Meet Shawna Meyer, 5th and 6th Grade Advanced Mathematics Teacher

What’s your first and last name?

  • Shawna Meyer

What do you teach / what is your ‘title’ at school?

  • 5th and 6th Grade Advanced Mathematics Teacher

How are you involved in education?

  • I am the 5th and 6th grade advanced mathematics teacher at Washington Elementary in Clinton, OK. I keep my students actively engaged and challenge them daily to develop their critical thinking skills through creative learning.

What does your ideal school or classroom look like?

  • My ideal classroom has various types of seating arrangements, including standing desks, so that my students may work where they will learn the best. Though engaging activities are incorporated into each lesson, my ideal classroom has high expectations and a reliable consequence guideline that the students are fully aware of. Ideally, my classroom is a place where making mistakes is not only respected, but encouraged. Communication, collaboration, and creative thinking are all active components of my ideal classroom.

If you were to lead a session at Edcamp, what would it be about?

  • How incorporating and talking up engaging activities is a key factor in classroom management.

Are you on Twitter?

If you are attending EdCampOKC, we’d love to feature your information here too! Please submit this contribution form, including a small photo we can use in your post.

Meet Bonnie LaFountaine, 4th Grade Reading Teacher

What’s your first and last name?

  • Bonnie LaFountaine

What do you teach / what is your ‘title’ at school?

  • 4th Grade Reading Teacher

How are you involved in education?

  • 4th Grade Reading Teacher
  • First year in Oklahoma

If you were to lead a session at Edcamp, what would it be about?

  • Adapting/flexibility – This means communication. Communicating with peers, the willingness to adapt teachings, the willingness to grow… Because, how many teachers have seen the homes with the black the trash bags covering the windows and all of the lights off? Been inside the homes and felt the bugs jump off of your legs?
  • K-8 are ELEMENTARY school teachers. It’s disheartened to hear a teacher say (after being departmentalized) they cannot teach a subject. We are not effective teachers when we do not put our skills to use. Yes, we CAN BE more effective in certain areas. NEVER should we say we can’t teach a subject.
  • Understand that we cannot teach every student the same (discipline, grading). Adapt to a child’s, parent’s, co-worker’s circumstances and be flexible.
  • BUT, consistency.

If you are attending EdCampOKC, we’d love to feature your information here too! Please submit this contribution form, including a small photo we can use in your post.

Incredible Prizes at EdCampOKC on March 4, 2017

Are you ready for the BEST EdCamp experience EVER?! Help us get the word out about our fifth annual EdCampOKC coming to Del City High School on Saturday, March 4, 2017! FREE registration is available via EventBrite. Our 5th EdCampOKC will not only feature four sessions of self-directed learning and conversations about education topics YOU choose, it will also include AMAZING prizes! Our prize list continues to grow, but already includes:

  1. Five (5) iPad Minis
  2. Two (2) 11″ Dell Chromebooks
  3. One (1) Chillbo Baggins Inflatable Lounge Bag Hammock Air Sofa and Pool Float
  4. One (1) Gaiam Balance Ball Chair
  5. Over $350 in gift cards from Amazon, WalMart and Best Buy!

What other EdCamp in the world can offer you prize opportunities like these? That’s right friends, only EdCampOKC! Come for the prizes, stay for the conversations and the learning. EdCampOKC is a FREE Saturday professional development event like no other! Many thanks to our 2017 sponsors who are making all these wonderful prizes available!

Remember that the fun and the learning for EdCampOKC starts on Friday night at our pre-EdCamp tweetup / meetup! No you don’t have to be on Twitter to come, but we promise someone will talk to you about Twitter at some point during the evening! This year we’ll meetup at Buffalo Wild Wings from 7-9 pm (Friday, March 3) at the 5500 Tinker Diagonal, Del City, OK 73115 location.

Want to start your EdCampOKC learning early on Saturday? We’ll have our 2nd annual CoffeeEDU starting at 7 am! Check out our full (and updated) schedule for more details about the day. Lunch this year will be an hour and a half, on your own, with lots of great restaurants near Del City High School. Come back by 12:45 for our first round of prize givaways! Remaining prizes will be given away at 3:30 following our fourth and final session of the day. You must be present to win a prize!

We’ve got another fantastic tshirt design this year, and are again getting the “soft” tshirts you’ll want to wear to school every week! Please order a tshirt by February 26th. You’ll pay online, and pick up your tshirt the day of EdCampOKC.

Finally, please help us spread the word by printing and sharing our marketing flyers at your school! Post these in your lounge, put one up by teacher mailboxes, and give them directly to teachers you know would enjoy and love the EdCamp experience! We rely on word-of-mouth, personal invitations – so help us out and invite several people to join you at EdCampOKC!

Click below to download PDF versions of our TWO marketing flyers for this year. Thanks to Telannia Norfar (@thnorfar) for putting these together for us this year!

Marketing Flyer 1

Marketing Flyer 2

Meet Ruth Haynes, CTE Computer Technology / Teacher at Capitol Hill High School

What’s your first and last name?

  • Ruth Haynes

What do you teach / what is your ‘title’ at school?

  • CTE Computer Technology / Teacher at Capitol Hill High School

How are you involved in education?

  • I am a secondary teacher.

What does your ideal school or classroom look like?

  • Ideally, my classroom would be an environment where students want to learn what I teach. A place where they can learn from me and each other.

If you were to lead a session at Edcamp, what would it be about?

  • I would show educators new updates to Google including Google Classroom and forms.

Are you on Twitter?

If you are attending EdCampOKC, we’d love to feature your information here too! Please submit this contribution form, including a small photo we can use in your post.

Register FREE via EventBrite for EdCampOKC 2017 March 4, 2017

The rumors are true, more Oklahoma EdCamp dreams will be coming true in the new year! Your organizer team for EdCampOKC 2017 is excited to announce FREE registration is now LIVE and available online for our FIFTH Oklahoma City EdCamp coming Saturday, March 4, 2017, to Del City High School in MidDel Public Schools! Please help us spread the word far and wide!

Also order an EdCampOKC 2017 tshirt for just $12! Tshirts will be available for pickup on March 4th. The last day to order is Sunday, February 26th.

Mark your calendar and plan to join us for a fantastic day of self-directed, EdCamp learning on Saturday, March 4th!

Tweeted Learning from EdCampOKC 2016

We had a great day of learning at EdCampOKC 2016! Check out the Storify of tweets shared throughout the day. There were almost 600! Thanks to everyone for participating and making it a great day of learning! All participants should receive an email with information about how to submit our 2016 evaluation form and obtain a professional development certificate as an email attachment.
 

Meet Jennifer Williams, English teacher

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What’s your first and last name?

  • Jennifer Williams

What do you teach / what is your ‘title’ at school?

  • English teacher

How are you involved in education?

  • I eat, sleep (when I do get sleep), and breathe education. I cannot go anywhere or do anything without lesson planning. I am a vocal advocate for equity and equality in education. I also blog regularly about lessons and educational issues.

What does your ideal school or classroom look like?

  • Tables and chairs of some kind that I can easily/freely move around. Brightly colored walls with different art works or interesting student projects. Books everywhere for students to read and enjoy. Space to move around. Structure for students who want it. Freedom for those who want it. I’m okay with it looking like a classroom sans the “institutional” or prison look.

If you were to lead a session at Edcamp, what would it be about?

  • Writing or analysis or GAFE or blogging

Do you have a website or blog?

Are you on Twitter?

If you are attending EdCampOKC, we’d love to feature your information here too! Please submit this contribution form, including a small photo we can use in your post.

Meet Ed Hodge, 5th Grade, instructional Trainer

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What’s your first and last name?

  • Ed Hodge

What do you teach / what is your ‘title’ at school?

  • 5th Grade, instructional Trainer

How are you involved in education?

  • I have been a 5th grade teacher for 14 years, mostly self-contained. I am a part time instructor at the 8th Floor at Tulsa Tech, OKMATH Leadership Class 1 graduate, Co-Chair for OKMATH & OKSCI ALUMNI, OSTA Board Elementary Director and a NASA EPDC AMBASSADOR FOR STEM EDUCATION. Google For Education Essentials Trainer

What does your ideal school or classroom look like?

  • My ideal classroom is one where students are engaged in a variety of activities. I encourage students to utilize technology in the classroom and at home. My students are engaged in literacy in every core subject. I mix instruction methods up to keep my students active and involved.

If you were to lead a session at Edcamp, what would it be about?

  • How to utilize GAFE as a tool not just storage.

Are you on Twitter?

If you are attending EdCampOKC, we’d love to feature your information here too! Please submit this contribution form, including a small photo we can use in your post.

Meet April Gustafson, Ed Tech Integration Specialist

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What’s your first and last name?

  • April Gustafson

What do you teach / what is your ‘title’ at school?

  • Ed Tech Integration Specialist

How are you involved in education?

  • I have been a classroom Science teacher (shoutout to my Middle School Peeps!) and have transitioned into the role as tech integration specialist for John Marshall since June! I love tech, teachers, students, and learning! #bears1to1 #chromebooks4life

What does your ideal school or classroom look like?

  • My ideal classroom is busy (this makes me laugh) I want to see smiles, laughter, focus, and excitement. I want students to have access to anything they can imagine and be able to ask and share everything on their minds!

If you were to lead a session at Edcamp, what would it be about?

  • Google Extensions, Google Classroom as online PD

Do you have a website or blog?

Are you on Twitter?

If you are attending EdCampOKC, we’d love to feature your information here too! Please submit this contribution form, including a small photo we can use in your post.

Meet Debbie Matney, Sixth Graders, English

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What’s your first and last name?

  • Debbie Matney

What do you teach / what is your ‘title’ at school?

  • Sixth Graders, English

How are you involved in education?

  • This year I teach the English Writing “side” of the English Language Arts block at Central Middle School in Bartlesville.I helped implement during-the-school day clubs (we rolled that out this year) for every student, sixth-eighth grade.

    I’m assistant director for our school play.

    I have a student teacher this semester.

    I follow and participate in “The Twitters” – #oklaed and #txed quite a bit.

What does your ideal school or classroom look like?

  • My ideal sixth grade classroom would look more like the traditional elementary school classroom. I’d have the same one or two groups of students for half of the day or, better yet, the entire day. I dream of incorporating all sorts of writing (haiku, reflection pieces, tweeting, blogging – you name it) into the instruction of math, science, and social studies.P.E., Art, and Music would happen every day – even if it looked more like recess, some creative photography, and plastic recorders (remember those?!) in the classroom.

    We’d be a connected classroom with a balance of technology and old school, hands on materials.

    While we’re in the land of the ideal, massage therapy chairs (those super cool high dollar ones) for teachers would be FANTASTIC. We could share – no need for one per teacher per classroom – I’d be okay with having a few in the teacher’s lounge.

If you were to lead a session at Edcamp, what would it be about?

  • Gradual Release of Responsibility – for student teachers. What does that look like? How do mentor teachers best facilitate? How do we work within the current system of teacher preparation to best prepare soon to be teachers for the classroom?Finding the balance between teacher led and student driven instruction.

    Teaching 21st century skills on the days you don’t have access to 21st century tools.

Are you on Twitter?

If you are attending EdCampOKC, we’d love to feature your information here too! Please submit this contribution form, including a small photo we can use in your post.