#EdCampNC

The idea wall for #EdCampNC's sessions.

As per my Twitter feed from Saturday, May 4, #EdCampNC was a day filled of "in-between conversations" with fellow educators. This "non-conference" began in Philadelphia, where a group of educators came together for a conference with no presenters, no schedule, and no plan -- quite the different experience for the control-freaks in the education world. This event, and the tidal wave of conventions thereafter, was focused on the conversations teachers have in between the formal lecture session at a typical conference. Because of this aspect I was able to talk about what I wanted to talk about, get great feedback from educators in the trenches, and network with some awesome, like-minded teachers.

The two sessions I got the most out of were unintentionally linked: Creating "centers" for "big people" and Engaging students to be self-guided learners. Because these session were participant-created, it was essentially a discussion about how to create stations for students in the upper grade levels and those "centers" aided students in collaboration and inquiry-based learning. We discussed topics ranging from the role of Web 2.0 tools in collaboration to scaffolding what group work looks like in your classroom. In education, as with any profession, there will always be issues, but it's events like these that help create the solutions.