Engaging in YRDSB's EdTechCamp2017

There are so many things to say and like about this year’s YRDSB EdTechCamp, so I will focus on my highlights. First off, it was a huge sold-out crowd of educators, mainly from the York Region District School Board but including boards like Toronto and Peel, with guests from as far Ottawa or London, if you don't include the amazing keynote all the way from California. I think the number was something like 400 participants. The day was enthusiastic, full of great learning in the sessions and amazing exchanges that transpired through casual conversation, reflections and collaboration in the hallways and over lunch (thank you for the gluten free pizza). One of my favourite parts, though there were many, was that the event culminated in the edu-slams and raffle. It wasn't just the shock and awe of hearing Sylvia Duckworth sing, “Come and get your Chrome” as the event coordinators danced and the crowd sang along. We were a community coming back together in a shared experience. It was a really wonderful event.

Listening to Derek Rhodenizer’s podcast this morning, literally recorded in a box, I smiled as I recalled what a spectacular day it was (that’s really his word, not mine). As someone new to the world of a public school boards, I was amazed by all the educators there in front of me, learning together. I got so excited to meet some of the presenters like Jennifer Casa Todd, Sandra Chow, Jillian Stambolich, Stephanie Signer, Jocelyn Kervin, Andrew Dobbe, Jay Dubois Arianna Lambert, Will Gourley and Kevin Brookhouser, to name a few. Later on, I even had a chance to introduce myself to Sylvia Duckworth- what a day it was. I hope they each come on my Personal Playlist Podcast at some point. The biggest highlight was meeting Debbie Donsky in person. She is not just someone who I follow because she is an educational thought leader. For a while now, she had been the friend I have never actually met (Snuffleupagus no longer).

It had never occurred to me that BOBs and EdTech worked together. I was so happy to explore a new aspect of my projects that, up until I spoke to Kim Pollishuke about presenting at this conference, I didn't even realize welcomed EdTech. She even pointed out that my students use a variety of tools when preparing to present their BOBs or creating a product to show their learning. In fact, Building Outside the Blocks projects actually invite a variety of EdTech, little of which I have to know very much about because the students choose what to use and how to use it. Thank you, Kim, for showing me a new lens on my BOBs, which I joyfully shared with the Session 2 participants.

When I began my presentation on how my Building Outside the Blocks projects invite EdTech, I heard the scritch scratch of Debbie Donsky's’s sketchnote tools. I was so excited to be presenting at the conference, it never occurred to me that Debbie was recording it. At first, Will sent out a teaser of the image, so I knew that it was coming. When I saw the sketchnote in its entirety, recorded live during Derek’s podcast, I needed a moment. It means so much to me that she even wanted to capture it, never mind actually seeing it in full colour.

There were so many other things to mention about that day. One of them is what an incredible job Jen Giffen, Kim Pollishuke and their teams did putting this event together. Another is that everyone should check out VoicEd Radio because Stephen Hurley has an incredible vision that is ever growing, and we can all be a part of it. Hearing him connect with people and invite new educators to podcast or join our #ONedmentors panel was exciting as he continues to add to this ever growing source of connection and community that he is creating through the station and his many other contributions to education. So many of the amazing educators I have met through VoicEd have become my friends. I can't wait to continue learning from and having fun with them for years to come. Thank you all for a very special day!!

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