First EdCamp Seattle Scheduled for November 17, 2012!

Educators are lifelong learners who continually look for ways to improve their craft. National and regional conferences can be good sources for new information but can be expensive and time consuming.

Enter EdCamp, a group of “unconferences” held across the country throughout the year, putting educators in control of their own learning. EdCamps have been held for three years, and the first Seattle EdCamp will be on November 17, 2012.

In an unconference, attendees brainstorm their interests and needs to make a giant Post-It note schedule of the day’s sessions. Speakers may have a presentation prepared, or volunteers facilitate the conversations so learning happens organically.

Seattle’s EdCamp is free to all attendees, but organizers ask that teachers add their name to a Google Form on the EdCamp website. Educators at all levels are welcome to join the conversations at EdCamp Seattle, held on the campus of Seattle Pacific University.

For more information, visit www.edcampseattle.org. Follow us on Twitter as @EdCampSeattle.

What I tweeted about in 2011

Here is a tag cloud created with Tagxedo showing what I tweeted about in 2011.  My Twitter handle is dwicksspu.  I shared lots of links using the hashtag #mlearning as I prepared for several presentations on mobile learning.  My role as co-chair of the MacLearning.org Steering Committee had me frequently using the tag #maclearning and the handle @maclearning to tweet about how Apple products were being used in teaching and learning .  I began a project with five other professors on blended learning in August and used the tag #blendedlearning to share resources that I found.  I am predicting that it will be one of my most popular tags in 2012.  The hashtag #et5online should also be a popular tag for me in 2012 as I am the program chair for the 5th Annual International Symposium for Emerging Technology in Online Learning. I hope to see you in Las Vegas this summer.

Happy New Year!

David

Professional Development Through Twitter

Seven Steps to Free and Continuous
Professional Development Through Twitter

1. Follow active and content-focused colleagues in your discipline
2. Join a “chat” community
3. Monitor hashtags related to your field
4. Establish a social bookmarking account to store your “gold”
5. Automate your social bookmarking posts
6. Reflect on your learning
7. Reciprocity – Give back

Part of an online workshop I participated in called Twitter in Edu.