Edtech

Edcamp

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What is Edcamp?

Edcamp is a conference driven by the participants and is peer-led. It is free of charge and open to anyone who is interested in the topic, however, it is designed for K-12 educators. The mission of edcamp is to “build and support communities of empowered educators”. Participants can choose a topic of their choice that they are knowledgeable in and want to share their wisdom on or something that they want to learn more about and then topics are voted on. The schedule is flexible and sessions are not planned until the day of the event. This flexibility allows for participants to share their own personal experiences and gives them the opportunity to ask any questions they may have. Edcamp started in 2010 and since that date, throughout the world, there have been over 1000 successful edcamps. These conferences held by edcamp allow for teachers to gain more knowledge on subjects that they aren’t as comfortable with and they gain many good resources to help them in their classrooms. 6sOadhvK_400x400.jpg

In my EDCI 336 – technology innovation course we created our own edcamps within our classroom. Many students suggested topics that they were interested in (including myself) and the class voted on three main ones. From here we got to decide which discussion we wanted to be a part of. I choose the topic of alternative learning environments. Since none of us are educators yet, only studying to be one, we were mainly presenting on our own experiences in elementary and high school. It was interesting to hear everyone’s experiences and how their schools incorporated alternate learning environments. One specific alternate learning environment which we talked a lot about was learning outside. This was an interesting topic and everyone had different views on it. I personally believe that learning outside should become more prevalent in schools as it allows children to clear their heads and get a change of scenery. Learning outside can also be of use when teaching many different subjects (for example science). All in all, I really enjoyed our mini edcamp and would definitely be interested in participating in one in the future. It is a helpful resource to have as a prospective teacher.

Link to their website: https://www.edcamp.org/

 

Tech Tool Review – Google Apps for Education (GAFE)

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Google Apps for Education (GAFE) also called G Suite is a tool available for teachers and schools for free. It allows people to collaborate and communicate with their peers, teachers, and colleagues. These apps include Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs and Sites.

Some ways that Google apps are being used in schools are to easily manage your classroom by creating classes, distributing assignments or quizzes, giving feedback to students and having everything organized in one place. It is simple to operate and you can manage it with confidence. Students and teachers can collaborate anywhere and anytime by co-editing documents and presentations.  Another way it can be used is to compose to-do lists, set task reminders, and to organize your schedule. Google apps enables you to communicate in many different ways, such as email, chat, video conference or you can even create your own website. The reasons why educators choose to use GAFE is because it is easy, affordable, versatile and impactful. The only downside to using Google apps is that it is absolutely necessary to have access to a device, which often some kids don’t.

The tool website is: https://edu.google.com/intl/en_ca/k-12-solutions/g-suite/?modal_active=none

We already use numerous Google apps, therefore we would both consider using it in our classrooms.

GAFE is widely tweeted about and discussed on almost every social media platform.

Below are some helpful video tutorials and resources:

 

~ Elissa and Eliza