Saturday, January 4, 2014

EdCampHome 2.0 ~ WOW!


I spent my morning learning with over 200 educators, and I didn't even leave my house! I participated in EdCampHome 2.0! 


After gaining so much from the first EdCampHome back in October, I knew I had to be a part of the next one. I enjoyed the EdCamp experience so much, I've run several sessions with my third graders




The four creators and/or organizers are simply amazing people.

 


These talented educators assembled 266 EdCampers together in a Google+ community, facilitated the development of session ideas, coordinated moderators for each YouTube session, and then populated each session via email invitation to a Google HangOut. 

  

  These Ed Tech leaders accomplished it all with cool confidence, positive attitudes, and a sense of humor! 

It was a remarkable experience!






Weeks before the EdCampHome event, members joined a Google + Community and introduced themselves. I shared some information about myself, and of course included some holiday cheer from Buck!








This morning, I set up my laptop and a backup one and an ipad :-), grabbed a cup of coffee, and plugged in my headphones. Headphones are helpful when joining a Google HangOut. Without them, your voice might echo during the session.

(Sorry, Buck. I'll be with you in three hours.)







A live Google HangOut was going on throughout the EdCampHome. You could hear the organizers typing feverishly to build the sessions and trouble shooting with one another. 
What a team! 


 Once I filled out a form selecting a session, I received an email confirming it. The email included useful links to the Helpdesk and the EdCampHome.



 

Once in the session, people clicked on the Toolbox and added a name tag. In Google HangOuts, the name tag is called the lower third. On the right, people could chat with one another or add relevant links to the discussion. 






I attended a session about using Evernote in the classroom. This was a session I had recommended. It was moderated by Kevin Ashworth, a CUE friend of mine. Moderators volunteer to open up a Google HangOut Online and keep the conversation moving along. Kevin did a fabulous job!





A few teachers in the session were using Evernote effectively in their classrooms and shared.  Sharon Plante showed the group a jot pen penultimate that she likes using in conjunction with Evernote. 




The group committed to sharing some tutorials and resources in the Google+ community. I hope we will be able to continue to support one another with developing an effective Evernote classroom system.

Here is the Evernote EdCampHome recording:






The second sessions I attended was about Virtual Field Trips, and it was lead by another fantastic moderator, Christine Hartooni. A great resource that came up was Google's Connected Classrooms. I look forward to tapping into the resources and connections provided in the Google community.








Here is the EdCampHome Virtual Field Trips recording:





All of the recorded sessions can be viewed here. 








What do you think of the idea of an EdCamp?

What sessions would interest you?




4 comments:

  1. I enjoyed meeting you today in the Virtual Fieldtrip session. GHOs are such a huge learning opportunity. I wasn't sure how edcamphome would work/how I would like it. Turns out--just as #eduawesome as a face-to-face edcamp. I enjoyed your post. Reminds me to include more pics on my blog. Thanks Linda.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @ Catina,

      It was a pleasure meeting you as well! What a world we are living in! I got goosebumps watching that whole thing come together!

      Glad you enjoyed my post. Yes, I take pictures along the way and it helps bring the learning to life for me.

      Maybe we'll run into each other on a virtual field trip! I hope so!

      Sincerely,
      Mrs. Yollis

      Delete
  2. I'm glad you enjoyed the session on Virtual Field Trips. It was nice meeting you and all of the other participants. I came away with some new things to try and an appreciation for the task of being a moderator. Thanks for being part of the edcamphome 2.0 experience!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Mrs. Yollis,
    I happened to find EdCamp through visiting your blog so I went to the site. I too wanted more information on Evernote. I have had a hard time finding how to use it. I'm attaching a link that helped me for using it as a tool for fluency. Please share any other links on Evernote you have found helpful.
    Thanks,
    Clarissa Reeson
    http://mrsgleason.blogspot.com/2013/02/using-evernote-to-record-and-track.html

    ReplyDelete

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