I participated in a Zoom-based EdCamp on Maker Learning today. There were 100 participants from around the world. It was mostly US-based teachers, but there were at least 10 people from other continents. At an EdCamp, the participants decide collectively what are the most important topics to discuss. “Sessions” are established (in our case, Zoom Breakout Rooms), and you then go to the session you want to attend. Instead of a formal presentation by a pre-determined session leader, the participants within a session share their challenges, questions, resources, suggestions, and ideas. I’ve attended many in-person, all-day EdCamps and loved them and this is my second virtual EdCamp. The concept works really well.
Of the 8 sessions determined by today’s participants, I went to the session for Secondary Math. At first, I was the only one there. And just as I considered leaving the room and going to a different session, a high school teacher from New Hampshire joined and we decided to stay and chat with each other. We were later joined by a teacher at an independent (non-public) International Baccalaureate School from Germany, a volunteer from a library in Belgium that has a makerspace, and a high school math teacher from Tennessee. It was a great session.
During the time that it was just the New Hampshire teacher and me, we talked about “Farmington” and she said she used to teach in a town called Farmington. Then I told her about the Farmington Fellows Scholarship for graduates of any Farmington High School not in Maine who get the out-of-state tuition fee waived if they come to UMF and we pay for round-trip . "Let our Farmington be your new Farmington!" is the motto. Plus, recipients receive round-trip travel reimbursement from their Farmington to our Farmington campus each year. She said, “Oh, I know several students who are at UMF who received that scholarship."
We have over 1,500 students at UMF and I only know some of the 150 who are in the Secondary Education program. But I do have an advisee, CM, that I happen to know is from Farmington, NH. And so I had to ask... Yep! We have a student in common! "Miss B" is no longer teaching at the school where CM attended but they were at that high school at the same time. Miss B never had my student in one of her classes, but she had many of the friends, including a boyfriend, and definitely knows CM.
