From Portland to Pittsburgh, Seattle to Stockholm, Abu Dhabi to Atlanta, and in hundreds of towns and cities around the globe, authentic professional learning is energizing educators. Edcamps—participatory, teacher-driven professional learning events — are multiplying on a national and international scale, creating local and global communities of passionate educators.
The first Edcamp was organized by a group of teachers who came together in Philadelphia in May 2010 for BarCamp, a computer science unconference. At BarCamp, people create discussion sessions on the day of the event based on the interests in the room. The entire day is personalized and learner driven. It’s a place where everyone is a learner and everyone is a leader.
Related content: 10 reasons why you’ll love Edcamp as much as I do
After experiencing the passion, sharing and excitement that surrounded the event, a handful of other educators and I decided it was too good to contain. We exchanged contact information and, on Skype calls over a period of months, tweaked the design and adjusted the BarCamp concept to accommodate teachers and administrators.
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