Edcamp at Georgia Southern draws record numbers
Georgia Southern alum attendees for Edcamp 2017
Georgia Southern University College of Education hosted its second annual Edcamp event on Saturday, April 22. Over 160 educators from across southeast Georgia gathered for a day of educational training and shared learning experiences.
Edcamps are held worldwide and designed to be participant-driven professional development for K-12 educators. Sessions for the day are created by consensus from those attending on what they would like to learn or discuss. Some of this year’s sessions included parent involvement, essay grading, Flipgrid and using video in the classroom, tips for new teachers, Skype in the classroom, robotics and classroom management ideas.
Educators attending also received the chance to win numerous giveaways. Items donated for giveaway during Edcamp at Georgia Southern totaled over $30,000 for this year’s event. Some prizes of note included document cameras, wireless interactive whiteboard systems, tablet case, free Science 4 Us subscriptions, complimentary copies of Reflector 2, one-year licenses to Glogster, a free year of EMAZE, a complimentary copy of Camtasia and $200 in gift cards to Amazon.
Coordinators of Edcamp at Georgia Southern included College of Education Assistant Professor Professor Lacey Huffling, Ph.D., Associate Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Engagement John Ramfjord and College of Education Associate Professor Michelle Reidel, Ph.D.
“The second annual Edcamp was a huge success, and people are already registering for our third annual Edcamp which is a year away,” said Huffling.
Reidel thanked participants for the success of the event.
“Our attendance was up over 60 people from last year’s Edcamp, and we had more representation from across southeast Georgia school districts as well,” said Reidel. “Our growth can be attributed to those who attended last year and shared with others their powerful experience and how much they enjoyed Edcamp.”
The structure of Edcamp provides the context to empower and motivate educators to learn and share innovative and beneficial practices for the education field.
“At Edcamp this year, I feel educators gained a sense of professional pride and accomplishment as the event focuses on all teachers having expertise to share,” said Huffling. “This is often lost in today’s world where teachers are seen in need of professional development, and Edcamp flips this by putting the spotlight on teachers and having them run their own professional development.”
Attendee Mary Alice posted via Twitter, “I don’t say it lightly that teaching is a hard job. Thank you EdCamp at GS for refueling my fire for teaching.”
The 2017 Edcamp ambassador team included: Bilinda Sikes, Effingham County Middle School; Christine Jackson and Paige Sutcliff, Statesboro High School; Hollie Sisk, Portal Middle/High School; Jessica Blanton and Jodie Wallis, Tattnall County High School; Lexi Tanner, South Columbia Elementary School; and Edward Bujak, Westside Pre-Engineering Magnet High School.
The College of Education hosts Edcamp annually at no cost for K-12 education professionals. The date for the 2018 Edcamp has already be set for April 21. You can reserve your free ticket to the 2018 EdCamp at Georgia Southern by visiting http://edcampgeorgiasouthern.weebly.com/
| View, 2017 photos |
Posted in COE Events