My spring break did not involve travels to a sunny, warm climate or to a fabulous ski resort, but I did have an opportunity to go to camp... an EdCamp that is. I had attended the EdCampKC in Kansas City last November and it struck such a chord with me that I knew I wanted to do it again. EdCamps are about connecting and conversations (if you have never heard of an EdCamp, then you should read this Edutopia article). I had my car loaded up so that when we finished our district professional development meetings on Friday at noon, I was ready to hit the road for EdCamp Omaha. The drive to Nebraska took about 6-1/2 hours, but I arrived just in time for the Tweet-Up at Jimi D's. There I got to meet some of my fellow "campers"....some I already knew from conversations Twitter, but many I was meeting for the first time. If you go to an EdCamp, I would definitely recommend trying to attend a Tweet-Up as a way to network with your fellow educators before the conference the next day. I was not able to do this at EdCampKC and I feel that I was more connected the next day during the sessions.
Saturday was snowy, but I was ready to connect with educators from around the mid-west. Most of the educators seemed to be from the Omaha area, but there were people there from Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and Texas (Hi, Matt!). Some of the educators I had seen at EdCampKC. Many were new to the EdCamp experience (and even new to teaching-Hi, Alee!). I have to applaud all those who came to discuss and learn. In EdCamp fashion, the sessions were created on site after the EdCamp Omaha organizer, Josh Allen, gave a few opening remarks and explained the process for the day. I decided to join the discussion on what is a PLN for my first session. It was led by Michelle B. and Kristina P., but it was truly a discussion with everyone participating, sharing, and questioning. My second session was the Web 2.0 Smackdown with several people sharing the tools they love to use in their classroom (and personal life). I was able to share about Edmodo which is a social networking site for classrooms. My favorite suggestion during this session, however, was to put your iPad (which I don't have...yet) in a gallon-sized ziploc baggie and then you can use it in the kitchen and store your favorite recipes on it. Genius!!! After lunch, we resumed the conversation and I participated in a fantastic discussion about defining what authentic learning experiences are in our classrooms and schools. The last session of the day, for me, was spent discussing ideas for providing tech staff development. It was interesting to see how different districts provide staff development for their teachers.
I had a great time at EdCamp Omaha! I enjoyed all the conversations and connections that I made. I definitely grew my PLN through this experience and found some new people to follow on Twitter. I would have liked to have stayed longer and attended the after camp dinner, but I was trying to get ahead of some dicey weather in Missouri for my drive home (which I ended up taking a detour to my hometown of Lawrence, KS, anyway because of the weather and road conditions). I reluctantly said good-bye to my fellow campers and new friends and headed toward home with thoughts of all the conversations and ideas just swirling in my head! The idea that I kept going back to was that we need to have an EdCamp in St. Louis. I would love to organize this, but I feel that I need some help from some people who actually live there (my district is about 100 miles away). I think that St. Louis would be an ideal area to have an EdCamp. It would be able to enable educators in eastern Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, Tennessee, and northeastern Arkansas to be able to come and start a conversation about education in this area.
Coming home on Sunday from Kansas was not the end of my professional development activities on my Spring Break. No, on Wednesday, I headed to a friend's house in rural southern Illinois (about 35 minutes from downtown St. Louis) to work on a three day workshop that we are presenting this summer. Carol and Pat both work as education consultants for the Missouri Department of Conservation. We worked late into the night Wednesday and were up early on Thursday to finish up our planning for the workshop. It is a unique take on using technology with students combining technology with nature. I am so excited about it! If you are an educator in Missouri, you need to think about signing up for Take Technology Outside (scroll down for more information and contact info).
So now my Spring Break is over and even though I didn't travel to any exotic locales, I feel rested and refreshed and ready for the rest of this school year. My "break" was full of connecting and conversations and this helped to revive my spirit. Thanks, fellow EdCampers! I hope to see you next year!
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