Edcamp Boston Reflection

EdCamp Boston 2012

On Saturday, April 28th I attended my first UnConference. I followed the first EdCamp via twitter #edcampbos last year and it was great to see firsthand the active learning that took place at the Microsoft NERD center; a beautiful open facility overlooking the
Charles River with lots of meeting space and breakout rooms.  So many of the great educators that I follow on twitter organized the day and presented on various topics.

So what is an EdCamp / UnConference? It's a group of like-minded people that get together at a specific location and time with the intent to learn and share.  Yes, this day took place on a Saturday and several hundred educators showed up to learn on beautiful Saturday in Cambridge.   There are no official speakers, the conference starts in the morning with anyone who wants to present a workshop writing their proposal onto a giant sticky note and placing it on a large wall with a schedule.

After everyone who wants to present has posted their workshop proposal, conference volunteers copy the schedule on a communal online Google Spreadsheet. (Click here for the completed schedule for EdCamp Boston 2012.) Participants can then walk in and out of any workshops they desire. Participants are encouraged to “Vote with your feet!”. “If a workshop doesn’t match what you’re seeking, walk out and find one that does!”

I was thrilled to run into a few former graduates students and see them participating in this learning model.   A special thanks to everyone that organized the conference and shared out their expertise.  I will continue to connect with all of you on twitter #edchat to expand my own learning in order to continue to bring creativity into my school and classes.