In class today, we tried something new and engaging, EdCamp (https://www.edcamp.org/). This user-generated conference was a fun way to learn more about the various topics we chose. EdCamp works by having attendees identify topics/themes they would like to discuss. The discussions are done through educators sharing their experience and opinions rather than having experts lecture. Attendees are free to “travel” from topic to topic in order to hear and learn as much as they can. The topics we had today included: mental health in the classroom, disrupting the gender binary, physical education incorporation in the classroom, teacher career paths, and inquiry-based learning. Although we had the ability to go from topic to topic I chose to stay in the mental health discussion for the duration of the period because we were having such an interesting conversation. I thought it was great to hear from so many different people!

Due to the current situation, we did EdCamp over a zoom call, which worked great but there could be room for improvement. I found it was difficult to share my thoughts as there were many people in the room who wanted to also speak. It would be ideal to recreate this in the classroom but overall, I really enjoyed the experience.

Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality. –Dalai Lama

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash