Camping is a fun activity that involves the utilization of many tools to make it a good experience for all.

Looking at education, with its aspects of learning, sharing, and enhancing the teaching experience, perhaps through the lens of a ‘camp’ like experience may lend itself to achieving similar outcomes. Another thought that perhaps can connect these two dissimilar experiences is that camping, like learning itself, needs to engage the individual, or the experience will be lost on that person. From the outside perspective that is what I imagine EdCamps are to do – help teachers better engage learners.

The informal and collaboration approach does hold appeal, but how does it or more importantly, how well does information get disseminated, evaluated, and eventually applied, in the classroom setting.

 

Here’s a short vid supplied by Rich that provides a quick synopsis of what to expect.

Personally speaking, I’m not so much a Hunger Games fan, so not sure why I was imitated there – sure, pick on the Humanities guy!

So, again, I can see the appeal of what seems to be a workshop, or an unconference type learning experience, led by educators for educators. However, digging deeper to see the results of how these flipped classrooms for teachers raise the level of learning, would also be a valuable exercise. At the least, knowing and analyzing some of the obstacles to achieving successes in the classroom should not be ignored. 

A danger, or more applicably, a distraction I see from the EdCamp as a learning tool, is just that – does it provide too much of a distraction from implementing and improving the current curriculum. As some of the research indicates there can exist a disconnect from the EdCamp experience and its perceived acceptability within schools and districts. Of course, breaking down some of those barriers to learning is necessary and originate from some of these out of the box type initiatives. Finding the balance between formal and informal methods of teaching is perhaps the art of teaching that we all desire to have; getting there comes from the experience of trying different approaches.

If EdCamp is yet another awesome tool that helps learners better engage with their own learning, and perhaps even have the magic of words or stories jump right off the page . . .

 

 

 

 

 

. . . then count me in!

Smores anyone?!