What kind of PD makes teachers smile? And on Saturday? EDCAMP

Year five of Edcamp GigCity is in the books. It was in a fabulous location- Red Bank Middle School in Chattanooga, TN- and it had fabulous attendees. According to the feedback form most left as very happy campers! (pun intended).

Things I learned:

• Oops on the schedule. We accidentally used the schedule from 2 years ago instead of last year so the sign up said 9-2 but the day was laid out as 9-3. We also had adjusted times down to 45 minutes last year but the old schedule had the sessions at an hour. Our bad! We apologize for that oversight and promise it won't happen again.
• Many hands make the burden light. WOW! What an amazing organizing committee we had this year. Being the lead for the last 3 years, I am finally learning how to delegate and trust the team. I was not disappointed. Sure am thankful for a wonderful group of fellow educators. What many people probably don't know is that this is all volunteer led and run, and Edcamp Gigcity is unique in that the organizers represent higher ed, lower ed, public, and private school sectors. I love that about our edcamp! This uniqueness opens the door for collaborative thinking way beyond the walls of the school house, the district, and even the city! I can't even begin to say how much I appreciate the following organizers that planned along with me this year:
• Dr. Karen Adsit, Education Professor at The University of Tennessee of Chattanooga
• Greg Bagby, Principal at Barger Academy
• Jim David, STEM School administrator 
• Kimberly Elbakidze, Computer Science Instructor at Red Bank Middle School
• Evonne Hackett, Technology Teacher at Lakeview Middle School
• Julie King, Middle School Librarian at The Baylor School
• Arthur Williams, K-5 Instructional Technologist at Lakeside Academy
• We need to make sure we explain how edcamps work a little better for new attendees. Often people are a bit overwhelmed by the "no presenters" and "rule of 2 feet" if it is their first edcamp. We need to make sure we provide more insight on how edcamps got started and why it is so organic in nature.  
• The EdCamp philosophy makes people smile. All day long I watched as people moved around from room to room at EdCamp Gigcity with smiles on their faces. I couldn't help but ask myself, "Is this what you see when you lead PD at school?" And I answered myself (because I'm weird like that) "Not usually." So why do educators like edcamps? I have 3 theories:
• Choice- Educators are at least college graduates and sometimes/often even have advanced degrees...they love Edcamps because they get to choose what they learn about instead of being forced into a PD that may or may not interest, help, or pertain to them. 
• Voice- Educators get to ask questions and share their concerns and fears in a safe non-threatening environment. The beauty of our edcamp is that it isn't "district led" so the voices they are in a room with aren't necessarily the ones they usually hear from so it adds a freedom to learn from others. The value of being heard is important to everyone, the nature of edcamps is active participation no matter what your level of understanding. 
• Free- The event is free, the food is free, and the door prizes are both awesome and free. How does that make an educator feel? VALUED. For some educators, they rarely have the opportunity to learn outside of their school building because of cost or time. Edcamps show teachers that they are appreciated and important by creating platforms for them to learn without other things hanging over them- like lesson plans for subs and money.
• Being an #EdcampGigCity organizer make me a more connected educator. This is year five of our edcamp and every year I walk away with new edufriendships, knowledge, and ideas that I know I have a safety net for if I have more questions. Like all conferences, you get what you put into it. Allowing yourself to connect with others and hear what other schools and districts are doing brings value back to yourself and your school/district. I'm thankful for the opportunity to connect in such a big way to the Chattanooga are. #CHAedu

The Unsettling Stomach Lurch of Teacher Branding

Recently eduawesome Refranz Davis shared this recent post she wrote on her thoughts of the need to be "visually appealing" as an female edtech speaker. Refranz has been a champion for the underdog and I admire her for it. She posted the above post on Facebook and a few of us edtech women jumped on it and ran with the idea of "branding." Refranz quickly said that wasn't the direction she was going with the post, which we understood, but I find it interesting how quickly the three of us found the connection to branding.

I just googled "teacher branding" and in .36 seconds 13.8 million results came back...no lie. What is teacher branding? To put it succinctly it is marketing yourself, your skills, your knowledge as an educator in a way that establishes a positive presence in the minds of others.

The idea of needing to brand oneself as an educator makes me feel uneasy. During Christmas break I shared that fact in a Twitter chat with a tweet something like this: "I struggle with the fact that edus feel they must brand themselves to be heard. We all have value." I was amazed at the number of people that this resonated with. I am realizing this statement rings true to a many in the educational community.

I then found myself digging deeper into the thought of branding. What bothers me about it? What good things come from it? And I will be honest, my t-account of debits and credits felt fairly equal. The pros: It allows an educator that's doing great things to have a larger and louder voice. It potentially opens up another form of income for these educators in leading professional development opportunities or having the ability to be an edtech speaker. Branding makes the school system these people come from look like an innovative thinking school. Branding actually leads to giving credit where credit is due in a world of easy Internet searches.

So why does it cause an unsettling lurch in my stomach? Truthfully, I struggle with the vanity of it. I struggle with the need to put myself out there to receive accolades before I am seen as a valuable educator. I struggle with the way some educators are doing this. I struggle with the idea of becoming an "ambassador" of any app/group/ website because I worry it dilutes my appearance of being unbiased in the field of education.  Over Christmas break I was on the phone with Ditch That Textbook author Matt Miller (@jmattmiller) and I shared my concerns. I appreciate Matt's humble heart and what he said resonated with me. In my words, not his...he basically said he agreed. He said he finds it important to focus on the things he wants to share in his branding approach, not on himself. I get that. Hence the hashtag #ditchbook not #jmattmiller.  I also understand that if an educator is going to put forth the time, effort, and expense to write a book, create a website, start a learning curriculum, speak at conferences that it comes at a price. We give up something in order to do this. It might be family time, coaching opportunities, vacations, etc but everything we choose comes at a price.

I find it interesting that before I was added to the 2015 list of top 50 k-12 I.T. blogs by Edtech Magazine, I was just Julie- tech coach/coordinator in a private school in Chattanooga, Tennessee doing her best day by day. I'm not saying I am a different person but I am amazed by the validation that simple list seems to have given me in some circles. I'll be honest, it was one of my most amazing honors since becoming an educator. But I leave you with this... I don't think there is a correlation between Twitter followers and great educators. I don't think there is much of a correlation between a dynamic public speaker and an Edtech guru. I don't think that just because someone is published they are a better educator from those that are working day in and day out in their classroom to do what is best for their students.

I'm not saying don't value and follow these great Edtech names on social media, all I am saying is make sure you are also listening to the quiet guy, the twitterer with 100 followers, the voices that ask the questions that make the rest of us ponder. Do not be pulled into the power of branding because someone is selling themselves well. A rude educator is a rude educator with or without their own website. There is value in all of us. I strive to remind myself of this everyday.