News
GPS to Host Edcamp GigCity
Educators across the region are welcome to attend the free conference.
Billed as Chattanooga’s UNconference for Educators, Edcamp offers area teachers a unique opportunity to join colleagues from across the area for a day of professional development.
Traditional conferences typically take months to coordinate and cost hundreds of dollars of limited funds to attend. Edcamp is refreshingly fluid and completely free. Organized locally, Edcamp GigCity’s agenda is created by teachers, for teachers with participants determining their own agenda upon arrival.
Free + Open to All
Edcamps never charge a fee, and are open to educators of all levels and subjects.
Participant-Driven
Edcamps allow participants to collaboratively determine session topics the day of the event.
Experience, not Experts
Edcamps encourage participants to facilitate sessions by sharing experiences; conversations not planned presentations.
Rule of Two Feet
Edcamps suggest participants find sessions that meet their needs to maximize learning. Session not interesting? Feel free to leave and find another.
Daniel Millbank, Director of IT at GPS, is on the organizing committee for the annual conference. “The goal of GigCity Edcamp is to bring local educators together to share ideas with their colleagues and to participate in customized learning,” he says. “The free event will focus on offering practical, timely, professional enrichment to community teachers and educators from across Hamilton County, southeast Tennessee, and North Georgia.”
Built on principles of connected and participatory learning, Edcamp strives to bring teachers together to talk about the things that matter most to them: their interests, passions, and questions.
Generous community sponsors are even providing donuts and lunch as well as items to be raffled off at the close of the conference such as tech equipment, classes, and books. Girls Preparatory School is making space available across its campus for multiple sessions to be offered throughout the day.
To register to attend, educators should go to EdCampGigCity.com.
The History of Edcamp (Edcamp.org)
The first Edcamp was organized in 2010 by a group of teachers in Philadelphia who met up for a computer science unconference. At BarCamp, they collaborated with others to create discussion sessions based on the interests of the people in the room. There was no presenter; no boring slideshow. The entire day was personalized and learner-driven with those in the room sharing their experience and expertise.
At the end of the day, the teachers decided this model was too good to contain! They exchanged contact information and, within the next few months, they used the unconference model of BarCamp to target educators.
The first Edcamp was organized in 2010 by a group of teachers in Philadelphia who met up for a computer science unconference. At BarCamp, they collaborated with others to create discussion sessions based on the interests of the people in the room. There was no presenter; no boring slideshow. The entire day was personalized and learner-driven with those in the room sharing their experience and expertise.
At the end of the day, the teachers decided this model was too good to contain! They exchanged contact information and, within the next few months, they used the unconference model of BarCamp to target educators.
Embracing the belief that fellow educators can be some of the most valuable professional development resources for their colleagues, the Edcamp movement has been recognized by countless organizations, including the United States Department of Education, the Bammy Awards for Education, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), the TEDx program, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
