We’re finally back into the swing of things at my school, which means our attention is turning from ironing out first week kinks to maintaining a smooth and steady course.  It’s business as usual (which is never usual, as you likely know), and one of the things we need to keep track of every year is our professional development opportunities.  If you’re in the NY/NJ/PA area, I’ve got two upcoming events that I hope will be of more value to you than your typical “sit & git” PD conferences.

Edscape

Edscape is the brainchild of Eric Sheninger, principal of New Milford (NJ) High School and one of my co-conspirators collaborators on Edcamp Leadership.  From Edscape’s “About” page:

Edscape is a conference intended to bring together passionate educators who firmly believe that innovation is essential to increasing student engagement and achievement. Innovation begins with a desire to change. Edscape will provide attendees with the inspiration, strategies, and the confidence to actively pursue a transformation in teaching and learning practices.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Innovation Now”. We will explore how learning environments can be established to promote critical thought, inquiry, problem solving, and creativity. Attendees will leave with a greater sense of how to authentically engage all learners through meaningful and relevant instruction.

The list of presenters reads like a “Who’s Who” of forward-thinking educators on social media; a keynote from George Couros and workshops from Steven Anderson and Shelly Terrell are worth the price of admission alone.  Edscape is held at New Milford High School in New Milford, NJ, on October 19, 2013, and tickets are $35; see the website for further details and registration info.

EdcampNJ

EdcampNJ is looking to build on its success from last year as one of the best attended Edcamps to date (not the best, as I erroneously Tweeted at the time).  EdcampNJ, like all Edcamps, utilizes the “unconference” model to empower attendees to have the professional learning experience they want – the session schedule is constructed by participants the morning of the event, and – as always – the Rule of Two Feet applies: if you’re sitting in a session that isn’t meeting your needs, it is OK to get up and find another one that does – in fact, it’s expected.  EdcampNJ is held at Linwood Middle School in North Brunswick, NJ on November 23, 2013.  Admission is free, but you must register in advance due to space limitations; see the website for further details and registration info.