A Side of Eggs With My Bacon Bytes: An Unexpected Conference Experience

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the Bacon Bytes Conference in Millville, NJ, and I was amazed by the quality of educators and leaders around me. I had never presented before, and I never have been to such an intimate conference. I had no clue what was in store for me...

I guess I expected the conference experience to be like the one and only conference in Philly for NCTM that I attended, where the presenters rarely had time to mingle with attendees. I did not expect to have such a personal experience when I walked through the doors of R.M. Bacon Elementary School.  Inside, I noticed student work hung on the walls and achievements displayed proudly.  Two hallways wrapped around to the left and right of the large room that was before me.

After registering at the table of smiling faces, I made my way into the cafetorium, "Coaches Cave".  I bounced down the carpeted stadium seating with excitement and found a table, where a woman, busily read and tweeted.  I grabbed some coffee, which I very much needed since I woke up at 5 AM (which I tried to avoid like the plague) that morning and had just finished an hour's drive. While savoring my much-needed beverage, I introduced myself to the woman at my table, Rebecca Seery (@SeeryRebecca).  I eventually learned that she was also presenting, and I gleefully told her I was presenting that day as well and was extremely nervous.  A smile grew on her face as she proceeded to remember and tell me in a darling New Jersey accent about her first presentation at a conference.  "Your first one you are always nervous for but then it gets better."  We continued to talk about presenting and our sessions.  She was presenting two sessions and seemed as cool as a cucumber...I tried desperately to project confidence and quickly gave up.  I grabbed my laptop to review my Google Slides...and realized I couldn't connect to the internet...

Before I could fill too much with panic, Dr. Spike Cook (@DrSpikeCook) and Ryan Hudson (@hudson524), coordinators of the conference, personally came over and thanked me (as well as other presenters around me) for coming.  I was shocked when he knew my name.  "Hi, Stephanie! Ryan, meet Stephanie! She's presenting on Integrating Google Classroom!"  My mouth dropped open, and I quickly closed it. A little Central PA teacher, who was presenting for the first time, was personally thanked by these Education Technology "big wigs"!  In my eyes, they were celebrities, well known for their blogs, tweets, and education technology voices that I had been following for months.  How could I show my appreciation for their acceptance?! So I said, "Thank you for having me." Anticlimactic, I know.  Then I realized I still couldn't connect to the WiFi and asked about it.  Dr. Cook grabbed me and raced me to the top of the stairs where Amanda Devita (@Amanda_DeVita) helped me with all of my Tech needs...I could have hugged her when "Connected" appeared on my screen. Saved, I returned to Rebecca's and my table to look over my presentation.

Not long after looking over my notes, the Keynote Speaker, Dr. Robert Dillon (@ideaguy42), began his motivating and uplifting speech about how changes in education need to occur now and expressing his call to not do more but do differently, I knew this conference was indeed going to be different. His eye contact with every individual in the Coaches Cave was refreshing. Although the Keynote speakers that I've heard were well-spoken and also had uplifting messages, there's nothing like that connection made when the speaker looks directly at you and says "Hope".  At that moment, I'm sure he didn't realize that he had just enlisted a new recruit to spread his message.

As the number of people in the large space dwindled as the call for Session 1 began, I had to take a minute to let it all sink in.  I packed up my stuff and headed to Room 9, where Ross Cooper (@RossCoops31) was presenting.  To be honest, I chose that room, not for the presentation but for the reassurance that I wasn't going to get lost, not that I could with the numerous "#BaconBytes" T-shirt wearers in the halls point me in the right direction.  Either way, I'm glad that I did.  Although my nerves were still building and my focus continued to go back to my presentation, I tried to listen and watch.  I had never met Ross or heard of him, but his presentation humbled me.  On one of the slides, he shared his letter home with his cell phone number listed to students and parents, which was wrapped with a golden ticket, inviting students to bring their own device to school one day in the summer before school started for a movie-making activity, and "Willy Wonka"-like the wrapper on the outside.  I can only imagine the look on his students' faces...

His "Toy Story" theme, made me think, that he's a little bit like a big "kid", which I think is an important quality of being an educator, and too many lose sight of their "child-like" eyes in the classroom.  Somehow, he has found a way to hold on to this.  Continuing with his presentation, I discovered that he had started a tradition with his students where he would treat them to a pizza at a parlor that was owned by one of his previous student's parents. He would do this on a Friday night once (or twice) a year, showing himself as an active member of his community and giving back to small businesses.  He organized an optional art museum trip on a Saturday, making connections to the art they were studying in class.  I could tell he had done more with his students than he was telling us in this 45-minute session; however, his 24-hour accessibility message ("brand") rang loud and clear.  I also realized he wasn't just a teacher, he was modeling how to be an active educator in the community.  Hmm...My students may have to thank Mr. Cooper for a few after-school hangouts with Mrs. P, where smoothies are on me.

Ross's session eventually ended and so began my set up for my presentation.  To be honest, the presentation was a little bit of a blur, but I knew I was sharing something that I was passionate about and found extremely beneficial for me and my students in my classroom.

 Here is my Google Slides: https://goo.gl/dT2IN8, but I didn't use much of it. It wasn't long until I got them into "Google Classroom", using their temporary accounts, and just like kids, they were off and playing.  They were adding pictures, posts, and comments to the stream.  They were inquisitive, asking questions about how things worked, which then transformed into "What if..." questions.  You could tell their gears were starting to turn, and they began to think about how they could use this in their classroom.  The "light bulb" moment that I strive to see with my students was occurring with these educators.  It was then that I knew I was "hooked"; I wanted to do this again.  Their ideas blossomed...and we continued to share.  I had more that I could have shown them but how could we move on when they had such great ideas!  Eventually, our time came to an end, but I had one tool still left to stay in touch, Google Classroom.  As I wrapped up the session and told them that they could continue to play with the temporary accounts, they expressed their gratitude and I tried to express how grateful I was for them.  Not sure if they really knew how honored I was to be there. We said our goodbyes, and I turned to the agenda to now relax into being an attendee.

I stumbled down the hall and made my way into a room, where Jon-Erik Stamatelos (@stamglish), another Google For Education Certified Trainer, was presenting on Chrome Extensions.  First, I learned how to "switch persons" in Chrome (way useful for all of my Google accounts).  Next, he went into the list...
1. Extensify

2. Speak It
3. Readability
4. Announcify
5. Tab Scissors/Tab Glue
6. Adblock
7. Google Mail Checker
8. Screencastify
9. Save To Google Drive (where have you been all my life)
...Any many more.
I knew I had to pick his brain about more about Chrome and what else he knew about Google.  We talked some more and went to lunch, where we met up with Rebecca.  We enjoyed pizza and seeing individuals win some amazing prizes, gift cards, document cameras, etc.  While we finished up, they started the Edcamp.  I had no clue what was in store since I had never been to one.

Stephen Santilli (@SPSantilli) began the process, explaining what we could expect and introducing the whiteboard that we were to add interesting topics.  Two sessions, 3 rooms, & Makerspace.  I first attended Blogger/Twitter with Ross & Spike and learned more about blogging, using it for reflection, and not being afraid to put yourself out there. The second session I attended was about virtual reality.  Both were filled with sharing and note-taking.

After the camp, I found myself back in the Coaches' Cave for an App Smackdown, where anyone could share an app or website that they thought was worth sharing.  I couldn't believe all of the cool apps and websites they shared:
1. 360 cities
2. dermandar
3. Open Dyslexic Font
4. MSQRD
...were some of my favorites.

And as everyone started to pack up the tables and their stuff, I did the same, but I made sure to talk to Sandra Paul (@spaul6414), who shared the Open Dyslexic Font.  I introduced myself and asked her about Assistive Tech, one of my research interests.  I found out that she was very knowledgeable, and one of the most pleasant women I've ever met.  I'm so glad I mustered up the courage to talk to her.

What a day!?  I did not expect to get so much out of this conference...I guess you could say that I was pleasantly surprised to get a side of eggs with my Bacon Bytes! Again, thank you to all of the coordinators! I'm very grateful for this experience!

Also, I suggest checking out a conference near you with Educal...https://sites.google.com/site/theeducationcalendar/  for some great events! You might get more than you expected...Feel free to share your conference recommendations or experiences in the comment section below! Would love to hear about them!