Looking Back at 10 years of EdCamps Oh how the time flies, EdCamp Madison is turning 10 this year! It will be held Saturday, February 3rd at Sun Prairie West High School. Which can be found at 2850 Ironwood Drive in Sun Prairie Wisconsin from 8:30 am - 3:00 pm. Get more information and register here: https://sites.google.com/sunprairieschools.org/edcampmadwi/home I will always remember sitting in my first EdCamp opening session at the very first EdCamp Madison and having no clue what I was in for. So, I’d like to take this space to go over some of the basic rules of EdCamp. No One Will Pitch It for You EdCamps are unconferences. By this I mean that they have a blank slate of sessions for the day. There may be a few predetermined sessions, but ultimately the session topics are determined by attendees during the pitch & plan session that opens the day. If an idea gets pitched there will be a session on it. If a topic doesn’t get pitched, there won’t be a session on it. So, it i
Have you ever gone to a conference and seen that one person in the back of the session who seems to be engaged but its not interacting with anyone else? Or maybe that one person who seems to be eating lunch at a table by themselves? That’s me.
I attend around 3 educational conferences every year. I have a great time learning from presentations and keynote speakers at all of these conferences. By definition, a conference is meant to be a meeting of people with a shared interest. When I think about my conference attendance, I rarely meet new people. Am I defeating the purpose of a conference in many situations?
I’m always quick to tweet out to a hashtag and follow presenters with great insights, but rarely will I find a new face to face connection. It’s crazy to think about it. 90% of those attending a conference probably have something we could connect about or discuss. From edtech tools to educational philosophy, there is an incredibly population of individuals I could be connecting with. A ton of face to face connections waiting to be made if I just introduced myself.
So, my word for 2018 is “Hello.”
I helped organize an EdCamp in March of 2017. When I think back on it, I was so into the process of putting on the event that I didn’t make any new connections that day. This year, I resolve to meet new people at any conference I attend. To say “Hello” to people I don’t know and learn a little about them. More importantly, at EdCamp Elmbrook that we are hosting in March, I will go out of my way to say “hello” to every attendee.
I find it so easy to ♥ a post on twitter or reply to a tweet. I need to build that commitment to do the same thing in person. I’m so quick to offer my voice to a Twitter chat, including GIF’s with aplomb. But when the chat is face to face, that part of me hides away.
I will continue to meet and converse with new people virtually. I am always willing to say “hello” to new opportunities. I hope to find that same courage to say “hello” to the new people I see in 2018.
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