Sunday, October 7, 2012

EdCamp 4: Goodies Galore!

Ahhh!  Another delightful day spent yesterday, hanging out with like-minded, tech-minded educators at EdCamp Hagerstown.  This trip marks my 4th EdCamp.  When I look back at my past EdCamp history, it hits me that my very first one was approximately this same time last fall.  It also marks the 150th EdCamp since it's start in May 2010. Additionally, it marks the start of a pretty progressive EdCamp season for me.  EdCamp Harrisburg and EdCamp Baltimore are just around the corner in these next weeks ahead--marked in big letters on my calendar. 

Yes, it's safe to say, I might be a tad addicted.

One would argue perhaps you'd HAVE to be--sacrificing a Saturday (and weather-wise, a beautiful one at that!).  Add in a 1.5 hour drive.  But the time goes quickly when you bring along an "EdCamp Newbie" to her first EdCamp. Additionally, her enthusiasm brought about some bravery for me as we both facilitated a session (a first for me!).  We talked about our experience of iPad implementation--which was a great follow up to the iPad session we attended right before it. What a great way to let the conversation continue!! 

Once again, the wealth gained at EdCamp was enormous!  There's no place I would have rather been that soaking in the knowledge, networking, and news from other educators who want to bring EdTech, iPads, energy, and more into their classrooms.  As always, you walk away with so much!! You can't help it with the EdCamp philosophy of "The Rule of 2 Feet" (where you are urged to be on the move, to get yourself to the room that will do you the greatest amount of good based on what your interests are.)

The Hagerstown EdCamp Team started us out with this video, which served as an excellent framework to start of the day:

I framed my day largely around iPads, and got a chance to talk a lot with the other amazing educators who were also living along in iPadLandia!  Ideas and apps are now swimming around in my head. Kudos & congrats to the planning team for creating such a wonderful #edtech experience!!

To share the wealth, the EdCamp Hagerstown crew created the following Google Docs of Session Notes where they compiled all the goodies from all the sessions of the day.  Talk about comprehensive!!  Another great way to learn of the goodies galore is to check out the  #edcamphagerstown hashtag on Twitter.

Needless to say...if you haven't ever been to an EdCamp, you don't know what you are missing!!  You need to solve that problem--because it IS a problem!!  To find one near you, check out the EdCamp Wiki site, search the map, mark your calendar, and make your way to a great #EdTech day!! 


EdCamp Logo from http://edcamphagerstown.wordpress.com/ and the "A Serious Talk" video from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0pZE8WW_Ro .

2 comments :

  1. Glad to hear you'll be joining us for Edcamp Baltimore! I agree; edcamps are an energizing way to learn and network.

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  2. Chris, I too am looking forward to joining in on EdCamp B'more! Hopefully everyone your way survived Hurricane Sandy well, and we'll see you in just over a week!

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