EdcampATX

edcampatx.org

I’ve tweeted it before and so I’ll say it again..if you’re ever down and out or find yourself questioning the state of education in this country, just organize an Edcamp. The good will and energy alone they generate will not only reinvigorate you but will cast more than a glimmer of hope of what this type of professional learning and sharing can spread.

A few stories that tugged on my heartstrings:

• The support from our local sponsors! We had one food truck make their final appearance in Austin at Edcamp and a local coffee shop that paid for another coffee shop to help supply plenty of caffeine for our participants! Talk about community love :)

• The morning mariachi music. Not gonna lie, I had my reservations..but in the spirit of “Keeping Austin Weird” we went for it and I’m glad we did. They were a fantastic & talented bunch of students that only added to the lively feel.

• Our new friends from Louisiana who both carpooled & caravanned to attend their first ever Edcamp!

• The New Mexico edcamper whose wife gave him last minute permission to attend. I especially loved how he chronicled the road trip from out West via Instagram.

• The students from Fayetteville, who facilitated a session on student leadership (SWAT). +1 for student voice at #edcampatx!!

• The session board…where do I even start? As an organizer, there is nothing more exciting than watching the dynamics of this collective effort come together. Just wow.

I could go on and on…

The best part about #EdcampATX was that 2/3s of our attendees were new to the Edcamp model. Oh, and did I mention that many of those newbies brought their administrators along as well? Score! Wait..strike all that, the absolute best part was that so many of these newcomers felt compelled to share and/or lead despite it being their first foray into the world of Edcamp. And, that’s the idea..that we all have something to share and learn from one another no matter where we might be as educators.

Ah, the energy was palpable right up until the very end and honestly even still. The connections made & conversations continue via #edcampatx and our crowdsourced notes. We look forward to all that may arise from this day together and what might then be shared subsequently next year!

All in all, I am quite pleased at our first run at #EdcampATX. I’m sure I’ll have more to add later as I reflect as to any improvements or additions we might make for years to come. Our goal though, for this first go, was to keep it simple and focused on the learning. Judging by the resulting sessions, I say mission accomplished. So, for those you looking to jump into the role of organizing one of your own (which I recommend) I’ll leave you with some words of advice from friend & colleague @TomBarrett, “if it is something that you’d find at a conference, it probably doesn’t belong at an un-conference.” I know, I know..it seems like it would be obvious but (trust me) one can definitely get caught up in the hype (luckily we didn’t) but I’ll save that for another post, another time.

Hugs and high-fives all around!