Skip to main content

Hey Google...How Can I Not Feel Exhausted at the End of a Summit?

How do you normally feel after attending an all day conference or summit? Exhausted both mentally and physically? Sluggish? Overwhelmed? Funny thing happened to myself and two of my colleagues after attending a recent all day summit at Google in Pittsburgh called "Be Internet Awesome." We weren't exhausted mentally or physically. We weren't sluggish. And we weren't overwhelmed. In fact, it was the quite the opposite. We felt refreshed, energized, and full of thought and discussion.

So how did Google do this? How did they create an all day summit that was just right and left the attendees leaving refreshed, energized, full of thought and discussion? I have been wondering this since the summit and how to take Google's format back to future faculty meetings, in-services, and other conferences/summits.

Here are my thoughts about how the Google Summit on Digital Safety & Citizenship left those in attendance feeling anything but exhausted:

Comfort

Right from the start, our hosts were concerned with our comfort. This sent a clear message right away that they cared about us. Our Google hosts also invited us to get up and move around any time we needed to. We were told we could sit in back on couches or on floor against wall if we wanted. The choice was ours. Food was in the back we were welcome to any time we wanted, as well. In addition to food, they had music playing in the background that provided an upbeat feel. Finally, everyone, including our Google hosts were dressed comfortably.

 Different Presenters

During the summit, Google had different presenters throughout. Now I wasn't counting the minutes, but it seemed like every presenter kept their presentation under 25 minutes. This not only kept us focused but also kept the day moving.

Get Up & Talk

After the second presenter, we answered three questions with each being on a Post-It note. Then had to get up and break into groups. But we had to break into different groups based on some random similarities we had to determine. This forced us to not only get up out of our seats but also immediately start talking. Once our groups were formed, we had to put up our Post-Its on the walls, then categorize them into hopes, fears, and what things are going well. Then each group took turns sharing out. 

70 Minute Networking Lunch w/ Optional Activity

During lunch, we had the option of viewing an VR video, but we also had the opportunity to network with others during lunch, which was provided. This was one of the easier networking lunches I have attended, since we had the "Get Up & Talk" session earlier. Even with talking to some different people and attending the VR session, lunch did not feel rushed.

Play

After lunch, one presenter spoke about the program, Interland. Then we had a chance to play around with Interland. It gave us time to explore, discuss, and ask any questions we had with the presenter or those around us.

Fireside Chat

At the end, Google put on a Q & A session through a fireside chat. It was a nice, informal way to wrap the summit up. By this point in the summit, people were all very comfortable with one another due to the day's format, which lead to a very open and honest Q & A session.

Hey Google, thanks for the summit and for not making me feel exhausted after. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Turns Out Teachers Are Mind Readers (Thanks to Recap)

Imagine if you could hear every single student's thinking, thoughts, and ideas on a topic, and respond to each and every one of them without finding time to schedule individual student conferences. Imagine if your students could let you know how well they understood the topics covered during the week. Imagine how much insight you could get, and how you could adjust your teaching to meet the needs of individual students.   Well, a few weeks ago I came across Recap, a free student video response and reflection app, on my Twitter feed. It allows me to hear every single student's thinking, thoughts, and ideas, allows me to respond to each and every one of them. I checked out the site and immediately put it into action in my class calling the Recap assignments, #flashbackfridays. For 6th graders, not much is cooler than the hashtag.  My 6th grade students instantly took to it. Every one of my students are able to share their insights through a reflective process in a way that...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Force Awakens

Just when I thought I had my blended learning classroom in a good place, everything changed. Half way through the school year, my district decided to pilot a new math series. This meant change. A change I was having trouble dealing with. For about two weeks I struggled and became quite frustrated trying to figure out how this new math series fit into the way I had been running my blended learning classroom. I kept trying to force the math series in but kept getting disastrous results. My struggles and frustration spilled over into my classes. I did not like what I was seeing from the math series, I did not like what I was seeing from my teaching, and I did not like the results I was seeing from my students. Every night I left school feeling disheartened, but determined to make things better the next day. The only problem was I kept trying to force the fix every new day, instead of sitting back, reflecting, and seeing what other solutions came about. I was suffering from a little ca...
Post a Comment
Read more

Did You Send Out the Invites

Do you send out invites to your parties, or do you just hope people hear about them through word of mouth and just show up? Unless you still live at a college frat house, chances are you send out invites. The invitations are an important part to any successful party. Without them, people don't know when, where, or even if there is a party. And it could be the best party ever, but no one would know without the invitations.  Earlier this year,  few of my colleagues and I went to a Breakout EDU workshop. It was something we all had a strong interest in, and something that we were excited to try when we got back to school. But then, something terrible happened. We all went back to work the next day, closed our doors, and started teaching in our own self-induced, solitary confinement classrooms. What we were so excited and energized about doing (and something that required communication and collaboration), faded away as quickly as the next day came. A few weeks went by, and I...
Post a Comment
Read more