This week we did an interactive activity with our colleagues, using a program called EdCamp. Edcamp is pretty much a user-generated conference (usually not virtual but this year-yes). This is a great way for people to bounce ideas off each other, and speak on topics that they enjoy and are passionate about. People can switch groups as well, and cover many different topics depending on their interests. I really enjoyed this class, as we got to create a list of ideas that we thought would be beneficial and interesting to discuss in our program. We then voted as a class on which we found the MOST interesting, and went into breakout groups to discuss and learn. I felt like I really learned a lot and engaged in some extremely interesting conversations during this time. My group spoke about “addressing mental health in the classroom”, and many ideas were presented and debated.
I think EdCamp is a great way to learn, as it is not just one person teaching everyone, but a group of people discussing topics they are genuinely excited about. I would definitely do this type of thing again, or use this strategy for group discussion in my classroom someday!