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Playdate Ottawa

6/8/2014

2 Comments

 
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Yesterday we held Ottawa’s very first Playdate. No, it's not what you're thinking… there wasn’t a bunch of adults running around throwing balls at each other, although this would be fun, it was not that type of playdate.

Playdate Ottawa (People Learning Asking whY Digital Age Teacher Exploration) was a place where educators could play with technology and truly see how it could be implemented within their classrooms. So often we go to workshops and professional development sitting listening to someone speak about all sorts of great ideas,  but never get the chance to have a hands on experience. This was the driving force behind Playdate. The idea of Playdate came out of Chicago by a group of teachers who wanted to give participants the time and space to explore educational technology. We were very fortunate to have a couple of these founders (Jennie Magiera and Sue Gorman) join us for an introduction and welcome in the morning. It was a great touch to get everyone excited to Play.

I must say, the day went off without a hitch. Everywhere I went, people were showing, sharing, collaborating on ideas. Some had strong technology backgrounds while others have just started to warm up to tech. It was great to have this mix as it led to rich discussions that all parties could grow from.


So, how was the day setup? We had different break out rooms that educators could go to play and learn about specific topics (Google Scripts and Addons, Augmented Reality, Assistive Technology, Screencasting, Movie making, Digital portfolios to name a few). We created (with the help of Playdate Chicago) digital resource guides for participants to follow to give them a starting place about the tech they wanted to play with. Each break out had a lead who help facilitated the flow of playing and learning. That’s it! Pretty simple yet extremely effective.


Would I help run another Playdate? Absolutely! The feedback has been very positive with many asking when the next one will be… stayed tuned we hope to make it an annual event!


For more information on the event check out the Playdate Ottawa Website: http://playdateott.weebly.com/ and don’t forget to follow @playdateott +playdateott for news and details about coming events.




2 Comments
David Theriault link
6/8/2014 09:44:03 am

Did the Lead Learners know at least the day before they would open each session? How long did the Lead Learners talk before handing the stage to someone else or just letting everyone play? Were there times when a question would result in a person retaking the stage and showing everyone how to get past a stumble point?

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Jeffrey Humphries link
6/8/2014 11:33:06 am

Agent T the lead learners signed up in advance to the actual Playdate day. So they knew what sessions they would be facilitating and had access to the resource guides. The leads were there to get the ball rolling and keep it going. They were also responsible for reminding the participants to fill out the exit form for the session to give us feed back. There were a ton of times people would step in and trade off leading depending on the questions and the participants comfort level. It an amazing day!

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    • Director of Professional Development & Product, EdTechTeam Canada
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