see the change
 * The ability to be nimble
 * We are starting with the bottom up -- we have to help get the legislators to see the changes
 * Being nimble with what we do and recognizing people who still are driving the 77 station wagon
 * Techy vs. rest of the world -- some people are reluctant - esoteric knowledge -- people have to remember that people are wired different ways

__Overarching Questions That Will Drive CASTLE's Strategic Planning__
 * March 10, 2009 - Thoughts from John Nash**
 * What is the overarching desired state of affairs we seek in the world?
 * What are the root causes for why we have not achieved that desired state of affairs?
 * Of those causes to the problem, which are within CASTLE's mandate, reach and resources?
 * Which are a concern of funding organizations?
 * Which will create the most impact in the shortest amount of time?

__Taking the Discussion to "Them"__ I was disturbed by a comment made by a panelist on the second episode of [|4 Guys Talking] that an AERA review panelist asserted that technology leadership was not a field. Clearly, without concerted thought, our work will be long relegated to the corners of conferences and proceedings as "the work of the tech folks." We must take the discussion to where our colleagues and constituents already are: in the fields of economics, social justice, law, etc. We must be leaders in making the links between our interests and the good of all.

Take the topic of economics. What are the hidden costs of doing business in the way that schools do it now in the face of the affordances and opportunities that technology provide today? CASTLE should consider bringing in an economist to conduct a study on this topic in much the same way [|Alan Krueger] of Princeton has done for health care.


 * March 26, 2011**

Questions that I think deserve some discussion:

__**Who are we**__

 * 1. CASTLE Mission**

//__**Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education**__//

Mission: To lay a global foundation for a new generation of school leaders who will create a new, sustainable vision of learning.

Method: Learning, Sharing, & Teaching from a Research University Platform

Mode: Publicly Entrepreneurial but Profiting from Change

Tactics: Training, Research, Outreach (lunch series, vlog, conferences & events), Fellowships, Dissemination.


 * 2. CASTLE Leadership Structure**

Partnership Model - 4 Equal Partners (could call them Directors or Directorate) form Governing Board. Majority (or Unanimous) Vote on Critical Issues.

Here are some thoughts on titles (obviously just meant to get the ball rolling - Director could be substituted for partner in each case): (We could have a real name and a fun name. - I Like that, so I tried a few (JB) )

Scott - Official: Director of CASTLE - Unofficial: Chief Evangelism Officer (guessing you won't like it, but I did) John - Official: Director of Design and Researc h - Unofficial: Lead Architect of Novelty in Learning Systems Jayson - Official: Director of Financial Operations & International Development - Unofficial: Ambassador of Comparative Reason Justin - Official: Director of Policy and Regional Engagemen t - Unofficial: Principal Democracy Plumber


 * 3. CASTLE Affiliations**


 * 4. CASTLE University Status** - College Center? University Center? Center of Excellence? UCEA Center? Not a "Center" at all

Places I (JB) have gone for thoughts on CASTLE structural and mission issues: [|Berkman Center] | [|Oxford Internet Institute] | [|Civil Rights Project] | [|National Education Policy Center] | [|UKY VisCenter] | [|Earth Institute] | [|Institute of Digital Learning] | [|Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning] | [|Nieman Journalism Lab] |


 * CASTLE Manifesto**

CASTLE is a center focused on training, research, and

---

SOME LANGUAGE SCOTT SENT TO D.C. PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

Just thought I'd send a separate message regarding CASTLE and how we help P-12 school systems...

The world is now both digital and global and, unfortunately, most schools are neither. What we do at CASTLE is help school leaders create and facilitate powerful, technology-suffused, globally-connected learning environments. There are a number of centers in America focused on the classroom side of P-12 instructional technologies (i.e., kids and teachers). We're the only place in the country that's focused on the technology needs of school administrators (particularly principals and superintendents). We know that when the leaders don't 'get it,' it doesn't happen. Since right now most school leaders are struggling mightily in this area, we see huge disconnects between what schools do and what kids, families, and society need...

I'm guessing that most principals and central office staff in DCPS have little knowledge, skill, or experience with the technology side of leadership. If you're like most other large urban districts, at best you have a few innovative administrators and teachers, a lot of IT staff gate-keeping, a large pool of economically-disadvantaged students and families who are behind their more affluent peers, and not much impact from digital technologies. At CASTLE we do extensive training and PD, offer graduate classes, engage in research and evaluation, and create online and other resources intended to help administrators like yours with this critically essential side of school leadership.

Here is some more info, including districts with whom we've worked (including Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the Catholic Diocese of Philadelphia); 7 state departments of education; a multitude of state and national associations; etc.:

 www.scottmcleod.net/bio www.scottmcleod.net/ organizations

And here is a page with some links (and a video) that will give you a better sense of how we think and what we do:

 www.scottmcleod.net/schools

I grew up right across the line in Fairfax County, Virginia and would love to have a conversation with DCPS sometime about how you and CASTLE can work together on technology leadership issues (FYI, I'm having a conversation right now with Chicago along similar lines regarding some follow-up work with them). Let me know if this is of interest to you or others in the district.