The Learning is Change Podcast

This was going to be a different post filled with all kinds of rich artifacts of my digital identity during a regular week of life and work. It was going to be a reflection on the past decade or so of sharing my experience within the many social and private spaces I inhabit, but that isn’t this post. Instead, this post is a reflection of my digital identity during the week that my two older children (10 and 12) experienced the most extreme form of violence within their school. You see, they go to Stem School Highlands Ranch. And, on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, they did not have a normal day at school. This post is the result of the day that they had. It is a result of the one that my wife and I experienced. And it is a result of the day and week that the community around us shared. I don’t have any intention for it other than to record this information. I want it preserved for myself and for all of the other #DigPINS participants that are endeavoring to reflect upon their own Digital Identities and make things for others.

I believe there are some events that fundamentally change the ways that we see ourselves and our community. This is one of those events for me.

First, this is a visual representation of my digital identity this week (according to the format laid out here):

My Digital Identity this week. The only change I would make is that Ferrite should be further to the right in the resident column. You can watch me make this in Explain Everything on this Youtube Video (sorry about the audio cutting in and out at the beginning of the video).

Second, these are the posts that I made and the reactions that they received from my community:

The list of things I could think to do with my family after my two older children experienced #stemshooting yesterday (grades 5 and 6) to help process. I wanted to share in case it is useful to anyone. For the record, we are choosing number 9. pic.twitter.com/qMHmy2n7mV— Ben Wilkoff (@bhwilkoff) May 8, 2019

I posted this to my Twitter Community. I hope it was valuable to some.

Messages Shared in (Semi) Private Spaces:

My short reflective writing pieces that I wrote with the help of the Writing Prompts App:

(Note: Prompts from the app are in bold.)

1: A signal of time is how often I think about my children being locked in a classroom, waiting to find out if someone is coming to kill them. The further I get away from it, the less often this thought occurs. But, when it comes back, it stays and is still just as visceral. I want to protect those kids just as much. I want to save them from this moment. And I feel the teacher’s fear as my own. It is real. 

2: To me, a good life means knowing that you will not outlive your kids. That they will not be taken from you and that you will have to survive with the idea of what they could have been and done with their lives. You should not bury your children. You should live to see them free. 

3: Whenever I start writing I go to a place in the upper right corner of my mind, remembering what I have to say, as if each time I make more words they come from the same source.

Joelle Warsh, technology teacher and coach at Boston Elementary, discusses the real purpose behind using tech in classrooms and the best ways for teachers to find time for learning from and with children in the process.

Marcelina Rivera, Chief of Staff for Aurora Public Schools, discusses what truly inspires children to learn and teachers to teach. She also questions the ways in which we can use all of the resources and relationships at our disposal to support learners.

“Learning is a relationship…”

Ran Jung, Principal of APS Online HS, defines Blended and Personalized Learning and the ways in which relationships between teachers and students can provide for better opportunities for learning. She also goes into the ways in which we might better “write our own story” with celebrations.

Joshua Kusch, PWR Specialist for Aurora Public Schools, reveals how he sees learning as a problem solving endeavor. He also goes into the ways in which we can continue to make stronger connections with our students, no matter which role we may find ourselves in.

Jennifer Andrews, Art Teacher at Dalton Elementary in Aurora Public Schools, dives into the ways in which we can better engage our students in collaboration and connection in our classrooms. She also questions how we can better set expectations for teachers in our district.

Stella Cypher, Educational Technology Coordinator in Aurora Public Schools, discusses the ways in which we can make learning more relevant for students through empathy. She also asks an important questions regarding our own assumptions for others who are supporting teachers and leaders in schools.

In this far too brief interview, Julius Vaughns, Communications Specialist in Aurora Public Schools, urges us to consider the ways in which we commit to kids. Even in roles that are outside of the school, he encourages each of us to support learning and learners every day.

Jan Parker, Educational Technology Coordinator for Aurora Public Schools, asks how we might solve for more systemic problems through educational support and partnerships. She also tries to tackle the role of technology in the classroom, and how it can be a transformative force for teachers.

Tina Green, Department Secretary for Educational Technology in Aurora Public Schools, discusses how we can better create equitable outcomes for all kids by meeting student needs with the right tools and resources. She also provides personal insight for how parents can make choices for which schools to send their children to based upon the relationships that are made between teachers and students.