As is always the case when I attend an edcamp, I feel reinvigorated and connected by others who are passionate about education and the things that they are doing with children in their classrooms and schools. Connecting with many of my PLN members from Twitter is also another great benefit of attending. As @wkrakower tweeted yesterday in response to a tweet about conversations at edcamp:
There were so many amazing sessions to choose from that it was a shame that I could only pick four. Check out the list of offerings that the participants facilitated throughout the day on the schedule document. This year the #edcampphilly team added shared Google Docs for each session so that participants could take notes together during and after the sessions. You can find those on the schedule, as well. (great idea!) Here are some thoughts about the sessions that I attended.
Session 1: Taking Genius Global - facilitated by Angela Maiers
The conversation in @AngelaMaiers session "Taking Genius Global" was inspirational. Her passion for giving children a place, a "global refrigerator," to post projects about which they have a passion is powerful. I am awed by the stories of how the global connection that is afforded us by current technologies allows for students' visions of change in the world to become reality. As I listened and participated in the conversation with Angela, it became clear to me that we have the opportunity to provide children with the connections that would normally only be found at $1000 a plate cocktail fundraisers. The ability to connect with people who have the means to make projects and dreams a reality is right there in the palm of our hands (literally)! Please take a moment to check out the Choose2Matter website and find out how you can get involved. Here is the link to the Google Doc from the session. There are a number of great resource links in it. Thank you Angela, it was inspirational. You Matter!
Session 2: Preventing the Zombie Apocalypse - facilitated by Gerald Aungst
The presentation and conversation led by @geraldaungst was clever and apropos. While there is a fascination with the fictional Zombie Apocalypse (The Walking Dead, etc.), it is clear that we can foster this same, very real, phenomenon in our schools and classrooms if we do not engage students. When we as teachers cause/allow them to disengage, we are part of the virus that creates those zombies. A strong discussion ensued around several key questions:
Should teachers be entertainers?
Who owns the engagement? Students? Teachers? Admins? etc.?
Are those students engaged who are just chasing GPAs?
Gerald caused us to truly think about so many things surrounding the topic of engagement even beyond those questions. The room was very lively with discussion. We also learned about the "diseases" of Elementitis and Aboutitis which are discussed in David Perkins' book Making Learning Whole. If you want some additional insight into this session, check out the Google Doc with shared notes.
Lunch
I mention lunch because it is such a worthwhile time to spend with colleagues discussing the morning sessions and a whole host of other topics. Enjoying food and conversation is a great way to learn and grow together.
Session 3: PBL in the K-5 Classroom (What does it look like? How does it happen? What are the tech tools to use?) - facilitated by Diana Potts
This discussion led by @pottsedtech helped to highlight the planning and thought processes needed to adapt Project Based Learning to elementary school content and students. Diana highlighted the need to have a "driving question" to guide the work. Additionally, the discussion touched on Wiggins' UBD concepts and working with a backward design. What is your desired outcome? --- How do we get there? She shared a great resource for all things PBL, the Bucks Institute for Education. One of my big takeaways from this session was the following: