This morning I participated in the Make A Difference PD (#MADPD, created by Peter Cameron and Derek Rhodenizer) event that was streamed through YouTube Live. While I have presented at a major conference, a few edcamps and various district events, this was a big deal for me. Presenters from Canada and the United States were going to be doing this. And they approached me. Talk about pressure! One of the things that made me feel this conference was a little different was the fact that it was not just talking to a room full of like-minded people. We were going to be presenting to anyone who wanted to try something different. They could access the videos whenever they wanted to and be in the comfort of their home to do it. They could also refer to the full video, not just the presentation notes, whenever they needed. At first the idea of doing a YouTube live event was scary. Thankfully I have some wonderful friends and colleagues who were willing to put themselves out there as well and participate in my sessions. None of us had done something like this before. Because we were doing it through a Google Hangout my experience with the #MysterySkype and #mysteryhangouts came in handy. We did a practice run last night to get the others comfortable with the format and to go over what they were going to do. The biggest parts were still mine. I asked that they give a little information about how the topic was affecting their students and the school in general. They could do that was the quick response. What I discovered as I started the first of the three sessions was that it almost became more like a discussion in our staff room. There was ease in the way we talked to each other. I did my pre-made presentations to start us off and give the audience some background, but I think the most valuable parts came from what my colleagues and I shared together! Just like I have said many times to my students, it was the collaboration that made it better. There were a few small issues for at least the first two sessions. One was noticeable but didn’t really take away from the presentation (or so I was told). I enjoyed this experience. Not sure if I am going to be doing any more videos, but who knows. I am hoping this event becomes an annual thing so we’ll see. Because this is an all day event, I was able to participate in or just watch other sessions as well. There are some amazing things going on in education right now! I hope that by taking the risk and doing the live videos other teachers are inspired to try something new. Please check out the videos and let me know your thoughts! Lights! Camera! Assess! Student Blogging: Writing in a 21st Century Classroom Student Tech Squads
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Author20+ year teacher, mother of 2 kids and 2 dogs, wife, lover of all things M&M, interested in tech in the classroom, and changing up my teaching Archives
March 2020
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