Why Attending an Edu Conference With my Students Changed Everything

Tessa and Melanie talk about how apps
like Evernote and Google Drive make
organization and collaboration so
much easier for them.
Our students make us laugh, drive us crazy, and inspire us to better ourselves.  They shouldn't just be the reason we teach, they should be a part of the teaching.  Yesterday I had the opportunity to present at MassCUE with 6 of my current and former students.  Watching them present was a proud moment, but it wasn't my favorite moment of the conference.  I knew they would blow the presentation out of the water. I knew they had prepared well and that their session attendees would learn something.  The BEST part of my day was watching them experience, learn, and network because of the unofficial opportunities the conference creates.

Networking

My students had met members of the Burlington High School Help Desk via Google Hangout a couple of times thanks to the vision and urging of Jennifer Scheffer.  Meeting face to face, talking tech, and planning for future brilliance took their networking experience to a whole new level.  They were buzzing with excitement as they shared hot chocolate and ideas.



Experimenting

When the Rockets Help Desk crew decided to go to Reshan Richards' session on his vision and creation of Explain Everything, they didn't find seats and sit politely to listen. The found some carpet on the back wall and played around with the app as they listened to his ideas about learning and creating.  For them, experiencing a workshop as an edtech conference is about more than receiving information.  They needed to create their own understanding as it was happening.


Connecting with the Experts

After listening to Reshan Richards and trying out his tool, the girls were excited and ready to build something new.  They wanted to talk with him and arrange for more time to pick his brain.  I encouraged them to walk from the back wall up to the front.  They introduced themselves, told him why they love Explain Everything, and asked if he would be willing to do a Google Hangout so they could carry on the conversation. He said, "Yes!" and even gave them Explain Everything t-shirts.  They are so eager to build a relationship with this influential and visionary educator in a real and authentic way.  I can't imagine how far this will take them.


The kids are chomping at the bit to go to another conference.  So my new mission is to connect them with conferences and opportunities to share their ideas and create new ideas with educators and experts.

I can't wait to see what they do.

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