EdCamp is an exploratory adventure. It behaves like a startup company and turns attendees into ad-hoc entrepreneurs. This is what I love about it, because I firmly believe that teachers should act like entrepreneurs in the classroom. If this is true, classroom innovation will occur with much greater frequency. But learning to be an entrepreneur is not easy, just like learning to be a teacher is not easy. Each learns a series of skills and competencies, and each finds the real world very different from what has been learning in preparation.

And what is this beast called EdCamp? From an entrepreneurial perspective, it is an Unconference. From a business perspective, it is Conference Gone Wrong. From the uninitiated, it may look like Chaos and Confusion. (Queue up the background flames and squeaky, mechanical music noise here).

It starts with a bunch of people (usually teachers) with similar interests (usually students and learning). They all get together in a space that seems pretty... [Read more...]

Saturday was PlayDate13 in Boston, where over 100 educators got together to discuss and play with apps and other edtech toys. Microsoft hosted the event in Cambridge and 30hands Learning sponsored the coffee and food. Topic categories included:

• Presentations and Screencasting
• Learning Management Systems and Google
• Web 2.0 Creative and Sound & Audio
• iPad & Desktop Moviemaking
• Reading and eBook Creation
• E-Portfolios and Notetaking
• Social Media and Internet Curation

Everyone was so enthusiastic about learning, sharing and playing. There were great conversations and a whole lot of thinking going on. But, it's hard to describe it, so you'll have to sign up next year. In the mean time, check out the 30hands Mobile video story to get a flavor for what it was all about.

[Read more...]