Originally Posted on — Level Up Leadership
Inaugural FlipTech East Coast Builds Community, Shifts Focus Back to Kids
Man, was there some flippin’ leveling up last weekend.
After over a year of planning, my district played host to an international conference on flipped instruction and educational technology. The brainchild of our (only) resident flipped instructor, David Walsh, and his wife Melissa, FlipTech East Coast invited folks from around the world, virtually and in person, to share their experiences as flipping and ed tech gurus.
Highlighted by keynote addresses by Aaron Sams and Kelly Walsh, the weekend was inspirational, confessional, and educational. From those just dipping pinky toes into the waters of flipped instruction to those who have written books and traveled the country espousing its power, a palpable feeling of community and belonging served as the backdrop for dozens of sessions, countless laughs, and transcendent conversations.
For fear of #TLDR syndrome, I’ll be brief in providing a panoramic snapshot of the weekend’s brilliance.
- Our friend Diana Duran came from Colombia by way of Atlanta and Detroit and then Philadelphia, which caused her to miss day one entirely. Undaunted, she arrived on day two and provided a powerful session on Flipping Foreign Language courses.
- Dan Welty finished his impactful session on Transforming Assessments with an audience singalong on flipping set to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.”
- AJ Bianco’s session on Personalized Learning and Student Choice was quite literally bursting at the seams, causing organizers to scramble to find more seating.
- Lindsay Stephenson’s session on Fast and Effective Digital Feedback will help transform how we speak and write to our kids and colleagues.
- Juliana Diaz and Carolina Buitrago, also from Colombia, presented (twice) on Flipping EFL Writing Workshops and did so with humor and expertise.
- And Kate Baker did what Kate Baker does: present with panache and poise, this time on Class Structures to Support Flipped Learning.
However, with due reverence to our presenters, the weekend’s finest hour came by way of our student panel. Nine upperclassmen graciously agreed to give up time on the first Friday of their summer to talk with a room full of strangers about their experience with flipped learning and ed tech. Equal parts heartwarming and honest, our panel acquitted itself with the kind of grace and professionalism to which all 100+ adults in the audience should aspire.
Of course, I’m leaving out so much about the weekend’s blur of awesomeness because it may or may not involve alcohol, horrendous flippin’ puns, and quiet moments between people who finally got to meet in real life after a year or more of developing professional relationships online.
Without question, we are living in the most challenging time in which to be educators. However, what this weekend did for me, and for so many others, is “flip” the conversation from all the things we’re told we aren’t doing well to all the reasons we made the conscious decision to never leave school: the love of learning, the desire to work with people who inspire us, and, of course, the kids.
