The bottom line is the success of the conference is in the hands of the people that attend. And the people who attended Edcamp Boston did so because they wanted to give up a Saturday to learn. There were no PDPs, no one forced them or made them go. They went because they wanted to. With a crowd like that, it was sure to be a great day.
I attended my first unconference in 2007 at the first Edubloggercon at NECC in Atlanta. I had never experienced a group of educators making their own professional development. It was empowering and engaging. I was so inspired that I brought edubloggercon to Boston thanks to Alan November who hosted our first unconference in 2008. Lisa Thumann and I continue to organize Edubloggercon, but our event is much smaller compared to edcamp.
Edcamp Boston was my first experience organizing a much bigger event. But at it's core it was a great day of learning and that is what is so great about unconferences. There isn't a keynote speaker, no one gets paid to do what they do, we volunteer because we believe in the experience.I want to thank Dan, Greg, Karen, Larry, Laura, & Steve for all that they did to make this a success. It was wonderful to work with all of you and I look forward to doing this again next year.
If you loved Edcamp Boston or if you missed it, you aren't too late. Check out these upcoming unconferences:
- Edubloggercon East in Boston July 25th (organized by Lisa Thumann and me)
- EdCamp CT August 18th
- EdCamp Keene August 17th
Plus I'm working on organizing an Independent School Unconference following NAIS in Seattle in February. Stay tuned for more information about that and let me know if you would like to be part of that organizing team.
4 comments:
Hi Liz,
I'd love to hear some reflections. Care to share? : )
I love that phrase "create and consume their own learning." It is, among other things, a perfect description of the constructivist process. Isn't interesting that teachers, who are told what to teach and, often, how to teach it, take a very different approach when it is their own education at stake.
This is not a criticism of teachers, but rather of the policy-makers who are arrogant enough to think that they have the only set of keys to the learning castle and don't trust us or our students to "create and consume" together.
I love that phrase "create and consume their own learning." It is, among other things, a perfect description of the constructivist process. Isn't interesting that teachers, who are told what to teach and, often, how to teach it, take a very different approach when it is their own education at stake.
This is not a criticism of teachers, but rather of the policy-makers who are arrogant enough to think that they have the only set of keys to the learning castle and don't trust us or our students to "create and consume" together.
Thanks Deven. I completely agree with you. So much of teacher PD is the worst kind of pedagogy. I am a handson learner myself, so I often have a hard time. That's why I like giving PD and that is why I love unconferences.
Hi Liz!
We're about to plan an edcamp in Sweden and I needed a picture of a scheduling board to explain to my friends what I'm talking about. I found a picture in your blog that I borrowed, I hope that is ok. You can have a look here if you want.
Thank you!
Anna Kaya
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