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| American Canyon High School |
I spent the past three days learning with 60 smart educators at #CUERockstar in Napa. It's actually American Canyon, if you want to get specific, but if you ask me, I spent my weekend in Napa! I always love the quiet drive home to think and reflect, and I'm excited to be home to blog about the weekend. All during the drive, I kept thinking about numbers, and how much I learned over the past three days. Here are my thoughts: Napa by the numbers.
The power of one. Every single person is important. As a presenter, I am honored if just one person chooses to learn in my session. I will never forget the time I arrived at an 8 am conference session early, so excited to learn from a well known presenter and someone I follow on Twitter. At 8:10, the session still hadn't started, and the presenter said, "Gosh, I don't know where everyone is! This is usually a packed session!" And she waited for another 5 minutes to start, I remember thinking, "I'm here! I'm somebody!" I just want to say thank you to everyone who chose to spend some time sharing with me this weekend! You made my day!
Two. I love two hour sessions. The more I present, I think that at least 90 minutes is required for an awesome ed tech session. Any new learning, really. You need to actually have time to make, to create, to play with your new learning. Most one hour sessions provide just enough time to show and tell. Rockstar's two hour sessions are perfect for learning and making! I was so excited to see the book trailers, blogs, and Google sites teachers created in my sessions!
There were also two new apps I learned about this weekend. Check them out!
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| Make movies... or book trailers? Thanks @jcorippo |
Three. How awesome are three days of learning? Especially in a beautiful location! Even on the drive to Napa after work Thursday, I was questioning the wisdom of giving up three days of a four day weekend for a conference. But the three day format of Rockstar in a fun location is perfect. The true #edugetaway. It felt like a vacation, complete with yummy dinners out, wine, and some amazing company. Did I mention my mom joined me in Napa?
Four. Four of the awesome book trailers made on day 2! We used iMovie Trailer, PhotoPeach, and Animoto in our session.
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| Book Trailer Makerspace |
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| Henry & the Buccaneer Bunnies! |
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| Game of Thrones Storyboard |
Five. Five o'clock. The time I left work on Thursday and the view on the way to Napa... The sky was unreal!
Zero. I have thought a lot about this number. Last summer as a first time Rockstar presenter, I was terrified that no one would attend my session! But, at the end of Tahoe last summer, I also remember thinking that I had loved every minute of it, but that I also hadn't had the opportunity to attend any of the other sessions. There were so many amazing sessions and presenters! This trip, I have a totally different take on the number zero. It hasn't happened, but if I ever have a session and no one joins me, I'll head to another room and join a different session! I love, love to teach, but I also love to learn.
Thanks for an amazing weekend!
I just want to say that I loved your sessions! I am going to implement book trailers and blogging into my classroom! You made an awesome impression upon me! Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great company you and your mom provided on Friday night at dinner. It was a great evening! It was awesome meeting you in person. I love your philosophy about Zero! It became mine last summer in Solana Beach when I did have an empty session.
ReplyDeleteNapa sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteAdd mom time on top of it and you have a recipe for fun! I hope to join you in Truckee if my A3WP plans don't pan out...