Innovation Project Update

Identify and reflect on all the components and work you have done so far on your innovation project.

What if anything do you have to complete? By when?

As I reflect on my year of development, I am glad to declare that, thanks to extensive research, contemplation, and evaluation, I am 85 percent ready to undertake my Innovation Project. So, what exactly is the 15 percent that is missing? The missing 15% is from the beginning of my learning when I was developing my innovation strategy. One of the areas I believe will be the most difficult for me to implement is attracting stakeholders’ attention and convincing them to invest in my innovation plan. My innovation strategy straddles the line between a classroom project and an after-school program. As a result, as I transition to a new school district in the coming years, addressing the requirements of my stakeholders will be critical. 

What worked?

While this graduate school program is unique in terms of how it delivers lessons and training, there is one unifying feature between my undergraduate and graduate school experiences. In whatever attempt in life, time management will always be the most critical component. Getting a handle on my time management and truly devoting time to myself, my work, and my research was what worked for me. With the added benefit of not having to go to school this school year (2021-2022), I am able to work on my innovation project more efficiently than before. While time management is vital, teamwork was the most effective strategy for me. Modern high schools talk about teamwork, but they do not stress its importance as much as the ADL program did this year. Constantly communicating with my classmates to figure out when the assignment was due provided much-needed clarity and freedom from judgment. I say this in jest, but we were all perplexed at one point or another during the ADL program. To be honest, that was one of the nicest parts of my research for my innovation project, as well as one of the most crucial components. 

What could you do better?

What could you improve on? Encourage me to try new technological projects. I believe that, out of all the things I could have done better during my research, the most important thing I did was push myself to explore new and different methods for my work. Organizing materials and files have always been one of my strongest abilities. However, expressing things in fresh and imaginative ways has always been a challenge for me. For example, I notice a lot of my peers using graphic design software to express their individuality. I have noticed that several of my peers are adding video into their innovation strategies. Rather than using the standard text format for conversation, I see that one of my peers uses a simple iPhone to record himself answering his queries. I had audio, visual, media communication, and a plethora of other unique resources at my disposal, but I did not use them. Even now, as I am being challenged to record myself and others for impending projects this term, I am wondering how I am going to go about doing it. This is completely outside of my comfort zone, which is ideal for me. 

What lessons have you learned?

What lessons have you taken away from this experience? The most important lesson I have taken away from this is to be open-minded above everything else. To have a growth mindset in all aspects of life, not just in school. A growth mindset will take you places that a constrained perspective would never be able to. While the growth mindset has its drawbacks, I believe it may be applied to a wide range of situations. I still stand by what I said in a previous conversation about the program. Both mindsets have their time and place. Most of the time, you can have a growth attitude. However, there will be times when you must have a limited mindset to complete a task. A non-growth mindset is a focused mindset. Collaboration is crucial, which is the second lesson I have taken away from my research. As I already stated, cooperating with my colleagues has been the greatest joy of my research period; they have assisted me in growing in ways much above my capabilities, and for that, I am eternally thankful. 

Finally, the most important lesson I have learned is to conduct additional research. There are a variety of unique and amazing ways to learn new talents and methods of doing things. Screencast-O-Matic is something I had never heard of before this seminar. And as I started offering feedback and dealing with students in the future, this is something I hope to integrate. This is a fantastic tool that I admit I did not use as much as I should have. There was such a large pool of diverse tools, among other things, that it is honestly difficult to keep up currently. 

How do you plan to promote and communicate your innovation project?

I intend to communicate my innovation proposal through three different channels. The first is through a thorough overhaul of my website. One weekend, my goal is to sit down and look through every page of my innovation pro website. Without putting too much thought into it, I assume there are some contradictions here and there. For a much clearer and focused page, I’d like to correct those discrepancies. I also want to double-check that all file names and locations correspond to where I want them to be. Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive house a number of my resources. Because I will no longer have access to OneDrive after graduation, I must verify that all resources are accessible via Google Drive.

The video medium is the second option. With some of the clips already created and integrated into my page, my goal is to create others that illustrate key aspects of my innovation strategy in great depth. What can I do to help my students, and what can I do to help your company? As I produce these instructive videos that expand on the benefits of my innovation plan, this will be the guiding question.

Furthermore, presenting my innovation strategy to potential stakeholders will necessitate conducting research into the location where I want to apply it. If I start working at a new school, I’ll have to get to know my new principal, dean, and appraiser. Each of these individuals has a stake in the project, and I want them to understand my vision for the program as well as how we can benefit their children and the school as a whole. In short, the final area of communication is also the most crucial because my stakeholders will be the ones to decide whether or not implementation can begin.

Knowing what you know now what key things (if any) would you do differently?

I do not believe I would have done anything differently. I have had to force myself to become the educator I am now. I believe that attempting to recreate the process would cost me more than going through what I did this year. 

How would you apply what you have learned to your next innovation project?

How would you apply what you have learned to your next innovation project? I would begin with the first step. Begin with an idea that would transform the educational environment, conduct research to back it up, and then begin the preparation for what you want to do. If this year has taught me anything, it is that anticipating change and innovation is an art. True, some of the most significant developments occurred overnight. However, making long-term changes needs insight, comprehension, empathy, and in-depth investigation into who and what you want to change. I would have put what I had learned into practice by creating a proposal, conducting research, and then presenting my findings to my stakeholders.