#edcamptrivalley

Waking up Saturday morning by an alarm is not my preferred way of starting the weekend. But, I did, and for an amazing reason - the first ever #edcamptrivalley! I was going to experience an edcamp, my second one, and I jumped out of bed when the alarm sounded.

It was an overall energizing day of learning and an exciting day of meeting and collaborating with people I work with in Dublin as well as coaches, administrators, and teachers from Livermore, Castro Valley, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Mount Diablo, and more. I even was able to introduce myself to educators I admire and follow on Twitter such as Lisa Highfill (@lhighfill) and Karly Moura (@KarlyMoura).

There were many topics we brainstormed and voted for - view the breakouts and notes here:Tri-Vallley Ed Camp 2015.

The first session I attended was with a great group of people. We were able to openly discuss the challenges we face when supporting change, risk taking, and working with those who are experiencing cognitive dissonance. My take-aways were: validate those teachers who may be resistant - validate the great work they do to teach our students. Another favorite was when a colleague said, “Fail forward.” It's OK when we fail; when we move towards making change it involves taking risks. As long as we learn from our failures and continue to move forward, it makes it worth the stumble - Fail Forward.

The second session was fabulous too! Myself and two other DUSD teachers were able to work with a group of teachers and a coach from Mount Diablo. We met to discuss blogging. We shared the ways we could or have begun to embrace blogging in the classroom with students. The conversation also made its way to Twitter and what an amazing place it is to become a more knowledgeable educator. Karly Moura was in this group (she cocreated #TOSAchat). I was able to pick her brain on how to become a better participant in chats - I've only participated in one recently. (Actually, as of tonight TWO!) I was also able to talk with Chrissie Cattalini @TeacherCatt. She has one to two students a week tweet the learning happening in her classroom. I love this idea! I was also able to connect and learn from Tracey Steele @traysteele1, Amanda Young @ajyoung53, Wendy Townlin @wendytownlin.

#Edcamptrivalley ended the day with a Smackdown Braindump. This was where educators shared their favorite apps, tools and resources. I did not have the courage to stand up there and share a favorite or two...not yet...hopefully next time! I appreciate everyone who did because my mind was blown. Check out the Smackdown Braindump here.

I'm so thankful to those who organized this event - @tr_bo, @kweirbrown, @FallonPrincipal, @lhighfill. I bet they even woke to an even earlier alarm than I did. I look forward to EdCampTriValley 2016!