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!

Redcamp 2014... An Engaging Experience

Well, another edcamp in Red Deer is on the books. There were so many thoughts that struck me during the event, but one really hit me. At an unprecedented time of excitement and change in the domain of education in Alberta, a large number of engaged and connected educators and others who support teaching and learning found the time on a Saturday to come together in collaborative conversation; they were there because they wanted to be there. This is such a positive and encouraging thing.

Participants at #redcamp14 came together to connect, share and receive in that awesome place between analyzing perspective and moving people to action... the "edcamp sweet spot" so to speak.

Teachers, administrators, parents, students, educational assistants, professionals who support education, politicians all took time out of their personal lives to create dialog around making education better, and there were 19% more who participated this year than at last year`s inaugural Redcamp event... and we were thrilled with the turnout then! This is incredible, and inspiring and definitely provides a rationale for planning another event next year, and perhaps coordinating a series of edcamp events throughout Alberta.


I was fortunate yesterday to speak with organizers of edcamps in Edmonton and Calgary, and also a fledgling event to be held in Parkland County. We were bantering about the concept of "Edcamp Alberta" next year, with "tour stops" in existing edcamp communities, (Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, Red Deer and now Parkland County.) Doing this would expand our ability to promote and cross promote the edcamp experience, and ramp up the level of social collaboration behind planning them. The process may even inspire other local groups to create a new event tour stop within their community. We all have good ideas and ways to make things better, faster and cheaper... sharing our knowledge and experience with each other would strengthen everyone's event offering. This would be connecting in the true spirit of edcamps, but with total respect for the local flare of each event. Redcamp organizers are excited about the potential of this effort.

I heard the word engagement many times yesterday. I heard it from a group of Glendale Sciences and Technology School students who hosted a session describing their efforts to initiate a TED Ed Club at their school. I heard it from educators during other sessions and in casual hallway conversations saying we need more of the kind of opportunity to connect in engaging professional dialog that edcamps provide.

I heard it from a school council chair who stated she felt the edcamp model would be an excellent platform to engage parents and community in the school improvement dialog and I also heard it from many new teachers who were excited to discover the format of edcamps and how they provide so many opportunities to connect with other engaged educators excited about what they do and how they do it, not to mention other stakeholders in providing high quality education for kids. Overheard from one enthusiastic young teacher...

"I love coming to a place where everybody loves their job."

And from another...

"I wish all of my professional development looked like this; I feel engaged and connected here as opposed just sitting and getting."

To be sure, edcamps are not just a ride on the professional development train. Edcamps are not passive, they are active. They are hopeful. They are engaging. They connect and they inspire. Here's to another great event at #redcamp14, and looking forward to helping ours and other edcamps grow and thrive in Alberta.

See you next year!

Redcamp14: Party time, excellent!

Teachers’ Convention comes at a great time in the year: February! We have been back to school after the Christmas break for about a month or a little more, it is still cold outside and we have had WAY too many indoor recesses! As educators, we are ready for a break from the classroom and look forward to learning from experts and fellow colleagues presenting on a variety of topics. Most teachers will tell you they enjoy the sessions at Convention but the part they really look forward to is the chance to reconnect with colleagues they have known for years, have worked with in the past or even who work in the same building but they never see in their busy school days. They also very much look forward to actually having time to eat out for lunch! 

The sessions at Convention tend to be a lot of sit and get which is worthwhile if the speaker is dynamic and has some thought-provoking things to say. However, I often come away from those types of sessions with a few key phrases I will remember for a short time and then, if I don’t read more about the topic, I will likely forget what it is I was to have learned. This reminds of the popular quote; attributed to an ancient Chinese proverb, Native American saying or Ben Franklin, depending on where you look on the internet:

(image courtesy of: http://www.thequotefactory.com/ )

I enjoy listening to the professional and often times famous speakers at Convention but it is kind of like going to the symphony. I sit, I enjoy, I clap and then I leave. I’m not sure how much I will retain or remember but I can say that it was entertaining. I feel that my involvement in my learning in this format has improved slightly though backchannel Twitter commenting which involves me as a participant more than passive listening has done b.t. (Before Twitter), but I find that the real learning happens AFTER the session or presentation in conversation with my colleagues over coffee or lunch. This dialogue about issues in Education helps me relate to what was presented and will trigger further learning and curiosity about the topic. I may continue a chat about it with someone at school, online or at a district event or meeting. I may purchase the presenter’s book or related books or look for more information on Twitter or Google+. It is this active involvement in my learning which fires me up and which I feel impacts my practice as a teacher and administrator.

That’s what I love about the edcamp style of PD we saw last year at Redcamp13 and our District Day of Personalized Learning and Collaboration, both of which will repeat this year. The conversations happen right there, with the presenter in the room who may or may not claim expertise. They may in fact have much to offer in the way of expertise or experience or they may have simply offered to facilitate the conversation with thought-provoking questions, or resources. Whatever the structure, they provide the stimulus to get EVERYONE in the room to share their knowledge and experiences at the table (or circle, or sofa, or wherever we choose to sit!) and not just the paid expert at the front of the lecture hall.

So, if you are also a fan of the sort of connecting that happens AFTER the PD at Convention, you will most certainly love what happens at Redcamp14. It is participant driven, it is real conversations about education, it is involvement as a learner, it is FREE, and it is FUN! It is the after-party while the party is still going on! Excellent!

Hope to “party” with you at Redcamp14: May 31, 2014 in Red Deer, Alberta at Glendale Sciences and Technology School.

Diane Roberts
@robertsdrb

(image courtesy: http://i.imgur.com/asVqaxu.jpg)

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!

We're back...

 

Redcamp13 was fun and we learned a lot together that day last May at the first Central Alberta edcamp ever. So much so in fact, that the organizers of last year's event decided to make it an annual effort... enter #redcamp14!

We are excited to be hosting our event on Saturday, May 31 2014, once again at Glendale Sciences and Technology School in Red Deer, Alberta. Registration details are found by clicking on the Eventbrite tab on this blog' homepage, or by visiting here. We're planning a full day of edcamp, unconference style sessions where the answers to our questions are found inside each room. We hosted an incredibly diverse group of redcampers last year...

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
Speech Pathoilogists= 1

... and we have every reason to believe we will host an even more diverse group this year. We already have representation from seven different school districts in Alberta at #redcamp14... a great early indicator of the type of event it will be. Following last year's event, one of the best quotes came from Ron Eberts, Assistant Superintendent - Learning Services for Red Deer Public Schools, and fellow #redcamp organizer. His statement captured the essence of our edcamp perfectly...

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!

I totally agree with Ron and look forward to a repeat event this coming year. We had some really creative sessions take place, and there will be more at #redcamp14...

@redcamp13 Thanks for the great day. Instead of blogging, we sang about it. Here is "Big Brains" http://t.co/GxYxySS56b #redcamp13
— Tim Bowman (@BowmanTwits) May 12, 2013

Ready to lead a #redcamp13 chat on using tabletop games in the classroom! Hopefully I can convert other educators like @wilw converted me.
— MissMcCrimmon (@MissMcCrimm) May 11, 2013

We even gave up some free swag...

#Redcamp13 swag! We're ready, are you? @redcamp13 #seeuthere http://t.co/gnJ8kX23da pic.twitter.com/zEOeX0TVVJ pic.twitter.com/tbFB4u1z4I
— Diane Roberts (@robertsdrb) May 11, 2013

If you are an engaged teacher, administrator, parent, student, senior administrator, politician, school board representative or community member that has something to say about best practices in education, we need you voice to make #redcamp14 an enjoyable and valuable learning opportunity for all. Why not join us?

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

REDCAMP 2013

I had the opportunity to attend REDCAMP in Red Deer, on Saturday. The opportunity came to my attention because of Twitter. I have never attended an edcamp before. Sean Grainger (@graingered) posted a link to information and registration for the event. I had an idea as to what the event would be about, and registered right away.

There were a few really neat things that came out of #redcamp13:

• Reaffirmation of the fact that you can never trust navigation on your iPhone!
• I got to meet people I had connected with on Twitter. @hewsonk27 @joe_bower @graingered @Weilinga1
• Whenever you get educators together and let them talk about ways to move forward, best practice, tools to improve instruction, etc. you are guaranteed to have rich and powerful discussions.
• I was able to make new connections. Sitting in sessions and listening to people talk about their learning, really gives you a good idea about where they are coming from. I added a number of new people to my PLN. Some people added me as well.
• One of the most enjoyable sessions of the day was the JAM session. @mrtetz, @socgall, @BowmanTwits, myself and one other music teacher participated in writing a Redcamp song...                                                                                                                  

The quality isn't the best, but this type of collaboration is just as powerful as the discussions around education. We also discussed that Jam Sessions are the original Edcamp!

• Not everyone participating in the sessions agreed on everything. Being open to the ideas of others and discussing opinions, is very powerful. It's the discussion that is the important part. We are always learning and it's so great to be learning from each other.

After the opening session, which itself provided some great ideas, I attended a session on what we are going to do now that PATs are over. The discussion was great, but there was a focus at first on speculation around what was going to be done to us as educators now. The discussion did turn more towards the opportunities that were presented if we choose to exercise our voice and put forward what our feelings as to where education can go from this point.

My second session was presented by @EbertsR and discussed establishing a culture of collaboration in your school. The collaborative culture we establish in our PLNs can add to the scholarship that exists in our schools.

After lunch I attended a discussion on Twitter with @jbechthold and @KirbyFecho. This was a smaller session, but really demonstrated the power of using Twitter in our schools and for our personal learning. One neat thing about this session was that there were three pre-service teachers, two of which facilitated the session. There are many reflective, forward thinking young teachers out there. It is exciting to see the passion and commitment that our up and coming members of the profession have.

The last session I attended, as I mentioned in my list above, was the JAM session. That was very fun, and a great way to end a great day.

I hope to be able to attend many more edcamps in the future!! YOU SHOULD TOO!!

D Propp
(This is also posted on my personal blog at www.principalpropp.com)

If you build it, they will camp!

Redcamp13...born out of a conversation about edcamps...  “Have you heard about the unconference, participant-driven idea for professional development called edcamp?” “Yeah, intriguing idea.”  “We should plan one!”  “Ok!”  

There really wasn’t any hesitation after that.  If you build it, they will camp.  That was our hope in planning Central Alberta’s first edcamp which was dubbed Redcamp (a play on words for our city of Red Deer from the creative mind of @EbertsR).  So we did build it, and on May 11, 2013 Redcamp13 happened!  People interested in conversations and learning about education came to Glendale Sciences & Technology School in Red Deer, Alberta.  Teachers, educational assistants, principals and vice-principals along with central office administrators were there.  Pre-service teachers and their professors from university were there. But that was not all, no that was not all.  There were speech/language pathologists, city counsellors and school board trustees too!  Wow!  The depth and breadth of knowledge and experience really did justice to the saying, “the expert is the room”.  

The buzz in the gym just prior to the opening remarks by the Redcamp team was palpable.  People were excited to be there even on a beautiful Saturday morning in May when they could easily have been doing other things.  I know I wasn’t the only one wondering how this would turn out but we were all eager to try it.  Sessions were added to the board, coffee was poured, conversations started over Twitter handles on nametags..."Hey! So nice to meet someone from my Twitter PLN face to face!"

Things got started with a short introduction by @EbertsR, @joe_bower and @graingered and then we were off to hour-long sessions which for some discussions could have been longer but there is only so much time in the day and so many topics to learn and talk about!

As one of the organizers of Redcamp, my intent was to pop into many sessions to get a flavour for what was going on and maybe snap a few photos for Twitter.  I started out this way but many of the sessions I intended to only pop in on, drew me in and I stayed.  Conversations around inclusion lead by @BeyondTheCrayon, engaging all students led by @JasTravers and whether math should be graded led by @d_martin05 were fascinating and inspiring.  Conversation and sharing about turning your classroom into a creativity lab and starting a creativity revolution led by @twnpenner got my brain jazzed UP!  I learned about purposeful questions and collaboration by actively participating in the process with businessman/city counsellor @harris4rd.  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 were quite a few steps involved in planning our first Redcamp (which I will leave for another post in case anyone is thinking of planning one of their own) and with our busy professional and personal lives, at times I wondered if it was all going to be worth it.  All I can now say is YES, YES, YES!  It was worth it!  

Will there be a Redcamp14?  Absolutely!  Will there be other edcamps because those who came to ours are inspired to host one of their own?  I don’t doubt it at all.  The feedback we have had from Redcamp has been fantastic and very positive.  I’m looking forward not only to planning Redcamp14 but also to attending edcamps elsewhere.  If they build it, I will camp!

Diane Roberts
@robertsdrb

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!

We Have An App!

With many thanks to Katelyn at Yapp, #redcamp13 now has a conference app! We encourage everyone participating at redcamp to make use of this app before, during and after the conference. You can register for redcamp, check out our schedule, browse proposed sessions, follow our Twitter feed or even upload pictures... what a great service from a great app provider!

In order to download the app, follow the simple directions found here...

http://my.yapp.us/REDCAMP13

Tap or input that link from your iOS or Android device and you will either:

• Be prompted to download YappBox from your app store if you haven't already
• Have your app installed automatically inside of YappBox if YappBox is on your phone already

...or scan this QR and get the app that way.

 

 

We look forward to staying connected to all the #redcampchamps via our new Yapp app! See you on May 11.

New Sponsor Jumps On Board!

Good news travels fast! Redcamp13 received correspondence recently from Biteslide. Biteslide is a very cool and engaging platform for creating school projects online. Biteslide slidebooks are an amazing form of self-expression using images, videos, text and much more. They're really easy to use and a lot of fun too.

To support #redcamp13, and our conference delegates, Biteslide has stepped up to offer:

• 10 x free account certificates for door prizes.
• 25% discount coupon for all attendees for when they wish to purchase Biteslide.

We were thrilled to hear form Biteslide, and look forward to promoting thier service to all the #redcamp champs!

Thank you Biteslide!

Unconference recon at #edcampyyc...

Absolutely excellent job @paulgenge and crew hosting #edcampyyc... Nice job!
— Sean Grainger (@graingered) April 19, 2013

@joe_bower, @EbertsR and I attended edcampyyc in Calgary on April 19. I went because I am very much in favor of the edcamp unconference concept, but also as part of a reconnaissance mission to find out what makes an edcamp tick. Turns out what makes an edcamp tick is the people who attend.

Edcamp Calgary was my first edcamp experience. I've done my homework regarding the philosophy and format of edcamps, but didn't really know firsthand what it would feel like to participate in one. Participants represented a diverse range of experience with unconferences, and there were many 'tire kickers,' if you will wandering the halls and attending the sessions... it was cool to observe people being vulnerable with their learning; becoming participatory receivers.

  by  denise carbonell 

I witnessed teachers and others who are significantly invested in education immersing themselves in the collaborative mixing bowl to share thoughts and ideas with each other... because they could. All were there voluntarily to become part of the solution (or many solutions). The conversations were varied and complex, and all designed to create climates of improvement in teaching and learning. It seemed to me that people were there to share what they knew or thought, but also to explore what they didn't know or perhaps wanted to think differently about.

Some appeared more cautious than others, and some spoke less than others, but all were present and contributing to conversations surrounding the imperative to optimize teaching and learning environments. Thanks to organizers @paulgenge and @Armstrongyyc, I think #edcampyyg turned out exactly as it was supposed to. It turned out to be a gathering of engaged and passionate teachers and supporters of education who simply wanted to talk about their craft in a non-threatening and productive environment.

This is also what we intend #redcamp13 to be for the engaged and passionate folks who will be joining us on May 11 at Glendale Sciences and Technology School in Red Deer. We are excited to emulate the vibe we experienced in Calgary, and we're thrilled to become part of the growing edcamp culture in Alberta.

Hope to see you on May 11!   

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.

6 Excellent Reasons To Attend Redcamp13

Photo from: www.reddeerkiwanis.org

(the following is a post from Diane Roberts, @robertsdrb.  This post can also be found here.)

Redcamp13…Red Deer’s first #edcamp is set to happen on May 11, 2013 at Glendale Sciences and Technology School.  We are excited to see a number of people signed up and as we’ve been chatting with people about it, it is very clear the buzz is growing, kind of like that flashmob thing.

We know that there are more people out there who have never experienced an edcamp and are on the fence about registering.  This has inspired the following list of reasons why YOU should come to Redcamp13:

1.     Meet people from your PLN in person – We are excited to meet people face-to-face with whom we've chatted and learned from on Twitter such as Brenda Giourmetakis @bgiourme,  Corrine Thorsteinson  @corthor1971  and Jasmine Travers @JasTravers