Edcamp Global Classrooms - 3 Takeaways

EdCamp Global Classrooms 2016

#ECGC16

At Oklahoma's DoE summer conference, Engage Ok, I had the pleasure of co-hosting a session titled, Periscope, Voxer and Twitter Oh My. I made a Voxer group during that session to show the impact that a statewide PLN could make on education. Some of you are still a part of that group and still shout-out every once in a while. But another someone found the link out on the Twittersphere and asked to join this group. There Jamie Donally and I made a real edu-connection. She started going on and on about a new type of EdCamp she was planning and I of course love having anything to do with EdCamps. I offered to help in any way and she took me up on it.

Things learned:

1. I thought statewide connections were awesome, but I had no clue what national and global connections could be. The core group of educators that had a hand in planning this EdCamp Global Classrooms were from Texas, DC, Florida, Ontario, and Australia. I had a quick question yesterday about Google something...and within seconds had 2 different answers from people that teach these things in their states and districts. I thought I was clever enough - my one job in this whole interaction was to come up with 24 separate but equally as awesome hourly challenges to ask our participants from around the globe to take on, challenge themselves, and play around with their kids in an environment where failing was ok. That was hard! I couldn't expect people to be apart of all 24 hours, but who would I give a less fun experience to? The answer is nobody. All people tuning in at any given hour of the day had to have a great time. This is what made the task so difficult. Relying on the genius people I surrounded myself with allowed this task to be fun when bouncing my ideas off of others.

2. If I want to Evolve, I need to get INVOLVED. In a conversation with Hadley Ferguson at Edcamp Online last year we talked about EdCamp 2.0. What is next with Edcamps. We talked about badges systems and other ways to take the idea of EdCamp to the next level, especially for people who had been to 10+ EdCamps. Nothing came from this meeting in a formal notion, but it did help me think about my own EdCamping in a different way. Since that discussion, I have attended EdCamps in 4 other states, sat quietly at an Edcamp to get more rather than think I can give all the time, was apart of the planning committee for the largest live EdCamp  event to date, and have now helped plan a virtual/global Edcamp. There was no other way for me to get involved than to ask to be involved. I am not done, I plan to attend an Edcamp in every state as work lends to me schedule.

3. Be the village Idiot. Ok, I know that I set myself up for that one, but I had no clue how much I could learn from others. In my own circles, at my own school, I tend to have "the ideas" and "the answers" when it comes to how to teach a lesson or concept that might be out of the box. But opening myself up and allowing myself to be the dumbest person in the Voxer room, has broadened my horizons even more. Ya'll should see some of the names in education in this ECGC Voxer group. I am conspiring with the best of the best here and learning SO much. Seriously, check out the organizers of this event. FOLLOW THEM ON TWITTER. It is OK to not know it all. But if you haven't already, start making connections via Twitter, Voxer or Periscope outside of what and who you currently know. In June there will be another opportunity to get involved in another Global EdCamp. Keep an eye out HERE.

It will be hard to top an event with over 600 classrooms in 60 different countries participating, but I am up for the challenge to try. Will you join me?

Watch our Wrap up here: Watch This Video