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Tracking the Trackers

September 19, 2018 / principalmorrow / 0 Comments

In someways, searching the internet with Lightbeam turned on is like watching a Hollywood movie come to life, everyone is watching! Recently, I have overheard conversations about our smart phones listening to us and people being afraid that there is some old codger sitting behind a mahogany desk in a dark room chuckling to himself in a maniacal way as the data about us all gathers on his screen.

It was really interesting to watch the data collect on Lightbeam. I wasn’t surprised that there are servers that track people who connect to particular sights. I am sure that in most cases it is driven by economic motives. I had expected that the sites would independently gather information. What was a little more shocking to watch was the development of interconnected webs which appeared. Doing a youtube search connected instragram and a Craigslist search that I had done which had previously been separate.

This activity was helpful as I was talking with my son who is in Grade 9 and starting a 1-to-1 computer program at his school. We were discussing some of the important foundational ideas around digital citizenship. He was rather unnerved to see that there were third parties tracking our internet activity. It was a good connection to demonstrate that the darker the site on the internet, the more devious those trackers could potentially be, both for his health and the health of his computer.

I have definitely been more careful about good internet practices like logging out and closing windows and browsers. I have also been curious to see if my browser settings can be adjusted to make my internet experiences less of an invasive experience.

Recording and Sharing Audio

September 18, 2018 / principalmorrow / 2 Comments

This was a great exercise for me. I have often wanted to create an audio or video clip but have not. Whether there was not enough time, confidence or expertise, bringing this type of recording into my teaching or leadership repertoire is just something I have not done. I found that the recording function on Anchor.fm was easy to activate and use. Once saved the file easily embedded into the blog post using the Add Media button. Using SoundCloud was also straight forward. As there was no recording option that I could see, I uploaded the same file I had recorded on Anchor.fm. Embedding the SoundCloud file was even more simple than with Anchor.

The track that is shared between these two platforms is the reading of the final paragraph of chapter 1 in Bob Goff’s book Love Does. https://lovedoesstore.org/collections/love-does/products/love-does-softcover-unsigned

Sound Cloud Recording

Anchor recording

The Great Googly Moogly

September 16, 2018 / principalmorrow / 0 Comments

This has been a great reminder of the power the corporate internet machine has to shape our own thoughts. I have been aware for awhile now that Google will return the search results which are most in line with what we appear to be interested in or value based on previous searches. The challenge in this, is that we are continually reinforcing our own limited perspective with the assumption that everyone who populates google agrees with us. Knowing this, I wasn’t surprised when the search terms for professor, boy, girl, teenager, etc. yielded the results they did.

I heard Alan November speak a few years back and he lead us through the same exercise covered in the article. His encouragement to consider our own bias as we search for information is important. Like he suggested, I thought I knew how to do a google search but as I have a again been reminded using the google search tools suggested in this exercise gives us much more control on how we gather broad, unbiased information. In this case, instead of simply reinforcing our own perspectives, we can be challenged with a new one.

Like learning any new skill I think it will take a while but I know I will become more proficient with practice. I may eventually even form my own search style and habits.

Initially I tried to include to many elements into the search and it came back with no results.

Eventually I settled on university research loc:canada leadership

It was not too challenging to find a .pdf about being a principal however finding a podcast related to my hometown took several tries. Eventually I simply used vernon bc + podcast and came up with a page which yielded some search results.

Over all this was a good exercise in being more specific in how I use Google. As an additional skill, I also learned how to insert a screenshot into a document. I explored both the function built within WordPress for this as well as the Windows snipping tool.

The Art of Crap Detection

September 16, 2018 / principalmorrow / 0 Comments

I have to admit that I have previously been duped by false information in two different settings. In both cases it would have been great to fact check. The first occurred early on in my teaching career. I don’t even recall the topic now, but I was in the middle of sharing some information with a science class and a student put up their hand. “Mr. Morrow, I watched Myth Busters recently and they said that idea is not true.” Whether the fact was right or not, I learned to be more careful. The second instance occurred early in my tenure as a facebook user. There was a post that came across the feed explaining that an actor or singer (I don’t remember) had passed away. As I felt a loss at this news, I quickly shared it on my own page. It didn’t take long for me to hear back from my followers that the information was incorrect.

I appreciate the concept of Mike’s four moves and a habit. I feel that I have become more careful because of my previous experiences, four moves provides a tool to protect myself further. I tried a couple of Mike’s challenges. It was great to learn that it takes little time and only a few moves to determine the truth of much of the information that is available online.

“Ryan, are you there?” – Finding U

September 12, 2018 / principalmorrow / 0 Comments

I had previously Googled myself but never while being signed out of all accounts. I have always tried to keep a low digital profile and to that end I was satisfied with what I discovered in my search for myself today. Not much. The little that I did find was on the second or third search page in many cases. I found it interesting that the link to this blog was already present on a couple of web browsers (neither of them Google).

I have always been careful about how I represent myself online. I have accomplished this by contributing little and making all accounts as private as possible. I have practiced self-censorship in the past and still do in the present. Again, I have accomplished this by avoiding a comment in the first place rather than posting something which needs to be carefully crafted or later removed. It has been my practice so far to use my voice in person to advocate, demonstrate or persuade. As I stated in a previous post, important elements of communication stem from voice tone and body language. When trying to be understood fully, it has been my concern that to speak about something really important to a mass (social media) audience, I could risk having something lost in translation when limited completely to print.

Another area of caution/censorship is around my family. I may comment about “the boy” rather than using my son’s name. I am always aware of how I share and use information about my children on the internet. While it is great for grandparents to see birthday pictures on a private facebook page, it is not great for picture of my children to be accessible to anyone. Beyond safety, my children’s personal privacy rights must be considered. My daughter occasionally asks when we take a picture, “will that be posted?” We are learning that when it comes to our children, their life is theirs to share.

I have begun to have my thinking challenged by this course. I am seeing the benefit of building an active, robust digital footprint. This more developed digital stance may provide a stronger personal security than trying to remain obscure. I like Kris Shaffer’s comments on this topic. I find myself agreeing with and internalizing the concept of deliberate digital identity. I like the idea that when people look for us on the internet they find our “best content” and that as Chris Long states, it is found early and often .

If I was to identify with one of the “selves” referenced by Bonnie stewart, I think The Asynchronous Self is the best match. I am not sure if it is from my father talking about “kids these days” or an awareness of changing social convention, but I am at this point dissatisfied with the degree to which digital influence easily interrupts f2f interaction. If I am having a conversation with someone it is because I have chosen to give that person my attention and it is my hope that I have the diligence for that to be my full attention. A conversation doesn’t need to be interrupted just because something went ding. Having said that, there is a time and a place for……

As to the web search activity to find myself in the digital universe, here are the results. There are definitely a lot of Ryan Morrows out there. Most of us are still alive, many of us have professional careers, some are musical, and at least one of us brews beer for a living. A biography of myself based on the information that I found across several different browsers would look something like this.

Image result for ryan morrow

Ryan Morrow is the Principal at Cascade Christian School in Chilliwack, BC. He has accounts for both LinkedIn and Twitter and possibly Facebook and Instagram as well but you will not find evidence of them on the web. Ryan is interested in Christian education, leadership, and has an interest in sports. Ryan cheers for Canada.

It appears that Ryan is up to a new pursuit in his life and has written an article where he chronicles his development of creating a new blog related to TWU.

If you would like to get to know Ryan more thoroughly you will have to drive to Chilliwack and speak to him in person as the remaining details of his life have not been made public.

Risk Management – Digital Literacy

September 11, 2018 / principalmorrow / 0 Comments

In all forms of non-digital communication, I have developed the practice of “think before I speak”. I am continually amazed however that I have the temptation to respond quickly or spontaneously to a social media post or other digital platform when that is the environment with the largest and most undefined audience that I experience in life.

A strategy that I have employed so far as my digital footprint develops is to be careful. In the realm of social media I seek permission when posting a picture of another individual. I try often to develop a stance as an observer rather than a contributor. If I am inspired to write something online, I try to give it time to develop it in my mind before writing into a post. I have a trusted editor, many times I will ask my wife for her perspective when posting a comment or sharing someone else’s idea.

I recognize that it is important to have and use my voice in all arena’s of my public and personal life. I also recognize that as I speak, I not only represent myself, but my school (staff, students, parents and board), my family, my friends and my faith. This responsibility is important to me and helps to govern and guide any thoughts that I may make public.

Finally, I recognize that I am not the expert and as a habit it is my practice not to allow my words to be empty. It has become my practice generally to share thoughts that have been informed by someone in the know. Seeking council directly or indirectly on my thinking has helped to act as a safeguard and filter for my thoughts before they are published.

Just as I think before I speak, I must also think before I post.

Listening to Bryan Alexander speak in the teaching in higher ed podcast has encouraged me to consider further developing the practice of becoming more comfortable with a variety of online platforms. Developing a level of comfort would be beneficial to not only observe but to further use digital environments to participate in contributing to web based conversations and topics that I find interesting. With practice and familiarity, the experience would normalize which would again lesson the likely hood of writing something which may later be regrettable.

Blogging…. Narrating U

September 8, 2018 / principalmorrow / 0 Comments

While the idea of developing a blog is not high on my list of go to activities, it has been interesting to be exposed to the elements of WordPress. Developing systems for organizing time, and information at the outset of this leadership program is certainly going to be beneficial.

Some of the challenges that are I currently have as I consider the structure of the blog lie around limited skill set and not knowing what is ahead. Neither of these things can be solved in the short term and it has been beneficial to see other blog examples to look for possible structures. I know that as I practice and as this course and the next ones unfold, the structural requirements will become more clear and I may need to make adjustments to the structure to improve the function.

I have decided to create a few pages that will provided a home for some of the areas that I expect to learn about along the way: a place to collect online tool links that may be useful in the future, a place to collect valuable quotations, information about myself, life outside of school and the main blog page.

As it has been suggested, using categories as a means to sort blog posts seems to be the most functional way to and organize posts. I am realizing the static nature of the pages and how they are to be used and how that is contrasted by the more fluid nature of the blog post stream.

I have appreciated following the blog of an American colleague over time to help with my understanding of how a blog can be well used.

Focus – Annotating U

September 8, 2018 / principalmorrow / 0 Comments

Keep them focused! Incorporating technology into the learning environment is now common practice. Technology provides unlimited resources, student support and effective organization of student work, it also provides distraction. Students can at times get lost down a rabbit trail following one piece of information to the next just as adults often do. Using an extension like Hypothesis keeps students working in an enclosed area where they are less likely to wander. This will help them practice effective digital time management and focus.

Using Hypothesis helps students stay focused in another manner as well. By focusing on a single article, or other piece of information, students can learn to comment in a concise and articulate manner while maintaining both voice and choice in their decision making about their topic.

Finally this extension will help them to focus on the thoughts of others. Students are so focused on themselves as they curate the most polished representation of how they wish to be seen through their involvement with social media. Working in a digital environment where the goal is to consider, value, and respond to others will help them to see their digital footprint and online voice and interaction in a new way.

Developing digital skills and improving student focus and time management could all be accomplished through the use of this extension. It would be great to try with students.

Ready or Not Here Comes the Great Adventure – Hi

September 4, 2018 / principalmorrow / 0 Comments

Hi Everyone,

My name is Ryan Morrow. I am looking forward to learning with you throughout the program. I live in the Fraser Valley with my wife Amy and our three children. My wife and I are both teachers and love to talk about supporting students, educational trends and improving practice. Several years ago, I was asked to become the principal of the Christian school where I worked, it has been quite the journey. It is now time to take the next steps in my education and I am excited to learn so that I may better serve my school and community.

I have found that life brings us some interesting seasons whether we are ready or not. In this case, I have chosen to be challenged by something new and so I had better be ready. The paradigm of adventure has become important to me as an educational leader. Framing challenges as adventures has provided a structure through which I can address what is ahead of me.

Setting out on a new pathway always brings an overriding spark of anticipation with a sometimes not so subtle undertone of curiosity and caution of what may lay ahead. Continuing my education after significant break feels like the beginning of a new adventure. I know that I have a lot to look forward to. I know there are going to be some mountains to climb but that there will also be many spectacular views to enjoy! I am looking forward to the journey and the comradery of others to journey with along the way.

I know that God leads us down paths in our lives that give us cause to become dependent on Him. He allows us to be stretched beyond our own comfort zone and our own ability. I look forward to being challenged, enlightened and inspired by the educational journey that lies ahead.

Ryan Morrow