Edcamp is EduAWESOME!

EdCampCV North

Edcamps are popping up everywhere! And with good reason too! Edcamps are designed to "promote organic, participant-driven professional development for K-12 educators worldwide". 

With the economy the way it has been, educators everywhere are looking for affordable professional development. What is better than free?! According to Edcamp.org, edcamps are:

• free
• non-commercial and conducted with a vendor-free presence
• hosted by any organization interested in furthering the edcamp mission
• made up of sessions that are determined on the day of the event
• events where anyone who attends can be a presenter
• reliant on the “law of two feet” that encourages participants to find a session that meets their needs

With the use of Twitter, I discovered Edcamps from my amazing Professional Learning Network (PLN) and signed up for my my first one in Le Grand, California. It was set up by Alison Lopez (@alopezAG), Robert Osak (@misterosak), Matthew Schwartz (@mschwartz23), and more. We were greeted at the door, given a goodie bag, and then it began! We, the participants began writing our concerns, interests, and topics on sticky-notes. These notes were then turned into our workshop sessions.

I think one of the best parts of EdCamp (other than the amazing collaboration) is that sessions are very casual. If you go to one session, and it turns out it isn't for you, or you want to make sure you see another, you can up and go! There is not "weirdness" or hurt feelings. All the sessions are lead by the participants and understand that you need to go where the professional development is and suits your needs. 

So I went to each my workshops. Not only did I get amazing information from amazing teachers, but we got to share insights, best practices, problems, success, and discover that there are incredible educators and leaders right in our neighborhood. The camaraderie and the friendships gained is invaluable. 

I even got to see how I should use Idea Paint  to fix my past blunder! 

So what is next? I stay in contact with these amazing educators on Twitter, follow @EdCampCV and @Edcamp and go to the next Edcamp in San Francisco! I hope to see you there!