What is Lasting Innovation? IMMOOC Post #2

I love this sketch note by George Couros about the Innovator's Mindset. When I'm deep in the work--especially the troubleshooting and problem-solving that inevitably take over because colleagues see me as one of the "tech people" in our building--a quick peek at this helps remind me to seek balance in my practice. 

Any innovator will have natural strengths in some of these areas. As an action-seeking, creativity-loving, resilient problem-solver, I have always looked at mobile technology as a brand new playground full of the best toys EVER. 

Reprinted with permission from George Couros.

I truly did not understand at first why so many others saw a battlefield of deadly traps instead of a wonderland. And that was often my kryptonite; it's nearly impossible to work with someone when you fail to observe their needs, feelings, or perceptions.

Thus, the past five years have been a journey in educating myself in empathy and observation. And from that has developed a deeper commitment to celebrating not just my own learning, but the triumphs of my colleagues as they battle through their discomfort in the face of change, challenge, and  new  choices.

...lasting innovation does not come solely from the high-fliers. Nor should it rest solely on their shoulders."

And my experience has also taught me something else--something absolutely essential. It is so easy to get caught up in the shiny new toys and exciting new ideas. But in this age of exponential change, lasting innovation does not come solely from the high-fliers. Nor should it rest solely on their shoulders.

Lasting innovation becomes a reality when that educator in your building who fears social media finally lets her students use their phones in class to post their work on an Instagram account. Or when that stalwart "stand-and-deliver" lecturer next door finally trusts the students in her room to learn for themselves through a project-based assessment. Or when that veteran tech-opposed administrator finally uses Twitter to shout out the work of the teachers in her building. Lasting innovation is in the hands of ALL of us. And we owe it to our students to set aside our nerves and join them as learners side-by-side.