The world needs more unstickers. Please take advantage of these programs!
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Thank you to the organizations dedicated to sharing this work!
SXSWEDU: Panel
March 24, 2024 - Austin, TX
I'm honored that Innovators' Compass is part of these people's work with incarcerated youth to first-generation college-goers and hope to bring them together at SXSW EDU '24.
October 18, 2024 - Foxborough, MA
Speech pathologist Kim Zajac and I are teaming up for the workshop Unstick! 5 Questions to Unleash Everyday Design Thinking From STEM to SEL to Staff Meetings at MassCUE, New England's largest education technology conference with lots of great sessions. Join us!
New England Independent Booksellers Association: Workshop
October 3, 2023 - Providence, RI
I’m honored to offer the workshop “Getting Unstuck” for independent booksellers, who are the heart of our communities! Please share this with New England booksellers you know and love! Here’s their description:
We all want to innovate. We all want to do the kind of Blue Sky thinking that will move our businesses forward, enrich our staff, and increase personal happiness. But, honestly, who has the time? Join innovation coach and educator Ela Ben-Ur for a session on how apply her easy-to-follow “Innovator’s Compass” technique to make things better across your work, community, and life.
FREE, ONGOING OPPORTUNITIES: UNLEASH
The soul and mission of this work to unleash, not teach. Just ask these simple yet powerful questions more often in your homes, schools, workplaces, and communities.
The free programs below are a great jumpstart—and connect us, to learn from one another!
Group icompass.me on teaching STEM in COVID times.
WEDNESDAY OPEN WORKSHOPS
Tackle challenges together with me using Zoom and an icompass.me!
10am US ET on the 1st + 3rd Wednesday of the month.
8pm US ET on the 2nd + 4th Wednesday.
We’ll dive into a Compass together right away to break the ice. Then you’ll get time to unstick or improve whatever you’re working on or thinking about, big or small. We’ll coach and help one volunteer together, then get you coaching each other! We’ll end with open Q&A.
In this “unsticking sandbox,” I try out out my latest ideas and welcome yours! Come as often as you like; there’s no shortage of things we can make better in our work and world. Bring friends!
Reach out for the link to join.
I do “Compass-o-Clock” too, on a sticky note.
MINDFUL MINUTE MONTH
Daily at a time you choose.
Make your work/school/life better in 1-3 minutes a day. Pick a “Compass-o-clock” time to consider any of the questions about whatever you’re doing.
You can do this self-paced: print/fill out this Month of Mindful Minutes Mini-Journal. Or just use a sticky note a day!
If you reach out to me I’ll send you a daily reminder—and stickers!
DEEPER DIVES: TEACH
The following programs have more depth in different ways of exploring the five Compass questions, with and for everyone involved. They draw on many different practices, but always with powerful, pass-on-able simplicity.
Further Compass Coaching or Workshops
I’m happy to offer accessible coaching and workshops around using these questions in an inclusive, ongoing way of unsticking and making things better in different contexts such as:
Teaching and leading in schools
Organizational teamwork, innovation, and strategy
Life, career, and home
Reach out to me.
RECENT EVENTS
Recent events, many with videos under Resources (or at the links below):
ISTE: Playground Stations
June 26-27, 2023 - Philadelphia, PA
I was thrilled to also finally make it to ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) as a part of two great “Playground” sessions to let attendees get hands-on with Innovators’ Compass!
Elon Design Forge Conference: Keynote Workshop
Mar 31, 2023 - Elon, NC
I was thrilled to finally make it to Elon Univerity’s Design Forge—and to hold a keynote workshop to launch the conference’s exploration of participatory intergenerational design. Video here.
Harvard Graduate School of Education's Everyday Innovation for Early Learning Leadership and Practice: Keynote Workshop
April 27-28, Cambridge, MA
It was wonderful to give a Design Thinking workshop for early educators—wonderfully close to home!
Designing for Equity, Justice, and Innovation in Education - Online Teacher Prep Pilot Program
Saturdays, 2/25-6/3 2023, 11am-2pm CST Online
The Center for Certification and Competency-Based Education (C3Be) at the University of Kansas will offered a 14-week virtual professional development opportunity in Designing for Equity, Justice, and Innovation in Education, for educators serving middle and high school students. During the program, participants used a version of Innovators’ Compass to explore and improve their practice through the lens of three core competencies – Teaching for Justice, Grounding in the Science of Learning and Development, and Thinking Like a Designer.
SXSW EDU: 90-Minute Workshop “Find Flow & Let Go: Visual SEL Tools to Get Unstuck”
I loved returning to SXSW EDU with yet another set of incredible educators, Kim Zajac and Manuel Herrera, for a workshop exploring social-emotional learning with the Compass and other visual tools.
Find our session materials here!
LINKEDIN LEARNING OFFICE HOURS SEP 2022: ENABLING INNOVATION FOR EVERYONE IN YOUR ORGANIZATION
I joined LinkedIn Learning author Keith Hopper for a hands-on 45 minutes exploring observations, principles, ideas and experiments in making everyday innovation possible.
LINKEDIN WEBINAR JUNE 2022: Grow Up, Get Along, and Get Stuff Done
This video and blog writeup capture a lively LinkedIn discussion hosted by Potential Squared between Liane Davey, Colin Hunter, and Marcus Degerman and me about how leadership (where "growing up" is hotly debated!)
CoSN 2022: THE POWER OF ONE WORKSHOP
In this video, Ela introduces Innovators’ Compass—and the power of one observation or idea to unleash the power in one student, teacher, parent, team, leader, community, district, and beyond. After showing it, Holly Doe facilitated an in-person workshop at the CoSN National Conference for Edtech Leaders in Nashville.
TEACHER SUCCESS SUMMIT 2021: 5 QUESTIONS UNSTICK GROUPS
This session is the culmination of work around how to beat barriers to collaboration using Innovators’ Compass and powerful facilitation approaches.
MASSCUE EDTECH CONFERENCE 2021: INNOVATORS’ COMPASS & ICOMPASS.ME FOR EQUITABLE EDU
Manjula Karamcheti and Ela Ben-Ur share case studies of Innovators’ Compass in classroom, counseling, staffroom, and community settings. After this video, participants used icompass.me together on advancing equitable education using technology (and otherwise).
Big Questions Institute: Navigating a Mess of Unending Challenges
A webinar focused on COVID stories and a short Compass experience.
Teacher success summit 2020: 5 Questions unstick students (and their grownups)
See and practice using Innovators’ Compass with students for their personal, interpersonal challenges—and with grownups too.
SXSWEDU 2020: Together! A Tool To Design With and For all Voices.
Is there a voice you struggle to include in the design and decisions of your school or organization? Tackle that tension with Innovators’ Compass. This self-guided workshop takes 90 minutes with all activities.
National Science Teachers’ Association (NSTA) STEM Forum 2020: Share Observations and Ideas About Teaching STEM in COVID Times Using Innovators’ Compass Online.
A short intro with Valeria Rodriguez's stories using the Compass from STEM to SEL to staff meetings. Then participants around the world created a shared icompass.me about teaching STEM in COVID times.
MASSACHUSETTS COMPUTER-USING EDUCATORS (MASSCUE) Get a CUE PODCAST: Ela Ben-Ur and Innovators’ Compass
Brandon Hall is an engaging interviewer—and a great sport, as he jumps into a compass about a challenge the golf team he coaches was experiencing!
Recent events without videos—I’m happy to share the resources
Deeper Learning Boston 2022: 4-hour Deep Dive
It was a pleasure teaming up with Kim Zajac for a four-hour deep-woods deep-dive: Stuck happens! 5 Questions to Design Your Way Forward—From STEM to SEL to Staff Meetings.
AAUW National CONFERENCE FOR COLLEGE WOMEN STUDENT LEADERS 2022: 1/2-day pre-workshop
I was invited to work with 300 college women student leaders for an afternoon to kick off their conference. They coached each other in individual challenges most on their minds. Then, in groups, they designed a great conference experience—down to experiments that they followed up on at the end.
the Summit for transformative learning in Atlanta (STLinATL): TWO WORKSHOPS
I offered two hands-on workshops. One focused on STEAM, Projects, and Lesson Planning; the second on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), Student and Staff Voice, and Leadership.
SXSWEDU 2022: Mentor sessions
March 7-10, 2022, Austin, TX
I’m grateful to returning to SXSWEDU, this time as One-on-One Mentor with six 15-minute sessions available Wednesday, March 9th from 2pm-3:30pm CT, and a Mentor in a Roundtable Discussion on Creating Effective and Inclusive Learning Spaces Monday, March 7th from 11am-12pm CT. See sxswedu.com to register. Or, just reach out to me if you’re going to SXSWEDU!