Over the last few years I have heard a lot about the Edcamp movement.
Nearly everything I have ever read about Edcamps is positive, with many
teachers raving about how invigorating it is to attend a camp. This weekend I finally attended my first
Edcamp, along with two of the most innovative teachers I know (my wife and my
brother) and I was impressed.
Edcamps are a free conference (or unconference) meant to
provide a participatory environment that meets the needs of teachers looking to
share ideas while networking with like-minded educators. One of the major differences between an
Edcamp and a traditional conference is that there are no sessions set ahead of
time. As participants arrive, they propose
session ideas they would like to facilitate.
The sessions themselves also differ from a traditional conference. Rather than one presenter sharing their
expertise, the session leader acts as a facilitator, leading a discussion that
draws upon the collective expertise of all in attendance. Attendees are encouraged to find sessions
that meet their needs as educators and, thus, are encouraged to leave a session
if they do not feel they are benefitting from the discussion.
Edcamp Iowa, with 5 locations
across the state, was the biggest Edcamp event in the country. I attended the Central Iowa event at
Southeast Polk Junior High School.
Immediately upon entering the building I began making connections with
other educators, a trend that would continue throughout the day.
The first session I attended was “Establishing Collaboration and Inquiry within School and District.” This session resulted in a good discussion
about PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) within schools and districts as
a means of collaboration. Teachers, administrators,
and representatives from the Iowa and Nebraska Departments of Education all
chimed in with their own experiences and thoughts about the benefits as well as
problems with implementing PLCs. I
enjoyed the discussions of how schools can best facilitate teacher learning and
the importance of allowing teachers some freedom in their professional
growth. I was also very impressed to
hear about Waukee Schools’ implementation of PLCs on a district-wide basis that
allows for collaboration between schools on a regular basis.
My
second session was “Sharing Technology Between Classes.” This was a much more sparsely attended
session with only 6 participants, but it resulted in a good discussion of
technological resources different teachers have utilized, problems teachers
have faced with technology, the roles that students/teachers/administrators can
or should play in integrating technology in a school/district, and what the integration
of technology should look like in a classroom.
I enjoyed this discussion and I learned of a few new resources that I
need to check out. I was also very
impressed with a high school principal that attended this session. It was very exciting to see a principal
seeking out the opinions of the teachers and technology coach in the room as to
what building leadership can do to help with technology integration.
The
third session I attended is the one I felt like I knew the least what to expect
from. This session was called “Rocks or
Sucks,” which apparently is a staple of Edcamps. The facilitator calls out a hot topic in
education (such as homework, network filters, Common Core, etc.) and
participants move to a side of the room to indicate whether they feel this
“Rocks” or “Sucks.” Those that are
unsure (the mugwumps—because their mug faces one way, while their wump points
in the opposite direction) are able to stay in the middle. Each group has one minute to discuss their
feelings with the other people who share their beliefs. Then there is a five minute discussion/debate
where each of the three groups (rocks, sucks, and mugwumps) explains the
rationale for their beliefs. This was
kind of a fun session which resulted in some lively discussions of current
issues in education.
The final session I attended was “Teaching Problem Solving
& Critical Thinking Skills -- How
to Make Kids Think!” I had a lot
of interest in all of the sessions, but this one seemed especially intriguing
to me as I have tried hard to make my classroom a student-centered,
inquiry-driven learning environment. It
was interesting to hear the strategies different teachers have tried to promote
problem solving and critical thinking within the classroom. The discussion also turned toward ways that
teachers can promote more parental involvement in implementing problem solving
strategies away from school. This topic
is of great interest to me and the discussion at Edcamp Iowa led me to want to
seek out more strategies promoting problem solving and critical thinking within
my class.
In addition to the sessions I attended, I also followed
#edcampiowa on Twitter throughout the day.
This allowed me to gain some insight into other sessions occurring at
all 5 sites across the state of Iowa. It
was interesting to hear about the different sessions around the state, while following
discussions that began in sessions and spilled over to Twitter after the
sessions ended. There were also people
who posted resources for those of us who were not in attendance at different
sessions.
My first Edcamp experience was definitely a positive one,
and one that I will seek out again in the future. It was very motivating to be surrounded by so
many passionate educators who sought out this opportunity to learn from others
to improve their ability to educate young people. I enjoyed the format of Edcamp and its
participatory nature. My wife (who is a
middle school social studies teacher) equated it to a Twitter chat. I think this is a very good analogy; both are
very participatory in nature and place a good deal of emphasis on the needs of
the participants over the agenda of the presenter. Edcamp Iowa also allowed me to make a lot of
new connections and to expand my PLN.
After my experience with Edcamp Iowa, I am going to try to attend Edcamp Omaha in two weeks on March 22.
