Tech Tuesdays for Teachers becomes a one day CAMPference

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Photo by Tom Krawczewicz.
In summers past, I have helped organize weekly tech sessions at school for teachers who are interested in learning during the summer months. I thought weekly sessions would help keep the learning going throughout the summer but vacations and other interruptions caused sporadic attendance at best. 

 This summer, with inspiration from the edcamp and "normal"conference models, I am trying a one-day hybrid model and using the working term of a CAMPference. Thus was born the DeMatha Technology in Education Conference (#DMTE13). I had grand plans for at least three simultaneous tracks (one exclusively for newbies) but the realities of time and first-time efforts set in and there will be just one track. Each session of approximately 45 minutes (this can be flexible thanks to just one track) will fall under a topic and tools and methods (both practiced and possible) will be discussed. There will not be a presenter for any one topic (which has me quite nervous) but instead those who have used tools and methods with them will be asked to share their ideas and concerns. The session topics include Communication, Assessment and Feedback, Online Classroom, Professional Development, and Study and Learning Tools. 

 We have also invited others from outside our school to participate for the first time which is something we are all looking forward to. Hopefully, this format will work provide a chance to hear many different voices and we can learn from each other.

Will it work? Well, it's not like I haven't tried new things with my classes in the past only to have them land with a thud. But I have also found that my students are always very forgiving of those instances because they appreciate the effort. We teachers aren't always the best students, though. Maybe it'll be good practice for all of us.

The conference website: http://DeMathaTechEd.weebly.com

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