CanFlip13: #BetterTogether

I had the distinct pleasure of attending CanFlip13 last week. CanFlip, a Canadian flipped learning conference, was started last year by two teachers in Kelowna, British Columbia - Graham Johnson and Carolyn Durley. It was an incredibly well-run conference with a very relaxed vibe to it.

I look up to both Graham and Carolyn for the work they do in the flipclass community, and this conference really hammered home just how much they do. Attendance at CanFlip13 more than doubled from last year. I met four presenters at this year’s conference who attended last year’s conference and came back and presented this year - I’m guessing there were others I didn’t meet as well. Talk about growing your own all-stars!

Graham and Carolyn are everything you would expect them to be - dedicated, brilliant, passionate, and full of an infectious, seemingly boundless energy that is absolutely awesome to be around: hanging out with them is an absolute blast.

Really, that is what this blogpost is going to be about: meeting people and relationships. As I often toss around with my PLN, we are always #BetterTogether. To me, that was what stuck out to me at CanFlip13: with all of these friends - some new, some old - we all are better together. So who’d I get to meet?

I had the honor of meeting Troy Stein, a former German teacher who now works for Techsmith. Troy is a super thoughtful guy and I had the pleasure of sharing several conversations with him about school and structures around school. Andy Miller, a science teacher from BC, was another long-time member of my PLN that I was excited to get to meet. I was bummed I didn’t get to spend more time talking to Scott Harkness who had some fascinating things to say in the few moments I got to talk to him. I got to meet Valerie Lees, Lynda Hall, and Peggy Drolet, all people I’ve followed for a long time on Twitter. Plus, I got to hang out with Ramsey Musallam and Audrey McLaren-McGoldrick again!

I was also excited to get to find out about - and meet! - some more collaborative flipclass teachers: Tara Cody-Simpson and Val Pereira co-presented about their first year flipping together and listening to Ben Arcuri’s sessions it was clear how much he and Scott Harkness work together.

So yes, like in my - or any - classroom, relationships are what I am left with after CanFlip13. I’m so glad to have gotten to meet so many great people, and so excited to continue to learn with a ton of talented British Columbia educators that I’m now following on Twitter!

And I hope Graham and Carolyn will have me back next year...

A whole lot of #EduAwesome! #BetterTogether