JEDcamp is an international movement of attendee-driven
professional development events for Jewish educators
founded by Seth Dimbert (@MisterD) in 2012.
JEDcamp: What, Why and How? from MisterD on Vimeo.
(The following description is based on this one, published by EDcamp San Diego)
Edcamps are unconferences with focus on education. Since the inaugural edcamp Philly in May 2010, the edcamp movement has spread across the nation and internationally, including Santiago, Toronto and Stockholm. A JEDcamp is simply an Edcamp focused specifically on Jewish education.
JEDcamps will focus more on conversation and participation than on presentation. Participants will choose what topics to discuss and decide which directions the ensuing conversions will take. Many sessions will likely involve making, playing, creating, and doing.
For that to work, participants will show up with ideas for sessions they would like to lead or with the anticipation of a full day of learning. Sessions topics will vary from pedagogy and classroom management to technology tools to best practices to homework to communication to field trips.
The first hour of a JEDcamp is set aside for you and other attendees to meet each other over coffee. There will be an empty session board for everyone to post session titles. Sessions will begin at 9:00 AM.
There will be four session periods each day. The rule of the unconference is to “vote with your feet.” If a session doesn’t meet your needs, simply get up and move on to another one. If you would like to pop into more than one session per time slot, that’s another reason to make a move.
JEDcamp does not provide certificates for the professional development you receive. However, you will learn great teaching strategies, make new friends, and receive information that you can immediately apply in your classroom and professional life!
For a history of and more information about EdCamp, see Edutopia’s “Introduction to EdCamp”..