Saturday I attended my second EdCamp in the last two months. I learned some new things as a result. Furthermore I’m inspired by the teachers and administrators whom I met there. There was an eagerness to learn and share that’s frequently missing at formal conferences. In fact at most educational conferences that I’ve either attended or presented at, the flow of information is typically one way. It’s presenter to attendee. But at EdCamps the flow of information and expertise for that matter comes from all the participants. There is a sense of excitement that’s palpable, enthusiastic and authentic. The people who are drawn to EdCamps come from near and far. They come on their own time because they sincerely want to learn and grow professionally.
I’m energized by the grass roots nature of EdCamp. I spoke with Katie McFarland the organizer of EdCampFLX which I attended on Saturday and she said they had received a mini-grant from the EdCamp Foundation to assist with the program. The rest of the snacks, refreshments and prizes were donated. I’m encouraging other retired educators to get involved with EdCamp because you might be surprised by what you learn and maybe even what you can share. Saturday I came to share on open source and open educational resources and while those sessions were productive I learned about Smore.com which I’m going to use myself and I’ve already shared it with my learning networks. I also taught a group of teachers how to create and use Twitter lists. I’m indebted to Christina Luce who first shared about EdCamp and whose enthusiasm for the movement invited my involvement. I’m looking forward to attending more EdCamps in the future and especially the one at Maine-Endwell in the April 9, 2016.