EdCampFWTX

This was my first EdCamp experience. I was asked to go to one last year but declined because I didn't understand the format and because I just didn't want to commit (apologies @CherylJHunt) When EdCampFWTX was being discussed on Twitter (#txed) earlier this year I decided to commit and see if I could find anything "shiny."

After the Twitter introduction and reading about EdCamps on http://edcamp.wikispaces.com/file/view/HowToEdCamp.pdf I was even more convinced. And then I began to adversise and convince my PLN on twitter and other staff developments I was involved with the possibilities of EdCamp. I am appreciative of the NISD leaders in attendance to share their expertise and experiences.

Personally, EdCampFWTX was a wonderful experience. It was well organized and after reading about how some other EdCamps had been run in the past, I think this one was more intune with traditional EdCamp experiences. No professional speakers, no high dollar presentations, just a bunch of motivated educators discussing what works, what doesn't and what still needs to get done.

The first session  I attended was on PBL and the presenter was @TechNinjaTodd. He spent the first 5 minutes explaining how he ran his PBL and after that was when the fireworks went off. First this person spoke, and then another attendee. Then a question followed by a response. And another question and response. All from people in attendance, not from @TechNinjaTodd, he was just listening, and tweeting, and taking notes. This is the powerful content of EdCamps; the conversations that develop between passionate educators. Discussions were based around not grading student PBL performances, and how PBL could be one day on your scope and sequence and they turn into five day learning experiences. Discussion on how PBL and state assessments mesh and how Administration feels about full scale PBL and minimal time spent on state assessment reviews in class. When @TechNinjaTodd did interject, it was either a transition to another PBL point or to add some of his experiences, just like any other attendee. Fantastic traditional EdCamp session.

Another session was devoted to Technology for Administrators. 2O administrators and one admin in waiting sitting around a table talking about what they use, why, and how effective it was. Questions on @Aurasma and Evernote, Remind101, Calenders, To-Do-Lists, Dropbox, Edmodo, Laptops vs. Tablets. A listing of EdCampFWTX notes can be found here https://docs.google.com/document/m/?id=1rvsaafTNkgMwtRn9L06CO6Ozk0ZiZV9w6c0ORcO_VOo&login=1&pli=1

The blogging session resulted in what your are reading here. I started blogging two years ago. This is my third post. Three posts in three years, until now. I have decided to start blogging on a consistent basis. Not because it is a district requirement, not to increase my critical writing scores, but because I want to continue to stretch myself as an educator.

I hope you will stretch yourself. Attend an EdCamp in your area or get some of your PLN together and make a road trip out of it. A colleague of mine stated she was like a magpie...she attended her first EdCamp this weekend and like a true magpie was able to take many "shiny" ideas with her.

Here are some of my twitter postings about #EdCampFWTX http://storify.com/Tagurit72/edcampfwtx.html

Sir Ken and Gentle Musings

Sir Ken Robinson has influenced my thinking for the past few days. It all started when I was forwarded a TedTalk that Sir Ken had created several years ago, but was reintroduced to me thru twitter. The Talk is based on the irony of educational accountability and three principles that guide education. The three principles consist of differentiation, inquiry, and creation. Today I listened to Sir Ken's radio show thru the powers on the internet (truly the first time to ever listen to NPR). I tweeted that the pressure to combine the students need to create and the dubious demand of state accountability was difficult to say the least. So how do you balance this need. It seems to reason that its not that difficult. I would like to think that if students were truly engaged in higher level Blooms like creating, passing a standardized exam would not be such a risk.