What I Learned at #edcampBOS 2014 (@sguditus Steve Guditus)

What I Learned At #edcampBOS 2014

  1. Have an open mind and an open heart.  Several times throughout my day, I entered a session, and it wasn't what I expected, and I stayed.  And it was awesome.  I learned something new.  I expanded my PLN.  I met fantastic educators.  I formed new ideas.  Other times, I moved on, and hit up a few sessions, until I found the one that resonated with me - that I hadn't expected it, but
    there it was: the session that connected with me.
  2. Trust your instinct.  Have you ever felt: It is just me, or do other people feel the same way
    about this?...    More often than not, educators forget to follow our instinct and our gut.  I wonder: Am I in this alone?  Am I the only one who feels this way?  Education is a blend of both science and art, and #edcampBOS reminded me to trust my instinct, trust my gut, and to remember that the network of people out there who are forging forward, progressively to push education to be what we need and what it to be for our students - and the world - is all around us.  Sometimes these folks are next door to us in our school, sometimes across town, a few districts over, or across state lines.  But regardless - remember to trust your instincts.  As an educator, be resilient and show grit - it can be difficult at times to be an educator, so remember to persevere and trust your instinct - and help our students develop these same qualities by modeling them.
  3. Cultivate your passion.  @tsocko and I (@sguditus) led a session on passion.  As
    the conversation emerged, folks spoke up, ideas were generated, connected, created and shared.  The room was energized - all because we took time to stop and remember why we are educators, and to remember what what gets us jazzed up.  Cultivate your jazz hands - and use them whenever you can.  You can't use them all the time, but when you can, be passionate, and share it with your colleagues and your students.  It matters.
  4. I have so much more to learn.  I suppose it's a good thing that I'm in the business of learning - I realized today that I have SO much more to learn.  In a good way.  The options were limitless.  Each session, there were at least 9 simultaneous sessions from which to choose at any given time, plus additional offerings during and between, breakout sessions under stairwells, in hallways, and during lunch.  And I still wasn't able to learn all that I wanted to.
    What I've realized is that it's time to take some road trips around New England to some other #edcamp sessions so that I can keep on learning.  The Smackdown alone provided an amazing set of resources for me to explore further (thanks @karenjan and @lizbdavis for taking the dueling notes): EdcampBOS 2014 Smackdown Resources
  5. Surround yourself with great people.  This doesn't mean people who necessarily think the same as you, but people who support your work in education, who challenge your thinking, and who support being a big education geek.  Remember, this is all about our students, our teachers and
    our schools.  There were plenty of folks who disagreed with me and vice versa during various sessions of #edcampBOS, but it made me a better educator for it.  Surrounding yourself with fellow education geeks and those who support your being an education geek is crucial to sustaining the effort, energy and passion needed to continually grow and make a difference in our students' lives.  Find your people.  I found lots of these folks at #edcampBOS, and expanded my PLN - virtually, and by finally meeting fellow educators that I had never met in person.  Having these conversations, all day, validates the hard work we are all doing as educators.  We're not in this alone!
  6. Be a leader.  It took me two years before I was willing to lead a session at #edcampBOS.  I was petrified I would say the wrong thing, not having anything worthwhile to say, and didn't have a presentation.  Then, I realized, it is about facilitating and guiding - not telling.  There were many folks at #edcampBOS who were lurkers - and lurking participation is great - but don't be afraid to start the conversation.  Your words, your ideas, your question could just be the one to change
    everything.  Go for it!
  7. Have fun.  Let's not forget: it's about our students and their learning, and it's about having fun, too.  Case in point: @edcampcrane - how did I not know about this?  @dancallahan and I (@sguditus) took a fabulous selfie with the @edcampcrane, and sent him/her home with @shevtech to Burlington, VT.  We had fun celebrating learning, teaching, and education.  

Can't wait for #edcampBOS 2015!

Comments

Kristina @ Appetite for Instruction said…
Great to meet you! Looking forward to more EdCamps!
9:53 PM
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