I ran TeachMeet Nashville last April and it was an amazing learning experience. I’ve written about TeachMeets and other unconferences like EdCamp and NTCamp several times on this blog. If you are new to this blog, an unconfernce is a free and open conference. TeachMeet is one specific type of unconference. Anyone can sign up to attend or present. There is never any cost for anyone; sponsors make the whole thing possible, although you will not be harassed by sponsors at the event.
First, I need to thank my awesome team. They are great and it is a privilege to work with them. In alphabetical order, they are:
- Aaron Eyler
- Alex Rosenwald
- Chrissi Miles
- Greg McVerry
- Mike Ritzius
- Nicolae Borota
- Rachel Evans
- Stephanie Mechman
This TeachMeet is going to have a very specific and distinctive style. First, taking a cue from several successful conferences and unconferences, there is going to be a dedicated Blogger’s Cafe/Networking area. It is a place to meet other people, hang out, try new tools, and relax. We recognize that networking and building relationships is the most important part of any unconference.
There will be three types of sessions. All of the sessions will be interactive in some way we hope. The first type are 1-hour sessions. Sign-ups for those maxed out in a day, literally. We’ll be announcing the topics shortly.
- Mary-Beth Hertz
- Eric Sheninger
- Bill Brannick
- Dr. David Timony
- Cristina Spiezio
- Aaron Eyler
- Deven Black
- Lyn Hilt
- Patrick Larkin
- Dr. Mary Ann Reilly
- Rich Kiker
There will be 40 15-minute sessions. These are wonderful, fast-paced sessions organized around topical blocks. We can accommodate 4 presenters for each session. Here are the blocks and the presenters who have signed up so far.
- Helping Special Needs Students
- Digital Storytelling
- How to Grow Professionally
- Educational Reform
- Katy Barnicle
- Nicolae Borota
- Lisa Nielson
- Cathy Brophy
- Sarah Daly
- Joel Smith
- Larry Fliegelman
- Erica Hartman
- Innovative Practices in Science Ed
- Alex Rosenwald
- Mike Ritzius and Peter Hooke
- Frank Noschese
- Dave Andrade
- Assessment
- Integrating Art and Music
- Promoting Reflection
- Next Generation Libraries
- Debra Gottsleben
- Janet Bell
- Chris Gibson
We are also going to have 9 1-hour blocks of 5-minute presentations. You do not need to sign-up at all for these, although we do need people to volunteer to moderate the sessions. Basically, another presenter comes up to share their idea every 5 minutes. The topics we are planning to cover are:
- Strategies for Differentiation
- Moderated by Peter Hooke
- How to Improve PD
- Moderated by Andy Marcinek
- Integrating Literacy
- Moderated by Stephanie Mechman
- Community building
- Moderated by Larry Fliegelman
- What can you do with a video camera?
- Web 2.0 Smackdown
- Moderated by Erica Hartman
- Ways to get to know your students better
- Fun ideas for math instruction
- Ways to help students find authentic audiences
- Moderated by Jason T. Bedell
As you can see, there are a lot of amazing people coming from at least 4 states: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. While I will meet many at EduCon in January, I am so beyond excited to meet all the people, some again and some for the first time. Gathering all these passionate people together around a common goal of helping students can only have great results.
Sign-up here. It’s free and there are less than 200 spots left.
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