How the edcamp-lite model worked out

By -
This past summer I put together a professional learning day at my school using a hybrid edcamp and traditional conference model as a guide. Modifications were necessary due to size, late planning, and nerves. In the end, though, things turned out well for the twenty or so participants who came from my school (DeMatha) and the three county private schools we also invited.

Planning for a limited number of attendees (under 50), I was worried that there might not be enough variety to go completely edcamp. Quite frankly, I also wasn't looking forward to the blank stares I was going to get when I replied "I don't know" to their "What are the session topics?" Therefore, I set up the day for one track and a total of five sessions, each lasting approximately 50 minutes. There would not be presenters (the edcamp influence) but each session would have a topic (my nerves influence): Communication, Assessment and Feedback, Online Classroom, Professional Development, and Study and Learning Tools. All topics focused on the use of tech-related tools in and out of the classroom.

My fears that each session may only last 10 minutes because no one had anything to contribute were assuaged early when the first session went over an hour before we purposefully switched gears to the second topic. Each person in attendance had something to contribute at some point in the day and those with more experience in an area helped lead things along. The conversation was lively and the show and tell of tools and ideas continued throughout.

The feedback was positive and the experience was quite successful thanks for several factors. DeMatha's administration was very supportive throughout and even provided a free lunch for the entire group. The attendees varied in experience (some even admitted that they planned to just lurk the entire day) but everyone was very enthusiastic. As a matter of fact, my principal has already asked that we hold it again next year and will give it his full support. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Boost Learning in Presentations and Games

By -
For those teachers who use games for learning and review, it's apparent the rise in engagement that they bring to the classroom. But, does this engagement and enthusiasm always lead to learning? According to research by neuroscientist Paul Howard-Jones, adding an element of chance can help further increase the chances of learning. It's just a matter of adding it at the right time. For instance, the addition of a simple 50/50 chance of losing all points associated with a correct answer leads to more effective learning. But where in the process does the learning peak? I asked Howard-Jones via email and it turns out that the following sequence works well: student/team answers question student/team is given a 50/50 chance to "double or nothing" their points correct answer is revealed It turns out that even if they lose points or answer incorrectly, the learning is still at a peak because of the state of mind of ALL the students involved. Good or bad, even those who a
Read more

How do students know what they know? (an effective exit slip)

By -
I remember sitting in class a few (plus!) years ago and at times totally following what was going on. It could have been almost any subject but there were times when it seemed to click.  At least I thought so. Then I got home and started the homework. Different story. It just wasn't that clear anymore and I realized that I didn't quite get it the way I thought. This was not exclusive to homework as it also happened at times on quizzes and tests. I thought I had studied enough (which, admittedly was what I always thought) but it did not pan out. I want my students to avoid this problem and the trick is for them to answer the question: "How do I know when I really know it?" But how? I recently saw a tweet for a webinar run by Ray Jimenez, who is a great webinar presenter by the way, entitled "Learners Don't Know What They Don't Know." Of course, I was excited to get the long-awaited answer to my question in one interesting hour but, ironically e
Read more

Are We Testing Enough?

By -
As I watched my sons play a new video game the other day, it occurred to me that maybe the problem isn't that we are assessing students too much, it's that we are assessing them too little. Look at gaming environments. Players are constantly being assessed, challenged, and tested. They adjust and maneuver or crash and/or die. Then they get back up and begin the process all over again. It's demanding but the gamers are resilient. I have often wondered how this type of learning could be transfered to the literature classroom. An obvious possibility would be to create time periods or even particular settings so that students could experience them first hand. Imagine going into the house from Poe's "The Black Cat" and interacting with the characters. I am not sure what the "game" would be - stop the murder, find the body, or even attempt to throw a dead cat through the window? What fun! My parent/teacher conferences would be standing room only. While thi
Read more