EdTech conferences drive me into an uncomfortable place, but I go anyway.

In the last week, I have had the opportunity to attend and participate in two different instructional technology conferences.  The Ed Tech Team MN Summit featuring Google Apps for Education at Fridley High School in MN and the Ed Tech Teacher Summit in San Diego.  While drawing in similar crowds of attendees, both experiences had a distinct feel and both were awesome!

I began the weekend with the opportunity to facilitate some sessions around the growing concept of Breakout EDU.  Breakout EDU is the brain child of some of the most fascinating people in the world of education (in my opinion.)  To paraphrase the story, the genesis of this came from the idea of the breakout rooms which are growing in popularity worldwide.  If you're unfamiliar with the breakout or escape room concept, enjoy this clip:

Essentially, the idea is that participants collaborate to solve problems that will allow them to "breakout" of the box.  The creators of Breakout EDU took the escape room concept and worked to modularize it so it could be replicated for the classroom.  The experience involves making gaming in the classroom meaningful using critical thinking, collaboration and creativity - and is useful in a k-12 student situation as well as with adults.  One of the founders James Sanders (@jamestsanders) explains it much better than I can:   

I facilitated two sessions using the "Dr. Johnson's Lab" game.  The clues and pieces of the game were set up before participants arrived in anticipation of conference goers experiencing something quite different than many of the other sessions.  I was fortunate enough to be able to pull in the student technology helpers from Fridley High School into the game as well, adding a different level of uncomfort to the room.  Going through the process is invigorating, frustrating, humbling and exciting all at the same time.  Facilitating other people doing a Breakout EDU game is where I get out of my comfort zone though.  

As a teacher, I've wanted the kids to get the right answer, and to not have to struggle through the material.  This experience embodies the exact opposite of that. While I'm encouraging the attendees to get out of their comfort zone and explore, aim for new ideas that might result in failure, I have to remember to do the same thing.  I am in an uncomfortable place as I sit back and watch this all go down.  Participants can use "hint" cards when they get stuck, but it is hard to sit on my hands and not prod them while they try to uncover the clues.  It's a wonderfully uncomfortable session to facilitate as I am equally excited as the participants while they uncover each clue and begin to put together the pieces.  In these particular sessions where we mixed students and teachers, the students ended up solving some of the clutch clues were able to really thrive in the experience.  In terms of a social experiment, it was fascinating to watch.

I ended the session by stating, and believing in my heart of hearts, that this is where effective education will be going.  We need to provide these experiences for our students so they can break away from the text book and truly incorporate some of these soft skills of communication, collaboration and creative thinking in order for them to be truly real world ready.  

If you haven't jumped on board yet, you can learn more on the Breakout EDU website and in the Breakout EDU Facebook group.       

The GAFE Summits are some of the most invigorating professional development experiences one can be involved in.  They leave you armed with the knowledge and tools to implement new best practice lessons using a myriad of the Google apps.  For more information on the GAFE and iOS Summits put on by the Ed Tech Team (@edtechteam), visit their website.  

 

Following the summit in Fridley, MN I hopped a plane to San Diego.  No offense to my homeland of Minnesota, but everything is better in San Diego :)  Maybe not everything, but February weather sure is.

I tend to thrive in environments that both Ed Tech Teacher and Ed Tech Team provide, which is weird as a self-proclaimed introvert.  I am introverted by nature, but extroverted by profession if that makes sense.  I've heard people say it before, but it's true - this is my tribe.  At conferences like both of these, I like to be an observer and take in as much as I can to improve what I do as an educator.  I engage digitally, and when forced, in person.  It's funny because I'm a front row sitter, an eager beaver and love to be in command of my classroom.  However, when it comes to situations like these, I'm a bit more shy at first and generally wait until someone addresses me before seeking out new EdTech friends.  At any rate, both environments were safe and welcoming and I took home a wealth of information...

One of the interesting pieces that I got to experience at the Ed Tech Teacher Summit was meeting Amy Burvall.  I spent 13 years as a secondary social studies teachers and used video quite a bit in my classroom - (go ahead and judge- showing Gandhi was one of my favorite weeks of the school year, but this is in reference to shorter video clips to show in class).  I knew Amy Burvall from the interwebs, but didn't know her name until San Diego.  She has created several creative history videos (historyteachers is their YouTube channel) that I used in class, my favorite being this French Revolution one:

Before my arrival in San Diego, I decided to attend a session titled "Image is Everything: Exploring Critical Thinking with Visual Literacies" and Amy Burvall was the presenter.  It wasn't until partway through the intro that I realized that she was the creative behind the awesome history videos. She gave us a wealth of resources to encourage and drive visual literacy and using images to spark critical thinking.  This is just one of the awesome sessions I was able to soak in while in San Diego - not to mention the vitamin D :)

Ed Tech Teacher provides professional development and online resources that are a great resource for any level of educator out there.  Check out their other offerings on their website.


SO - the moral of my blog post is this:  If you are an introvert, it's okay to lurk at these conferences.  Its okay to see one of your teaching icons and tweet her, rather than engage with her in person.

BUT, as I'm becoming more and more comfortable attending conferences like these, I've found it's in your best interest to get out of your comfort zone and meet people.  Get out of your comfort zone and learn new things - just as you want your students to get out of their comfort zones in order to grow. Get out there and do it.  Who knows the connections you will make when you do!