After Thoughts of EdCampKS

So I went to my first EdCamp last week! Can I just say, WOW! What an incredible learning opportunity! Some of the people I met talked about being addicted and traveling to multiple edcamps and I might be joining them with that one! So I'm taking a moment to right down my thoughts a couple days post-edcamp.

The connections
If you don't already know this, I love being connected on Twitter to so many wonderful educators and learning from so many of them. I got to meet some of them the night before via a Tweet Up at a local bar and grill. (EdCampKS took place in Andover, KS) The conversations that got started that night got me so jazzed for the next day! It was great to be able to put faces to some Twitter handles (why yes, we wrote them on our name tags!) as well as make some new Twitter connections for the future. I actually led a session on Twitter to get some newbies started!! We also tweeted our learning all day which just enhanced what we were doing that much more.

The learning
EdCamps are all about what you put into them personally in order to get something out of them. I was excited to jump into conversations and talk with other educators who were just as passionate, if not more so, than myself. I came away with so many ideas that I don't even know where to start! Let's just say that I plan on talking to my new principal about ditching our bulky desks and going with a choice seating for students. I also just submitted a DonorsChoose project to get some coding robots (Dash and Dot) and some creative circuit boards (Makey Makey). Both were in the MakerSpace room along with some other things that I would like, but I'm doing a little bit at a time (and if you haven't figured it out, my little bit is relative to others).

The opportunities
I won't say I don't have ambitions to do more in my profession, and some might say education was a silly move if I want to do more but I don't want to be an administrator. However, I would love to move into something where I'm helping other teachers with integrating technology in the future. This EdCamp gave me opportunities to make some connections and put myself out there so others could see how passionate I am about what I do. A couple things coming out of this EdCamp, I'm in the process of becoming a Buncee ambassador (be prepared to see some learning videos soon) which I am really excited about. I am also talking to the coordinators of EdCampKS about expanding and doing another location out in Dodge City the same day as the other one next year but more opportunites for those who can't travel quite as far. I'm really excited about this and will probably continue posting about it as things come up.

That's all I'm posting for now! Stay tuned for what I'm up to this summer to be ready for next year!

Teaching Like A Pirate - Passion

So I've been reading the Teach Like a Pirate book by Dave Burgess. I love that the book is focused on passion and how that should motivate your teaching. Being a couple weeks into summer, I needed a little motivator to start working on some of my summer projects. So my goal this week is to list out some things I want to accomplish to make my school year better and more engaging for my students. I have many ideas rolling around in my head and I know if I work on some of them now, I'll be more likely to implement them when the school year rolls around.

So my mini-post for tonight is to ask what you want to work on this summer. My passion is technology both as a personal and a professional passion, so I'll be working on some things to make my technology use in the classroom run a little smoother as well as just having some things ready so I'm not scrambling when I remember to do them during the school year. I'd also like to learn a little more about whole brain teaching in order to up my classroom management and engagement. I know my students this year spoiled me with their behavior and I know I'll have to try some new things next year.

So leave me a comment about what you want to work on OR tweet me @jmill517. Maybe we have some similar passions and can put our heads together over some things!