(This post is a continuation of Sean Gaillard’s post What is #EdBeat - An Overture https://t.co/VsJWFy6vpF )
That’s my cue!
#Wileychat was one of the first chats I set an actual alarm for on my phone. I didn’t know why it was called #Wileychat for the first few weeks, or that it was a “school chat.” All I knew was the host of it, Sean Gaillard, created a space that encouraged collaboration and transparency and celebrated the profession of teaching. It was my kind of scene. I dug it.
Fast forward a few months, and I get every fan’s worst news. The band is breaking up. It was a punch to the gut that left me bummed beyond belief, until I found out the band wasn’t going their separate ways. Instead it was pulling a Led Zeppelin (originally called the New Yardbirds) and changing its name because Sean had signed with a new school (record label) and would be able to have a bit more artistic freedom under the chat's new designation. Plus, the new title of the chat, #EdBeat, spoke of Sean’s love of music and education. Again, I was hooked.
While all this was going on, I was getting my Twitter legs. I was building my PLN, participating in other rocking chats like #4thchat, #leadupchat, #bfc530, and #aussieED, and discovering how much awesomeness exists outside the four walls of my classroom.
I even went to ISTE in June because so many people had convinced me if I could go, I should go. And boy did it not disappoint! It was life changing - my educational version of Woodstock (minus naked people and hallucinogenic drugs). I met and heard amazing “artists” and was inspired to get more involved. I decided to start a blog, launch Passion Projects in the fall, and create digital writing portfolios for my students. I still, however, did not have the guts to do something I had been wanting to do: host a chat...
When I got back from ISTE, Sean, who had not been able to attend, wanted to hear all about it. He said that next year he would road trip to wherever ISTE was going to be held.
I promised to make him a mix tape.
Sean then did what Sean does, and told me, “Sounds like a great topic for an #EdBeat chat, you’re hosting!”
I tried to inform him I had: 1. never hosted a chat before and 2. a bit of stage fright, but Sean’s enthusiasm, confidence, and assurance was steadfast. A few tweets later, I said yes to his first proposal and our collaboration began.
Our method of communication soon became Voxer, as we could not type fast enough, nor while we were driving. Our voxes became more and more frequent, and we soon began to talk about all things education, music, movies, family, dreams, struggles...and a friendship began to develop quickly. I felt (like many people do) that Sean was someone I could be completely transparent with and share my ideas freely.
The collaboration was empowering and energizing. I wanted to take risks and try new things. I created S’mores (an interactive, online poster) that had embedded videos of the songs whose lyrics had inspired our questions for the chat. People were going to be able to listen to and hopefully be inspired by music, while they discussed education. We had created our mix tape, and when that Wednesday rolled around (5 days later) I was ready to share it with Twitterverse.
That night I had a life changing experience as I co-hosted my very first chat. It gave me one of the biggest rushes of my life, but the next morning my hosting hangover took hold. I knew that this was a one-time gig, but Sean and my partnership, our daily talks, incredible collaboration was not something I was excited to say goodbye to. I hinted at as much, and Sean voxed back saying, “There are no rules here, let’s co-host again next week! Whatcha got?!?”
So we went back into the #EdBeat studios, and produced another musically inspired chat that was just as fun and exhilarating as the first. Through that second week of conversations and collaboration, I knew at that point that no matter what happened, I had a friend for life and was ready to turn in my backstage pass.
That next day we chatted and talked about music, movies, and of course education. We didn’t talk about #Edbeat. The following day, Friday, Sean voxed me. He sounded nervous as he said things like, “I have really enjoyed our collaboration,” “I have been thinking...,” “I was wondering…,” “You can totally say no…” When finally he came right out and asked, “Will you be the Stevie Nicks to my Lindsey Buckingham? Will you be my permanent co-host for #EdBeat?”
My reply was an unequivocal and super pumped, “Yes!”
So on that Friday in July, we became permanent band mates. Our journey as partners had begun.
Stayed tuned for Side 2!
