My name is Javier Aguilar, and I consider myself to be addicted to Edcamp. This unique educator-designed and -led professional learning model leverages the knowledge and experiences of attendees by allowing educators to collaboratively determine topics for discussion the day of the event.
I attended my first Edcamp in late 2013 when I received an invitation from my friend Diana, who I call Mrs. T, to attend a training session at our Education Service Center in Fort Worth, Texas. As a new teacher of technology applications, I was looking for any resources that I could find. So, I drove 63 miles to attend #EdcampRockwall.
The educators were welcoming and helped me to maximize my time networking with other passionate educators. Along with providing a hot breakfast and lunch, the Edcamp organizers guided us through the overall process for building an Edcamp agenda, which involves collaboratively sharing what each of us would like to learn and what we can lead in a session. After a full day of learning sessions, I had plenty of resources to bring back to my school, and I built strong connections with “Edcamper friends” that I have continued to see at other Edcamps in the Dallas / Fort Worth area.
This positive first experience motivated me to continue to attend Edcamps. Eventually, I decided that I wanted to organize an Edcamp at my school. I presented this idea to our school administrators for approval, and they agreed. So, nearly ten years ago in November 2014, I hosted my first #edcampefwma.
About five years into my experience organizing Edcamps, we were joined by educators from Russia who were visiting Fort Worth and decided to attend the Edcamp after seeing it advertised on X. I was excited to have international attendees, and they were surprised at how the Edcamp “unconference” format asked participants what they wanted to learn or if they wanted to lead a session. These Russian educators left the day excited to take this format back to their country.
As the pandemic surged at the start of 2020, all of us educators were eager to continue learning from each other and to gain ideas for innovative teaching solutions and resources for a new educational environment. Organizing virtual Edcamps became a temporary solution to fill this need, and I followed suit, hosting virtual Edcamps throughout the pandemic.
Whether you are a new or veteran educator, Edcamps are a great professional learning experience for those that enjoy learning from each other, networking with passionate educators, and bringing new resources to their classrooms.
Are you interested in organizing an Edcamp in your community? Contact the Edcamp team at edcamp@digitalpromise.org.
