Playdate Chicago and my PLN

True collaboration is organic and exciting. 

True collaboration happens when ideas are bounced around from thinker to thinker, becoming better and better with each new thought added.

Yesterday, Playdate Chicago was the hub of thinking, playing and collaborating.

My PLN (aka educational besties) and I were lucky enough to attend Playdate Chicago. We had hours to play with new technology, talk about new learning and connect with new friends that will help us on our professional journeys. 

@lbrightedu, @cathyl4, @kmereadinggal, @McDole202, @mcdole4tweets

I went with a purpose to play with the things that I knew my 1st graders would be very interested in. I focused on iMovie trailers, the Book Creator app and connecting with other primary teachers.

Here are my Top 5 take-aways from Playdate Chicago:

1. Playdates are awesome. They are free, not crowded, attendee driven and energetic.

2. Though there are no presenters or facilitators, there are experts in every room. Each attendee is very knowledgeable in something new and innovative even if they don't know it. Have a question? Simply shout it out in the room you are in. Someone will have a solution or answer.

3. Go with the intent to connect. It is time we stop thinking of our PLN as just our grade level teams or people in your building. The world is filled with too many smart thinkers for that! You never know... there could be an amazing resource just around the corner. 
I was able to connect with several primary teachers yesterday to kick around my Genius Hour and iPad management questions.

4. Be ready to bring something home to try. I can't wait to get to school tomorrow and try 2 new ideas:

1. Chirp App - Allows you to push websites, pictures and notes out to your students. 
2. Padlet - I want to have my kids try sharing pictures on Padlet. It is a great way for us to all get picture in one place from multiple devices.

5. Go in with a positive attitude and be ready to talk. Playdate Chicago was a happy place (especially at the cocktail hour following our day of learning). It is not a place where people make excuses. It is a place where people find solutions. It is not a place where people sit in a corner by themselves. It is a place were people mingle and exchange Twitter handles. Basically... embrace the tech love and have fun.

Here is one of my projects from yesterday:

The Quest for Learning from LBright on Vimeo.

I would like to say a HUGE "thank you" to the amazing educators that made this possible. Thank you to the #Playdate14 team. We always enjoy seeing you and learning with you! Can't wait to collaborate again soon.