Ed Camp Baltimore-- September 27, 2014

Yesterday, I went to Ed Camp Baltimore.  This was my first officially Ed Camp experience, and I LOVED it!  Have you heard of this type of professional development?  It is an "unconference."  You can read about it directly on the Ed Camp Baltimore website, but I'll also give you my version of the day's events.

Here's my take on the event-

Registration

The technology coordinator at my school informed the staff about the Ed Camp Baltimore conference.  I knew that she had gone since its inception, and at her recommendation, I wanted to check it out.  I was planning on registering a couple weeks prior to the event, but at that point, I wasn't ready to commit to attending.  A few days ago, I decided I wanted to attend.  The event was FREE, so unfortunately they were out of tickets.  Luckily, I joined the waitlist and a spot opened up!  

The Schedule is Created
When you arrive at an Ed Camp conference, all the participants are gathered in a common area and that is when the schedule is set for the day.  I know that sounds weird, right.  The schedule is not set prior to the day of the event, nor are the presenters.  Anyone who has an idea can put a sign up with their idea, and it might become a session for the day.  I put up a topic for discussing writing instruction and assessment with a connection to Google Docs.  Initially, my session was combined with another session on discussing everything Google Apps for Education (GAFE), but some more shifting occurred, and I got to have my session too.   Once the schedule was set, it was all compiled on a Google Doc.  Here was our final schedule for the day.  Check out the photo gallery from Ed Camp 2012 for a better idea of how this scheduling works.  

The Sessions Begin 
Everyone chooses a session that sounds good to them.  You head to the room of your chosen session and the person that suggested the topic presents.  Often times, the floor is opened so other teachers that have expertise on the subject can share their ideas.  The GAFE session was the first session I attended.  Then I led a discussion about writing during session 2.  There was so much of value at the sessions that I attended that I am going to dedicate full blog posts to new apps and websites that will revolutionize your teaching.

Smackdown
After the first two sessions, everyone joined in the auditorium for a smackdown of resources that they find helpful.  This was so informative!  Anyone could go up to the front and share something with the group.  A recorder was also taking notes for the group.  I would definitely recommend you look at the list of resources from the smackdown.

Back for More
After lunch on your own, it is back for two more afternoon sessions.  This followed the same format as the sessions above.  One thing that is stressed at an "unconference" is that you are free to switch sessions at any time.  The motto goes something like this- If you aren't learning or contributing, use your two feet to take you somewhere else.  This means that you can get the most out of your day.  Another great aspect of this conference is that all the notes were online.  There was a shared Google Doc for each session (again use the links on the schedule page).  That way, if there were multiple sessions you wanted to attend, you could easily benefit from them by looking at the notes later.

Closing
After all the sessions, we congregated in the auditorium for a raffle.  The event had no advertisers, but there were sponsors who offered numerous prizes.

Key Takeaways
I think one of my main takeaways is that there is a rich community of educators that stay connected through technology.  For example, there many who stay connected on Twitter, and I want to be part of that community of educators, both to learn from them and to add to the conversation.

I also want to blog more regularly.  It is something that I have been doing more for myself, but I want my voice to be part of this online community of educators.  Yesterday I read a really great post by Jenna Shaw, a member of this year's Ed Camp Baltimore Organizing Committee.  She talked about this exact concept in her post "Connected Responsibility."   She says, "If I am to truly be connected to others, it must be a consistent effort that rises above some of the individual difficulties I experience with inspiration, time, and effort, in order to ensure that the community I am helping to connect is able to share their voice."  I wholeheartedly agree with this.  Blogging, like so many other aspects of education, is time consuming.  It is something that I want to schedule into my week just like I schedule in planning and grading.

Looking Ahead
Are you looking for an Ed Camp experience?
MSDE is hosting an Ed Camp in Baltimore on February 7.   Not from Baltimore? Look up Ed Camps in your area.  They are happening all over the world!

Classroom Reveal

Linking up with

I don't know about you, but it has been a whirlwind since school started on September 3rd.  Thursday night was Back to School Night, and since I had my room all spiffied up (again), I thought I would take my classroom reveal shots.  I have used quite a few strategies and decorating schemes that I originally found on Blogs.  I am not sure where I found most of these ideas, but you will notice some chevron fabric which I LOVE and the NOISE sign.

This is the area behind my desk.  I love my letters lamp that I got from Kohl's a couple years ago, even though the plug behind it is an eye-sore.  I also have my Read Chart here.  I made it this year, instead of buying it, to save a buck.  I think it turned out perfectly.  You can almost see one of the lines already has twenty stickers...that student read all those books this summer!  I count their yearly reading from June-May, so that they can have an accurate total of how many books they read in a year.  Here are some other fun things- an electronic hole puncher, which was a birthday gift from my husband a few years ago,  a Jack Russell Terrier calendar in honor of my pup, and my stuffed animal corner with my favorite...BEES.   Under my Work Expectations poster you can also (sort of) see a collage and birthday card that a student made for me.  She made numerous copies of my picture from the yearbook and collaged it with pictures of Beyonce, because we share a birthday.  Isn't that fun; I feel so loved!

  
This is my sideboard.  It is right across from the bulletin board that you just saw.  You can see that I had some fun with clothespins.  My NOISE sign I made with clothespins and ribbon because I thought it would be easier to turn the letter around.  I have only had to turn letters three times so far.  Hopefully this trend continues!  At the top of the board are comma posters that I made.  Even though they are a little hard to read from students' seats, they are still a good reference.  You can also see the film photo frame.  Inside, I have put pictures of my advisees and their interests.  Two of my purchases from VistaPrint are also displayed on this board: Absent Postcards and Agenda Magnet.  To read more about my VistaPrint finds check out this previous post.

I also decided to do jobs this year.  Here is a close up of my signs.  I use Rick Morris' student number concept, so that is why the clothes pins have numbers, not names.  This will make for a more seamless start to next year.  Other than adding a few clothespins to account for a different number of students in each class, they will already be made.  And a quick shout out to my wonderful mom and sister who helped me color 60 clothespins :)

Interested in these signs?  Let me know, I'll email them to you.  

I also used clothespins for my passes.  How simple and less germy for sure.











For the front of my room, I have decided to show before and after photos.  I think that this is the most significant change I have made.  I love the cohesion between the two chevron covered boards.  I got the figurative language signs from TpT.  Check them out here. All the other posters I have made.

These 6+1 Trait posters are in my TpT store. Also, don't miss my fancy hot pink pencil sharpener.  So far it totally lives up to the hype!

Now I am off to enjoy a lovely weekend.  Make sure to take some time to relax and rejuvenate on your days off.

Monday Made It- VistaPrint

My very first...

I am excited to report that I have used my Vista Print groupon.  I found this deal on Ms. Potter's blog, and I jumped at the opportunity for this great deal.  Through perusing blogs and Pintrest, I had tons of ideas for my classroom.  Two blogs in particular gave me inspiration, Ms. Potter's blog (see above) and Mrs. Finley's blog.  I pinned my favorite ideas from their blogs: check out my pins!

Update:  For some reason, some of the images in my post are gone!  I have updated the information below based on which images are still showing up.   I have used all of my custom Mrs. Smith sticky notes (not pictured).  They were probably my favorite item that I ordered.  I also still use a magnet that I made for my agenda which I made from a car door magnet.

Here are some other things that I made:


Ideas from Middle School Minions:
made from a postcard

  On the back of this card there is a place for the names of the missing assignments and additional notes.

Ideas from MSKCPOTTER:
made from a loyalty card

One of my biggest complaints during the school year is students forgetting items that are required for class.  I didn't want to say that they could never get their supplies from their lockers, because it negatively affects their studies.  I think this is going to be a good solution.  I will give the students five freebies.  As long as they have their punch-card, they can go and get their required supplies with no consequence.  Once the card fills or if they lose their card they will owe a detention for forgetting supplies.  I am really excited to try this!

UPDATE:  I have been using this system for three years and it works really well.  I allow students to share a punch with a friend if their friend has run out or forgotten their punch card.  It helps the students become accountable for bringing their supplies to class.  This was a WIN!