The Experience of a Lifetime: Edcampss

Wow, what a rush! After 1774 emails and a dozen Skype calls, we made it happen. Edcamp Social Studies is in the books. I was so fearful that a subject specific edcamp just wouldn't draw people. Thankfully, I was wrong. All those nightmares of having Kenneth C. Davis speaking to ten people was just wasted energy. We had close to 100 people attend throughout the day and it was a huge success. To pull off a national edcamp is quite an accomplishment but it would never have happened without the hard work and dedication of the Edcamp social studies crew Jamie Josephson, Angela Cunningham, Suzie Nestico, Heather Kilgallon, Shawn McCusker, Greg Kulowiec and Becky Ellis. Sadly, Becky could not make it but her work with the group on edcampss was invaluable. I am grateful to be part of such a passionate, dedicated and ambitious group. Thank you to these outstanding educators. 

Jamie, Angela, Suzie, Heather, Shawn, Me, and Greg

Of course we could not have done any of it without the tremendous support of our amazing sponsors: Collaborize Classroom, Ed Tech Teacher, Diigo, Dipity, Edmodo, Edutopia, Finding Dulcinea/Sweet Search, Flocabulary, Herff Jones Nystrom/Stratalogica, LiveBinders, Milestone Documents, Poll EveryWhere, Science Leadership Academy, Simple K12, SurveyMonkey, TCI, and TeacherCast. Interestingly enough it was Collaborize Classroom who were the first to jump in to sponsor us. I really appreciate the faith all of our sponsors had in us as educators and as an organization. We are blessed and amazed at the willingness of such great companies to support our little venture in education.


As I reflect on all that went into the development and organization of Edcampss, I can't help but think that without the technology of today, we all would have never met let alone worked together so well as a team. Two years ago along comes Twitter and we have the opportunity in our lifetime to connect with each other and look what happened. The creation of #sschat and the SSChat Ning have given many social studies teachers a place to learn and share virtually at any time. And with Edcampss there was an opportunity for some to meet face to face and extend the learning and sharing.


Choosing to have a subject specific edcamp was as much about the model for professional development as it was about the energy we generated as we talked and joked about it. The moment we had someone offer to sponsor us is when we all sat up and thought...Hey, we can do this. And we did and it was better than I ever expected. The only down side was the lack of time we had together. The upside was getting to meet so many outstanding educators. People came from all over the country and shared their best practices throughout the day. Kenneth C. Davis did a fantastic job with his Keynote and helped fulfill my dream of meeting him and getting not one but two of his books signed by him. Thank you, sir!

None of this would have been possible without the educators who attended this event in the city of brotherly love. Many traveled great distances to be there. Some flew in while others drove several hours. Thanks for your dedication. And a special thanks to Chris Lehmann and Diana Laufenberg as well as the student volunteers, especially Jeff Kessler. 


There were many great sessions as the session board filled up rather quickly. We actually added another room and it filled up in just a few minutes. I was able to live stream Mr. Davis in the main room and some of the sessions were recorded via Ustream and all can be viewed. 


Now that I'm back home and my education cup runneth over, I am on to many more projects and perhaps Edcampss2 is on the horizon. It may be too soon to tell but if our group gets to talking...watch out!


Edcampss was definitely an experience of a lifetime. I just hope our group has many more in the years to come.

Edmodo ~ Student Management in the 21st Century

Edmodo...the name sounds kind of cool. What does it mean? Well, it means a lot of things to different people. Ed= Education + Modo= Methods as was pointed out to me by Betsy Whalen of Edmodo. However, the reality is Jeff O'Hara, one of the founders of Edmodo, just made the name up. Excellent choice!


For me and many other educators, Edmodo means connecting, collaborating, teaching, and learning. My teaching has changed because of it and I love how it has broken down the walls of my cave...er...classroom. Students now have more help with assignments, projects, and anything they might need assistance with after hours. I even have office hours in the evening if students have a question or just need help. That's pretty powerful! So what's all the fuss about? Well, here are a few of the features and how to get started with Edmodo:

Some of the features I didn't mention in the video include:

• The Student Backpack - students can add items for reference and use.
• Blogging
• The Edmodo Help and Support Center
• Group Management
• Archiving Groups

All of this and more can be accessed in the Help Center and if by chance you don't find an answer there, you can go to the Support Group and post your question. Help is only minutes away. The support team is very helpful and lightning fast in responding. A truly great group of people. 

Another great thing about Edmodo is that the students love it and find it extremely easy to use. They really like the ability to post messages to everyone or directly to me if they have a question. For me I like the fact that students often times help each other when one of their classmates is in need of help.


Edmodo is safe, secure and doesn't require student emails. It's a great blend of social media and student management system that makes the administration of teaching easier. 


I know it's made me a better teacher.

Adventures in Santa Fe

For my first post I am compelled to write about my summer exploits in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Learning is just apart of who I am as an educator and therefore every year I try to find something, somewhere to give me deeper appreciation and knowledge that I can share with my students. So, last February as I was looking through the many opportunities for summer workshops I was intrigued by one called "Contested Homelands."

"Contested Homelands" was being developed and sponsored by the University of New Mexico. I was interested because I didn't have a lot of historical knowledge of New Mexico other than the Santa Fe Trail and the Camino Real and because the fact that I didn't know much bothered me. So...I applied and was accepted! Yay me!

The good news is that there was a stipend for the workshop. The bad news is that it ended about the same time ISTE10 was taking place in Denver. Nonetheless, I was excited to be going on another journey. One that would prove to be my most fulfilling yet.

As the date approached I received a book on Po'Pay and some articles on the history of Santa Fe. Very interesting reads for a history geek like me. Of course I did a little research to find out more and was feeling pretty good about my trip.

I arrived for a weeklong adventure by way of 10 hours of travel time that took me through four different airports, the least of which was Phoenix International, ugh! Nonetheless, there I was in Santa Fe ready to learn and boy was I going to learn.

The week started off with a nice reception and introductions from the four leaders of this adventure and discovery. They made us feel at ease despite the demanding schedule we would endure for the week. I was feeling pretty good about my time in New Mexico and prepared for the variety of activities we would be exposed to in the days to come. And we did a lot but the outcome from this journey surprised even me.

See, it wasn't the museums or the visits to pueblos or the lectures by respected scholars that impacted and inspired me. It was the relationships I built with other educators from around the country. How powerful it was to connect with each other, learn and grow as professionals and people. I am truly blessed by the people I met and as the director of the project, Dr. Rebecca Sanchez said to me, that hopefully "elements from this workshop weave into your consciousness." Those elements for me are the people. So, take that to your classrooms and remember that the most important elements are the ones that come through your door during the school year and for many of us the educators who make up our PLN.