For 7 months, we had planned, envisioned and built. We wanted to do more with the platform that we had created on the longest running show on voicEd Radio. We wanted to take ONedMentors beyond the show but also filter whatever that was back to the show. We wanted to continue focusing on serving teacher candidates as well as new and seasoned teachers in a non-hierarchical way. We wanted to create an avenue to address teacher professional learning in as personalized a way as possible. Over many months, many meetings and with the help of many wonderful and willing people, we launched ONedMentors Connect live on voicEd Radio last night. Here's the link to the episode launching the pilot.
There was a feeling of camaraderie and shared purpose on the show that I had come to know, but this was a group with a different goal than usual. The palpable excitement from everyone in the room showed what we had hoped: that we were doing something meaningful, and the shared feeling was that this was an idea worth pursuing.
One of the most extraordinary things about being part of the voicEd Family is that you have a place to filter ideas with people you really trust who empower you to go for it. When Derek, Stephen and I were speaking at the beginning of the year about how we could evolve the ONedMentors offering, I hoped that we could take if beyond the air and make it an opportunity for anyone to find a mentor for themselves. I suddenly thought of Leigh and her Digital Human Library (dHL). I wondered what would happen if we could create a database of mentors that any educator, anywhere could access and reach out to. Would it impact professional development? Would it empower teachers? Could it be a resource for teacher self directed learning? Could it provide a safe space for teachers to be vulnerable as they set out to learn something specific or general, on their own terms?
From the moment I got to know Leigh, I felt a kinship. We became better acquainted when she was a guest on The Personal Playlist Podcast Podcast. We had so much fun recording her P3, and I hoped we would find a place to collaborate again some day. Learning more about the dHL helped me see the strategic and innovative style of this thought leader. We did a lot of brainstorming over the winter months and, by the spring, began to conceptualize this offering. As the seasons changed, the team built the clarity of the vision of possibility. We wanted to learn how to make whatever this would be as equitable, accessible and responsive as possible.
Obviously, we aren’t the Avengers or the A Team, which was the theme song that would play in my head as we planned, but after we assembled the project team, I started feel like we could do anything. Once we had a clear sense of the process of the inquiry, I began reaching out to the ONedMentors panel. Talking it through with some of these people who have become my mentors and, even better, my friends, really helped clarify the direction of this project. As Captain America would have said, “Welcome to the team.”
We decided to begin with a pilot of people we knew. We wanted to begin with those already in ONedMentors community. While concluding that we did not hold the answers; we realized that this had to begin as an inquiry. The coolest part was that we knew of a few new graduate at the beginning of their work in the profession. There was so much to gain by starting with those teachers because they were already adept at sharing on voicEd, they would give us a lot of varied data, as some would be in their own classrooms, some on Occasional Teacher lists, some continuing their education, and they were people with whom relationships had already been built. We wanted to start where we were and grow from there.
We realized that if we were methodical about tracking the thinking and learning of the pilot group and took this on as a collaborative inquiry, we could create what we had set out to- something for everyone. The next phase became clearer: extend the offering to a bit of a larger group, but a controlled number of people so that we could still track what people were looking for in mentors, what mentors were feeling about their contribution and how to make this as user friendly and impactful as possible. It was at this stage that Leigh and I realized how many times we used the word connect when we were speaking about this ONedMentors extension idea. Through a series of brainstorming activities and agreement from the other team members, we settled on the title ONedMentors Connect. We hoped that with an incremental build, we could really have an offering ready for next September that met all of our criteria but, more importantly, the needs of educators throughout our profession.
As we were preparing for the launch, we learned about the origin story of ONedMentors and some shared lines of thinking, as well. It was Derek who first invited me to ONedMentors, when voicEd was just beginning. I was elated to be part of this. He and Chris Cluff wanted to create a space to support preservice teachers. With Stephen's invitation to create content on then then newly formed voicEd Radio platform, Chris tweeted out a survey, and 22 people signed up. The tag line on the ONedMentors page of the voicEd site reads: Passionate educators connect weekly with teacher candidates, address their questions and explore their perspectives as they prepare to enter the profession. That is what the show began doing, but it evolved to become so much more.
In many ways, it was the vision of Peter, Derek and Chris back in 2015 when, as I just found out, they set out to facilitate relationships between faculty of education students and seasoned teachers with what Peter called ConnectEd. Their mission was to connect future educators with current educators. I was thrilled to hear that we were using the same language and had all been on the same page without realizing it. This was something missing from our landscape and, through a partnership with voicEd and the dHL, it could be a place to connect not just teacher candidates but anyone looking to learn something in a personalised way- teachers and administrators (Thank you for that idea Paul McGuire) . Our visions were aligned, and we hadn't even collaborated yet. It is great that both Peter and Chris are part of the ONedMentors Connect scaffold. All their previous steps and learning will really help to inform this inquiry.
Last night, during our regular 9 pm time slot, we went live bringing together a group of eager mentors and some of our mentees. Due to technical difficulties and prior commitments from some others, we will hear more from the mentees on next week’s show. One mentee however, Sarah Lalonde, has been part of the ONedMentors community from its inception. We have all grown together as a show, but we have has the privilege to watch Sarah through her two years in the faculty and now entering her first full time teaching job. Having her as part of the pilot felt essential, and her wealth of knowledge, thinking and perspective will only enhance our learning though this inquiry. We are so excited, as well, to have Madi Yearwood, Jonathan Cowper, Spencer Burton and Ted Sloan as our first ONedMentors Connect mentees.
There were so many excited mentors in the virtual room last night. Though some of the technical challenges kicked them and me out of the app a few times, we persevered as best as we could. Whether it was live on the radio or through the back channels, our team of mentors shared their enthusiasm. They have already signed up on the Digital Human Library and their profiles are searchable when using the call term ONedMentors. As of today, the ONedMentors Connect mentors listed on the dHL for the pilot are: Rola Tibshirani, Chris Cluff, Shane Lawrence, Rolland Chidiac, Jen Giffen, Margaret Boersma, Eryka Desrosiers, Carol Salva and Helene Cormier. So many people are enthused about this idea and are waiting until Phase 2 to jump in. What we have seen through people’s sharing of why they want to be a part of this is that everyone that has had a valuable mentorship experience knows the impact that can have. For those that think it’s a good idea but want to wait and see, I will sahre the TEDTalk that Doug and Stephen alluded to last week: Derek Sinver’s How to Start a Movement. You only need a few people to begin, and when you built something of value, more people want in.
Some of the other people needed on our team were participant observers. Through my podcast, I have come to know many people in my PLN a lot better. Those relationships were essential backdrops to all of this. Enlisting Peter Cameron, Helen Dewaard and Mark Carbone was nothing short of a coup. These brilliant, connected and articulate educators have offered to help us develop ONedMentors Connect, and they are joining in on the related radio shows to share their perspectives and give feedback in the evaluation stage, as well. Once we gather the data in the fall in order to iterate, their perspectives will be invaluable.
We will develop many things throughout as a result of this inquiry including our communication materials. I have been creating images on Slides to be able to share thinking with the team, and I had added watering cans to one slide, showing that there was a mutual watering in these relationships. As Leigh suggested enlisting her brother-in-law to help with the graphics, he included the watering can that we had used as a metaphor for cultivating the reciprocity that nourishes both the mentor and mentee. The give and take is a key residual of what we believe will drive this project to become something for everyone is reflected in this image we are working from. We have planted the seeds; let’s see what grows.
