Our take on an EdCamp

For the first time ever, we had an un-conference day at school. It’s Election Day which means we have a superintendent’s conference day like most educators/districts. But today was different from any other SCD in my 16 years as an educator... in the best way possible!

We started with breakfast, a nice way to chat and say hello to the teachers you don't usually get to see.

Then we were off to our keynote speaker who was a “pinch hitter” so-to-speak. Our orginal speaker had to cancel at the last minute. Julie Wise (@bwisecoach) stepped up in a big way. I had already planned on attending her session but now I got to hear her message AND go to anther colleagues presentation. Win-Win!! She had such an inspiring message about self-talk and what we “believe” about ourselves.

Then the high school teachers had to attend a mandatory English Language Learner presentation. Our presenter was passionate and engaging, and put us in the shoes of our ELL students. She read an academic article to us at a fast pace and walked around the room, faced away from us and then asked us questions about what she read. I had no idea what the answers were...much like what our ELL student feel like every day. Thank you for that eye-opening experience.

Now it was time for some choice. We were given the session board ahead of time (not exactly an EdCamp but for first timers it was perfect!) I got to attend a session taught by a an elementary teacher I just had the pleasure of meeting last week. Dani Schatz (@danischatz2) ran a great session on @ClassDojo and also has implemented flexible seating in her second grade classroom. #ClassroomGoals #TeacherGoals!

Next up...it was my turn to present! First up @Flipgrid and I rocked my Flidgrid Ambassador t-shirt with pride and handed out stickers. (I love a sticker!)

I presented to a "full class" of teachers and I have to say I felt great afterwards. Even my principal (@PatDiClemente) signed up for my session! Knowing that I was able to contribute to the growth of my colleagues is so rewarding. And that my fellow educators cared enough about what I had to offer was humbling. Presenting to your peers can be scary but if you ever have the chance to present something you believe in/are passionate about...do it!!!

In true over-achiever fashion I singed up to present two different EdTech sessions... so next was @PearDeck. If you use a presentation model in your class (even if only a few times a year) I urge you to check out Pear Deck. If you can use Google Slides, you can use Pear Deck. (my tag-line for my presentation) I had a costume change (I referred to myself as Cher) to proudly wear my Pear Deck shirt and hand out the adorable little pear stickers to my new class of teacher.

My "class" was so eager to learn it was amazing! I had new teachers, veteran teachers, and elementary through high school teachers. We didn't get as much done as I had hoped but I think I planted a seed with many of them on the power of Pear Deck.

As I drove home from our first ever district EdCamp, I was overwhelmed with positive emotions. I have attended EdCamps before and left inspired but what I felt today was different. I finally felt like walls had been knocked down, lines of communication had been opened up and we saw each other as resources instead of just colleagues. I honestly feel that the connections made today will trigger conversations that will change our teaching, our outlook on our profession and the way we interact with out students.

Today would not have been possible without the vision of some key people in our district. The planning and the preparation that went into making today a success was a feat in and of itself. So thank you to our administrative team that had a vision and carried it out (@ajdavidsonsr, @LVHS_Villa, @PatDiClemente, Ken Packert and @amanda_berritto) Thank you, thank you, thank you for trusting your staff and giving us choice today! It was a honor and a privileged to be a part of our first ever #EdCampLVCSD