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What if we never spoke about the thoughts we had? Would important conversations take place to solve some of the world's toughest challenges? Would some of the world's greatest inventions ever come to fruition? Ideas that are never communicated will remain nothing more than thoughts. Thoughts can be powerful, but without communication, they will never have the chance to become a reality. Most importantly, failing to communicate your ideas can lead to misunderstandings and conflict. Communication is essential if we hope to ensure everyone remains on the same page. John Kotter's warning to use various technologies and vehicles to get the message out is spot on. In today's day and age, there are more ways to reach your target audience than ever. However, with so many options available, it can be easy to become overwhelmed and not know where to start. The key is carefully selecting the channels that will work best for you based on your goals and objectives. For example, if you want to reach as many people as possible in a short time, then using social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook would be ideal. On the other hand, if you're looking for more in-depth engagement with potential customers, then utilizing a blog or podcast might be better suited for your needs. However, communication is a two-way street. It's not just about sharing our ideas with others; it's also about listening to them. We need to be willing to hear what others have to say, even if it's something we don't want to hear. Only by doing this can we hope to create meaningful and productive conversations.

Too often, videos or other media try too hard to stuff a lot of dry facts and figures into a short period without any real thought given as to how best to engage or motivate viewers and listeners. I think techniques like those mentioned above focus on emotion over intellect, creating urgency, etc. - will produce much better results than simply dumping large amounts of info and hoping something sticks! During my day-to-day job duties, I create video-related content that intentionally targets the audience's hearts instead of their heads. When comparing the scope of my body of work, videos that tap into the viewer's heart consistently pull the most engagement and win the most awards when attending conferences. I've also found that structuring your overarching message in a way that creates a sense of urgency can effectively motivate people to action. There are several ways in which videos or other media can help develop a sense of urgency. For example, suppose you wanted to encourage people to take action on climate change. In that case, you could use images and footage of melting glaciers, floods, and other natural disasters that are directly caused by human activity. This would help viewers understand the real consequences of inaction and hopefully motivate them to make changes in their own lives. Similarly, stories and metaphors can also be used effectively to promote positive change. For instance, when talking about the importance of recycling waste materials, one might tell a story about an animal who was saved from certain death because someone recycled their trash instead of simply throwing it away. In this way, stories serve as powerful motivators by helping us see the potential for good that exists all around us.

COVA has definitely changed my mindset in several ways. For starters, I no longer see value only in things that can be measured or counted. I am now more focused on the process of learning rather than just the outcome. This journey has also made me more aware of how my mind works and how I can best learn new information. Additionally, COVA has helped me to become much more aware of the interconnectedness of all life and how everything we do affects others (and vice versa). This awareness has made me far more conscious about my daily choices and their potential impacts. The most valuable lesson I have learned thus far is the importance of content curation and regular updates to ensure relevance and usefulness over time. The ePortfolio is the perfect platform to do just that. Some factors contributing to ePortfolio persistence beyond the ADL program of study are the ability to update quickly and add content, the portability between different devices and platforms, rich multimedia support, and graphing or visualization capabilities. Overall, COVA's approach to valuing what matters most has certainly opened my eyes and mind to a different (and often better) way of thinking about and interacting with the world around me.

When it comes to learning, having a learner's mindset is vital. Those who have a learning mindset are often open to new information and enthusiastic about learning in different ways. Active learners are persistent and tend to become better learners through emotional growth and are slow to give up even when they struggle to comprehend something. Choice. Ownership. Voice. Authentic. These are the four pillars of innovative education technology. COVA is a new model that is shaking up the status quo. COVA provides a platform for students to exercise their choice in what they learn, own their learning, and have a voice in their education while maintaining an authentic and personal learning experience. The COVA model appeals to me because it offers a way to fix some issues with traditional didactic models of teaching and learning. One of this approach's most challenging aspects is giving up control as a teacher and letting students take charge of their learning. However, I believe that this is also one of its most beneficial aspects. As educators, we should be open to providing resources for our students to use in developing their voices, but ultimately it is up to them how they want to express themselves through their portfolios. For students to have agency in their learning, they need to feel empowered and motivated to learn new things. Therefore, cultivating a learner's mindset is essential in making sure that students view themselves as capable individuals with something valuable contribution to the classroom community.

The United States as a whole has yet to see a more significant change in education due to the implementation of educational reform initiatives like The Every Student Succeeds Act, State Standards, and the No Child Left Behind Act. While these initiatives have had some positive effects on education, they have not resulted in a more significant change in education. There are a number of reasons why this is the case, including the fact that these initiatives are not well-funded, they are not being implemented consistently across the country, and they are not addressing some of the underlying problems with the education system. School systems in the United States are underfunded, resulting in inadequate resources and large class sizes. Teachers are often overworked and underpaid, leading to high rates of burnout and turnover. Standardized testing puts undue pressure on students, teachers, and schools, and often leads to teaching to the test instead of truly educating students. The college admissions process is also unfair and stressful, resulting in many students feeling unprepared for college-level academics. Most importantly, education reform is a slow and difficult process, and there are many different stakeholders involved. Each stakeholder has their own interests, often leading to an endless cycle of disagreement and conflict over what should be changed and how it should be changed. In addition, there is a lot of research that needs to be done in order to figure out what approaches are most effective. And ultimately, there is a lot of resistance to change from both teachers and administrators. Regarding change, there are many reasons why people can be resistant. In some cases, people are afraid of change because it represents something new and unknown. In other cases, people may resist change because it threatens their current way of life or because it requires them to adapt to a new way of doing things. Whatever the reason, resistance to change can be a major obstacle to organizational success. There are a few things that leaders can do to overcome resistance to change. First, it is important to clearly communicate the need for change and the benefits that will result from it. Second, leaders should involve employees in the change process as much as possible. This will help employees feel like they are a part of the change, rather than something that is being done to them. Finally, leaders should provide employees with the resources and support they need to successfully make the transition to the new way of doing things.

The most natural way to learn for me comes from an environment requiring active participation. I was raised in the rural parts of Georgia, surrounded by agriculture. My parents often worked long hours away from home, leaving me to spend many hours experimenting, exploring, and honing my imagination outside. Playing sports, crafting things, fixing cars, maintaining large portions of land, and exploring nature was the norm for me. In addition, my father would frequently require me to complete tasks independently. When I failed, only then would he assist me. When I succeeded on my own, he would then take time to show me a different way to conclude. This way of learning was engaging. It helped me acquire problem-solving skills and encouraged me to push forward with my learning process and further develop my creativity. However, I feel that public education forced me to think industrially instead of creatively as I do now. There was only one way to solve a problem: repetition or step-by-step instructions. As a result, I often found myself bored and unengaged because I did not see value in the lessons being taught. To me, the answers were the conclusions of someone else's learning. I often notice that many of the topics taught in school are not because they are necessary to learn but because they are essential to those who teach. Hence, the Industrial Revolution state of mind. After struggling with maintaining focus in school and dealing with the consequences of my failures, I witnessed a shift in mindset. I started to place unreal expectations upon myself—expectations of being the go-to person when others were having troubles that only a student or child could fix. I viewed school work and tests as problems the teachers themselves could not solve. The notion of daily chores was now a problem my parents could not complete themselves. Life shifted to a mindset; "what problem do you need to solve? Because I can solve those tasks for you and finally get the praise I deserve. Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first, and the lesson afterward. - Oscar Wilde When it comes to passions, there are a few that stick out to me. First, it's about the love of learning. Passion is constantly pushing to stay ahead of the digital age's learning curve. Second, it's about the passion to innovate – pushing boundaries and discovering new frontiers. But, at its core, passion is about living a life that matters. It's what drives us to do great things and achieve our goals. We all have different passions, but they all come down to one thing: are we making a difference in the world. Leading a life that matters is what sets my heart on fire! Learning is an essential process for humanity. Without it, we do not prosper, and we do not innovate; we do not challenge the status quo. There are multiple ways to learn, such as through school, books, or talking to someone. Each course of learning has its strengths and its weaknesses. Therefore, finding a learning method that works best for you is crucial. Education at its core should be a learning method that works for the individual and is vital to the advancement of our species. The ability to learn can be complicated when deprived of the crucial tools needed to succeed independently. The brain is forced to forgo the opportunity to learn and grow via the freedom to take risks to reproduce those mistakes. Consequently, we do not improve our capacities and are more likely to repeat the mistakes of others. Digital learning has the potential to close the learning gaps 21st-Century learners face under Industrial Aged thinkers. Industrial Aged thinkers are failing to employ digital learning creatively, primarily because of funding concerns and a lack of tech-savvy experience. Digital learning is constantly evolving, and as a result, so are the issues related to it. To stay ahead of the curve, educators need to be aware of the emerging issues related to digital learning. Some of these issues include: Despite this evidence, there are still many detractors of digital learning innovation. For example, state leaders often block virtual learning platforms from being used in their schools because they fear these platforms will siphon away money from traditional public schools. In addition, some argue that technology can be distracting and that students learn best in a hands-on classroom environment. In the digital age, there is no shortage of new learning opportunities. Sir Ken Robinson explains in his video that the original intent of modern-day education is to meet the demands of factory workers. In the Industrial Ages, factories required workers. The purpose of education was to make them esteem authority and readily adhere to it (TED, 2007). Seth Grogan makes a similar case. Education today breeds conformity, not innovation. So the question is, "what is the purpose of education?" (TEDxYouth, 2012). Many learning opportunities come with the risk of making mistakes. It's important to remember that mistakes are an essential part of learning. In fact, without the opportunity to try new things and make mistakes, we can't fully develop our innate ability to learn. In the 21st Century, the one mistake we can not make is having a fixed mindset by forcing a new generation to learn based on an industrialized standpoint. In my view, standardized testing is one approach that represents the institution of a fixed mindset on a 21st Century generation from an industrialized perspective. If knowledge is the top prize, there should be no consequences for not attaining it. Unfortunately, the current state of public education is built on the notion that a winner must always exist, opening up the door for losers. Tests at the core are designed for all learners collectively, yet they count negatively on the individual's self-image when they fail. There are no thrills in losing; when we lose, there is no purpose in remaining engaged. One of the most recent and prominent changes in the American economy is the prevalence of technology companies on college campuses (George Mason University, 2022). These companies are actively recruiting students to work for them immediately, forgoing the traditional path of working at a company for a few years before moving up the ladder. Unfortunately, a one-size-fits-all curriculum is a process that isn't sufficient because research has shown that those who think about content outside of class are the ones in charge of educating others. Educational experts are those who recognize and work directly in the craft and are the ones who should be instructing (Marcus, 2021). Digital learning is an integral part of the future of education. It allows for more innovation and creativity in the classroom and helps students learn in a new way. I believe digital learning is essential for students because it helps them learn new skills and be more creative. I also think it is important for teachers because it allows them to teach in a new way and use technology to help their students learn. With the advent of digital learning, walls between people and cultures are breaking. The global classroom is becoming a reality as students worldwide can connect to share ideas and cultures. In addition, digital learning makes it possible for students to learn at their own pace and in their unique style. This individualized attention is helping students who have struggled in traditional classrooms to succeed. Additionally, digital learning provides a more engaging experience for students, keeping them interested in learning. In conclusion, students need a variety of skillsets and literacies to succeed. They also need to be aware of their abilities and be able to think for themselves. Therefore, we should encourage students to think beyond the test and acquire lasting knowledge. Digital learning is an integral part of the future of education and can create a rich and authentic learning environment. By providing students with opportunities to use and leverage technology, we can inspire them to become life-long learners. I hope to use digital learning in my district to help students become creative and critical thinkers. Throughout our school district, I hope to foster a change through thoughtful implementation of technology in classrooms, use design-build methods to teach and mentor teachers, and pursue my ambitions toward increasing student-centered learning with a foundation of the growth mindset. References Marcus, J. (2021, April 8). Impatient with universities' slow pace of change, employers go around them. The Hechinger Report. Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://hechingerreport.org/impatient-universities-slow-pace-change-employers-go-around/ TEDxYouth. (2012, October 16). Stop Stealing Dreams|Seth Godin|TED Talks[Video file]. Retrieved from www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXpbONjV1Jc TED. (2007, January 6). Do schools kill creativity|Sir Ken Robinson|TED Talks[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY Thibodeaux, T. N., Harapnuik, D. K., & Cummings, C. D. (in press). Perceptions of the influence of learner choice, ownership in learning, and voice in learning and the learning environment. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Thibodeaux, T. N., Harapnuik, D. K., Cummings, C. D., & Wooten, R. (2017). Learning all the time and everywhere: Moving beyond the hype of the mobile learning quick fix. In Keengwe, J. S. (Eds.). Handbook of research on mobile technology, constructivism, and meaningful learning. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Thomas, D. & Seely-Brown, J. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Charleston, SC: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. University, G. M. (2022, May 3). Why this industry-university collaboration benefits graduates and employers in tech. Bizjournals.com. Retrieved June 30, 2022, from https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2022/05/03/industry-university-collaboration-helps-graduates.html

Having a growth mindset is a powerful attitude that can help students develop a love for learning, improve their grades and increase their chances of success. Stanford University psychology professor Dr. Carol Dweck has made it her mission to study what drives and motivates people to persist in learning, regardless of their innate abilities or talents. For elementary students, educators are the most influential people in their lives. Educators have the power to shape the mindsets of their students and teach them how to achieve success in life. So why is it so important to foster a growth mindset at the elementary level? The growth mindset is crucial because it allows people to learn and grow from mistakes. People with a growth mindset are more likely to take on new challenges and persist in the face of adversity (Holmes, 2017). In addition, people with a growth mindset are more likely to be creative and innovative (Dweck, 2017). Let’s incorporate the four steps into the daily routine of the elementary campus. Throughout the morning announcements, we will: Promote the growth mindset: Students will see and hear what it is to have a fixed mindset. This will be presented via a quick video slide with a voice over and when time permits, watch a mini series from acted out with their peers. Writing Prompt: Our students will be assigned a quick writing prompt to help reinforce the rewiring of their minds and to improve their writing capabilities. Recite the Growth Mindset Pledge: Our students will recite a campus wide phrase to condition them to always think with a Growth Mindeset. Our students will come to know how to talk with a growth mindset. S.M.A.R.T. Goals: Our students will take the growth mindset action by creating a monthly S.M.A.R.T. Goal. This goal will help them to be Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Timely so that they live the life of a Growth Mindset learner. 4 Step Process to Change your Mindset The power of "yet". When students are feeling down or facing a difficult challenge, the word "yet" can show them that they still have hope. Saying "you haven't succeeded yet" or "you haven't given up yet" can give someone the boost they need to keep going. We permit our student to try again. We are telling them that it's not too late and that there is still time for them to achieve their goals. When we tell others that they haven't given up yet, we are telling them that there is still time for them to make a change. We are reminding them that they have the power to choose what happens next in their lives. As students discover the power of learning by rewiring their brains, they become more interested in learning and less resistant to doing things that make their friends think poorly of them (Yeager, D. S., & Walton, G. M. 2011). Creative Resources to Help Promote a Growth Mindset. Below are several resources to help encourage students to discuss the growth mindset and how it has impacted their lives. These resources include articles, videos, and other media that can help explain the concept in an easily understandable way. Supplemental lessons to implement throughout other instructional periods can be found at the link below. They will help students learn to apply the growth mindset in their own lives. Encouraging a growth mindset lifestyle within our students. We should take every opportunity to promote the growth mindset when and how often it is deemed necessary. The promotion of the growth mindset will likely coincide with increased test scores, improved behavior, and other positive outcomes. Allowing our students to foster A fixed perspective will prevent students from accomplishing their goals to push beyond their comfort zone. Furthermore, having a growth mindset can lead students to try new skills courageously (Lenz, 2015). This approach to education is proactive and ongoing, so students must constantly be reminded of the benefits of having a growth mindset. To make this process automated, a segment called the growth mindset pledge should be instituted in the daily morning announcements. Personal, Academic, Professional, Lifelong: The Power of a Growth Mindset. The growth mindset will positively impact not just how I approach my work in this course and throughout my academic career, but also my personal life and my career. A growth mindset allows me to take a flexible and malleable approach to learning, which is critical for success in any challenging endeavor. Additionally, a growth mindset allows for recognizing and celebrating effort and progress, both of which are essential for maintaining a sense of motivation and engagement. I look forward to what is "yet" to come! References Dweck, C.S. (2016). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Penguin Random House LLC. Dweck, C. (2017). Decades of Scientific Research that Started a Growth Mindset Revolution. The Growth Mindset – What is Growth Mindset – Mindset Works. https://www.mindsetworks.com/Science/Default. Dweck, C. (2020, April 2). Carol Dweck Revisits the 'Growth Mindset'. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/09/23/carol-dweck-revisits-the-growth-mindset.html. Growth mindset tempers the effects of poverty on academic achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of AmericaClaro, S., Paunesku, D., Dweck, C. S.2016; 113 (31): 8664-8668 Holmes, N. (2017). The Impact of a Growth Mindset. Science Impact. https://www.mindsetworks.com/science/Impact. Jeffrey, S. (2020, June 23). Change Your Fixed Mindset into a Growth Mindset [Complete Guide]. Scott Jeffrey. https://scottjeffrey.com/change-your-fixed-mindset/ Lenz, B. (2015, April 8). Failure Is Essential to Learning. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/failure-essential-learning-bob-lenz. Paunesku, D., Walton, G. M., Romero, C., Smith, E. N., Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2015). Mind-Set Interventions Are a Scalable Treatment for Academic Underachievement. Psychological Science, 26(6), 784–793. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615571017 Yeager, D. S., & Walton, G. M. (2011). Social-psychological interventions in education: They’re not magic. Review of Educational Research, 81(2), 267–301.

To be a life-long learner is one of the many mantras in education. However, when it comes to change regarding education fundamentals, those in leadership positions tend to make decisions and implement policies and procedures based on what made them successful in the classroom years ago. Educational leaders must be open to the mindset and reasoning of today's learners. Change is necessary because it allows for growth, progress, and new opportunities. Yes, it can be challenging to adapt to change, and I understand the hesitation of today's educational leaders. Still, we are faced with a generational environment shift in the education sector where change is necessary, or the future of today's learner will be one of uncertainty. To revamp the current state of our educational system, we must leverage the technologies available to us right now. Our society spends billions of dollars improving and researching personalization algorithms for products and services. Organizations like Amazon, Apple, and Google built systems to learn their users' behaviors over time to provide a better-individualized user experience in real-time. Their implemented systems can accurately anticipate what products we might like or buy next to include the consideration of emergency relief products during natural disasters. Yet, public education institutions offer close to nothing to personalize today's students' digital learning opportunities and experiences based on their day-to-day learning and personal environments. A platform that I had the opportunity to use as an Instructional Technologist was iReady. To watch students' lessons adjust in real-time and to see intervention groups change week to week for teachers based on characteristic strengths for the current lesson was mindblowing. The manual process would take our teachers weeks to decipher, given the amount of data in play. iReady also provided our teachers with individualized reteach lesson plans based on how a student performed initially, allowing classroom teachers to do what they loved to do, and that's teaching. Sadly, this program went by the wayside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0ENX-GTUf4&t=4s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY18XHjGTFU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX2hOF5YkfQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TGmqeWprqM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9LelXa3U_I

Carol Dweck stated that every one of us is a mixture of both mindsets, and I agree. However, given the many circumstances we often face, I think there is a delicate balance. I can not tell you what that balance is, but I know it has to be a high-growth mindset and minimal fixed mindset reserved for times when one must stand firm in their thinking. That mindset balance is just as important when considering the interactions amongst peers and leaders in the work environment. Mindset balance helps ensure that everyone collectively does what's in the best interest of the students. A goal that I have to increase worksite efficiency is to use technology to automate repetitive tasks currently done manually. Removing the easy task will allow more time for the more complicated tasks, ultimately leading to me growing my overall capacity. In my day-to-day job, the complex challenges are often stifled from completion because of the nuances of repetitive everyday tasks. I often think about those tasks that fill up a teacher's day, taking away from their teaching ability. For example, something as simple as an automated report, but the person requesting said data prefers it to be handwritten because that is how they are fixed to think. Moving forward with a growth mindset, I must always be mindful not to communicate a false growth mindset inadvertently. Instead, I must be explicit about why I am doing something that I find challenging and how it will grow my capacity. In addition, I must accept how the challenge supports me to learn and grow. Lastly, I can not fall into the false growth mindset where I revert to completing easy tasks because I need a quick win to get my mind off the challenges I face. But unfortunately, I often find myself doing just that.

The embracing of a growth mindset changes how a person learns. Over time, you will no longer think of yourself as a victim of your circumstances and instead view yourself as a capable individual who can improve with effort. Anyone who has ever adopted the growth mindset understands its impact on their learning capability. As a result, growth mindset thinkers tend to speak with a sense of euphoria and clarity. In 2019, Elon Musk stated, “You should take the approach that you are wrong. Your goal is to be less wrong.” Fast forward to 2022, the companies he leads are transforming major, well-entrenched industries in manners never before heard of throughout humanity. For example, the mere thought of a rocket returning from orbit and landing autonomously for future reuse ten years ago was unheard of and thought not possible. Today, SpaceX has completed 160 launches, successfully landed 122 rockets using artificial intelligence, and reflown 98 of the rockets they have launched at prices no company or government entity can compete with within the space industry. Would the companies Elon leads be as successful as they are today without his growth mindset? Would they have overcome so many feats? I believe that you can put lessons learned from failure to good use to reveal more profound truths about the way our world works, no matter the subject at hand. Therefore, educators should constantly encourage their students to assess their past failures to understand how to become a better version of themselves going forward. Doing so will give them the ability to learn at their maximum potential.