A Cornucopia Called EdCamp

Thanksgiving is just a few short days away.  It's usually at about this time in the school year that I wonder how the heck it has happened that we are already here?!

When I look back, especially over the last 6 weeks alone, I see my own autumnal path to here--and it was by way of EdCamps. A virtual cornucopia of EdTech, iPads, PLN's (Personal Learning Networks) galore and more.

I've written about EdCamps before, and I'm a self-proclaimed EdCamp fiend.  In this season of gratitude and taking time to celebrate those things I'm thankful for, EdCamps certainly are up there on my list--certainly after family and friends, but right alongside personal job satisfaction.  How can an amazing and FREE professional development opportunity where you can learn from your regional colleagues/educators NOT be in there!?!

Here is a great video that describes the essence of EdCamp:


Between my time at EdCamp Baltimore (Sat., Nov. 10th), EdCamp Harrisburg (Sat., Oct 20), & before that on Sat., Oct. 6th at EdCamp Hagerstown], I have harvested a bounty of professional development.  I most certainly got a cornucopia of EdTech treasures by way of websites, iPad lesson activities, new apps to investigate, and great ideas I could use in class each of the following Monday mornings. 

The level of sharing, both in and out of sessions, on Twitter, their websites, and beyond make it possible to let the learning continue...even if you weren't there.  Along those lines, one of the neatest sessions I went to was when Jeff Bradbury from TeacherCast led a panel of EdCamp pros in a panel discussion concurrently (by way of livestreaming and Google hangouts) with a panel from EdCamp Minneapolis St. Paul.  Pretty darn cool to be crossing time zones with tech, and be in two places at once!

Here are some places to go to learn some of the cool things I learned along the way in my autumnal trek of Maryland and Pennsylvania EdCamps...

• EdCamp Baltimore's "Smackdown" (where you get 1 minute to share a resource--a lot of resources add up in a very short time!!)
• EdCamp Baltimore;s Storify (a collection of all the tweets from everyone that day, complete with links, ideas they loved, pics and tons of other gems)
• EdCamp Harrisburg's "Smackdown"
• EdCamp Harrisburg highlight posts of the day (including their Twitter roll which has many of the same types of comments and resources of Baltimore's Storify)
• EdCamp Hagerstown's Storify
• My GTG post about EdCamp Hagerstown (including a link to their extensive Google doc of resources from the day)

For more EdCamps on the horizon, check out:

• EdCamp NJ ~ Sat., Dec. 1st
• Upcoming EdCamps ~ Check out the Wiki of dates & places--you can go here to also get links to all of the past EdCamps (including the more than 30 EdCamps just this past fall). Each link takes you to the individual webpages and listed resources from each of their own their full days!

Here in this season of crispnes and color, may your Thanksgiving be bountiful--full of blessings, love, peace, harmony.

Annnnnndddd... if you're truly lucky, may there be an EdCamp nearby, sometime soon, to mark on your calendar!  ☺


Cornucopia photo from http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2012/06/what-do-you-think-of-apples-announcements/, EdCamp video from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQyceeXzuPM, Edcamp logos from each of their home webpages; Thanksgiving iPhone screensaver from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/thanksgiving-wallpapers-for/id565858947?mt=8