Today, in my EDCI 336 class I participated in an EdCamp session which was extremely enlightening to what Professional Development Day’s can be like for educators. The whole concept of EdCamp is providing learning sessions that teachers can actually show up and be excited for. Some of my high school and elementary school teachers always complained about PRO-D Days and that they would be forced to sit and listen to a lecture for hours on subjects that were of no interest to them. But EdCamp completely changes the way PRO-D Days are run by allowing teachers to self-schedule their learning.

How the event works is that EdCamp participants write down a topic within the education system that they would love to learn or hear more about. Organizers group similar related topics together where then everyone votes for their favourites. The top chosen topics are then ordered into time slots where group discussions are held. One of the many great things I like about EdCamp is that you are not obligated to stay at your chosen session; if you feel as though you’ve gotten enough information about a topic you can simply walk out of the session and join a new one.

Although short, my mini EdCamp in class was beneficial as it gave me the chance to discuss a topic that was of interest to me. The session I attended was all about the value of split classes and if they are harmful to students. I found that the discussion came very naturally and everyone was able to incorporate their thoughts and opinions in a super engaging way.

I hope that in the future I am able to attend an official EdCamp session so I can take advantage of the longer time for discussion and inquiry.

If you want to learn more about EdCamp follow this link