A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to attend and present at the York Region District School Boards Edtech Camp. The camp was a full day PD for their staff on using and integrating technology within the classroom. Sessions were tailored to all ability levels on various tools including, iOS tools and devices, to Google Apps for Education. Participants who attended willingly spent a full Saturday exploring and learning how technology can be used in the classroom to enhance their current practice.
I must say I was very impressed with how smooth the day ran. I suppose I shouldn't be knowing Jim Jamieson and Scott Monahan did a lot of the leg work behind the event. They had some top notch presenters including Google Certified Teachers; Holly Clark, Tanya Avrith, Sandra Chow and Afzal Shaikh. The vibe from the day I can't really explain... there was just this buzz in the air with so many (over 300) educators wanting to be there and learn.
It would be great to see more boards adapt a model such as YRDSB to make learning and PD more meaningful to their teachers. The day ran four different time slots with various sessions offered at the same time. This was the beauty, it ran like an Edcamp in the sense that all participants choose what sessions they wanted to attend and learn more about. There was also two great keynotes. Holly Clark started the day off trying to push everyone's thinking forward and make them realize that status quo is just not good enough. It was very clear her message being we need to adapt to our students needs and changing times. Tanya Avrith ended the day with a great send off, speaking to the importance of our students understanding what digital citizenship is, and the impact their digital foot print can have on them years from now.
Congratulations to all who attended and I hope to see more of these Edtech Camps popping up around the province and country.
I must say I was very impressed with how smooth the day ran. I suppose I shouldn't be knowing Jim Jamieson and Scott Monahan did a lot of the leg work behind the event. They had some top notch presenters including Google Certified Teachers; Holly Clark, Tanya Avrith, Sandra Chow and Afzal Shaikh. The vibe from the day I can't really explain... there was just this buzz in the air with so many (over 300) educators wanting to be there and learn.
It would be great to see more boards adapt a model such as YRDSB to make learning and PD more meaningful to their teachers. The day ran four different time slots with various sessions offered at the same time. This was the beauty, it ran like an Edcamp in the sense that all participants choose what sessions they wanted to attend and learn more about. There was also two great keynotes. Holly Clark started the day off trying to push everyone's thinking forward and make them realize that status quo is just not good enough. It was very clear her message being we need to adapt to our students needs and changing times. Tanya Avrith ended the day with a great send off, speaking to the importance of our students understanding what digital citizenship is, and the impact their digital foot print can have on them years from now.
Congratulations to all who attended and I hope to see more of these Edtech Camps popping up around the province and country.
