I define disruptive innovation as the process that occurs when a new idea/practice that dares to challenge an old idea/practice is presented. According to Horn and Staker (2015), disruptive innovations "must get better and better according to the incumbent definition of performance while remaining more affordable, convenient, accessible, or simple." (p. 3) Basically that they have to 'one up' whatever the current standard is. Disruptive innovation is of high importance because without it, we would be at a standstill and not be progressing forward. Can you imagine a world without Netflix, Skype, or GPS? Upon their launch, all these were disruptive innovations. It fascinates me to read about disruptive innovation, especially when I consider all of the amazing things society has gained as a result of the persistence of many disruptive innovators. In all honestly I struggled with the abstract thoughts of disruptive innovations in a K-12 setting. This all made so much sense as the different examples of blended learning were described throughout Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools, however upon trying to think of what disruptive innovation I want to bring to my campus I found myself at a loss. (Horn & Staker 2015) My intent is not to be disruptive for the sake of being disruptive, therefore my starting point must be to identify a problem I wish to address on my campus; from there I can start to think of innovative ways to address that problem. Blended learning is not about the technology, rather it is about the learning. A big reason I believe we tend to put so much emphasis on the technology is because that is the concrete thing we can touch and see. If you walk into a classroom, you can immediately see whether or not a student is using a computer, yet you cannot immediately see if they are learning. For years many schools blamed lack of innovation on the lack of financial resources to purchase technology for the classrooms. Clayton M. Christensen stated that, "it doesn't have to do with the state of technology, it has to do with how the technology is being implemented." (2014) It is now common to find yourself at a campus with classrooms fully equipped with technology; the problem is now that students (and perhaps more importantly) teachers do not know what to do with it. I know some teachers at my campus have been testing the waters by implementing station rotation models of blended learning during some class periods. In order to have a school wide approach and really get the most out of these models, all teachers on my campus would have to be taught what the station rotation model is about, how it works, and involve them in creating the plan to implement it in their content areas. A big factor is teacher buy-in, I know it is common to think that if blended learning is implemented, teachers will be replaced by computers. In order to have teacher buy-in, it will be necessary to have teachers understand that their roles will not disappear and teach them how their roles will change. In the concluding chapter of Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools, Horn and Staker (2015) stated that, "Innovating is a process, not an event." This quote really resonated with me because through most of my k-12 and even undergraduate education, I saw my learning as a series of events. Each homework, assignment, and exam was an event. Receiving that final report card stating I had received credit was how I closed each event. It is exciting, yet nerve wrecking to know that my work will never be done. It's a matter of changing my mindset into one that sees this as a continuous opportunity to learn and grown for myself as well as my students and fellow teachers. What do you foresee being some personal struggles you might encounter as you transition into being a disruptive innovator? Sources: Part 6 -- Technology as a Disruptive Force in Education. (2014, June 05). Retrieved July 18, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=31&v=k0ENX-GTUf4 Horn, M. B., & Staker, H. (2015). Blended: using disruptive innovation to improve schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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