Organizing higherEdcamp

When I became a frequent Twitter user, a step beyond major lurking, I had no idea what was in store for me.  I began to follow, retweet, tweet and then repeat, and repeat and repeat.  Before long I was immersed in tweets about topics I was passionate about.  I found it a challenge to make the time to follow all of the fabulous shares that were landing on my homepage.  What an amazing place to learn... and an even better place to find an unexpected professional learning network of people I deemed "follow worthy".

There was one profile that caught my continuous attention with her obvious passion for education, technology and most specifically special education.  Dina Moati and I began to follow one another and shared the occasional direct message.  It was a surprise though when one day Dina messaged me with a proposition... she wanted me to consider being part of an organizing team for higherEDcamp.

Now Edcamps were new to me.  I had never attended an Edcamp. I didn't know anyone who had attended one, nor had I really ever read about one. I asked myself how could I possibly organize one with such limited knowledge and experience?  Although I questioned my fit for the project, Dina's passion and enthusiasm for higherEDcamp was nothing short of contagious.  She quickly put out any of my self-doubt and with pure optimism she was sure higherEDcamp would be a success.  Soon the team began to grow, and although we lost some original members due to personal commitments, the "Team of 3" was born with Jennifer Tate joining the ranks.

My experience organizing higherEDcamp was amazing. Three strangers had come together through Twitter with the goal of putting together an inspirational and memorable day of learning for higherED professors, administrators, students and educators.  At the time we didn't know who would come.  We didn't know where it would be.  We didn't know how we would pay for it, and we didn't know if we would be lucky enough to attract some sponsors.  We just knew we wanted to create a day of innovation and collaboration, utilizing the UNconference format.

Three strangers... one goal!  We lived a distance apart so ALL of our planning was done through Google Hangout. In fact we only met each other in person as a team for the first time the day before the event. We tossed around ideas, we shared resources, and we quickly learned about each other's strengths.  Jennifer had the power of persuasion and took on the task of reaching out to prospective sponsors.  Her creativity brought us the idea of having a "Me to We" loom to create a tapestry to represent the day. As well she created a bowl full of badges for participants to pin to their lanyards to highlight their values and skills related to their teaching.   I took responsibility for helping to generate content for the website, draft the e-blasts, and assist with organizing the volunteers.  Dina had the vision! The end goal was always in site as she had the most experience with Edcamps.  She used her past and recent experiences to help shape our day and committed herself to spreading the news.  She tweeted, emailed and tweeted some more to make sure that higherEDcamp was well promoted.  Her ability to anticipate our needs for the day led us to securing a location and arranging more than enough food for the participants and volunteers.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the tasks and contributions associated with planning our first ever higherEDcamp.  Should you ever want to organize your own, there are plenty of valuable resources online from the Edcamp Foundation, and resources from those who have organized previous Edcamps. The three of us worked passionately to bring it all together.  When one team member was reluctant or hesitant about something, the others rallied.  We balanced each other out and it showed as our vision became a reality.

The day of higherEDcamp was nothing short of amazing.  After all, I got to experience and organize an edcamp all in one day!  Educators from across Ontario, and even from other provinces, attended higherEDcamp. They shared ideas and resources on a variety of topics, rekindled old friendships, and created new ones. Aside from the success of the day, the most unforgettable part of higherEDcamp for me was how three strangers, all with proclaimed interest and passion in higher education, came together and made something out of nothing.  Dina's words summed it up nicely... it was like a stone soup, a story of pure cooperation. With a little of this, a little of that, a more than a dash of partnership, higherEDcamp was born.

Thank-you team for such a wonderful experience!

For more information about higherEDcamp you can visit our website or follow us on Twitter @higherEDcamp #higheredcamp