The Schoenblog

And this weekend, I attended my third #EdcampNJ. This event has grown a lot, and so have I. I’ve attended too many edcamps to count in the past three years and presented at so many of them. I’ve had opportunities to connect with and learn from passionate educators in the tri-state area of NY, NJ, and CT, and all around the world.

And Saturday’s fifth annual #EdcampNJ was one of the best of them all.

A completely full parking lot at 8 AM, over 800 educators registered for the event, and having around 60 sessions to fill on the board should have overwhelmed anyone. But I’m thankful to the awesome organizing team for all of their hard work and planning. Most of all, I’m thankful for how #EdcampNJ refocused its mission on the edcamp model with a back to basics approach. Here are some of the reasons why this was one of my favorite edcamp and learning experiences yet:

There are soooo many people ready to learn at #edcampnj!! pic.twitter.com/ZZVNPnXBGJ

— Adam Schoenbart (@MrSchoenbart) November 19, 2016

3 Ways Back to Basics Made #EdcampNJ Great

1. Embraced its Size

It’s 8:30 AM on Saturday and there are 400 excited educators who won’t shut up. We’re all passionate about our work and enjoying the opportunity to connect and have some breakfast. Instead of wasting the time and energy on long speeches, drawn out prizes, and quieting crowds, I loved how the team let the learning and the participants drive the day. They embraced their huge numbers by never asking people to quiet down and proving so much space and so many learning opportunities so we never had to stop.

For example, besides a five minute introduction to the day, there were no major announcements, speeches, or moments of focus on one individual. It was about all of us. Prizes were given out to start the day and at half time instead of in a long raffle procession. And while I love the smackdown or demo slam atmosphere, it would have been tough (and maybe unnecessary) to refocus on it at the end of the day. Instead, we got to finish our learning and leave on a high note. Surrounded by hundreds of like-minded educators, there was never a lull in the learning of conversation.

2. The Schedule

#EdcampNJ made some valuable changes to the traditional schedule board process. Instead of filling up all of the sessions at the start of the day, we only filled the first two time slots. Two blocks of 40-minutes were dedicated to learning and conversation, to be followed by a half-time. In the half-time, prizes were awarded using a random name generator of attendees and we enjoyed more conversation, bagels, and coffee. Most importantly, we created the schedule for the second half of the day.

The genius of this move reflects what good professional learning needs: authenticity and ownership. Through the conversations and sessions in morning, we were able to better plan the afternoon sessions. This allowed for reflection and conversation to drive the schedule instead of pre-planned canned presentations. I’m not sure who came up with this idea--I’ve never seen it done this way before--but it had a huge impact on my enjoyment of the day.

Session board first thing this morning. This is what other looked like at the end of the day. #njed #edcampnj pic.twitter.com/SFxoLaZZNu

— Sandra Paul (@spaul6414) November 19, 2016

3. The Conversations

From the moment I walked in the building, I was surrounded by intense, passionate, and curious educators who wanted to learn and connect. With the Back to Basics theme, the organizers emphasized conversation over presentation, which was exactly what I needed. There’s a time and place for traditional presentations--as a frequent presenter and consultant, I’m not knocking them at all--but the spirit of edcamp empowers its participants to drive the session and conversation, too.

From leading a discussion on instructional coaching to participating in one about understanding professional development, I was able to choose the conversations I wanted to be a part of and decide how I wanted to participate. For the first session, I visited three different rooms where the conversations weren’t for me. Instead, I talked in the hall with some new friends and made great connections. The combination of the learning and discussing before, during, and after sessions left me feeling accomplished but relaxed--it wasn’t the traditional feeling of a “full brain” I often suffer at the end of a conference day.

@mrschoenbart and @Kennisdani are rocking their teacher leadership session. #edcampnj https://t.co/q95KykvTk7 pic.twitter.com/3h1ViG69KC

— AJ Bianco (@AJBianco) November 19, 2016

There was so much more I enjoyed about the day, and it wouldn’t have been the same without the fantastic work of the organizers. It was great to connect and reconnect with so many friends and educators. For those of you #EdcampNJ attendees who are readers, it would be great to hear your perspective of the day, too. Let’s keep the learning and conversation going.

Share your thoughts on #EdcampNJ or your favorite #edcamp experiences in the comments or on Twitter @MrSchoenbart.

5 Keys to the Successful District #Edcamp

We worked hard, planned well, and adapted the model to meet my school’s needs. But in hindsight, here are some of the most important reasons why our day was successful.

1. Thoughtful Session Planning

Instead of the blank board edcamp approach, we asked our staff for input in designing the schedule. It was great to invite ideas and contributions from everyone and this allowed us to plan for high-interest sessions that would have the most meaning. Then, we worked to match the session ideas with facilitators.

The most important idea here is that we took the topics and found facilitators who were excited by them. We looked for the passions, successes, and challenges in our building and found the right people to facilitate discussions about them. Sometimes tech was involved in the conversation but it was only used to enhance conversations about curriculum, pedagogy, and supporting students and educators, which was our hope all along.

Having a plan in place also eased everyone’s nerves--organizers and administrators alike--since we could make to feature sessions aligned both to district initiatives and staff needs.

@sarroumar great workshop on the hardships of homework #EdcampOHS @KellyKp814 pic.twitter.com/82LvmSvYCv

— Dawn Bayer (@bayerdawn) March 2, 2016

2. Celebrated Our Awesome

#EdcampOHS recognized teacher-leaders and celebrated the great things going on in our school and community. Instead of asking facilitators to plan or learn something new, we asked them to facilitate conversations that highlighted what they already did. The art teachers who do a lot of community outreach led a session about bringing the community into the classroom while a co-teaching pair led a discussion about co-teaching challenges and strategies.

Both of these sessions, and the 18 others, were focused on practical ideas, positivity, and impacting students. We didn’t need consultants; the expert was the room, and we were able to celebrate so many best practices, successes, and achievements in what we already do.

One of the best #edcamp conferences that I've been to. Such powerful conversations, not 'you sit, I teach' sessions #ohspride #edcampohs

— Dani Kennis (@kennisdani) March 2, 2016

3. A Team Effort

From the start, we wanted to build #EdcampOHS as a collaborative effort, not just from the coaches or English teachers, but from our school community. In the end, there were 24 facilitators from every department, including classroom teachers, guidance counselors, and more. We encouraged input from the entire faculty and administration, and built an organizing team with diverse talents and interests.

This helped in brainstorming sessions that appealed to everyone and in finding sponsors, but also in building enthusiasm and awareness for the event. The Edcamp model was new but we tried to seed it well so that everyone knew to expect a different kind of professional day. All in all, this helped build community and morale, which was essential in changing culture.

I wonder how our more introverted students feel about social media use in the classroom - could be great, could be overwhelming. #edcampohs

— Lauren SooHoo (@lsoohoo) March 2, 2016

4. Positivity & Enthusiasm

Speaking of morale, a focus on positivity was essential. We wanted to make sure to use sessions to address problems and challenges, but to have positive and constructive discussions. Instead of spending time complaining, we hoped to see educators find solutions to make change and impact professional practices and most of all, our students.

From the start of the day, the positivity was evident. Whether it was breakfast, t-shirts, stickers, prizes, or just good old learning, people were smiling and sharing. And honestly, this was a welcome surprise. Seeing the support of building and district administration, many of whom participated in sessions, really helped, too.

Our educators were excited about the learning and time for meaningful conversation, which unfortunately is lacking in a lot of PD. Hearing a dozen educators share in the demo slam and a handful ask why we didn’t do it more made the day even more important. #EdcampOHS brought some positivity into our world, and was a great step in changing the culture of collaboration and PD.

#edcampohs #ossiningpride
This was like therapy for teachers! I needed to let it out! Thanks, Mrs. Munzer!

— oumar sarr (@sarroumar) March 2, 2016

5. Embraced #Edcamp Culture: Food, Sponsors, and Social Media

The edtech conference culture is a special one. The idea that a conference could be filled with food, prizes, raffles, and even more food is a surprising one for many educators. For some, this model seems like the norm but without the edcamp culture and connected learning, many still think about the sit and get, sage on the sage PD models.

We went all in with this conference culture shift, embracing social media to tell our story; feeding our staff with breakfast, coffee, and snacks; and giving away almost 20 t-shirts, loads of stickers and pens, and a handful of fantastic prizes.

Educators shared on a Today’s Meet chat room, which was embedded with the schedule on our web site, and were also encouraged to give Twitter a try. Over a dozen new-to-Twitter educators became connected, and many more Tweeted throughout the day, sharing pictures, video, and learning.

Goldberg waxing on eloquently about the benefits and evils of social media in the class. #EDcampOHS, #OssiningPride pic.twitter.com/CeID1G9Tm7

— Marco DeLeon (@deleontv) March 2, 2016

What’s Next?

I love everything I wrote above. The day made me happy as an organizer, educator, and coach. It was a success, and I saw an enthusiasm and positivity for professional learning that I hadn’t seen in years. But...now what?

How do we take advantage of this momentum, enthusiasm, and these discussions moving forward? What are the lessons we learned that can improve our PD? How do we balance the careful planning of the district calendar with the newly revealed passion for the unconference? How do we continue to move forward?

I have so many questions but only a few answers. I think I need some time to really reflect, but I wonder about how to use this day to build for the future. I’m not sure if that could mean a fall Edcamp next year, more smaller unconference opportunities, or just more teacher-led PD. I know that I want it to mean more choice, more application, and more fun, but I need to time to consider the how.

For now, here is what I know and what I’ll plan:

• Data: We need to survey the participants about the day to learn for next time. The data might help us make more change the culture of professional development. Informal conversations or smaller focus groups might be most effective in our form-exhausted culture, but a Google form would reach a wider audience. As long as it’s clear and simple, the form will get more data.
• Follow Up: Most weeks, we run all day Tech Tuesday drop-in PD, usually focusing on a specific tool or strategy. This week, we ran an #EdcampOHS follow up, asking people to bring their questions, ideas or inspirations related to technology post-edcamp. Let’s see how it goes. 
• Building #PLN: The number of educators on Twitter in this building easily tripled last week, and this deserves recognition. We need some PD and informal collaboration with the teachers taking this step. I want to follow up with them and recommend uses, chats and more, as they’re ready. This is a huge step that we need to capitalize on to connect and grow. 
• Small Wins: We need more choice and teacher voice in professional learning, but #EdcampOHS was a huge endeavor--and a huge accomplishment. Now we need to set up future successes by learning from what worked and adapting it regularly. Not every event needs to be Edcamp-level, but we need to keep moving forward. 

Dawn & Jillian thanks for the open invite - I look forward to stopping in your classes #edcampohs

— Debbie Jacoby (@dmj723) March 2, 2016

Today w #edcampohs and #ohsmodelun I feel once again the joy of the best job in the world. Such a great day!

— Occh (@Occh2) March 2, 2016

This is What PD Should Be

In my opening remarks, I told my colleagues that the Edcamp model is what professional development should be. I quoted the Edcamp Foundation, describing it as “Organic, participant-driven professional learning experiences created by educators, for educators.”

I hope this is the start of a shift in culture and learning, recognizing that all of us are smarter than one of us and that we all have something worth sharing. #EdcampOHS was a success, but I can’t help wonder about what comes next to make this the norm for professional learning within schools, rather than the exception.

Share your experiences with Edcamps and the unconference model in school districts. How have your or would you like to make it work for you? Share in the comments below or on Twitter!

In this post, I’m going to reflect on the journey to get to this point in an effort to shift culture and make professional development more meaningful. I’ve written about the #edcamp model and my experiences before, but this one’s different because we’ve adapted the edcamp and unconference model to our school building and staff. Following the lead of many great districts, we’ve designed a day of professional learning and conversation that honors the unconference model and meets the needs of our staff and administration for this first experience.

For more of my writing on edcamps, be sure to check out “This is the Most Exciting Time!” Reflecting on #EdCampNJ & #NYSCATE15, My Big #edcamp Weekend: From #edcampMville to #edcampHV, or Crowdsourcing #Edcamp Advice.

Learn more about #edcampOHS at tinyurl.com/edcampOHS and follow along on Twitter on March 2!

The Journey

As a coach, I’ve spent a lot of time this year thinking about the professional development opportunities offered in my school, and in most schools. And too often, the best opportunities are those that are “opt in”: classes, conferences, after school trainings, connected experiences, and the like.

Another problem is that we often ignore the things that good educators know in planning professional development. If we know that people learn better when they are engaged, can collaborate, have choice, and can understand the “why” of the learning, why are we ignoring the principles of best teaching and learning in most professional development?


In my district, we’ve made efforts to shift this paradigm by offering choice and inviting ideas from both teachers and administrators to help guide the work that goes into PD offerings. Still, a lot of it happens during drop in hours and by appointment, and more of it really isn’t as open to choice as we may think. I’ve learned this year that no matter how hard you work, it isn’t easy to balance schedules, plan for variety, and meet every departments’ needs.

In many ways, #EdcampOHS was my plan to change all of that. I proposed the plan to a colleague back in the fall, and my principal and administration jumped on board. Still, when the thought of a professional day is often met with dread and memories of being talked at, jampacked schedules, and leaving feeling more exhausted than teaching days, there was a lot of work to do.

The Goals

Change is hard, and it takes time. With that in mind, I wanted to be sure to give everyone a clear goal and rationale for the day and how it was run. #EdcampOHS is intended to be a day of teacher-driven professional conversation and learning, where every educator’s time is valued through choice, food, and rewards. Simply put, we do great things in my school and impact the lives and learning of so many; this deserves recognition. Teachers need and deserve an opportunity for honest and meaningful discussions about teaching and learning about the things that matter to them. With this choice, voice, and agency, we can take the ideas and learning to make an immediate impact on our students tomorrow.

#EdcampOHS and all professional learning should be a filled with:

The Plan

To start, I needed a team. Once the day was approved, I worked with the other building coaches to build a team. We wanted educators from all departments who could provide a voice for their departments’ needs and interests. I wanted a real collaboration to build something together and to add checks and balances to my English and tech-focused mind.

We decided that while many sessions would involve technology, they needed to be about more than that. This included best teaching practices, problem-solving, and strategies to help specific groups of students. No session should consist only of an expert presentation; instead, we wanted facilitated conversations.

Next, we put out a call for help from the entire faculty. We knew some compromises needed to be made from the full edcamp model our first time around, but here were the absolutes:

1. Complete choice: there are no restrictions on any sessions because of job title, subject area, or topic
2. The Rule of Two Feet: if you are not learning or contributing where you are, find somewhere else you can
3. Food: a full educator is a happy one--we needed breakfast, coffee, and snacks all day
4. Prizes: let’s reward our awesome with both the typical #edcamp and #edtech sponsors but also local ones from the school community
5. Sharing: our learning needs to be documented and shared to promote and celebrate the awesome, including on Twitter, collaborative notes, and more

With these core guidelines, we had our plan. We found great sponsors in the #edtech world and our community, including local restaurants, the PTSA, and more.

The Compromise

Thinking about the possibility of #edcampOHS, and how far we’ve come makes me proud and excited. Still, we knew that the full unconference model wasn’t a realistic one for the first attempt at anything close to an edcamp. If we did not plan any sessions or topics, it puts a lot of pressure on participants who were not yet familiar with this system, not to mention would have made most administrations nervous. Still, we wanted to provide opportunities to build capacity for teacher leadership while building towards these goals.

Instead, we tried to capture the essence of the model with some careful planning. We solicited topics from the faculty as a whole and through department representatives on our committee. Then we tried to flesh them out with titles and one-sentence descriptions, with the goal of then connecting the premise with an educator. If we knew what people wanted to learn or talk about and could find passionate educators to facilitate the session, we could match passion, choice, and learning.

In the end, we had 20 sessions with over 25 facilitators from across every subject area in the school. With three sessions, this means that all participants could choose from 6-7 different topics and could also use the collaborative notes and social media to learn and review anywhere and anytime.

And in two days, we will see how it goes.

Next Time with #EdcampOHS

This post was cathartic. I thought that by reflecting on the journey in preparation for the big day, I could share some insight with others on bringing the #edcamp model to a school event while reminding myself of how far we’ve come. And I think I’ve succeeded.

Stay tuned next week and I’ll tell you how it went. Or even better, follow me on Twitter @MrSchoenbart this week to see it live. Share your experiences with the edcamp movement and changing PD on Twitter or in the comments below.

Learn more about #edcampOHS at tinyurl.com/edcampOHS and follow along on Twitter on March 2!

Thanks to our #EdcampOHS sponsors!

Because it was a first time event and at a college, our attendees were new to edcamp, eager, and diverse. They still travelled NY, NJ, CT, and as far as PA and even TN (Hi, Katrina!), but didn’t get burned out since it was only a half day. Plus, organizing food for just breakfast and snacks makes the logistics easier, I realized. Since we were at a college, we had teachers, admins, and education students from all over the place. Because school was about to start, they were eager, fun, and excited, with an authenticity that I don’t often see at these events. 

We had around 70 attendees, gave out dozens of prizes large and small, and filled a session board with 20-or-so great sessions. The sessions ranged in topic--not all were about tech--and were mostly great discussions with honesty and spontaneity, not presentations. We had all of these new-to-edcamp and new-to-Twitter teachers tweeting, on Remind, and social media, and were even #2 trending in NY for a while. 

I’m a guy who loves to be everywhere with major FOMO--fear of missing out. I loved that as an organizer, I could bounce around to every room, take pictures, manage social media, and experience the event from all sides. Giving out prizes from the swag bag for Remind challenges--like taking selfies with organizers and sharing learning--was so much fun.

#EdCampMville pic.twitter.com/7LUh3ucBz6

— Nicole Sibiski (@nicole_sibiski) August 29, 2015

Love these two :) @edCampMville #edcampmville #edcamp pic.twitter.com/kjxvzgd6G6

— Katrina Keene (@teachintechgal) August 29, 2015

My favorite part, though, as it usually is, was walking into Dani’s session on Google Classroom, where we wound up co-presenting for a half an hour. Of course we played “Let it Go.” I thought I’d answer before you even asked. This is what #edcamp is all about for me: meaningful learning that fit our needs--it wasn’t forced, overplanned, or perscribed. It was fun, had choice, and it mattered, and I loved it. Of course, I planned it, so I’m likely biased. But I’m thankful and humbled for Tweets, e-mails, and feedback from our attendees!

Enjoy this GIF i designed! For teachers everywhere! Honored to be a part of your #PLN! #edcampmville #edchat #edtech pic.twitter.com/gLOSNxhh10

— КristΛ ШΞLz (@kristawelz) August 29, 2015

First time I've really, genuinely enjoyed an #edcamp @edcamp in a really, really, really long time. Amazing job @edCampMville #edcampmville!

— Dani Kennis (@kennisdani) August 29, 2015

I planned to spend the rest of my weekend relaxing, but was pushed by Dani to attend #edcampHV on Sunday to learn for the both of us. It was an hour away, but as Dani reminded me, I made a decision not to let any cool opportunities pass me by. So I woke up early and off I went--and it was great! It was so cool to attend two #edcamps in one weekend and have very different but wonderful experiences. #edcampHV was BIG--200+ registered and it seemed like most attended. They had something like 8 session in each slot for a full day of learning. They did a wonderful job organizing food, the raffles, and introducing the #edcamp culture. I ended up leading two sessions, the first focusing Google Classroom. Around 40 teachers and I discussed pros, cons, and best practices, using my classes from last year as a model. Then, I attended a fun discussion about ELA CCSS strategies. Finally, I led a discussion about the ways tech is changing teaching and learning. I’d love to do more like this--facilitated discussions and collaboration.

Great session on Google Classroom basics with @MrSchoenbart #edcamphv pic.twitter.com/DBj2VIgXE0

— Jenn Nilsen (@MsNilsen2012) August 31, 2015

Session 1 is off to an amazing start! #edcamphv pic.twitter.com/W34fRdkDIL

— Edcamp Hudson Valley (@EdCampHV) August 31, 2015

This was a great weekend of fun learning and connecting, and I’m excited to take this energy back into the school year. I can’t wait for a weekend to sleep in and relax, which sounds greedy for a teacher at the end of summer, but my big #edcamp weekend was well worth it.