When I first started teaching, I only knew three things.

1. I wanted to teach.
2. I liked kids.
3. I was good in math. 

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I had some experience working with kids in the community, and I knew I loved it.  It was rewarding to help others, so when the opportunity to teach presented itself, I accepted and never looked back.  I knew I was green and knew nothing.  I didn't even have to tell my weekly planning partner.  He didn't assume that I would "find my fit".  I never once heard him say "Fake it till you make it!" (I can vividly remember hearing a mentor say this to me once.)  He sat me down and walked me through each lesson, each day, until I had a fail proof plan to help students.  I can hear him now saying, "Kniki, what will you say if no one knows the answer?" or "How will you know when all of the students understand?"  Each question was followed by a thorough conversation and systematic steps and questioning strategies to get all of my students where they needed to be.  In that moment, he didn't know it, but he was showing me the power of a powerful coach.  We cannot assume teachers come to our campuses equipped to meet the needs of our students.  We must be a resource for them.  Does this mean the coach knows everything?  Of course not!  However, I know that if teachers need it for students, I have to carve out time to give it to them.  Now, I do realize support must be differentiated and will not look the same for the first year teacher and the rock star veteran, I am still responsible to equip teachers with everything they need in order to be successful with students.

Friday, July 8th, I was able to attend Edcamp DOED (Department of Education) at Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Department of Education Building in Washington, D.C.   If you know the slightest bit of information about me, you know I absolutely love Edcamp!  The opportunity to gather with educators from across the Unites States along with the United States Department of Education was an amazing experience.  Along with sitting through some amazing sessions, I was able to connect with other organizers from across the country to learn about ways to improve Edcamp experiences I am able to help plan.

Feel free to look over our session notes from the day found here. 

My guest blog post for EduMatch can be found here.

In 2015, I hit the ground running, and I haven't looked back.  Professionally, personally, and educationally, this has been a phenomenal time of awakening and learning.  This post explains what I did, why I did it, and how you can do the same.  I hope you enjoy it! 

Lessons Learned from My 1st Edcamp
Saturday, October 3rd, I was fortunate to host the very first Edcamp in my area, Edcamp SW Dallas.  As I reflect on this journey that began in February of this year, I can say that I am proud of the team of educators who worked with me to ensure this event was a success.  Many of them had never experienced an Edcamp, but they were more than willing to bring a new type of professional development experience to Southwest Dallas.  There were many lessons learned, and I already have a few ideas of how we can do things even better next year.

1.  Start Early

All of the literature I have read suggest that you take at least 3 to 6 months to plan Edcamp.  I was first introduced to the Edcamp movement in a Twitter chat, #TabseChat, one Sunday evening.  I hadn't even attended an Edcamp, but I knew it was something that would benefit educators in my area who are full of great ideas and resources but don't have the time or space to share what they want to share often.  After attending my first Edcamp in April, I was hooked, and I began to reach out to other innovators in my district who I knew would assist me in bringing this to our area.  We took exaclty 6 months to plan our event.  Starting early ensured that we had time to attend other Edcamps to continue learning as well as to see great ideas already in use by Edcamp pros.  This time period also allowed us to secure some awesome swag and donations from many sponsors.  I was surprised by the amount of support many companies freely gave to us.  Our sponsors truly helped to make our even a success.  

2.  Everyone won't get it.  That's okay!

When I first began to plan this event, I was on cloud nine.  I just knew that everyone would thing this was a great idea.  I knew that everyone I reached out to would say, "Awesome!  What can we do to help you!"  Then, I began to reach out in my community, and reality set in really fast.  Many people that I thought would be supportive of this event, simply were not, and that is okay.  It's often hard for people to support things they don't know anything about.  In the beginning, it was a bit discouraging that I was unable to count on support from organizations and people that I truly believe in, but I quickly changed that tune.  I became determined to introduce them to an event they can support in the future.  I believe we were able to do just that.  I am extremely proud of what our Edcamp SW Dallas team was able to accomplish.  We were able to bring the Edcamp movment to a group of teachers and introduce them to the "unconference" model.  

3.  Not everyone attending Edcamp is tech savy.

The morning of Edcamp, we went around to each classroom that we might need and posted 3 things, an Edcamp SW Dallas log, a QR code, and a tinyurl.  The QR code was linked to the tinyurl for the day, a place to see the schedule and all of the session notes.  We also gave attendees a scavenger hunt to help them Tweet and share about the day.  During the general session, it was quiet apparent that many people in the room did not have QR readers, know how to use GoogleDocs, or have Twitter accounts.  During the first session block, there was a session to discuss Twitter.  While I do believe Edcamp is an excellent way to help teachers become connected outside of their four walls, in the future, I will take low tech attendees into consideration also.  We will have at least one paper copy of the sessions posted to ensure they at least know where to go.  We may also take a few minutes to discuss Twitter and GoogleDocs during the first session by having mini "unconference" conversations as we build the session board and share out before the day begins.

4. Plan with others outside of your "four walls"

When I first learned about the Edcamp movement earlier this year, I was blown away by this form of personalized professional development.  For a self proclaimed nerd, or life long learner, the idea of sitting around for an entire day with other forward thinking educators willing to allow you to pick their brains and share your knowledge on various educational related areas, I was head over heels in love!  Even before I attended my first Edcamp, I knew this was something I wanted to experience.  After my first Edcamp, I returned to my district and began to ask them who wanted to help me bring it to our area.  While this was a great idea, I should have also reached out to other educators in my area and others in my PLN to see who would be interested in helping me plan this event.  Reaching outside of my district for planning help and ideas would have helped to spread the word a lot better and boosted attendance.  At the end of the event, one of the survey questions asked who would like to help plan next year.  I am sure there will be grater ideas at the planning table next year with even better ideas.
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I. Worked. Out. I promise that it really happened.  Jay Joiner Fitness offered a free workout week, and I can say that I survived one session.  While it was a test, I was able to start and finish the workout.  Was it easy? Not at all.  As I pushed through the workout, I reflected on why I wanted to keep going.  The coach, the leader, the personal trainer pushed me to finish.  There were several "aha-ha" moments as I worked alongside die hard workout enthusiasts to complete my workout that lead me to compare and contrast my role as a math and science coach.  I am planning to share the lessons learned to help my teachers simply "keep going" this year in order to do better, stay the course, and finish strong.

Make Connections
Jay knows that I am a teacher, so he made several references to school which included lesson plans and his former life as an elementary school teacher.  It was nice to know that he was in tune with my passion, education.  Each time he referenced what I love, I tuned in a little more, listened a little harder, and found a little more enjoyment in the session.  This really made me think.  Have I gone out of my way to make connections with each and every single teacher that I support?  Do I have any idea of what drives them to be better daily?  There is so much power in simply taking the time to truly get to know others.  It served as fuel to help me through my workout.  Surely, strong connections will help me to push teachers from August through June.

Stay Positive
I like to workout early in the morning.  Well, I did today.  That is generally my "time to shine" because I am a morning person.  My session with Jay began at 5:30AM, so I arrived at about 5:20AM.  As early as it was, when I arrived my trainer was there with open arms and a smile.  For the remainder of the hour of healthy fun, his smile remained.  No matter how wobbly we became, how tired our legs grew, or how many times I needed a break, the trainer remained positive.  Just when I felt like giving up, I would hear, "Good job, Kniki!" or "You're doing so well, Kniki!"  It gave me a little added push and made me feel as if I could make it to the end.  I knew the coach believed in me.  Although he couldn't do the job for me, it meant so much to know that he felt I could do it.  The same holds true as a coach.  While I am generally positive person, I am making a conscience effort to praise those that I support.  I want them to know that I see them giving their all.  I want my teachers to see me as their support.
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It's Okay to Upset the Crowd
A few times during the workout, Jay would say, "Oh, she just rolled her eyes at me!" Each time, we would laugh, but inside, I truly wanted to punch him.  During the workout, I became winded, grew tired, and simply wanted to run each time he would introduce a new exercise or say, "...just 1 more set!"  Really?!?!?!  However, regardless of the looks, eye rolls, really hard high fives, and whatever else thrown his way, he continued to give us things that we needed.  Why?  We all have goals, and it's his job to help us get there.  It is so easy to take the easy road in order to keep everyone happy.  We have to remain focused on our goal, student achievement.  If there is anything that hinders student achievement, our goal is to guide teachers to make them better.  Not everyone will like it, but our goal is to help students meet their goals.
In the end, I liked it so much that I decided to go BOLD.  I made a 6 month commitment because I appreciate good coaching.  I know the power that comes from someone taking your "I can't" and turning into a "This is how I did it."  I'm excited to work on myself and to use the tools gained to make myself a better teacher leader.

The last six weeks of the year always lends teachers time to try new things.  Without the anxiety of testing and trying to "get it all in", we sometimes feel more free to explore with students and spend time learning and sharing more things with each other.  This year, I decided to try a few new things.  With the school year winding down, perhaps you will find the time to step out of your comfort zone and try something new.  I'm going to share a few of my personal experiences with you.

Twitter
I have learned so much with Twitter this school year.  My PLN has also grown faster than it ever has in previous years.  This is my thirteenth year in education, and it amazes me that there is still so much to learn and do.  With Twitter, I am able to login and join various educational discussions, or chats, anytime of the day.  I can also go back and read chats that I missed.  Through chats, I have learned about many ideas and activities to try and share with students this school year.  I have been able to sharpen my skills as a campus leader, and I have met some amazingly talented educators from all over the world.
Blogging
Through Twitter, I met an amazingly talented and enthusiastic group of teachers from Aldine ISD. (I didn't even know the school district existed.) Who challenged me to blog for 30 days.  Blogging is something I have always wanted to dive into, but I never did.  It simply sat on the back burner.  I was surprised at how easy it was to simply start.
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Edcamp
This is another idea I received via Twitter.  While participating in a monthly Twitter chat with TABSE, I was introduced to this idea.  After researching what it was, I knew I would enjoy it.  The idea of sitting with other teachers to share ideas and resources will never get old.  Edcamp is an "unconference" experience for educators.  There is no preplanned schedule, no preset agenda, and no vendors on site.  Everything that will be learned is decided the day of the event by the attendees.  I drove to Houston for Edcamp Houston, and I was hooked.  Now, along with others in my area, we are gearing up for Edcamp Southwest Dallas.  I love all things Edcamp!
There's still time to try something new.  What are you waiting for?