That one time, at Miami Device...

Time for that reflective post of the conference event that I recently attended.  You know, the one where you get all gushy about all the cool people you met and new things that you learned.  I'm actually going to do my best to avoid that and instead head in another direction focus on what Felix Jacomino has created.

If you don't know Felix, he is the mastermind behind Miami Device.   Miami Device is a professional development learning event that is held in Miami on a bi-annual basis. This year was the first year and I look forward to many more. When researching Miami Device I noticed that I didn't see the word "conference" very much.  It piqued my interest that I saw the word "event" in its place.

And an event it was!  Every single detail was covered.

In reflecting on why I would consider this one of the best events that I have attended, I came came up with one reason.  When attending Miami Device I felt like I was a person and not a number.  I have been to some very large conferences and they just had a "corporate" feel to them.  Trying to pick a session from the plethora available was an arduous task in itself.  I had to walk a long ways to get to a certain session, I always felt rushed.

I had none of that at Miami Device.  I had the time (and energy) to have conversations with some of the people from my PLN that I respect and admire greatly for what they are doing with their students and staffs. One of the coolest things that I noticed was that the culture of the school at St. Stephen's Episcopal Day School permeated every inch of this event.  The St. Stephen's staff were present, positive and so welcoming to all of us.  What an amazing group of passionate educators.

Yep, my bucket was filled and I learned a lot.

Thank you Felix Jacomino and crew for such a wonderful experience, and thank you for putting on such a wonderful event.  See you in two years!