This past weekend I thoroughly enjoyed my #edcampMKE experience, which began with an early morning meet-up with our districts instructional technology coordinator @amyuelmen for a quick drive down to South Miklwaukee High School....of course not before a selfie (or is it not a selfie since there are two of us) for the edCamp Milwaukee's Instagram page / Picasa Web Album.
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| Pitch and Plan "BEFORE" |
For those not familiar, edCamps are a relatively new idea of professional development. It is professionals joining forces to create the conference on site, with no actual leader determined for sessions, but rather people chiming in. To organize this, the edCamp organizers begin the day with a "Pitch and Plan". The slate is literally clean.
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| Pitch and Plan "AFTER" |
After 30 or so minutes of pitching and planning, the slate is super messy and awesome! This messy board is then transferred to a shared document for all to view and choose their learning direction for the day. The best part of the choosing is that if you enter a session that does not peak your interest, you get up and go find a different session that maybe will. The conference sessions are about you and what you want to get out of them.
At #edcampMKE I was fortunate to be able to attend three sessions and also collaborate with colleagues and new colleagues over a multitude of ideas.
My first session choice was: #Gamification - Here is what I walked away with:
- Gamification is not all about games - that is a large part of it though - it builds around the idea of changing the landscape of a classroom to be more game based
- Gamification can be more of a classroom attitude (I think) - challenge students to score points and climb leader boards within the classroom - issue awards (badges)
- To learn more about Gamification check out this video: http://goo.gl/QQYhvB
- As a whole, our group was psyched about the possibilities that Google Presentation holds for classrooms
- Google's Research Tool can become a critical tool for students looking to add information / images into anything Google Doc related and also for citing information
- Use hashtags in Google Doc titles as a way of labeling them - try it - hashtag multiple titles, then search that hashtag - voila: #rad
- this session was packed with professionals ready and willing to spill the beans on lessons / units they do that fully engage students into learning - whether or not they want to be
- I was able to share our invention unit with other teachers - they were able to share their invention units (we are FOR SURE going to Google Hangout at the end of May) - also learned of a grant via Kohl's Department Store for getting some cash-o-la for next year's Discovery World field trip
- excited to purchase and read Dave Burgess': Teach Like a Pirate - I think this book could have a great impact in a school as a book study - I want to set this up via Google Groups this summer for some fun, casual conversation among peers and professional development
Final Choice: Hang with Peers
- we all have great stories to share of successes and epic failures from our classrooms - we can only get stronger as teachers
- Twitter is a great place to hang out and learn from others - I either spent the day Tweeting or waiting for a Tweet - Loved using TweetDeck (kept me organized and full)
- Pizza is a recipe for delicious discussions about iPads, Chromebooks, tech integration, and life in general
#edcampMKE was a great experience for me. I truly enjoyed traveling there with my other Pulaski teacher friends and spending a day with dedicated professionals. I feel revitalized!
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