Dive Brief:
- Since 2010, Edcamp has been spreading its free, one-day "un-conferences" around the globe, promoting primarily the idea that teachers should drive their own professional development agendas.
- Sticking to a theory of self-learning, Edcamp events have no pre-planned agendas, relying instead on educators setting the tone once they show up and decide what skills they need to work on the most.
- According to District Administration, there have been around 600 Edcamp sessions in 15 countries since the movement began.
Dive Insight:
If you want empowered students, you have to start by empowering your teachers. Teachers in the field already know what they need the most help with, and they also come with tons of expertise to help others who may be struggling with something they've already gone through. Edcamp is the antithesis of fancy and costly school consultants that promise to revolutionize campuses for a fee. Instead of turning outward, schools can look within.
Kristina Peters, a Nebraska Department of Education e-learning specialist and former elementary school teacher, has organized multiple Edcamps. As she explained to District Administration, “Edcamp is about a different way of doing PD. When teachers and educators are trusted enough to drive their own learning, it makes a huge difference compared to traditional PD.”