Why should you edcamp?

Editor's note: This is a guest post from Dr. Robert Dillon, a principal at Maplewood Richmond Heights Middle School and organizer of the first edcampstl.

There is great power in being in control of your own learning. This was the message that I shared with my students for many years when I served as their mentor and classroom teacher, and today, I find myself talking with teachers and educators about the same statement.

In an information rich environment, we are no longer bound by the professional development offerings in our school, our district, our state, or even our country. We are in control of our own learning. The last decade has shined a bright light on the power of individual educators building their own professional learning networks of the best and brightest teachers in their field that have the same passions, ideas, and desire to see children succeed.

From this energy rose the concept of edcamp. An edcamp is a day-long, free professional learning opportunity that is built by the interests of those participating. This concept was born from similar events in the legal profession known as barcamp, and the unconference movement that designed gatherings to bring people together in conversation about the interests and questions in that moment.

On February 11, 2012, Saint Louis will host its first edcamp on the campus of Nipher Middle School in Kirkwood, MO. Detailed information can be found here<http://edcampstl.wikispaces.com/edcampstl>. This event will bring together 200 educators with the desire to transform the education. edcampstl hopes to be the fuel for the remainder of the school year that allows teachers to push back on the urge to settle for good and instead strive for greatness with innovation, rigor, and excellence.

edcampstl is made possible through the generous support of our friends at the Virtual Learning Center at Cooperating School District, MSTA, and Educational Technology Association. The Saturday event will be an appetizer of the learning that will be available at the Midwest Educational Technology Conference later that week. METC provides three days of learning around best practices in the area of technology integration.

Please consider joining us for a fantastic day of learning on February 11, 2012. Register here as spaces are limited, and we have only about 25 seats remaining. We look forward to learning with you in February.

If you've already signed up, keep an eye on your inbox this week for more details!

Comments

[Wm Chamberlain]

While you may think this is a technology centric conference, it doesn't have to be. I am planning on leading a session titled "Leave Your Tech at the Door". Everything will be open to talk about as long as it isn't technology based. Let's get together and do some peer to peer learning!