I was pretty excited when I found out that Waller ISD and The Tech Ninjas would be hosting #EdCampWaller in April. Rafranz and I loaded up the car and were off on a short road trip to Waller, Texas. We started our #EdCampWaller experience with an awesome tweetup at Cielito Lindo
You can find all of my pictures HERE but of course I threw those all together in an iMovie
I have written about EdCamps before (because I have attended 3 now and Dallas is coming up October 12th) You can find more information HERE about EdCamps in your area or just more information about them.
With any EdCamp, I think the most exciting thing is to be able to make connections. It is exciting to connect with a new teacher or even sit next to a national/state presenter that decided to spend their Saturday learning from others. I loved how this EdCamp Started out with TechNinjaTodd and TechNinjaStacey welcoming everyone and inviting all attendees to sign up on the board with ideas on discussions to lead or topics to engage learners on. They even stressed that it is okay if it is not tech based! They also reminded us that there very passionate people in the audience with stories and ideas to share and this was the time to do it. (I mean.. hello.. the audience was filled with passionate learners.. it was on a SATURDAY!)
The first block I went to was over apps and how you used them in the classroom. It was sort of "roundtable" (but we were in a classroom.. so it wasn't that round) but I got a great list and even better ideas on how to use some apps in my classroom. I was also able to share a few favorites of my own. The next block I had a chance to share my passion over using technology in the multi-ability classroom. Looking back I shared some ideas, but I do need to refocus on creating it as more of a discussion. The third session of the day I had a chance to listen to Wendy Sanders. This girl is AMAZING (I know that I say that about a ton of my friends.. but I mean it for each and every one of them) She is awesome because of her grant writing skills. In the past few years she has received over $20000 of materials and equipment for her classroom. How lucky are those kids! During this session she shared about Donorschoose.org We discussed different ways to get grants, how to promote a grant, and keeping your tech in the loop of the grants that were received. She also helped several people set up their own grants. The last session I sat in on (yes.. it was sitting/standing room only!) was Chris Kesler's over #GeniusHour. It was inspiring and I look forward to trying this out in my classroom next year.
Of course you can't have an #EdCamp without some FANTASTIC sponsors (which means doorprizes!) Every person that walked into EdCampWaller walked away with some awesome doorprizes. Check out this sponsor page. I was pretty pumped to win a Blue Bell Ice Cream Gift certificate that Michael Ogg brought and a cool USB Bracelet from TeachingHistory.org. I even walked away with Todd Nesloney's new book Spruce and Lucy (and I had it signed by the author)
It was an amazing day of learning. From the students that helped lead sessions to the building that we were able to use for the day, I loved every minute of it. Have you attended an #EdCamp? Do you have any summer professional development plans?
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