Learn, Think, Write

Organizing myself online

Resistance to Change

NO

If part of your work means helping folks understand the shift in educational reform/revolution and the necessity for change, then this may help.

I stumbled across this e-book by Rick Maurer recently, and his suggestions for helping implement change seem simple yet profound.

He says there are three reasons why people don’t change.

  1. Level One: I don’t get it.
  2. Level Two: I don’t like it.
  3. Level Three: I don’t like you

These three levels, he says, are alive and either working for you or against you. To move things along, he says you should:

  1. Level One: Make your case.
  2. Level Two: Remove as much fear as you can and increase the excitement.
  3. Level Three: Rebuild damaged relationships and tend to neglected ones.

“Making a compelling case for change is the most important thing you can do–and the most neglected,” he says. “Avoid the trap of moving to HOW before WHY is answered.”

His e-book is here (about halfway down the page) and contains many specific suggestions (unfortunately he starts talking as soon as you hit the page, so turn down your speakers if you are in class!) The book (a PDF) addresses each level, so you’re not left with the “yeah, but how do it?” For example, he addresses how to “build institutional muscle.”

I’ve been saying personality plays a role in whether or not people seek change. And that may be. But we can’t change personalities, so these suggestions may help.

Was I in the Moment?

Checking the PhoneLast weekend, we went to a Dave Matthews Band concert. After chatting with my husband in the car (ok, reading on my iPhone), we headed to the venue, discovering a long line of people waiting to get in.

I do what I always do when I’m bored. I pulled out my phone to check email and twitter.

“Do you have to do that right now?” he asked. “Is it that important?”

I was stunned.

David never questions my connecting, never challenges how much time I spend online. So this really threw me.

Then I did what I always do when I don’t know what to say. I got quiet and pouted. (Ok, I know that’s rather childish, but my excuse is that it always gives me time to think about my anger, frustration, and response.)

Think about I did. All through the concert, falling asleep later, and the next day. I wanted to understand the tension.

For me, checking tweets was simply a way to pass the time. I was bored standing in line. For David, though, it was a disconnect, a separation. Even if we had nothing to say to one another, he felt I should have been in the moment.

I mean do I really want to do this? What are the guidelines for rude these days?

Am I part of the check-in culture, or am I now so bored with life, I can’t stand in line at a concert without reading my tweets? Or is it fueling the  “seeking”?

The recent New York Times article about kids being “wired for distraction” was met with much –is defensive anger too strong a statement? And I understand. We know social media will help our kids learn and connect in valuable, essential ways. But I also wonder about balance–for the kids and for myself.

Leo Babauta from Zen Habits has a great book out: Focus. He says it’s “about finding simplicity in this Age of Distraction.”  My goal for the next few months will be to find that balance–or at least make sure I am aware of my actions.

Because I know I’ll do this:

For humans, this desire to search is not just about fulfilling our physical needs. Panksepp says that humans can get just as excited about abstract rewards as tangible ones. He says that when we get thrilled about the world of ideas, about making intellectual connections, about divining meaning, it is the seeking circuits that are firing.

But I don’t want to be like this:

The problem, of course, is that constantly perusing your phone is freaking rude — a clear signal that your reception is more important than anything going on in the here and now.

image: By ozjimbob

Learned Something New

If you read my last post, I thought my own blog had moved successfully with FABlogs. However, I discovered it had not.

So I decided to try to move it myself. As my domain was at GoDaddy, I figured I might as well put the blog there, too. And I love learning new things. First I made a backup of my blog posts, comments, and files. Then I downloaded the sql file (who knew there was a database associated with the blog?). I set up my new space at GoDaddy and followed the directions. Ok, I did have to call GoDaddy to ask them about the DB part of it, but they don’t support wordpress. I was back to more reading.

Finally, after restoring the back up and getting everything where I thought it should be, I tentatively clicked my homepage.

TA DA. I was home.

But not quite. For some reason, I couldn’t get to any past posts, any comments, or anywhere other than the home page. Ugh.

More reading, but now I was intimidated.

I gave in and called my WP guru Bryan. He was baffled only for a moment. Then he asked me to check something in the wordpress backend. My URL read: http://www.scmorgan.net instead of https://scmorgan.net.

Once we fixed that, I was working.

Thanks, Bryan. I would have spent hours on that one.

It’s good to be home.

Update: I should say Bryan is one of my many WP gurus. I try to spread around my asking for help :) Whether on Twitter, wordpress.org, or f2f contacts, I am always amazed how willing people are to jump in and solve my problems!