I have been at OETC17 since Tuesday and there is something missing. Yes, we have a ton of sessions and App Slams and vendors and so on. To be honest, it is pretty much the same as last year. What I haven't seen enough of, and this disappoints me, are teachers sharing individual lessons and resources. Yes, there are plenty of gadgets and ideas, but not enough personal "here is what I do" type of sessions. Yes, there are some, but there simply are not enough.
And it is not just the sessions. I feel that too many educators come to conferences like this and float along without really being connected to the material. We should not just sit and listen -- we should be collaborating and creating.
So, my challenge is this: be a rock star! Do not just sit and receive -- be actively involved. Nothing in your teaching life will ever change and nothing will ever improve and your students will not be more engaged if you sit around and wait for someone else to do the work for you.
Sorry for nagging (I am not that sorry, though), but I want to see more teachers being more involved. I want to see more presentations not just on tools and gadgets, but with actual take home lessons. Every session I presented at this year (3 in total) was focused on actual experiences and real-world lessons. In fact, in the third session, I dragged L. Johnson and K. Solosky into the mix. They were great and next year I expect them to have their own sessions. In fact, I plan to write the proposal so they are pretty much doing it whether they want to or not, but that is how I roll. I am also working with J. Zettler on a presentation for next year. I guess my point is that we have talented people in our district and we need to be the leaders; we need to be the ones giving and not receiving.
This became a rant and it is horrible, but I am not deleting any of it. Get out there, get busy and be a rock star!
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