Have you heard of the “un-conference” movement that’s been spreading across the country and world since 2010? They are akin to a “collaborative conference,” where the conference attendees help to build and create the experience. EdCamps are ad-hoc “unconferences” organized by and for educators. In an article last fall, Justin Reich and Dan Callahan stated, “Edcamps are responsive to the needs of participating teachers, free to attend, inexpensive to host, free of vendor presence, and organized around the belief that attendees each have knowledge worth sharing.”

I have attended several EdCamps so far and made three primary observations. For starters, it is a marvelous movement that truly makes learning and professional development come alive when every attendee is empowered to offer their knowledge as opposed to being a passive participant. Secondly, a vast majority of first-time attendees often state that they wish more of their graduate education programs and district/school professional development offerings were as interactive, engaging, and timely. And lastly, as a former teacher and administrator in the Boston Public Schools, I did not see very many teachers from the local city schools participating in this movement.

So, we are going to host our own EdCamp here at Lesley on Saturday, November 2nd. It is free to attend and we are encouraging faculty, students, alumni, and other educators to attend. The morning will start off with some informal networking and we will all “build the agenda” together. I know it sounds quite frightening, but it truly is a wonderful experience. You can learn more about the EdCamp model via the EdCamp Foundation or the EdCamp wiki. There are also several videos online that can provide more context.

You can register today to reserve your seat at: https://www.lesleyelis.com/edcamplesley.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.