It's long, but they're worth it #ncdlc

I was a little apprehensive last weekend. On Monday I would start a four day adventure where I provided professional development to educators all over the eastern side of North Carolina. Hundreds of people at each location, and no idea where each teacher might be in their level of preparedness for our content. Now here comes a selfish moment. I love providing professional development, especially if it is something which I am extremely passionate, so my anxiety was not about standing in front of others. For me I worried, "What if no one wants to attend my sessions?" I had these mental images of me standing around in the hallway, dejected, possibly teary, while everyone else had rooms full of participants. Even with this fear darting in and out of my head occasionally, I was at the ready when the time for the first session came.

My first session each day was on Seesaw, and was designed to display to teachers ways to utilize the platform to have students curate their learning, create portfolios, and connecting with parents in more meaningful ways. I love Seesaw, and not just because I'm an ambassador. I think the versatility of the platform is truly amazing, but I also recognize just how easy it could be to get overwhelmed with all those options. So I was ready to help participants go through the types of activities that involved reflections, tagging posts with learning targets, curating artifacts, and brainstorming ways to incorporate all these things in our classrooms. I get really excited about these processes in Seesaw and their potential, so it's easy to be really eager and animated. And like I said, I was ready.

My music is playing (the usual, Blake Rules Kids Trap). In walked Laura (names changed to protect my poor participants 😉), a kindergarten teacher, and in my head I thought "Yes! Someone is here! This is exciting, I can't wait for the others to come so we can get started!"

Well the others didn't come. I had one participant in my first session, Laura. Though I was so happy to see her, I was a bit crestfallen at the lack of interest in my session. Little did I know that working with Laura in a one-on-one session was going to pave the way for an amazing week. The conversation alone gave me such inspiration on the ways to help all students reflect regardless of age or entry point. See, Laura is a kindergarten teacher. She has to shape all these little teeny ones' minds no matter where they are when they enter. She had already been using Seesaw as a work collector. She saw the benefit of portfolios and wanted to hone in on how to expand the applications and move into parent involvement. Her goals were specific, and since she was the only one in that session, we could flesh out any concerns she had and really try to figure out the best plan of action.

When time was up, I asked Laura if she felt better about trying Seesaw again this year, and she confirmed that she was ready to try to help her kids complete posts more independently, get parents involved, and get them involved early. It was at that moment where I realized that if I only had her for the rest of the day, the experience was so powerful because she gave me insights and perspectives that I had not yet even thought of.

But Laura wasn't the only one that day. My sessions throughout the day had more and more participants, with more and more perspectives. It was awesome. What really surprised me was how many people were interested in my second session about tools that could help with writing instruction. We talked not only about the tools, but about why kids often don't enjoy writing and the things we could do to alleviate those issues. Teachers were so excited with some of the ways the tools could be used, and it was a total rush to lead them through activities and here the "wow" noises. At the end of each session, I asked participants if they felt like they had found something they could use, and I got vigorous head nods and affirmations.

I didn't have another one-person session; my other sessions had at least a small group, and some of them filled a classroom. I was able to reference Laura and our one-on-one session the rest of the week. I met more "Lauras" who had been using tools for a while. But I also got to meet others who were completely unfamiliar with digital tools, and honestly kind of nervous about it. But they were there. In the summer. Out of their comfort zone. Fully participating. Feeling at least a little more empowered to enhance their students' learning experiences. As the week went on, some other folks stood out to me (names still changed):

Melanie came in and asked first about what level of experience she needed. She had not been able to get to the beginner session but wanted to know more about it, though she was afraid it would be over her head. I reassured her, helped her through the session and try some new things, and by the end she had some really reflective artifacts. And here's the kicker... Melanie was in Edenton on Monday, but then I saw her again on Tuesday in Kinston. Y'all that's like two hours of a trip. Two. Hours. I told her she was the real MVP of the NCDLC.

Kendrick came into my session first thing one day and did so quickly. He was one of several who had not heard of Seesaw before but wanted to try it. Kendrick stands out to me because he helped me see that I needed to be a bit more aware in my acknowledgement of entry points. One of the activities had  participants reflecting on digital tools they have used in their classrooms so far. It just so happened that as I said it aloud, I glanced at Kendrick and saw an uneasy look, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I had made an assumption that all my participants were at a certain level (which... shame on me because I have preached this to others for so long), and I had to immediately amend the directions and include reassurance to those who were trying new things. I mean it's a pretty big step to show up sometimes, you know? Kendrick participated in all aspects of the session, and even said that he may try using it this year. #win

Carol came into a session and struggled with technology from the get go. I mean the wifi wouldn't work, laptop issues, you name it. It took a while to get her set up, and when she finally was able to post, her words made me all warm and fuzzy on the inside. She mentioned that she was getting closer to retirement, and wanted to be better at digital tools and improve her skillset before then. Even after all the reasons above as to why she should be frustrated and give up, that's what she said.

There are countless others... I just realized I could go on for another ten paragraphs about these wonderful educators. (Like when I finally impressed Rosanna with a tool that she had not yet heard of... Rosanna you know who you are because you hung out with me for half a day😉) I had people come to one of my session and then stay for the other one (apparently I am what some call "entertaining" in my presentations). But the sessions seemed to fly by, as did the days. Before I knew it, I was back home and feeling so hopeful.

Y'all... teachers in our state of North Carolina are amazing. Our licensing requirements changed, prompting the need for new and different CEUs. Some people came because they had to renew their license, while others came to just learn more than they would be able to in their district. We had people drive around and follow us from location to location (again, let me say, two hours per trip one way). And I never had one educator who voiced displeasure or frustration in one of my sessions. Instead they were excited to learn new things, practice new things. Some were just happy to be in an environment with others who want to learn and try new things. It's hard not to feel downtrodden in our state with education. We are underfunded, not just in teacher pay, but for our students. Yes we have technology but some of it is still archaic and we have it because we have to keep up with the rest of the world! Class sizes are monstrous and we sometimes feel as though we are fighting a losing battle. But these teachers gave me an incredible amount of faith that our system will never really fail. Our teachers still love kids. They still want to help students. They still want to get better. They are still magicians. They still deserve your respect and gratitude always. And if you have any concerns about that not being the case, please come talk to me, and I can tell you about some more of my new friends.

#NCDLC