FAQ's- The Appeal of the Edcamp...

   by  kjarrett 

So edcamps have been around for a while now. Here's a little history for those new to the concept of an "unconference." The whole vibe of edcamps actually derives from a different form of meeting called a barcamp, a simple effort to 'get togehter to share ideas.' We call our little edcamp Red Camp, and we get lots of questions about what exactly it is. We thought it would be prudent to talk about the most prominent four questions we get asked in hopes that our answers will encourage you to join us for this year's version, Red Camp 15. These are outstanding questions that extend beyond the "why are edcamps free"... or "how do you pick topics for an edcamp" sort of questions that are easily answered by a quick web search, or by clicking the links abouve. We feel these questions get to the meaty heart of our version of an edcamp...

• Folks seem to want to know more than anything, what is the purpose of an edcamp? 

As stated above, that's a very easy thing to articulate... the purpose of an edcamp is to bring diverse people together for a set period of time to share ideas within a context. Edcamps are about education, but as we all should hopefully realize by now, education is about more than just teachers and students. All members of society have a role to play in producing vibrant, thoughtful and creative young minds. The questions is not whether those roles exist, but rather whether we choose to take responsible action toward fulfilling them. People who show up at an edcamp are those who have made this commitment. They understand that everyone has a responsibility to support the evolving minds of children, our gifts for the future.

• Why would someone spend a Saturday of their own time at an education conference?

That's a great question, and one we ask of every participant we run into. The answer has been 100% consistent...

I came today because I am passionate about learning and teaching and I am happy to spend a day with others who share this passion talking about how to serve students, parents, colleagues and my community in optimized and creative ways.

Of course this is a hybrid answer, but the gist is the same for every single redcamper we've asked:)

• Why do you ask non-educators to join the Red Camp conversation? 

We strongly believe that every member of society older than a child has a responsibility to support that child until that child grows to become a supporter of children younger than that child. In the eternal words of Professor Herbert Vilakazi,

"The problems of children and of youth, giving rise to child and youth care programs, can only begin to be solved in that society of humankind’s dream; a more collective-oriented society than at present, when the father of the child shall be every man as old as the child’s father; when the mother of the child shall be every woman as old as the child’s mother; a society of responsibility of the entire community; a society without poverty; without the inequalities of society members, based upon race, class, or sex; a society without the use of violence against other members of society; a society without any exploitation and oppression of any group by any other group; a society of equals; a thoroughly democratic society; last, but not least a society that shall have, once more, incorporated productive labour into the educational process."

Of course we all have a role to play in supporting the happy, healthy development of well-adjusted young people who will grow to become the nurturers of the generation to follow them once becoming care giving adults themselves. At RedCamp we believe that diverse members of adult society need to speak more often, and more proactively about growing happy, healthy and well-adjusted young people in collaborative and creative ways.

• Why do you invite students to speak and participate as redcampers?

To us the response to this question is obvious. We believe that the for the most part in education, the most glaringly obvious under-emphasized voice is that of the student. We encourage youth to represent at Red Camp as facilitators, dialog instigators, ambassadors, hosts and listeners. The kids are our most important stakeholders and we need to hear what they have to say with open minds, and open hearts if we are to serve them in maximized ways.

So among many others, those are the main questions we get asked about Red Camp. We hope our answers will help you understand why we keep this edcamp thing going, and perhaps they will encourage you to attend #redcamp15. There is one more thing though; another rationale we'd like to present. We are very much interested in speaking with any person or group who is interested in hosting a new edcamp in Alberta. I attended a new edcamp in Parkland County this past fall, and it proved to be an excellent and enjoyable experience for me. Edcamps don't compete against one another, they complement each other, and new ones seem to make the older ones stronger... an edcamp network is forming in Alberta. The "edcamp Alberta" concept is evolving with tour stops in Calgary, Edmonton, Spruce Grove, Lethbridge and Red Deer. As a small group of organizers in Red Deer, we want to continue supporting more and better edcamp style unconferences in as many Alberta communities as possible.

If you are a passionate educator thinking about taking the edcamp plunge in your area, please get in touch, or better yet, come to #redcamp15 and we will talk about how we can support you!

See you on April 11:)

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!

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!

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!

Let's Talk Twitter!

I'm here to share about Twitter & RedCamp13!

This past weekend I was privileged to have attended the very first #RedCamp13 in Red Deer, Alberta! EdCamp is a free conference for primary and secondary school educators who go knowing they will have an opportunity to contribute to and discuss various topics. I recently attended #EdCampYYC in Calgary, Alberta and the word spread that there would be another one in Red Deer.

As a pre-service teacher, I loved that EdCamp gave me the opportunity to facilitate a discussion. I had a voice and was able to learn from those who attended our discussion. Naturally, I went to this conference with my sidekick (or fellow student teacher) @jbechthold. We decided to facilitate a session together which was the perfect chance to share the neat opportunities we have had because of our connections on Twitter. Our session was titled, "Twitter: Being a 'Twerp' has its advantages" in which I talked about my experience as a Mystery Reader (see in a previous blog post http://missfechosblog.weebly.com/reflections.html) and @jbechthold discussed how a combination of blogging and tweeting landed him as a guest blogger for a company in the USA called "alwaysprepped". With this, we were able to open up a discussion in which others talked about how Twitter has become a positive tool in their lives as educators.

I suppose, in a way, we chose this topic selfishly so that we could learn from other more experienced educators about how they use tools like Twitter and other forms of social media in their classrooms. But that's exactly what EdCamp is! EdCamp is a way for educators to share and learn from each other.

A Calgary educator mentioned how his class had been tweeting back and forth with a farmer who sent them pictures of his crops etc. Twitter also made it possible for his class to follow and be updated by the NASA astronauts currently in Space! So unbelievable; a live feed for his students.

Anyways, to keep this quick: Twitter is AWESOME. So many connections to be made, so much collaboration and "PD when I want it" (Educator who attended our session at RedCamp13),
    
I found EdCamp to be like Twitter in person! Everyone has a voice. I love that Twitter brought EdCamp to life and that I was able to collaborate in person with those I collaborate with on Twitter. It's amazing to see collaboration happening in both places - we were able to share what we were learning with those unable to be there all because of Twitter!

Thanks for reading and please share any comments you might have below :)

- Kirby Fecho

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!

Is Everyone Creative?

The answer is simple.
Yes.

We ignore our creative self as we get older, do more, and busy our brains with other things.  I believe that everyone is born with creative capacity.  I believe that the world we learn in does a great job of drilling this creativity out of us.  How sad is that?  There are loads of writing on the subject.  What I do know as an educator is that it is important to emphasize creativity in student learning.  It is a way for them to become innovators of their own learning.  It is a way for them to learn that failing IS part of life and sometimes leads to the next great idea.

I am blessed to teach in creative arts.  It is the way I do business in my classroom.  My hope would be that educators in all classrooms (not just the Arts) develop creativity as a way of learning subject matter.

Join Trina Penner's discussion about Creativity and Learning at #redcamp13.

Trina Penner
Fine Arts Department (Drama, Technical Theatre, and Dance)
Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School

Zen and the Art of the Lingering Question...

This is a guest post from Jasmine Travers-Charbonneau, Speech and Language Pathologist and #redcamp13 champ. This is her first blog... thanks so much Jasmine for contributing!

How does one "present" at an unconference?

You see, I am passionate about a number of topics: inclusion, assistive technology, literacy and communication. Having an opportunity to talk about them, learn about them, and discover new resources with others keeps me engaged in the work I do. So, when the opportunity to share and connect with educators at #redcamp13 came up, I signed up immediately, but now, I have been wondering what "sessions" and "presenting" look like at an edcamp.

The most meaningful professional learning usually revolves around answering a lingering question. With the edcamp model of identifying topics being so unique and participant driven, why would we approach "presenting" in a conventional way? Let's ask questions. Let's bring our most exciting materials. Let's be free to give our opinions, share our experiences, and wonder aloud. Presenting, then, would not be lecturing, but rather facilitating a conversation. That's not so tough!

Looking forward to seeing and learning from you next weekend.

Jasmine Travers-Charbonneau R.SLP, MSc.SLP, SLP (C)
Speech Language Pathologist
REACH, Red Deer
 jltravers@cbe.ab.ca

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.

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!   

Education is everyone's business...

There are many stakeholders in teaching and learning... individual learners, parents, extended family members, neighbors, friends, teachers, community-based service providers, coaches, counselors, therapists, health care providers... they are significant others in the lives of children.

Every child is unique; each one has a story that arrives at school with them. These are their learning stories, and they almost always include relative challenges. In order for teachers to provide care that addresses these challenges responsively and effectively, we have to get together with significant others in the communities we serve; we have to collaborate with them to provide supports and services that draw them in. We have to access the skills and knowledge that exists broadly outside the walls of our school buildings to fully support the whole growth of children.

The web of helping professionals within our communities is complex. We do the best we can, but aren't always coordinated in efficient and productive ways. We have to change this. We all have to collaborate to help kids write their own stories. Perhaps we can take a more collaborative and analytical look at the data sets that already exist in our organizations... compare notes and have more frequent professional dialog around them. Working together to analyze the learning stories, tendencies, patterns, strengths and preferences of kids has a tremendous upside if we are to effectively design instruction that suits each child's individual needs. Before we can do this well however, teachers have to understand that there is a ridiculous amount of insight we can gain from others who work with kids in different supportive contexts. We have to get collaborative.

At #redcamp 2013 we want to tap into the diverse collective intelligence that these significant other stakeholders have to offer the rest of us, and that's why we don't want to limit our education unconference exclusively to teachers and school-based personnel. If you are a significant other in the life of a child, and you feel you have something to learn or share, please feel welcome to attend our conference event on May 11th at Glendale Sciences and Technology School. If you have any  questions about the format, your role as a participant, proposed sessions or anything else, feel free to drop us a line at edcampreddeer@gmail.com.

Looking forward to seeing you on May 11th!

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