Top Ten Reasons to Attend Edcamp

There are so many reasons why anyone in the education industry should be attending as many Edcamps as possible, but instead of reinventing a list, I simply cultivated some of my favorites. Here are my Top 10 Favorite Reasons To Attend An Edcamp from various blogs:

1. It is free.
2. Hierarchies do not exist at an Edcamp. Regardless of his or her perspective, each participant’s ideas and contributions are equally respected.
3. Teachers, administrators, parents, students, and community members are all welcome!
4. You are interested in learning about and sharing innovative ideas and practices in education.
5. You are tired of expensive conferences led by people who are out of touch with classrooms and what teachers actually need.
6. You love receiving information that can immediately be applied in your classroom and professional life.
7. You know that the future of professional development relies on teacher-to-teacher collaboration.
   • Students tend to learn best in relaxed, collaborative environments when they feel as if they are truly being listened to. Well, teachers learn the same way.
8. Each Edcamp schedule is set by the attendees the day of the event. This makes the talks topical and relevant to the attendees, maximizing the learning opportunity for everyone.
9. Connect in person with people you know online. Are you on Twitter or want to be? Here is your chance to meet people in your own PLN (Personal/Professional Learning Network) in real life and be able to collaborate and learn from each other.
10. Reason #10: It’s free professional development. More schools should be requiring this IMHO (in my humble opinion).

To find out where these came from and for more info on some upcoming edcamps, please visit: Upcoming Edcamps