Redcamp = Really Effective Teaching and Learning

 Redcamp15 is approaching on April 11/15. Our version of the "edcamp" is turning 3 years old this spring, and we would like to celebrate this with as many edcampers as possible, especially those who are new to the context of an edcamp.

Redcamp has always been based on the foundation of "social collaboration," a collaborative model where the processes of building trust, engaging with others and their ideas and seeking learning opportunities becomes more ubiquitous, open and visible. The social collaboration link above explains how we think about professional development at Redcamp, and how we believe what we do there as participants is perhaps the highest form of professional development and engagement in learning based on the principles of the Learning Pyramid...



Unlike some other forms of PD, edcamps (and ours for sure) start at the bottom of the pyramid and work up, but not too far:) To be honest, at Redcamp we don't get too much past the Discussion level, but there might be a bit of demonstration and audiovisual mixed in to that discussion:) It seems like the learning ratios at Redcamp closely mirror the percentages on this chart... 90% teaching of others for immediate use, 75% Practise, 50% Discussion etc.

So in order to increase the potential for social collaboration and very effective teaching (learning) at Redcamp we want to include as many people as possible. To that end if you're reading this and haven't registered, please do! If you're already registered and are coming alone, why not make a small effort to invite even 1 person to join you at Redcamp15? If everyone successfully invited at least one guest to join them at the event, we would at minimum double our potential for increased social collaboration and high quality, effective teaching and learning on April 11.Why not ask someone to join you at Redcamp15 today? Although registration is not required, please encourage your Redcamp15 collaborators to register for Free at this Eventbrite link. Doing so makes it easier for us to plan details like food, t-shirts, door prizes etc. when we know who's coming:)

See you on April 11th!

Engaging Dialog at #redcamp14...

The conversations are beginning to heat up for #redcamp14! Our faithful and engaged registrants have already provided a proposed line up of sessions that would blow our socks off even if this was to be the end of the list (but we know it won't:) 

So far this May 31 in Red Deer, AB, participants will be choosing between these proposed sessions at #redcamp 2014... the "put it up on the board" process the morning of our event will tell us where the the highest levels of interest are, and that's where the conversations will go!

• Resilient teaching and learning
• Creative teaching and learning
• Inquiry learning
• Integrated curriculum/project-based learning in the middle school cohort
• Inclusion
• Learning workflow 
• Mobile devices
• Competency based learning vs. content based learning
• Flipped classrooms
• Google EDU teaching and learning environments
• Curriculum redesign
• Video tutorial creation
•  ipad e-book creation 
• Blogging in teaching and learning
• The power of social networking in education
• Teaching skateboarding in school
• Empathetic teaching and learning 
• Technology in the elementary classroom
• The teenage brain
• Mindfulness
• Student leadership
• Developmental Assets
• Cognitive Behavioral Theory
• Innovation Day/Genius Hour
• Inspiring Ed
• New AB Education Act/Regulations, Capital Planning, Infrastructure
• The learner is the center in the 21st Century classroom
• Digital leadership or how our school is using social media to gather data
• The entrepreneurial student... and you!
• Little Green Thumbs Program - www.littlegreenthumbs.org
• What can school gardens teach us?... Bring your shovel and smile and we'll show you!
• I would be interested in sharing my journey of transforming my classroom into a 1:1 device classroom
• Humane education - teaching that inspires compassion for animals, people and the environment
• Learning Centers in secondary ELA classroom
• The Great School Assembly
• The Return of the "Redcamp Jam"
• Response to Intervention
• Improving School Literacy

If you are unfamiliar with how edcamps work, please go ahead and reference some of the stories from last year... Ron Eberts wrote about it here. Diane Roberts wrote about it here. Sean Grainger wrote about it here, and Kirby Fecho, a third year preservice teacher wrote about it here. We even had a #redcamp13 song last year! Hey Tim, Ev... what about an encore performance? See you all on May 31!

@redcamp13 Thanks for the great day. Instead of blogging, we sang about it. Here is "Big Brains" youtube.com/watch?v=c2kZ2j… #redcamp13
— Tim Bowman (@BowmanTwits) May 12, 2013

Redcamp is a little different...

  by  stevendepolo 

Maybe I shouldn't say because I don't know for sure, but I think RedCamp is a little different from most edcamps. At our edcamp event we intend to solicit an array of diverse perspectives on how to do education better, faster and maybe even cheaper, (but that one is for another post.) At our first annual event last year we received many comments from participants about how great it was to hear the voices of folks who didn't necessarily work in a school, but that had every reason to be invested in an effective and vibrant education system. The fact that we had undergraduate preservice teachers, active teachers, administrators (senior and school based,) school board members and other civic politicians, education specialists, parents, education assistants and others in the same rooms talking collaboratively with each other all day long was a unique and productive situation. Differing perspectives looking at the same issues led to very engaging dialog.

  by  jurvetson 

Of course there is a lot to be debated about how group conversations evolve, but the spirit of edcamps dictates that the answer is "in the room." We want the "answers" at RedCamp to come from rooms that represent a broad spectrum of interests, expertise, experience and opinion. At #redcamp14 we have an opportunity to represent possiblity in teaching and learning. We promote the concept that our education system has the potential to be the mirror for society instead of the reflection. We believe (like the vast majority of edcampers) that what we do in schools, while responsive to the needs of society, can also shape and form what we do in society. To that end we need to broaden the scope and make education everyone's business.

  by  JonoTakesPhotos 

If you are perosnally invested in better teaching and learning, we need you to be at #redcamp14! Register at the EventBrite button in the sidebar... see you on May 31!

It Started As A Single Conversation...

Redcamp '13 (a borderline-cheesy combination of our location here in Red Deer and the Edcamp event that we hosted on May 11th, 2013) by all accounts was a great success. The site for Central Alberta's very first full-blown Edcamp was Glendale Sciences and Technology School, and it took place on a beautiful Saturday in which almost 120 teachers, administrators, educational assistants, university/college students, as well as a speech-language pathologist and a City of Red Deer Councillor, participated in almost 30 unique sessions of professional learning.

Redcamp '13 started as a single conversation between Diane Roberts (@robertsdrb), Sean Grainger (@graingered) and me, almost seven months ago. In very short order our "committee" had grown to include nine educators altogether, including representation from both Red Deer Public and Catholic Schools. After just a few meetings Sean Grainger had set up a web page, a blog, and a registration process, and we were off to the proverbial races! Thanks to the concerted effort of our committee our numbers began to grow, and by the time May 11th, 2013 had rolled around we had 127 registrants for our Edcamp event.

As participants started filing into Glendale School on Saturday morning the reality of the event probably hit me for the first time... educators (and other non-educators but still life-long learners) had set aside families, chores, recreation, and a great number of other events & responsibilities, to attend a day of professional learning, put on by other colleagues and professionals from throughout Alberta. As the schedule board started filling up (4 time blocks with 7 sessions in each block) and participants began to take their seats for our opening comments, I knew that all of the work and worry leading up to May 11th had been worth it.

I had the privilege of welcoming the participants to REdcamp '13, as well as the great honour of introducing our fantastic organizing committee:

• Kelly Aleman
• Joe Bower
• Larry Hartel
• Sean Grainger
• Ted Hutchings
• Dave Martin
• Chris McCullough
• Diane Roberts

Joe Bower and Sean Grainger each spoke to the assembled group, and then participants headed out to classrooms to attend their first session. My plan had been to roam around to as many sessions as possible, but this turned out to be very difficult to do as I found myself drawn in to the professional conversations taking place in the rooms I was visiting, and I ended up spending most of the time in the first session engaged in a very spirited dialogue about what will be happening in Alberta now that the Provincial Achievement Tests had been scrapped, and replaced with a new literacy & numeracy based student learning assessments.

In the second block I facilitated a session entitled, "Creating a Culture of Collaboration"

In this session there were participants from school jurisdictions in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Sturgeon, Chinook's Edge, Wolf Creek, as well as a city councillor from the City of Red Deer, and an instructor from Red Deer College. The Edcamp saying, "the expert is the room" was certainly evident in my session about collaboration, as the conversation was lively and continued strongly until the session ended 60 minutes later. If I hadn't already thought the day was a complete success, I definitely felt that way after the session on "Creating a Culture of Collaboration".

Considering the sun was shining, and the temperature was above 20C, I wondered how many of the participants would come back after the lunch break, but I shouldn't have worried at all. When the third session started at 12:45pm seven rooms were once again engaged in dialogue and rich with professional learning. I attended a session put on by Paul Harris (@harris4rd), a City Councillor for Red Deer. "Purpose-Centre Questions" was a session in which Paul modelled the use of purpose-centred questions whilst "teaching" us what they were and how to use them. A fantastic session.

In the fourth block I attended a session on "Teaching Math Creatively" by Kim Miner, from the Calgary Board of Education. Kim is currently on sabbatical taking her Master of Education degree, and she shared some of the work she has been undertaking in this regard as it relates to Math. A great deal of sharing took place during this session, and I was quite disappointed when Sean's voice came over the announcement system letting us know that the end of the day was almost upon us, and it was time to gather in the gym for one last wrap up comment.

In the gym there were a lot of thank you's - both Sean and our committee thanking the participants, and the participants thanking us for putting the Edcamp event on (our pleasure!). Sean shared the blog and encouraged all participants to submit content to it (which I will be doing with this reflection myself), and then the 100+ participants left the school to enjoy the rest of the beautiful day, and the rest of the weekend.

After a bit of clean up I too left the school and drove back home to Lacombe to spend the remainder of the evening with my family. As the 15-minute drive up the QEII went by all I thought about was what a wonderful day of professional learning I had just experienced. Of all the Micheal Fullans, Ken Robinsons, and Rick Dufours I've seen, I would rate REdcamp '13 among the best professional learning experiences I have attended. Yes, without a doubt, "the expert is the room"! I can't wait until my next Edcamp experience, and I can say with no hesitation or doubt, REdcamp '14 will be a fixture on my professional learning calendar one year from now!

The Collaborators...

  by  Brenderous

Around a hundred really smart people talking up #goodedu at #redcamp13! What an awesome day of #collaborative learning:)
— redcamp2013 (@redcamp13) May 11, 2013

They engaged, they listened and they collaborated. Red Deer's and central Alberta's first edcamp unconference is on the books... what a fantastic day it was.

I really appreciate the reflective post, "If You Build It, They Will Camp," by @robertsdrb and especially this comment...

Every session I went to gave me something which either changed, deepened, challenged or furthered my thinking. And there were many other sessions that I didn't get a chance to go to but wish I would have had the time for as well.

There's not much I could add to Diane's excellent recap and reflection of #redcamp13, except to say that I completely agree with this statement. As one of the other organizers of the event, and a host representing Glendale Sciences and Technology School where #redcamp13 was held, I felt responsible for keeping the flow going, and as a result didn't get to sit in on as many sessions as I would have hoped. That's OK though, because stepping back a bit gave me a unique perspective. From the sidelines I was able to make a few observations, some new friends and I had time to think about what we could add to #redcamp14...

• People. One of my hallway conversations with a school board trustee in attendance (thanks so much for that Cathy:) highlighted the wonderfully diverse nature of our unconference participants. Registered participants included...

School Administrators= 23
Senior Administrators= 2
Local Red Deer Teachers= 41
Out of Town Teachers= 33
External Agencies Supporting Schools= 6
Educational Assistants= 1
University Students/Recent Grads= 12
School Board Officials= 4
University Professors= 2
Seventh Grade Glendale Students= 3
Politicians= 1
Parents= 2

Cathy and I agreed that there are many stakeholders in providing high quality education, and many were represented at #redcamp13, but we could get more. Capturing the diversity in their perspectives is an important goal of the edcamp process.

• Kids. We had three (committed seventh grade students offered a session off the cuff explaining their edible landscaping project, and how they convinced the City of Red Deer to join them in creating a beautiful community resource on our shared property; an edible garden plan for everyone to enjoy and benefit from...) but more would be better. I had another conversation with a group of redcamp champs discussing the tremendous value of capturing student voice in an edcamp context. We were thinking out loud how great it would be to provide opportunities for students to share their thoughts about what can and perhaps should be done to continue supporting improved teaching and learning. We thought a TED style format would fit very nicely where kids briefly present their position, idea, dream, challenge etc. and then host a dialog around their topic of focus. This came to me during the session I presented addressing authentic and creative learning tasks, and we watched this... 

• Collaborative Projects. The image at the top of this post made me think about this very cool #redcamp13 session...

  @redcamp13 Thanks for the great day. Instead of blogging, we sang about it. Here is "Big Brains" youtube.com/watch?v=c2kZ2j… #redcamp13
  — Tim Bowman (@BowmanTwits) May 12, 2013

  I'm wondering why a collaborative, one day art, writing, drama or blog project couldn't materialize as a feature outcome of #redcamp14.

•  Topics. We had a rich and practical list of session topics; all proposed and presented by redcamp13 delegates. Presenters included politicians, teachers, administrators, senior administrators, pre-service teachers, recent education graduates, university professors, external agency representatives and even middle school students... it was an awesome range of choices, and one day just didn't seem like enough to fully address them, but maybe that's what's supposed to happen at edcamps. Perhaps some of these conversations will continue to evolve at the next edcamp offered in another town or city. At any rate, the more choice there is in session topics, the higher the chance we can create engagement and value in our conversations.

So my final words to close out the day included a simple invitation. I asked redcampers to consider that the interactions and conversations having occurred during the event could (perhaps should) be considered as beginnings; not endings. I suggested that the dialog should continue and the connections should strengthen through an effort to maintain a level of social and professional engagement with each other.

One thing I know for sure is that the people who made up #redcamp13 were already attuned to the social side of collaborative efforts.

 

They were motivated to make themselves visible and to participate. They shared what they knew, tools they had and thoughts they pondered. They showed up at #redcamp13 on a beautiful sunny Saturday morning in May when they could have been doing other things; I think because they saw the value in finding each other. They readily connected and related personally and professionally with each other. They contributed.

Perhaps all of this is why the forming, storming, norming and reforming they did above the social collaboration wave went so smoothly.

 

I am very much looking forward to #redcamp14!

Sean Grainger

@graingered

One Day Away...

So the first ever edcamp in central Alberta is only a day away. Some pre-conference reflections are in order...

• It's totally amazing to me to consider that 126 people, many from out of town, and some from way out of town, have registered for a one day education conference on a Saturday that has no marquis name, brand or theme... a truly dedicated bunch of folks who just want to talk about how to make education better.
• It is really intriguing to notice such a broad spectrum of people with different backgrounds coming together at #redcamp13... it truly does take a village, as they say.
• It is so great to see a dozen pre-service teachers take the edcamp plunge. My guess? This is a highly engaged and dedicated group of teachers-to-be joining us.
• It has been interesting to watch the #redcamp13 event evolve over time in organic and transformative ways. I have come to realize once again, the power of social connection, and as part of the #redcamp planning process, I've learned about social collaboration too.
• Edcamps are a trend worth watching. Along the journey toward our event we received support from two leading web-based tech tools. Biteslide came on board with a door prize sponsorship of 10 free premium memberships and participant discounts for everyone, and Yapp provided free app creation services for #redcamp13. They called us... very cool:)
• It takes only a few engaged and collaborative people to put an edcamp together. Thanks to the locals for being those people!

So I know there will be more to say during and after #redcamp13... my hope is the tweets will be flying in multiple directions, and that the backchannel is relevant and useful to those who can't attend. I also hope participants will make use of our #redcamp13 app, and in particular to upload a memorable bunch of photos to record the day. Most of all though I hope that people attend #redcamp13 with an open mind and a sincere willingness to be vulnerable within their learning.

It's not too late to join us... pre-register at the red button registration link above, or just show up on Saturday morning... we'd be be so happy to have you join us!

Social Collaboration at Redcamp 2013...

  by  oscarberg 

The Collaboration Pyramid offers a great visual to explain how an edcamp unconference can be such a powerful collaborative professional development and learning tool.

In traditional team-based collaborative models we experience the "form, storm, norm and perform" process, and it has proved to be very useful in the context of team effectiveness, but perhaps leaves a bit of a void in the area of personal responsibility, or individual motivation to make a meaningful contribution to the team.

The Collaboration Pyramid displays a broader platform to support a different context for collaboration that may eventually lead to more authentic and meaningful personal investment in the team process. I think social collaboration as framed in the diagram is closely related to the concept of morphic resonance. 

morphic resonance [ˈmɔːfɪk]
n

(Life Sciences; Allied Applications / Biology) the idea that, through a telepathic effect or sympathetic vibration, an event or act can lead to similar events or acts in the future or an idea conceived in one mind can then arise in another...

In the first stage of social collaboration it is assumed that individuals have reflectively defined their own purpose and values, and that through reflection, these have manifested as personal philosophies; relative degrees of self-awareness and motivation to be present and contribute. This is the point where individuals become participants; they become visible as "receivers." Our personal philosophies become known and ideas conceived in our minds can then arise in another by way of social interaction.

RCVR from notthisbody on Vimeo.

This act of becoming visible and participating as a receiver creates possibility in learning and sharing. It's where morphic resonance begins. It is the first stage of interaction in the social collaboration process. Putting ourselves out there as receivers in the collaborative process frames our participation in group learning as self-motivated, reflective and social. It puts us in motion toward others who are also self-motivated, reflective and social, and the interdependent levels of the collaboration pyramid begin to flourish.

When we share what we know, have and think, we are displaying vulnerability in the learning process. Sharing is a fundamental element of social participation that feeds into the self-organized environment that is an edcamp unconference. When we are vulnerable and put our knowledge and thoughts out there, we tend to attract others who are compelled by similar domains of knowledge and ideas. When we begin to talk about these shared domains, the dialogue may attract new collaborators intrigued by a perspective they hadn't considered yet. People find others and discover their varied points of view, and they choose to connect and relate, or not... and the or not part of this is very important. The foundation of purpose, values, self- awareness and motivation that underpins everyone's relative participation in the collaboration pyramid helps them decide whether to engage, or not. It is more than OK for people to not engage. Choice is the rule of engagement. Everyone at an edcamp has the right to choose whether to engage in sharing and receiving, or not depending on their independent purpose, values, self-awareness and motivation.

The social collaboration side of the Collaboration Pyramid posits a collaborative model where the processes of building trust, engaging with others and their ideas and seeking learning opportunities becomes more ubiquitous, open and visible. The social side of the Collaboration Pyramid is, I think, what makes edcamp unconferences so intriguing to people. Edcamps provide opportunities for people  to create value through their choices to share what they know and think, and also to receive what others know and think through social participation. As the day of our edcamp unfolds, we anticipate countless opportunities will emerge as participants interact on various levels of the Collaboration Pyramid, and we wouldn't be surprised at all if connections are made that lead to really invested teams of people forming, storming, norming and performing toward goals that lead to value creation in the future.

So far this May 11 in Red Der, AB, participants will be able to choose whether they want to participate in these proposed sessions at Redcamp 2013...

• Resilient teaching and learning
• Creative teaching and learning
• Google EDU teaching and learning environments
• Blogging in teaching and learning
• The power of social networking in education
• Empathetic teaching and learning 
• Technology in the elementary classroom
• Technology and Language Arts
• Activity in the classroom
• Curriculum integration
• Building leadership capacity
• Effective middle schools
• Middle school philosophy
• Elementary PE
• Using drama in core subjects 
• Introduction to Google Apps for Education 
• iPads in the classroom
• Wikis in the classroom
•  Making music and concerts a ubiquitous element to enhance curriculum and school culture
• Creating a safe environment for LGBTQ students
• Drumming and rhythm in the classroom
• Curriculum integration (resources) 
• Twitter, Creativity, Helping Struggling students
• Assistive technology
• Inclusion 
• Literacy
• Reading College - YIMBY Reads
• Assessment is not a spreadsheet - it's a conversation
• Homework is something to be inspired - not assigned
• Students should experience their successes and failures not as reward and punishment but as information
• Prezi for beginners
• Progressive Education Conversation in Alberta
• Behavior Education
• Relational aggression in girls
• Curriculum Integration
• Project based learning for the 21st century learner
• Inquiry learning for the 21st century learner
• 21st Learning Competencies in the Classroom
• Assessment without grades or traditional exams
• Creativity- the key to unlocking possibilities
• Storytelling
• Creative math

The team of people planning Redcamp 2013 is as new to the edcamp process as are those who have registered for the event. We are choosing to share and receive (or not) like everyone else. Our goal is to create professional development and learning value for everyone involved by promoting the social collaboration side of the Collaboration Pyramid.

Hope to see you at #redcamp13! Register by clicking the red EventBrite button at the top right side of this site.

How Edcamps Are Like Flash Mobs

(flickr: artberri)

(Written by Diane Roberts, @robertsdrb.  This article is also posted on my blog: DiMentions)

I am currently working on planning Red Deer's first edcamp, dubbed REdcamp13 (pretty cool play on words thanks to @EbertsR and since I love flash mobs, I was struck by the similarities.  I have to admit that I have never been to an edcamp but am so impressed with #edcamp talk on Twitter that I was inspired to help bring one to my city.   Here, in my humble opinion, is how edcamp is like a flash mob.  Feel free to agree or disagree, particularly if you have edcamp experience!  :)

How Edcamp is like a Flash Mob:

1.  Flashmobs, like edcamps start with one or two people, moving to a beat, dancing to what appears to be their own drummer…at first.  The moves soon catch on and others are joining in the fun.  Edcamp, a relatively new concept in professional development for educators where the participants guide the learning, is gaining momentum.  My REdcamp13 colleagues and I know that the edcamp idea is little known or understood around these parts but we intend to shake it, boogie, learn some new moves and have fun in hopes that it will catch on with our fellow Albertans (Saskatchewanites? British Columbians?) who dare to come to our first edcamp in May, 2013.

What if your professional development looked like this?

This was written by our friend and colleague Chris McCullough (a #redcampchamp.) He is a high school teacher in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. He blogs here and tweets here. This post was originally found here.

If you've watched the video about edcamps in the original post on this blog, I hope you've come to understand a little bit about the power of intrinsic motivation and autonomy. With regards to Teacher Professional Development, this seems to be a new concept. Personally I believe many teachers in North America have forgotten how important it is to maintain the professionalism and art that is teaching.

As teachers, we have to do more than handout worksheets, and get students to fill in the answers. As an example, I recently had a conversation with a colleague who explained that a student of hers was complaining that her Social Studies school work was too hard. "Couldn't we just complete worksheets, you know, the kind where the answers are in each chapter of the textbook?" This is an interesting dilemma for a teacher; the idea that a student would complain that their assignments made them think, create, and problem solve. As Professionals it is important that teaching is much broader than handing out questions. Great teachers engage, discuss, and get their students thinking. Teacher Professional Development should be like this too. The #edcamp model is a great example of how this could work, and I truly hope that teachers throughout Central Alberta will give this kind of learning a try. Teachers love to "talk shop" and this un-conference does just that!

In life, the answer isn't always at the back of the book, and I believe when it comes to teacher Professional Development this is true too. As a profession, we can't be the students who are complaining that they have to think at school. We have to embrace our learning needs, wants, and challenges. We can't let people do this for us. If we do, then we are just technicians, we are less than professionals. Professionals always try to better themselves, so why not try #redcamp. It's local, it's free, and it may just be the kind of Professional Development you're looking for.

For further information, check out this great TED talk by Kristen Swanson.

Red Deer's first edcamp...

It's a new year, and our group of collaborators is excited about #redcamp13, Red Deer's first edcamp unconference this May 11 at Glendale Sciences and Technology School.

 video courtesy of edcamp.org

Following a series of conversations late last year, a core group of supporters for #redcamp13 emerged, and now we can get serious about planning the details. Watch for updates about our registration process, and the logistics of our event coming soon in January. Presentations at edcamps are crowd-sourced and can address any educational theme or hot button topic.

Plans will evolve quickly over the coming several weeks as we upload registration protocols and begin pondering session proposals. Watch this blog for evolving details, and by all means hit the Twitter button in the sidebar to follow our feed, or send us an email at edcampreddeer@gmail.com!

Hope to see you on May 11th at #redcamp 2013!