2016 Global SEE Summit - July 17-22

I am privileged to have been invited to the SMART Global SEE (SMART Exemplary Educators) Summit in Calgary again this year. It is an honor to be able to spend a week listening to, exchanging ideas, learning from, and getting to know others who love SMART products as much as I do. With senior executives, program managers, developers and other SMART employees, and, of course, my distinguished SEE colleagues from across the world, we spend the week discussing ways to help students learn more effectively and gain 21st century skills.  The week is all about empowering teachers to do our job.

It's hard to describe this incredible week so I'll use a few quotes to help relive the experience:

• Feedback is a gift whether it's positive or negative. - Greg Estell, President
• Creative chaos is not what it looks like. [There is engagement, excitement, and interest.] - Gretchen Monahan, SEE (USA, PA)
• SMART's social responsibility - not purchasing materials from countries that support social conflicts, i.e. minerals from Africa. - Stephen Yao, Product Marketing
• When a teacher gives up power and control, doors are opened for students. - Allen Brooks, SEE (USA, CA)
• I am grateful SMART appreciates and values teachers. - SEE during a closing reflection.
• Teachers are who SMART is. Technology is not changing education. Great teaching is changing education. - Greg Estell, President
• SMART has the largest advocacy program because we believe in teacher and student outcomes. ... equip people to be valuable contributors in the world. - Jeff Lowe, VP Corporate Marketing
• PD is not for training but for pedagogy. - Warren Barkley, CTO
• Twitter is a way to learn about pedagogy. - Tim Toyoshima, VP Software Development

We were welcomed, honored, and celebrated as valued educators. In our white Smithbilt cowboy hats with red trim, we took a pledge and became official Calgarians. No detail was left out to ensure we felt appreciated. Many thanks to Ainhoa Marcos, Kelly Miksch, Kelly Davis and Karen McKibben who worked tirelessly.

Team Photo

As amazing as the week already sounded, my biggest takeaway was the connections I made with others. Reuniting with SEEs I met last year who have become more than just friends on social media, meeting new SEEs, getting to know SMARTees who get to spend their time at HQ everyday, and, especially, forming my global collaboration (GC) partnership with Kristin Skage. (I hope to do another with calculus teachers too!)  We were inspired by a GC project that was led by Lotta Ramqvist (Sweden) and Jorgen Holmberg (Finland) with their special needs students.

Kristin is from Norway and I live in Hawaii. We both teach math to 12-13 year olds. What we hope to accomplish in this GC project is to

• connect our students who live halfway around the world from each other.
• give our students an experience where they can celebrate their differences, recognize their similarities, and appreciate their uniqueness.
• provide an opportunity for our students to learn about each other's country and school systems.
• use math in our communications and exchanges but our focus will be on a cultural exchange to help make our world smaller through personal connections.

Though this was my second Summit, I must say, this experience has, once again, had a huge impact on me as a teacher and as a citizen of this world. This is a professional development experience like no other.

Mahalo SMART for all you do for teachers and students.