Edcamp Branford: Reflections

My experience, limited though it may be (but growing), tells me that each Edcamp has something unique to offer. Edcamp Branford, held this past weekend in Branford, FL, certainly helped prove this theory. Thirty minutes off the interstate in rural Suwannee County, Branford High School is the very definition of a rural, small town public school. In fact, Branford is actually a grades 6 to 12 institution with about 700 students. It was clear from the start that small town did not mean short on enthusiasm for sharing and learning.

Making new connections is part of the Edcamp experience
Photo Credit: @jen_williams & @la_Profe_s

The 8:00 am start time meant leaving Tallahassee at around 6:00 am. Early for a Saturday morning. I was thankful that the Starbucks in my neighborhood opens a six, and my venti dark roast almost lasted the entire drive. Well if the coffee had not done the trick, the school band entertaining teachers as the entered the school cafeteria would certainly help get the blood moving. It was awesome to see kids investing in their teachers professional development. Student involvement throughout the day was one of the hallmarks of Edcamp Branford. In every session that I attended, students were actively participating in discussions. Whether it be about the value of homework, the burden of testing, or the use of Google applications in the classroom, student voice was a major part of the day's learning.

Getting ready to kick-off my PLN session

This was an inaugural event and Tammy Neil and her team did a great job in making sure everyoneTammy approached me as I entered the door and asked that I do a session of Twitter and PLNs. I pulled some slides out of the can and tackled the first session of the day. True to Edcamp form, those that attended my session made my job easy. Only about half of the 15 or so teachers in the room had used Twitter, and most left eager to employ social media in establishing and building a PLN.
had a valuable PD experience. I had intended to attend this Edcamp without signing up to share a session, but

Jerry Swiatek of Edcamp Citrus has been doing a session entitled Things That Suck for the last year or so, and it has become a favorite of mine. The idea of  the session is to give teachers an opportunity to discuss "hot topic" issues in education - thing that suck. The topics to be discussed are crowd-sourced through a Google Doc. Homework, testing and cellphones in the classroom received the most votes. While there were some real differences of opinion on each of the topics, the most valuable contributions were made by the students in the room. I guess the big takeaway from this session - and really from the entire event - was the value of student voice. We need to do a better job at including them at the table when decisions are being made.

Students talking homework at the Things That Suck Session

Sean Farnum of Edcamp St. Augustine led a discussion on Genius Hour (20% Time) that drew a pretty good crowd and lots of good discussion. I suspect their were those like me that have wanted to implement a Genius Hour in our classes, but needed to hear from those that have made it work in their classrooms. Genius Hour is built on the idea of providing students with time to follow their passions, to work on a project that they care about. While Sean was able to share his experiences in an elementray setting, Sergio Yanes of Chiles HS (and Edcamp Leon) in Tallahassee talked about how he has made it work in his high school language arts class. Sergio shared how he was inspired by the work of Kevin Brookhouser and his #20time Project. Sean also mentioned the work of Joy Kirr as a resource for anyone wanting to take the leap. I am determined to make this part of what I do with my students in 2015-16.

Edcamp Branford is sure to become a regular event on the Florida Edcamp circuit. Congrats to Tammy and her team. If you have still not experienced the power of Edcamp, I urge to checkout the schedule of events coming up and spend a day that will change your life. If you are in my nech of the woods in North Florida, here are a few events that you won't want to miss:

• Edcamp St. Augustine - May 9
• Edcamp Magic - June 6
• Edcamp Leon - June 13
• Edcamp Citrus - September 19
• Edcamp Tampa Bay - October 10

Edcamp Lake: Reflections from a Day of Learning

w/ Jerry Blumengarten

It was an early start for a Saturday morning. To make it to Eustis, FL - home of #EdcampLake - I had to leave the house at 5am. The minute that I walked into the cafeteria at Eustis High School, I knew that the four hour drive would be worth it.  Most of the teachers in the room were Edcamp first-timers, but the session idea board was already filling up. I scrambled to make sure I secured a spot to lead a discussion on transforming the classroom with cloud-based tools.

It doesn't matter how far from home an edcamp takes you, there always seems to be a familiar face in the crowd.  If that edcamp happens to be in Florida, one of those familiar faces will probably be @cybraryman1 himself, Jerry Blumengarten. Then there are the other connected educators that you know by their Twitter handles, but have never met face-to-face. It was great to connect with folks like Tammy Neil @mathneil and Shauna Liverotti @MsLivFL. Like with any workshop or conference, some of the most valuable takeaways come from the connections made outside of the scheduled sessions.

Tammy Neil talking Twitter

I decided, as I was driving south, that I would spend much of my time at #EdcampLake floating around so that I could get a sense of what was on the minds of teachers in attendance. After sitting in Tammy Neil's session on Twitter, two things became abundantly clear. First, we still have a long way to go to get teachers connected. Second, and perhaps more important, teachers are clamoring for ways to get connected. Tammy is doing a great job at spreading the message of the PLN. One of my big takeaways from her session was learning about #FledChat, that meets on Twitter every Wednesday at 8pm, and which Tammy co-moderates. I can't wait to sit in on my first #FledChat this week.

I also sat in on a couple of sessions led by Shauna Liverotti, one on Flat Classrooms and another on Effective Feedback. It was interesting to hear how teachers from all over the curriculum are trying to extend learning beyond the walls of their schools. I believe that we are just now scratching the surface of possibilities with regard to flat classrooms.  That's what makes events like edcamp so important. Teachers are not getting what they need through traditional district-run professional development. This is one of those discussions that reminds me that for authentic change to happen, it will have to come from teachers. Despite the efforts of people like Eric Sheninger and the work he and others are doing to connect principals, we have a long way to go before school administrators will start to lead in areas the really matter.

Shauna Liverotti & Flat Classrooms

The discussion that Shauna led on effective feedback was one that challenged me personally. Between the rush to cover ever-changing standards and trying to integrate meaningful learning experiences for my students, I struggle with providing feedback in a timely manner. I know that to be meaningful it has to be timely. We were fortunate to have a student in the room, and her insight was extremely valuable. How often do we consult with students about what it means to provide meaningful feedback. The issue of allowing student input on things like grading rubrics was discussed. An interesting idea, to be sure.

Finally, I can no longer say that I never win anything at the closing door-prize sessions. I walked away with a Livescribe Echo SmartPen. Now I just have to find time to play with it. Before closing I should offer my congratulations to Jim Curtis and the rest of the Edcamp Lake organization for a great event. This was their first year, and they are off to a grand start.