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Reflections by @krittenhouse ~ EdCamp Columbus 2014


March 1, 2014 ~ As I made the cold morning trip to Gahanna this past Saturday with my friend Cheryl Cronbaugh,@midohioesc, I was excited, nervous, and dang happy we could car-pool. See, if I'd have had to come alone, it would have been easier to argue the point to stay home.  We've both planned big things before but from what I'd heard, this was going to be DIFFERENT!


First things first.....the organizers.....AMAZING! It didn't hurt to have a wonderful facility, although the WIFI could have actually worked. Interestingly, no one was not adaptable. That was a pleasant surprise. The welcome-ness of everyone there made this a risk free environment to enjoy, learn, and be opened to new ideas! Next, great lunch choices, so nice to be able to pick and choose to suit the palate.


So onto EdCamp itself. The day started off with a wonderful conversations, followed by a brief introduction from Toby.  I was so pleased to reconnect with Becky Rice (@rerice22) and Fred Donelson (@mrdglhs). Both former colleagues who I've not kept in very good touch with but now teach together!! Oh' the world truly is small!


Session One:

Robots and Frankenstein: Team Teaching English and Science Fred Donelson & Becky Rice were the presenters, Science and English, truly an amazing idea with information and resources to cover it all.

Session Two:
Columbus Museum of Art Session -- Play with Purpose We were duped by the folks from the museum with the idea of Lego's, what evolved was better. Consider implementing the task game into your classroom, it super-fun and really helps to create understanding and trust within the group.

Lunch....Chipotle 

.................nothing else needs to be said
(then coffee, thank you Panera!)

Session Three:

95 theses: Nailing Things to The Digital Door

A striking moment in time, the development of 'Ohio's 95 Theses'!
Check out twitter and search #edcampcbus and #95theses

Session Four:

Classroom Differentiation Using LMS: Tips, Tricks, and Lessons Learned This was an invigorating discussion about LMS's, the pros/cons/issues with many. The best thing to come out of this for me was the chance to hear a broad perspective from around the state.  

The smack-down, closing ceremonies (snuffing of the torch kind of moment). Excellent hearing of the take-aways people had come to while lamenting the end of the day. Never, and I mean never has a day gone by so fast. I am truly looking forwarded to the next EdCamp I can attend!!!


Some other notes/thoughts.....

  • If you are planning on attending an EdCamp in the near future, my advice is leave your expectations and go with the flow.
  • I was a bit overwhelmed during the some of the sessions. 
  • I was uncharacteristically quiet (hard to believe for those that know me), but maybe that's a good thing as I listened to some very intelligent people.
  • The sessions were created out of the needs, questions, and expertise of the participants. 
  • I loved that there were participants from all walks of life. 
  • There were teachers, administrators, parents, and a great handful of college students. 
  • I though it was wonderful that we were expected to leave a session if we felt it wasn't meeting our expectations. 
  • Seriously, Twitter, because people were tweeting live, we drew in others who weren't physically there into OUR conversation.  
  • Finally, the fact that conversations and debates that happened in our sessions carried over to a "tweetup" at a local pub and car ride home. 
  • How many times can you say that happened from attending a traditional conference.coming soon!

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