Yesterday I was lucky to be a part of an amazing Google Conference put on by the Toronto District School Board called Google Camp. Myself and 500+ like-minded Ed Techie Google-loving TDSB educators, admin and staff were motivated and inspired by keynote speaker George Couros and endnote speaker Dean Shareski. I feel so lucky to be working for such an amazing school board with such awesome teachers and leaders! The sessions I attended gave me some great ideas to continue using GAFE (Google Apps for Education) in unique and engaging ways with my students. We actually broke the Internet (just kidding!) but the hashtag #TDSBCamp was trending at the number 1 spot in Canada and number 3 in the world yesterday!

The great thing about Google Camp is you can continue your learning way beyond the camp day. All of the session presentations and resources are all posted online.

So, if you feel like partaking in some self-directed professional development, head over to www.TDSBGoogleCamp.ca, look through the session titles, pick any of them that interest you  – you’ll be sent to a Google Doc with the session description and presentation slideshow links.

I must say that days like yesterday renew your love for teaching and make it much easier to push through the moments when you feel like you might just burnout and not make it to June. Based on my reflections on the amazing speakers yesterday I’ve made a list of ways to help get your “teacher mojo” back.

1. Attend a teacher conference! Anytime I’ve ever attended a conference I always have a renewed energy for teaching. I know ETFO’s ICT Conference is coming up in April- watch out for it, I went last year and it was incredible!
2. Get onto Twitter to connect with other teachers! This is truly the BEST professional development I’ve ever had. You can find anything you need and connect with wonderful educators from all over the world. Talk about an amazing support system- having each other as resources is invaluable!
3. Share something you’ve made with a fellow colleague. I know sharing something I worked hard to create or an awesome lesson idea really makes me feel good!
4. Try something new. Get out of your comfort zone! My Beginner’s Guide to Google Drawings session was full of brand new GAFE users who had an open mind and were willing to spend a Saturday learning something new with Laura and I.
5. Reflect! George Couros made a great point, he asked, “Would you want to be subjected to you as a teacher for 6 hours a day?” Think about it…

Now go unleash that teacher mojo!!

#TDSBcamp is on Sat!Join @misssegrets & I for an Intro to Google Drawings! I'll also be at the photo booth! #tdsbict pic.twitter.com/otESva8R6N

— Larissa Aradj, OCT (@MrsGeekChic) February 16, 2016

A wonderful day with @LL_TDSB admin and fellow teachers learning & teaching all about Google! #TDSBCamp @gudruniris pic.twitter.com/yKMbQElV0q

— Larissa Aradj, OCT (@MrsGeekChic) February 20, 2016