By Leigh Graves Wolf, CIO Advisor
#edcamp#teachmeet - these are just a few of the hashtags for a growing model of professional development experiences that have been generated from the "unconference" model. An unconference is participant driven, open and highly centered on sharing and collaborating. The camps can be delivered on a large scale (like the recent EdCampGR) or you can hold a teachmeet in your own district or school building. I personally integrate the #teachmeet model into my face to face teaching with our Master's program. It gives the educators in our program an opportunity to organize and deliver professional development using a highly interactive and engaging model. It also allows teachers to show their strengths, and sets up an environment to ask for help to improve weaknesses. Many of the students who have experienced a #teachmeet on the small scale of our classroom have returned to their school environments to host their own #teachmeet. If you're interested in hosting your own event, the edcamp and teachmeet communities are highly supportive. You can get started by visiting: http://edcamp.wikispaces.com or http://teachmeet.pbworks.com
Leigh Graves Wolf is the co-director of the Master of Arts in Educational Technology program at Michigan State University.
