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EdCamp is the best thing to happen to professional learning since the spoken word. Period. Yesterday, March 21, 2015, this was evident at Grafton High School in Grafton, MA. EdCamp Grafton opened their doors at 8:00 am Saturday morning and by 8:30, our commons area was bustling with conversation. Educators from all over the New England area came together on a Saturday morning to attend a conference with no schedule, no keynote speaker, no session descriptions, and no vendor tables filled with schwag. By the time attendees gathered in the Grafton high auditorium, we had checked in over 200 educators. Oh, and on this second day of Spring, it had snowed lightly all through the evening and into the morning. Just in case you needed anymore evidence for the powerful impact of the EdCamp movement.

We kicked off the event with an introduction and welcome by Cyndy Engvall. She shared her appreciation and thanks for everyone sitting in front of her as well as her appreciation for all the EdCamp Grafton organizers. After she handed me the microphone, I asked how many in attendance were first time EdCampers. Nearly every hand in the audience went up. I briefly explained the EdCamp format and how we were going to build the schedule. I also explained that if you find yourself in a session that isn’t working for you, or you find yourself unable to choose between sessions that it is ok to move between sessions. I close my time with the mic by thanking all of those in attendance on behalf of their students.

And this we only the first few hours. I walked away from EdCamp Grafton with several great ideas, quotes, and a variety of stories that I hope to articulate in this piece.

One of the highlights of the day for me, and for many in attendance were the student support throughout the day. Grafton High School had roughly 25 students on hand for the day who also spent numerous hours before the event helping prepare and setup. Students served as ambassadors for Grafton Public Schools and not only welcomed all who attended, but provided tech support throughout the day, presented in a session, and hosted a social media booth that helped educators navigate towards their first Tweet.

We also took our schedule building to a new design unlike past EdCamps. Taking a cue from EdCamp Maine, we decided to scrap the post it notes and go completely digital. We also changed the way we built the schedule and described sessions. We also had a “Help Wanted” board where attendees could

physically post ideas to a wall that they did not want to present, but wanted to see addressed as a session. To build the schedule we had five EdCamp Organizers posted at high top tables around the auditorium with editing access to our Google sheet schedule. Attendees who wanted to present moved around to these tables and relayed their session ideas. As this was happening, all participants could see the schedule being built on the big screen in front of the auditorium. Additionally, we only built the first two time slots in the morning schedule and then would repeat this process in the afternoon. Once the sessions were created and all the time slots filled, we asked session leaders to briefly describe their session. This helped further articulate what the session would cover and help attendees select the best session for their learning.

Initially, I was both skeptical and nostalgic about making these changes to the traditional EdCamp schedule building, but I have since resigned those feelings after seeing how it impacted the day. Additionally, Alice Barr, an EdCamp Maine organizer and one of the coolest people I know, shed some light on the impetus behind these changes that helped me see the good reasoning behind it. Ultimately, the EdCamp board can be intimidating to some and those who have never experienced an EdCamp. Allowing participants to not only talk to an organizer and not feel they are being publicly displayed helped more new EdCampers jump in and lead a session. Similarly, this new way of building the EdCamp schedule helped attendees bounce an idea off of an EdCamp veteran and feel more comfortable in their decision to lead a session.

I tried to attend as many sessions as possible throughout the day. This was evidenced by the numbers on my pedometer at the end of the day that said I had walked roughly 4 miles during EdCamp Grafton. What I witnessed was a variety of formats: conversations, demonstrations, debates, etc. Additionally, I noticed several themes throughout the day, but the one theme that stood out more than others was “innovation and design in our classrooms”. And, I’m not talking about technology at all. Rather, I’m referring to old educational policies and standards that are in dire need change.

 

There was a conversation based around the book, Teach like a Pirate. Educators gathered in this session and talked about ways to reinvigorate their passion for teaching and discussed ways to engage students actively in their learning. There was a session on shredding the gradebook that discussed ways to destigmatize grades and shift student drive from pursuit of a letter or number, to owning their learning and being proud of the outcomes. There was a student panel of Grafton High School students that shared how being a student in 1:1 iPad high school is more about engaging in a culture of empathy and kindness for each other rather than any app or device. There was a session about student apathy and disconnectedness from learning. Educators shared strategies for re-engaging students and forging relationships with students that help engage them in their learning. And I could go on for several more paragraphs on all of the amazing discussions that occurred today at EdCamp Grafton.

EdCamp Grafton ended in a slightly different way than the typical “App Smackdown” conclusion. We thanked all who attended, presented and shared throughout the day. Additionally, in place of the App Smackdown we simply asked, “How Will Your Learning Today Change Your Monday?”. Attendees raised their hands and we scurried up to them with microphones. Several participants shared how what they learned today would impact their teaching and their classrooms next week. New ideas blossomed from all around the room and provided everyone with an abridged version of nearly every session held at EdCamp Grafton.

On Saturday, EdCamp Grafton was about educator voice. An EdCamp model is what educators want out of their professional learning. Not just one day of it, but consistent conversations around themes and ideas that help improve their practice and ultimately provide a better learning experience for the students they teach. EdCamp is not about “App Smashing” or technology. EdCamp is not an organized forum for educators to complain about policy. Put simply, EdCamp is an invigorating refresh for educators’ passion. Passion that has always been there, but interrupted by disingenuous educational policy.

 

Like the spoken word, the EdCamp model will endure and hopefully become the standard paradigm by which districts integrate professional learning. My hope is that we don’t need to attend an EdCamp in the future, rather, it simply becomes the standard professional learning model that every teacher experiences throughout his or her career.

A few years ago I wrote about focus and how it would be the most challenging 21st century skill students (and adults) would need to possess in a world flooded with constant content. While technology has found a place in the classroom and all of our personal lives (except my father’s), we still need to ensure a healthy balance of screen time for both ourselves as professionals, and transfer that model to our students. It’s never been more important.

I make an attempt every Sunday morning to disconnect from all devices. I turn my phone off, shutdown my laptop screen, and turn off my iPad. Don’t allow for any alerts to enter these moments, simply shut it off. Not to be confused with Taylor Swift. When I engage in this exercise I get an odd feeling. I feel as though these connected devices are silently calling my name and that I am missing out on a great tweet or a great resource. My levels of dopamine are falling and suddenly Sherry Turkle’s philosophy of being connected but alone begins to surface.

However, when I focus on the Sunday New York Times, followed by a book, I tend to feel full after. This is not a new concept, but juxtaposed with how I feel after flipping through FlipBoard, a variety of Twitter streams, texting, emailing, etc. all within the same moment, it’s vastly different. I feel exhausted and unsure of what just happened. It’s like a blur of small amounts of information. I didn’t retain anything and I don’t feel full, I feel exhausted and mildly accomplished.

The moments I’ve illustrated above can be seen in the hallways of our schools. Students today have access to more information than at any other time in history. They also have a plethora of outlets, avenues, and channels to engage with at any given time of the day. And, while some may argue that the connected student is a good thing, I would argue that it is not. Not entirely. A connected student or connected educator is not about how many digital worlds you subscribe to, but rather, your level of engagement with them and how they can make us better at what we do. Similarly, we need to help students manage their digital lives while encouraging them to focus on what they’re passionate about in school. And, have them share those passions through a blog or possibly Twitter.

Studies on brain development under the duress of multitasking and engaging in a variety of tasks at once, have shown that those activities don’t make us smarter or more efficient, they make us tired and weary–and they impact brain development. What’s more, it affects our short term memory and causes us to forget meetings, dinner plans, our children at soccer practice. This is what we’re missing; the simple, important moments in our lives. This idea should give us pause when thinking about the rate and amount of technology we allow our students access to while engaged in the learning process.

Over the past few years it has been my job to bring technology into the classroom in order to engage students and provide efficient workflows for students and teachers. Additionally, I viewed technology devices as a way for students to engage in challenge-based learning simulations and have access and opportunities to rich, dynamic content while engaged in these inquiry driven activities. When I visit classrooms I don’t look for devices or apps, but simply learning. I look for conversations, collaborative practice, and questioning. And this is not to say that technology should be left out, either. Rather, my assertion lies within an educator’s ability to balance screen time when students are engaged in the learning process.

I get upset when I attend conferences or hear about consultant workshops that simply focus on applications and devices. I look at consulting companies and all I see are apps, device-centered learning, and the idea of “app smashing”. It’s not what technology implementation should be, ever. Yes, applications can do some amazing things and lead students to produce an engaging final product, but what about the skill sets being taught? What about the application of that learning beyond the final product?  If a student uses the camera app, Explain Everything, and iMovie to create an end product, am I more impressed with the workflow, or the inquiry that drove the learning? Most educators would say the later.

Ultimately, classroom technology should provide an opportunity for students to expand their learning and share it in an engaging manner. As educators, we must balance the technology in our classrooms and not saturate it with apps and confusing workflows. Rather, focus lessons around a challenge that drive students to think, question, and experiment. Allow the challenge to drive the lesson forward, and provide access to technology that can further engage or highlight what students are learning.

 

Educon was the first education conference I ever attended in 2010. I credit this conference for opening up my connected educator life and rethinking what an educational conference should be and can be: a conversation. Educon is without pretension and has always been a comfortable experience no matter how long you’ve been teaching or how “connected” you think you are. It’s a forum that allows all voices to flourish, be heard, challenged, and engaged.

This year I had the pleasure of leading a conversation with Lyn Hilt on “Reinventing your PLN”. Our conversation was generated by conversations Lyn and I had been having regarding the evolution of digital networks since we both dipped our toes in the stream of these networks. We both noticed a trending pattern of how users engaged in their networks and how quickly one could get lost in the rapid stream of constant content. In short, we felt the tweet below from Bonnie Stewart best articulated our challenge:

This was the trend we were seeing in our networks and we wanted to engage in this conversation in order to step back and refocus the lens of our respective networks. We started our session by asking participants to engage in a conversation about why they attended our session and what they hoped to take from it. What we learned was that we had several diverse pockets of participants in digital networks. Some had signed up for a Twitter account, but had not actively engaged in the medium. Some were looking to organize their networks and found it difficult to keep up with daily. And some participants wanted to know how to develop digital networks within their school or district. For Lyn and I, this presented a great structure for the next phase of our session.

We then asked participants to look in the mirror and define who they were in their networks. We divided the room into four categories: Cheerleader, Captain, Counselor, Carpenter. We then explained briefly what each role was and asked participants to connect in the section they saw themselves. We gave participants five minutes to discuss why they selected this section and then share out. This activity further articulated not only how people saw themselves in their respective networks, but further articulated what we hoped to solve in our session today.

For the remainder of the session we had groups discuss the dilemma’s within their networks. As participants discussed these dilemmas, we had them post them to a padlet wall. The group shared out and eventually we looked towards crowdsourcing solutions to these issues. Ultimately, participants walked away with new ideas and insights on how to organize their digital networks, how to engage with them, and how to use them to impact their professional learning. Shortly after our session ended, we received a Tweet from Scott Coleman in reference to our session.

For Lyn and I, this is what we hoped participants would leave saying. Not so much that it was our favorite, but that we could help focus this type of learning and provide a smooth path towards learning and engaging with digital networks. Our session fit right into the conversation model that Educon promotes; however, we wanted to make sure the conversations and connections at Educon could continue beyond this past weekend. We hoped that participants of Educon and our session would leave full of insight and new ideas, but also further engage in conversation using digital networks such as Google+ and Twitter.

I hope that those who attended Educon for the first time this past weekend will continue those conversations and constantly reexamine their networks and how they engage with them. Thank you Chris Lehmann, Diana Laufenberg, and all of the SLA parents and students for continually hosting one of the best conversations in Education. It truly is “the best bake sale in education“.

Last evening, Grafton Public Schools hosted its second community tech night of the year. The focus of last evening’s session was around the Google apps for education suite of apps. Over the course of two sessions held, we’ve had 35 parents and community members show up as well as tech directors and specialists from neighboring districts.

The goal behind these events is simple: connect and support our community on the new and emerging technologies and applications that are being used in education and beyond. What we want to do is educate our greater community on the tools and applications students and teachers use daily. Most schools do a great job supporting students and teachers around technology devices and applications, but many times leave out parents.

I have designed and developed these nights in the last three districts I have worked in. The setup and plan is simple. Initially I scheduled these events for the third Thursday of every month and hold them in the evening from 7:00 – 8:30pm. I setup a Google form so that parents can sign up for the event and I can plan my instruction around a set number. I also ask parents and community members to bring a device if they have one. We also offer devices to those that don’t have one to bring.

Initially I have set the topics around initiatives or updates on devices or applications that both students and teachers are using within our district. I also look to provide sessions around larger topics such as digital citizenship, social apps, and privacy. Once I set the first few sessions up, I will also begin to crowdsource topics for later sessions. I post session updates on our blog and also use our robo-call system to send email reminders to all of the parents in our district. Additionally, I seek out our local newspapers to post an article about these nights as well.

The sessions run pretty smoothly and are designed to be informative, share demonstrations, and to include a hands-on workshop. I primarily lead the sessions and then will have some of our district tech specialists on hand to demo and provide the practitioner’s perspective of how these tools are being used within the schools. We also have had our Grafton High School tech team students on hand to provide support and a student’s perspective on how these tools are used daily.

Ultimately, this is my way of connecting with the parents in our district as well as the Grafton Community. It’s imperative that school districts and school leaders include parents on the conversations around technology, access, and privacy happening within the district. Plus, as a director of technology, it is helpful to glean feedback from parents and how they view the technology initiatives in our district.

I plan on continuing our community tech nights and expanding the opportunities for events early next year. In the course of the last two events I have received requests for more frequent sessions, sessions every week, and even Saturday sessions. In the Spring, Grafton Public Schools will be launching a one day (Date and website to be determined) EdCamp for parents at our high school. Unlike typical edcamps, we will crowdsource our session ideas before hand and have many of our students leading sessions for parents and community members. We will also have teachers and admin sharing their experience with technology in education. Ultimately, we hope to connect and educate our greater school community with the technologies that we employ in education and develop a true community of learners in Grafton.

Today our high school is having a faculty meeting after school; however, we are remixing the standard faculty meeting and using the Edcampmodel. The design and setup are fairly simple. The one change we made to the Edcamp model was that we used a web-based tool called “Padlet” to replace the standard Edcamp session wall.

Grafton high school assistant principal, Jon Kelly and I planned this PD and wanted to share our experience in planning, follow through, and the outcomes. In short, we created a padlet wall for staff to post their session ideas or questions as well as crafted an email briefly explaining what the Edcamp model is and how our day would function. We gave staff roughly a week to post to the padlet wall and then followed up with a reminder. Currently we have 13 posted sessions.

Below is a sample of the email we shared with staff to start planning the event.

For the professional development day next Monday, we are going to use a more collaborative approach called the EdCamp model.  EdCamps are non-traditional in nature and develop from the interest and needs of those participating.  Instead of one person standing in front of the room talking for an hour, you will be encouraged to have discussions and attend hands-on sessions created by you.

To help us better facilitate the Tech Session we have created a Padlet Wall where topics will be posted. Clicking on this link to the padlet  will allow all participants to sign up to lead a session or a conversation around an instructional practice or a technology tool. Session leaders don’t need to have a formal presentation prepared, but simply share an example or facilitate a conversation. If you did not sign up to lead a session you can simply find a session that appeals to you and visit that room.

At the end of the session, we’ll send out a form to assess the model for PD and ask all to share one takeaway from the day.

At the end of the PD, we will be sharing a Google form with staff to asses their experience as well as share one takeaway from the PD. I highly suggest coordinating a few professional development days or faculty meetings like this. It’s a great way to see what staff is interested in as well as design professional development that is purposeful and provides participants time to work with others on a common subject.

CC image via flickr by John Liu

CC image via redorbit.com

CC image via flickr by flickingerbrad