It’s here! Presented publicly for the first time at Edcamp Philly 2013, this terrific video, including the Grammy-Award winning* Flocabulary Edcamp Rap, was produced by the epic Bill Selak himself, and features performances by this intrepid group of #EduAwesome educators and edcamp fanatics:

Edcamp Foundation Members (Kristen Swanson, Christine Miles, Hadley Ferguson, Kim Sivick)
EdCamp Phoenix
@mrlucero82 and @dierdreshetler
EdCamp Phoenix continued
edcampIS
EdCampBham
Edcamp Maine
@schinker (EdCamp Cleveland)
Donna Miller, Brianne Killion, Maureen Condon
Edcamp Detroit Team
@mwmedvinsky (Edcamp Detroit)
@kylepace
@tbed63 Students
Edcampcolumbus
@EdCampAccess
@catlett1
@techmaverick & @digitalroberto
@billselak
@michellek107, @mrskmpeters
Edcamp SWO
@EdcampHam

Enjoy!

* = we wish!

Thank you, everyone, for making our Indiegogo campaign a resounding success! Because of the generosity of edcampers, especially those listed below, our 501(c)3 application is now in final review with our lawyer. This is a critical step in bringing the edcamp movement towards self-sufficiency. Once the 501(c)3 is complete, companies will be able to make donations to a recognized entity and it is the hope of the foundation that this will open the door to larger donations, bigger mini-grants, and more innovation in professional growth for educators. Thank you again, edcamp nation. Your passion and support is truly inspiring.

Philip Cummings
Richard Kiker
Stephanie Sandifer
Nicholas Provenzano
Gerald Aungst
Aaron Gumz
Matt Arguello
Jeremy Angoff, OunceIT, LLC
Andrew Foregrave
Julie Jee
Karl Lindgren-Streicher
Karen Blumberg
Ryan Wassink
Adam Bellow

Symbols are powerful things and the Flaming Apple of Edcamp is no exception. Our logo was designed by one of my former students, Lorenzo Ibarra. Even at first glance, Lorenzo’s design is a brilliant twist on the barcamp flame. It gives a nod to Edcamp’s roots in that movement as well capturing the burning passion of Edcampers for education.

Dan Callahan shares that, unbeknownst to everyone here at the Edcamp Foundation  (which is quite awesome actually), someone has created a Wikipedia entry for EdCamp! (We’d have preferred “Edcamp” but maybe we can get that changed.)

Edcamp Radio is here! Each week you can hear from a member of the Edcamp Foundation and organizers of recent Edcamp events. Each episode discusses popular educational trends, helpful smackdown tools, and the innovations that make Edcamps magical. You can subscribe to Edcamp Radio on iTunes by clicking here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/edcamp-radio/id590047628. Thanks to the BAM Radio Network for producing and hosting our show!

The wonderful education bloggers over at EducationIsMyLife (including our very own Dr. Kristen Swanson) just announced a new book whose electronic sale proceeds will benefit the Edcamp Foundation!

“Intellectual Curiosity in Our Schools” is FREE for those who sign up early (click HERE), but proceeds from sales of the Kindle and iBook versions will be donated to our organization.

For more information, please check out this blog post.

Thank you very much, EducatonIsMyLife! We sincerely appreciate the support!

A while ago, we were approached by the wonderful people at Edutopia about promoting Edcamp on their site. Thrilled, we turned to the very talented Matt Arguello for ad design ideas. He came up with two which have been quite popular (judging by the click-through rates). You may have seen these on their site:

We’d like to thank Edutopia and Matt Arguello for their help promoting organic, participant-driven professional development worldwide!

Happy Thanksgiving,

The Edcamp Foundation

The rise of Edcamps over the past few years has led many to wonder about how this model aligns with the tenets of effective professional development. Well, the Edcamp Foundation has put together a brief research report that begins to qualitatively analyze the Edcamp Phenomenon.

Have you ever wondered how all these awesome edcamps actually came to be?

Have you ever wanted a place to ask questions, before you even got started?

Maybe you’d like to plan one of your own – but don’t know where to begin (or, if an Edcamp is already being planned in your area).

Sure, the edcamp wiki is helpful, but, let’s face it … you need answers. RIGHT NOW.

This September, Springfield, MO will host the first ever student-led Edcamp. High school juniors, Theo Shuler and Lydia Smith of The Summit Preparatory School of Southwest Missouri, are leading the organizing team for the education-centered unconference. The duo will be responsible for planning, marketing, and seeking sponsors this summer, as well as facilitating on the day of the event.

Summit Prep teacher, Patrick Misterovich is supervising the pair’s service learning project. “A big part of my teaching philosophy is to find opportunities for students to gain real-world experiences,” explains Mr. Misterovich. “The Edcamp DIY philosophy provides a great opportunity for Lydia and Theo to demonstrate their ability to lead a large-scale project, independently.”

This will be the first Edcamp in Springfield, MO, home of Missouri’s largest school district. Springfield is in the middle of the Ozarks and the unconference will draw from a region of 300,000 people. The students are working in cooperation with Professional Development leaders, administrators, and teachers from across the Ozarks to plan and promote Edcamp Springfield.

As students in a 1:1 laptop school, Lydia and Theo are incorporating their daily experiences with social media and web 2.0 tools in the planning process. They have already recruited a team of their classmates to record each breakout session and post the notes and pictures online. They hope to utilize their daily experience working with technology in the development of Edcamp Springfield.

The event will be hosted at The Summit Prep on September 22, 2012, and is free to all registrants. To register online, you can visit their website: www.edcampspringfield.org or follow them on Twitter: @edcampsgf.