Reflecting on BarCamp Philly 2009

Yesterday, I attended Philadelphia's 2nd BarCamp, an organic, unconference, where the attendees dictate the sessions, and you get out of it what you put into it.


This years' BarCamp was even more appropriate for me, as I had some of my personal learning network attend as well. We had never met in person prior to that morning of BarCamp, but through Twitter, Google Docs, and Wave, we decided we would present something. After some delicious bagels, freshfruit, and coffee (okay, I had a Pepsi), we posted 2 sessions, and found an empty classroom to begin planning.

Kevin Jarrett posted his session, "Teaching as a Second Career" first thing, and had a small, but dynamic turnout. Being that most of the BarCamp attendees were developers, designers, consultants, and artists, it was a great session for anyone even curious about becoming a teacher.

After attending Things that SUCK (a group exercise), we decided to skip session 3, and grab some lunch at Cosi to continue our planning for the afternoon session, Social Media Survival Guide for Schools.

For a handful of educators, who hadn't met prior to the morning of BarCamp, to collaborate, and present, just shows you how powerful something like BarCamp is to a community. The best thing about it: We're still learning from it! (Our Google Doc, my Twitter List of the 6 of us, and the BarCamp Philly Flickr Pool, for example)

Enjoy, and I hope to see you next year for #3!