I know this is not a specific project that I am writing about so bear with me as I sit back and reminisce on a highly successful school year. From the departure of a veteran leader to the new faces that joined the team, it was obvious that change is inevitable. I smile as I think back on the tablet rollout for our teachers and getting blacklisted by Apple for a few days because of the hundreds of Apple IDs created in a short two-day window. It makes me happy to hear kids talk about how they styled and personalized their own “unique” e-portfolio using Google Sites. I still hear the kids scream in excitement as the Lesson Crashers burst into the classroom to transform the lesson utilizing technology, and then to watch the crowds pile into the banquet room at TCEA to learn more about the movement.

I could go on and on regarding the amount of change, addition and even out with the old that our team had a hand in throughout this school year. Unfortunately I am trying to keep my posts interesting and readable in a short period of time for my thousands of subscribers.  

I will say that I am happy with this year. We did a lot of good things for kids. At the end of the day, I can hold my head up and truly say that I put kids first in all that I did.

Another opportunity for our NISD students to present and showcase their learning happened this past week at the Night of No Limits hosted at Byron Nelson High School. Over 1,000 students had live and gallery style presentations throughout the evening. 

Working with the curriculum department, we decided to streamline the process for registrations, invitations, and even door signs and name badges. Several different technologies were used, but overall we collected the data from the teachers and populated our database. Once we had the information I was able to automate all of our individualized materials, write a mobile application with advanced search features and even got the opportunity to sit and enjoy some student presentations during the evening. It was quite the event to begin wrapping up the year!

Some say the third time is a charm so it is no wonder the fourth was even that much better. I am so excited about the outcome mainly because I made some changes that ended up being very positive for the evening. 

I firmly believe that this night is ALL about our students. In the past few years, I have seen classrooms where students were presenting that had 1-2 audience members while next door the room is packed with standing room only. The difference between the two rooms is that one was a high school student and the other was an elementary presentation. This was the root of my first change. I decided to move away from campus based rooms and mix up elementary, middle and high school presentation throughout the rooms. Long story short, the crowds were larger and the comments were very favorable to see the multiple levels of students.

The other major change this year was to focus on the room facilitators as more of an inquirer and a learning coach versus someone passing out tickets to attendees. We treated them as educational leaders, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Facilitators felt like the true leaders they are, and the students were probed about their learning thus enhancing the presentation as a whole. Wins all around!