It has been four days since Edcamp Branford. The experiences and conversations are still fresh in my head. The wonderful people that are in my networking circle from twitter that I met were just phenomenal.
I have to start with Friday night at the meet and greet. I was late but when I walked in, I was so happy and pleased to see about 15 or so people already sitting with Tammy. Her dream for Edcamp had came to life and I was beside myself with excitement for her. I took my seat at the end of the table and began making connections with the ladies beside me. We had more in common than I thought I would with anyone.At the end of the night, it was time to go and rest before the big day. We counted and 25 people attended the meet and greet.
Saturday morning at 6:00 am my alarm sounded off. I quickly found myself rushing around the house, getting myself ready to find out what the day had in store for me.
I had been helping one of my best friends organize Edcamp Branford. I wanted everything perfect for her. Last minute tasks were fast and furiously being completed. The volunteer fire department was rushing around town putting up signs for directions to the school.
Participants began arriving. Connections began to spark all over the cafeteria as everyone was finding out there was someone there who had the same concerns. Students had been delegated to certain positions to help assist everyone. I began to walk around and collect the sticky notes with the topics people wanted to share and to learn about. In taking up the slips of paper, I began to find myself more excited about what I was in store to learn and hear about throughout the day.
Deciding the tops for the day seemed to be like a maze. Where do you go? What do I need to hear about? My plain and simple thought was that I just wanted to go to all of the sessions and hear them all.
I loved all the sessions I attended. There were two though, that for me were what I needed. Building Positive Student Relationships was powerful to me. The passion in that room was amazing. You could feel the facilitators passion and the in tenseness of her love for her students.
The last session I attended was the “Things That Suck” session.I didn't know what to think. I had heard Tammy talk about Jerry Swiatek and the subject he was about to discuss but for me it was so much more. We touched on standardized testing but that didn't compare to the divided concerns for social media and devices in the classroom. We were all still there for the same reason though. The students and our passion to teach them.
As the day drew to a close, I couldn't wait to attend another Edcamp. In fact, plans are already being discussed. I am happy and excited to say, that there will be a second annual Edcamp Branford and I will again be a part of it.
I have to start with Friday night at the meet and greet. I was late but when I walked in, I was so happy and pleased to see about 15 or so people already sitting with Tammy. Her dream for Edcamp had came to life and I was beside myself with excitement for her. I took my seat at the end of the table and began making connections with the ladies beside me. We had more in common than I thought I would with anyone.At the end of the night, it was time to go and rest before the big day. We counted and 25 people attended the meet and greet.
Saturday morning at 6:00 am my alarm sounded off. I quickly found myself rushing around the house, getting myself ready to find out what the day had in store for me.
I had been helping one of my best friends organize Edcamp Branford. I wanted everything perfect for her. Last minute tasks were fast and furiously being completed. The volunteer fire department was rushing around town putting up signs for directions to the school.
Participants began arriving. Connections began to spark all over the cafeteria as everyone was finding out there was someone there who had the same concerns. Students had been delegated to certain positions to help assist everyone. I began to walk around and collect the sticky notes with the topics people wanted to share and to learn about. In taking up the slips of paper, I began to find myself more excited about what I was in store to learn and hear about throughout the day.
Deciding the tops for the day seemed to be like a maze. Where do you go? What do I need to hear about? My plain and simple thought was that I just wanted to go to all of the sessions and hear them all.
I loved all the sessions I attended. There were two though, that for me were what I needed. Building Positive Student Relationships was powerful to me. The passion in that room was amazing. You could feel the facilitators passion and the in tenseness of her love for her students.
The last session I attended was the “Things That Suck” session.I didn't know what to think. I had heard Tammy talk about Jerry Swiatek and the subject he was about to discuss but for me it was so much more. We touched on standardized testing but that didn't compare to the divided concerns for social media and devices in the classroom. We were all still there for the same reason though. The students and our passion to teach them.
As the day drew to a close, I couldn't wait to attend another Edcamp. In fact, plans are already being discussed. I am happy and excited to say, that there will be a second annual Edcamp Branford and I will again be a part of it.