"A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning."
Brad Henry
As we cross over the midway point of Connected Educator's Month, I'd like to remind you of an opportunity to connect with other educators live and in person. Edcamp Upstate NY is taking place in Queensbury, NY on October 25, and there is still time to register.
At its core, Edcamp is a ground up professional day of learning that is often referred to as an unconference. There are no formal presentations, keynotes, etc. I had the opportunity to participate in a mini-edcamp with Kristen Swanson, the chair of the Edcamp Foundation and it was incredible. If you're intrinsically motivated to learn and develop as a professional this model is for you.
Typically, the schedule is built live based on the items participants are knowledgeable about and what they want to know more about. This can be done using a physical board, or in the case of the Edcamp I attended, using Google Docs. For the sessions I attended, we moved to a physical space and navigated on our wireless devices to a cloud-based note-taking page that was shared with everyone else in the session and also linked back to the schedule. The sessions were driven by discussions between professionals seeking to learn from one another and improve their practice. The discussions were thought provoking, informative and participation was encouraged. By the end of the final sessions, the notes from all sessions were accessible via the online schedule. We then had a "smackdown" in the larger group in which people had a minute or less to speak about something that really works for them. It was an incredible experience and I learned a lot. The video below is from a different Edcamp, but I think you'll see why they are so powerful.
At its core, Edcamp is a ground up professional day of learning that is often referred to as an unconference. There are no formal presentations, keynotes, etc. I had the opportunity to participate in a mini-edcamp with Kristen Swanson, the chair of the Edcamp Foundation and it was incredible. If you're intrinsically motivated to learn and develop as a professional this model is for you.
Typically, the schedule is built live based on the items participants are knowledgeable about and what they want to know more about. This can be done using a physical board, or in the case of the Edcamp I attended, using Google Docs. For the sessions I attended, we moved to a physical space and navigated on our wireless devices to a cloud-based note-taking page that was shared with everyone else in the session and also linked back to the schedule. The sessions were driven by discussions between professionals seeking to learn from one another and improve their practice. The discussions were thought provoking, informative and participation was encouraged. By the end of the final sessions, the notes from all sessions were accessible via the online schedule. We then had a "smackdown" in the larger group in which people had a minute or less to speak about something that really works for them. It was an incredible experience and I learned a lot. The video below is from a different Edcamp, but I think you'll see why they are so powerful.
We already have several Albany educators attending the Queensbury event and I sincerely hope that you'll consider joining us. It's a free opportunity to learn and connect with other professionals. Please leave a comment below or send me an email if you'll be attending. It would be nice to meet up with everyone at some point during the day. You can register for free at the following link: http://edcampuny.com/get-tickets-here/