Five out of my last six summers have been spent either in Bethlehem, PA at Lehigh University or in Miami at the PTC.  However, having already completed my goals at those fine institutions I figured that this summer I’d focus on spending time with family and friends instead of racing from one spot to the next.  That being said, and as I mentioned in my last 2 Cents post, I still had professional learning plans for the summer.

I’m about half way through The Multiplier Effect and the #admin2b Twitter Chats have been excellent, even though I missed a couple due to travel.  More to come on that when I’ve finished the book.

Similarly, I’m rolling along nicely on Insights:  How Expert Principals Make Difficult Decisions which I’m reviewing this summer for Middleweb.com.

Today, I want to reflect on the amazing experience I had yesterday at the edCamp Leadership unconference in Chicago.  This was my first unconference and it far exceeded my already high expectations!  For those who’ve never been…basically when you show up there is no schedule, this gets set during the first half hour or so as people bring ideas forth (or share on a Google Doc) and offer up different topics.  For the most part these are discussion sessions instead of teaching or “sage on the stage” style presentations.

The edCamp Leadership idea has been around for a while but this was the first year that it was coordinated on such a grand scale.  There were 17 sites around the country involved on the same date, at the same time.  #edcampldr was on fire all day long as people shared all the amazing learning that was happening at their specific sites.  I attended in Chicago where we were hosted by the amazing crew at East Leyden High School, huge shout out to them!

At each session there was something new for me, from personalized learning to, standards based grading, to Google Hangouts, even the session about “Getting Started in a New District” was interesting as I’m preparing to move into my new school, Academia Cotopaxi in Quito, Ecuador.  The insights and perspectives that were shared throughout the day were eye-opening for me in many ways.  As someone who’s been working in international schools more than US schools throughout my career I don’t always identify with the struggles that US based educators present.  However, during EdCamp Leadership the conversations weren’t about state laws, unions, or political mumbo jumbo; every discussion I heard was focused on being a better educator for the benefit of the students.  It didn’t matter if someone was working in a school in Illinois, Wisconsin, China, or Mars…it was all about the kids, anyone could follow these conversations.

Along with all the wonderful professional learning that was happening throughout the day I was excited to meet some of the amazing educators who I’ve been following on Twitter for the last couple years.  Having been in China and struggling to access the internet at times, let alone social media, many of these outstanding educators have been my source of professional information, whether they knew it or not.  It was inspiring to meet so many wonderful educators, it was truly an all-star lineup of educational leaders from the midwest region!

Finally, and perhaps the biggest take away for me, was the amazing connections that all of these educational leaders had already established…many without ever meeting face to face!  Lots of these people were clearly friends prior to this unconference but it was shocking to learn that so many of them had, so far, only met via Twitter, Voxer, or some other form of social media.  These educators, who previously may have functioned in isolation at their respective schools had found friends, mentors, and resources without leaving the comfort of their homes or schools.  The collegial atmosphere and laughter at lunch time and throughout the day was inspiring beyond words, awesome stuff.

EdCamp Leadership was my first edcamp but it most definitely won’t be my last!!  I look forward to maintaining the connections I made yesterday and as I continue to learn from these amazing educators.  If you’ve ever thought about attending an edcamp then stop hesitating and get moving…have a look here for edcamps coming up near you.