Confessions of a First Time Presenter

Confessions of a First time Presenter

My Local Experience

In a way, I am really NOT a novice staff development presenter.   I started teaching in 1989, so I have been presenting to students for 24 years. I have been presenting to my LOCAL peers for a little over two thirds of that time.  I started as a volunteer teaching basic first aid to coaches and teachers at my school. I have been doing local staff development ever since.  I have presented about subjects ranging from Beginning  Microsoft Office Applications to using our subscription to Discovery Education to Flipping the Classroom using Doceri.  But until this summer, I have never presented outside of my school or district. I have always been told that people liked my presentations, both to my face and anonymously in post session surveys.

The Rock Star Mark

In July 2012, 4 teachers from our staff went to a program called CUE Rock Star Tech Camp. At the start of each day, the faculty showed us what they were teaching us in a slide show called a “shred session”. The CUE staff described their course in a humorous and irreverent (to each other) way. The overall model they use for this 3-day camp is presenters teach during 2 sessions of 2 hours each of the days. There is lots of scheduled “free” time in between and after the learning sessions for networking, socializing and going deeper into the topics that were presented. The beauty of the 2-hour session is that it gives the learner time to create materials and lessons that can be incorporated into classroom right away. 

Last summer’s Rock Star Camp left an indelible mark on my psyche.  Jon Corippo (creator of CUERockStar) says that the Rock Star events are leadership development camps. He says, “You guys are the Rock Stars. You all have so much to share” The video link on the CUE Rock Star web page about the shirtless dancing guy resonated with me about being a lone nut connecting with others to create a movement. 

(http://tinyurl.com/shirtlessdancingguy)

I have been kicking around the idea of presenting outside of my local learning community for several years.  After so much experience in my local pond, I thought I would jump in and try making some bigger ripples. I applied in the spring 2013 to present at the summer CUE Rock Star Solana Beach Tech Camp. My proposal was accepted, so I was excited and nervous all at the same time.

It’s Show Time – Day 1

I arrived at Skyline Elementary in Solana Beach  a little early to set my room up and get over to the multipurpose room for the shred session. I was pumped and nervous and really wanted to make a good first impression. This was the moment I had been planning for most of the summer. My first shred slides were very simple compared to the slides of other presenters.  Their mini talks were calm and poised and I was as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof.  I wonder now whether any of the others were novice presenters, like me.

I was a bit underwhelmed when I only had 3 people in my first session about using Google forms. They all got some Google forms started and we had a great discussions and learning experience despite the small numbers. My second session was even smaller with just a single person attending. She and I had a great one to one tutoring. Since she was a new administrator, she could see how using Google forms could help her manage meetings and information and share with the folks in her office.

With such small numbers in attendance for my first time as a presenter, I felt very self-conscious. Here’s the mental noise I was making…”Maybe I really need to stay in my district where they know me. Maybe I did something wrong in my shred session. There were a hundred people at this conference and I couldn’t manage to snag even 4% for my event. What is wrong with me?” I had to shake myself out of that funk and I even got a little teary eyed that afternoon when talking to my roommate Jen Roberts about it.

It’s Show Time – Day 2

The next day I did a more interesting Google Slide for my shred and that resulted in the same numbers for my morning presentation on Bring Your Own Devices. Our morning session was more of a discussion about whether or not we SHOULD encourage BYOD and how we could get around district policies without openly rebelling. Unfortunately, NO ONE showed up to my second round. Here was the conversation I had that afternoon in my head… “You finally got up the nerve to step out and do something that you had been thinking of doing for years and you couldn’t get anyone to buy what you are selling!” I was angry and hurt because I felt like I had nothing to show for all my anxiety and preparation. And yes, I did cry a little harder that afternoon when talking with Jen and Shannon Applegate about my sessions. I was ready to pack it up and go home right then and there. However, I decided that I had made a commitment and that my third day topic was one that I could share with credibility and people would be able to create screencasts and use them in their own practice with students.

So that afternoon before dinner, I reworked my shred session and made a video screencast about how you can “Flip” instruction.  Later, I went and had a cheery dinner and a glass of porter with the other presenters. A conversation I had with one of them that evening was enlightening and encouraging. Vicky Sedgewick told me that several of the other people are well known in the San Diego Area and their sessions were full of local participants. Additionally, those who were not local were well known in the twitterfeed and had many followers among the group of learners. I was willing to believe her, since the alternative was such an emotional drain and a huge slam to my self-confidence as an educator.

It’s Show Time – Day 3

I wanted to make sure I generated more enthusiasm for what I had to present, so my third and final shred session was much more interesting. It was pretty cool considering I was tucked away in the back of the room when my video screencast aired on the screen. I even got a bantering comment from Will Kimbley about being able to present even when I am not in the room, to which I promptly replied, “I AM here and I heard that!” My sessions were still not packed, but I had 4 people for the first session and 5 the second. For both sessions there was some really good philosophical dialogue and my participants were able to create something practical for their teaching. Ultimately, for my last day, I had more people come to my sessions than both of the previous days combined. It was a more successful day for my psyche.

I know it sounds like I am worried more about quantity rather than quality of interaction. Nothing could be further from the truth! I wasn’t really looking to pack the house. Seriously though, I would have been more satisfied (and probably a little less self pitying) had I experienced similar numbers each of the three days.

Now What?

So you must be asking yourself; “Is she ever going to try presenting outside the district again?” I am just not sure. I will continue to present at my school and in my district, since I am the Staff Development Chair and a very active member of the district Technology Supporting Instruction committee. I am already scheduled to co-present about using Twitter as a professional development tool.  So I am not giving up entirely.  I know that I need to at least consider being a presenter again since it gave me a great opportunity to learn from and share my skills with a different audience.  I connected at a different level from my Rock Star colleagues, so that factor alone might make it worth it. Honestly though, I have not decided whether I can stand the anxiety again.  As I continue to reflect on my Solana Beach CUERockstar experience, I will have to decide to apply again next year or to just attend to absorb what I can as a participant rather than as a leader in the wider arena.

Twitter handles of the people I mentioned in the text above

Jon Corippo @jcorripo

Jen Roberts @jenroberts1

Shannon Applegate @shannonapplegat
Vicky Sedgewick @visionsbyvicky 

Will Kimbley @willkimbley

What's all the HYPE about the Twitterverse?

I have been FaceBooking for several years, so I understand the whole social network phenomenon. I keep track of many personal and some professional contacts there. I upload pictures of things going on in my world. I even played some of the games associated with Facebook. But TWITTER? Isn't that for famous people, rock stars, and pro athletes? I mean, I just felt like I had no use for anything Twitter in my cyber space. I was not "that person." I could not see the benefit of adding another social network to my already busy schedule. Okay, so I suppose I should just openly admit it; It took me a WHOLE YEAR to finally do the "twitter thing" after I was introduced to it as a professional development tool. I guess I'm a slow learner <sigh>.

In the summer of 2012, during the CUE Rock Star Tech Camp-Central Coast, I reluctantly created an account. I used it during the 3 day camp and that was pretty much all for a couple of weeks. Some of the people I followed from Day 1 are very active, but I was still not sold. I didn't like the "Hashtag" thing- it's a pound sign or number sign for goodness' sake! I thought 140 characters was very restrictive- I want to say things in a bigger way. I also wasn't impressed by the pace of the chats I witnessed. It was either way too fast with too many people talking or way to slow. I had moderated for an AOL tutoring chat room and Science Q/A site for several years that seemed more complete and understandable. I didn't like the idea that I could not see the entire conversation unless I was specifically searching the blasted hashtag. None of my face to face colleagues were using Twitter, so I just couldn't see the need.

So I only used the network off and on until I attended my Fellowship at the Siemens/Discovery STEM Institute at the end of the summer. I had made several professional contacts with the other fellows that week.  As a way to help us get to know one another, Discovery made trading cards and posters of our Twitter account profile page and it showed mine with only 11 followers and 15 tweets. <redfaced with shame>. From their posters, I could see that most of the other 50 teachers were far more active on Twitter. I would check my account from time to time, but I still didn't recognize the power of Twitter until several months ago.

Whenever I looked at my Twitter account after that, I read the posts of some of the people I admire professionally (Will Kimbley, Jen Roberts, Hall Davidson, Alice Keeler, Jon Corippo, Ramsey Musallum, Jon Bergmann). I opened some of their links to blogs and articles that seemed interesting. I sometimes added a person who made comments on my favorite people. I generally felt like I had nothing to contribute. I was lurking and observing some of those CUE contacts early last spring (2013), when I noticed them tweeting about a chat that sounded interesting. So the next Sunday night, I checked out #caedchat. This is where my big conversion took place!

Once I learned how to "follow" the chat and the protocols for answering the questions that were being discussed, I really got involved and the hour just flew by. So many great ideas were flying on my screen that night. I bookmarked several great web sites and articles to read. My professional learning network had just gotten much bigger.  That was it! I WAS HOOKED! I finally saw the need in my practice for the Twitterverse!

After that first experience, I have regularly connected with that same chat and got wind of several others that have rocked my world. I found that people who participated in the Twitter discussions for professional purposes were polite, supportive, knowledgeable and positive. The moderators of some of the chats usually create an archive of the discussion and post it to one of their websites, so if it goes too fast or if I miss the chat altogether, I can review what happened. To make it seem more real, you can even send direct messages through Twitter or you can meet with your tweeps. When I went to the CUE 2013 Conference in Palm Springs, I was able to meet several of the people that I follow face to face. There was even a #caedchat "meet up" at a nearby hotel lounge on one of the afternoons during the conference. What a cool bunch of folks!

After a whole year of having a Twitter account, I finally set up a way to read my Twitterfeed in an organized way (using TweetDeck). I have been avidly connecting with and following more and more people in our profession. I attend and participate in several weekly chats. I have been involved in a book study and a couple of virtual conferences. I got to learn about Google Hangouts because I got involved with a chat about Google tools. Several months ago, I watched with baited breath with many of my friends when Google announced the next group of  Google Teacher Academy candidates going to Chicago. I am eagerly awaiting the next opportunity for the next Google Teacher Academy. A couple of months ago, I found out about a UC Curriculum Integration Institute through one of my friends on Twitter. I applied along with my friend and colleague and we were accepted as course developers for a d - level science and engineering course for our school. That's a big deal!

I have included hashtags for some of the best twitter chats that I have participated in below in the post script. I realize that there are fewer hours in my day than the possible chats in which I would like to participate.

PS: My favorite Twitter chats include
#caedchat (Sunday 8 PM Pacific Time)
#tlap (Monday 6 PM Pacific Time)

#flipclass (Tuesday 4 PM Pacific Time)

#profchat (Tuesday 5 PM Pacific Time)
#satchatwc (Saturday 7:30 AM Pacific Time)

Check out this Google Doc with a schedule of MANY Twitter chats organized by day of the week. This list was compiled by @thomascmurray & @cevans5095  with continuous help from @cybraryman1

Twitter Chat List

Summer professional development has always been one of my major goals. Last summer, 2013, my learning was completely under the influence of the Twitterverse. When school started again in August, I had many new resources and applications that I can use in my teaching. I even created a different twitter handle in which I have been tweeting out pictures of class activities and news  from my classroom. I have lots of students, school organizations and parents who follow me there (@mrskdiver)

Even if you are not a big fan of Social Media in general, Twitter has a great place in the professional lives of teachers (and probably many other career pathways). I have found some of my voice as an educator and as a colleague through this powerful medium. The collective resources of my Twitter PLN is so vast, I can hardly begin scratch the surface.

I suggest you give it a real attempt. Look in on a chat or search a book you have been reading to see if others are tweeting about it. Best of all- look up people in the eduverse whom you admire, follow them and see what they are talking about. You may find that you have something to learn and something to share. See you in the #twitterverse @kathleendiver

Summer Traditions, Transformations and Transitions

Practicing lab skills during Cal Poly Summer Institute 2010

Over my 24 years as a teacher, I have made it my habit to recharge in the summer. I am not talking about going on vacation to rest - I do that too; but I try to find real professional and mental battery boosting events. Each summer, I find a conference or workshop and go to "camp" to learn something new and interesting in my field. Some of these programs have been content specific - focused on teaching my science curriculum. Others have been pedagogy related -designing lessons to enhance the curriculum I teach to making it more interesting and accessible for all students. Since I have done this almost every summer since entering the teaching profession, I suppose it is what you would say a tradition.

Last year, I had 3 career changing experiences in the spring and summer. First, I signed up for the Computer Using Educator Annual Conference in Palm Springs in March of 2012.  Most of the courses I took were awesome. I brought home several ideas to infuse into my teaching for the following Monday. Of particular use in my practice were "50 Ways to Use Discovery Education" and a discussion of Flipped Instruction by Catlin Tucker. There was also a cool app "slam" session in which several presenters got up in front of the crowd and gave a 6 to 8 minute mini-lesson on a favorite app. Though I did not yet have an iPhone or iPad, I was open to learning how those tools could be useful to my practice.

There were a couple of sessions that were particularly important - not as much for their content as for the networking opportunities that I would make from them. The most astounding of those was with a guy named Jon Corippo - An Apple Distinguished Educator who was teaching us how to make Chuck Norris Style Presentations using Apple Devices. I cannot describe adequately how energetic and engaging he is as a presenter. I attended 2 of his workshops, just so I could replicate some of that energy for my own classroom. From the discussion of his practice and what his school does, I felt like I'd "drunk the koolaid" with respect to technology in my classroom.  After learning about the one to one program at his school and the technology academy they start with at the beginning of the year, I thought to myself, "I'll have some of that, please!" He mentioned a summer conference called CUE Rock Star Tech Camp.

Next, I traveled to Solvang, CA for the CUE Rock Star summer 3 day professional development. My head is STILL SPINNING from what I learned there. Things started with late sessions lasting about 2 hours, a 2 hour lunch (provided by the workshop) and another 2 hour session in the afternoon.  The begin late and end early with long lunches in between to increase the networking possibilities among participants. Rock Star faculty encouraged us to create a twitter account to start a back channel conversation and to further those connections. They also demonstrated how to use some apps for polling and for managing "student" participation for the large group. It was a light hearted atmosphere that helped us feel connected to each other and to the presenters. It really was a dynamic way bring some new components into my practice.

The sessions were well designed. Each class that I attended was of a practical nature. The focus of each course was using some area of technology, Google docs, Sketch-up, creating and editing PDF forms, and even creating movies for flipped lessons. The staff introduced the process for just a few minutes to get us started and the participants used the applications while the teacher circulated among the students to coach and help learn more about the applications we were using. I had several classes that allowed me to build and prepare some new activities for my classes for when we returned to school in August.

Motion Machine at Discovery Headquarters

My third transformative experience happened during the last week of the summer. I was accepted as a 2012 Discovery Siemens STEM fellow. Our focus was increasing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math for all students at various levels in public and private education. Fifty teachers from all over the United States came together in the Discovery Channel's headquarters at One Discovery Place in Silver Spring, Maryland.

2012 Discovery Siemens STEM Fellows

During the week, we had special presentations by people such as Reed Timmer, Hall Davidson, and Lodge McCammon. We learned to use Edmodo and Discovery Education's new Science Techbook. We networked with educators and scientists at the Smithsonian Institution, College Board, and NASA. We even visited the White house and had an hour long meeting with officials in the US Department of Education. I got to write a computer program (on my own) that could be used to turn on and off LED lights and sounds on a computer card. While this experience was less about the day to day journey I take with my students, my confidence with technology and my willingness to experiment increased so that I feel more positive about the work I do with my computer, my iPad and my camera.

Throughout this school year, I used many of the skills and web based tools I found during my experiences. I processed what I learned during these "summer camps" to use in my curriculum. It was exciting to incorporate common tools such as cell phones into my lessons. My skills as a presenter have been transformed as I continue to practice using different technologies within the scope of the content area that I teach. The transition to using more technology to enhance how my students learn or how they interact with each other and me about their learning continues to be a focus for my work.

To continue with my traditional summer activity, I will be attending 2 summer workshops this year to learn more and practice these important technical skills. However, this year, I have added something new to my agenda. I will be a faculty member at one of the summer CUE Rock Star sessions, so I can share my enthusiasm for using technology in communicating and demonstrating what we have been learning.