Edcamp Bluewater

Had a great time at Edcamp Bluewater Saturday. For those of you not familiar with the Edcamp concept, think of it as self-directed professional development. With your colleagues delivering information based upon best practices, innovation and classroom experience. Had a great time and wanted to follow up with my new Twitter and blog followers with a recap and some links.

The session I conducted was on my new favorite tool: Instagrok.   We had a great discussion about how the tool can be used from elementary through high school, its possibilities for instructional differentiation, submission options (including purchasing an app on Edmodo) and assignment options. We also discussed some concerns from a research perspective as some of the key facts come from student assignments and the depth is not sufficient for a long-term research paper at the higher levels. We agreed that this tool has a lot of potential. The conversation took a natural turn, leading to comparisons of Edmodo and Moodle as classroom virtual learning environments. The best part of the session is that the group shared, not me with as the presenter with the expert knowledge (which I admitted up front I didn't necessarily have for this tool). Other participants showed how to look at apps in Edmodo and shared student work that had used CogDogRoo storytools.  When I reflected upon the day, I though about how this would apply back in the classroom. Everyday teachers struggle with the digital shift that has created educators who are not  the experts in all aspects of our teaching. We are certainly usually the content experts, but what about the technology, applications and connections to the students world?  What I experienced at EdCamp could certainly work in a classroom. A shared expertise that left us all more prepared. This is what I envision in the new cycle of technology integration and student connection.