Here’s what Express Edcamp is all about, and how to run one yourself.
Last Thursday night:
Beer? Check.
Sushi? Check.
Edcamp? Check.
Wait, what?
That’s right, world, we had an Edcamp on a school night. Not only that, but our gracious host Remind provided snacks and drinks. And by snacks and drinks, I mean beer, wine, water, sushi, poke, sandwiches, and edamame. They literally set the table for an eduawesome evening of learning.
Let’s talk logistics because you will want to help plan your own Express Edcamp after hearing how easy it is. We (Kristen Swanson, Karl LS, and me) talked with folks at Remind (Clara and Rachel) about having an event at Remind HQ. So, location, sponsor, and refreshments are covered. That’s the most time-consuming part of organizing an Edcamp. We met three times via Google+ Hangout to plan. I updated the EdcampSFBay website, Karl set up tickets on Eventbrite, Kristen wrote an explanation of what Express Edcamp is, and Clara and Rachel made sure we had everything we needed for the day-of.
Compared to organizing a full-day Edcamp, this was a surprisingly tiny amount of preparation. Including Hangouts, we each spent two hours or so prepping. That’s usually the amount of time per week reading emails from fellow organizers. It was seriously such little work that itI’m was fun taking care of logistics.
Express Edcamp was 5:00-7:30. We had two sessions in three rooms, and the first session started at 5:40. Despite the smaller session board (3 rooms per time slot vs. the typical 8ish) and the smaller group of attendees (30 educators vs. the typical 150ish), it felt like a typical Edcamp–amazing people and amazing conversations. To be fair, the sushi helped.
