It’s now less than a month left before THATCamp SHOT starts, so it’s about time to start proposing sessions. As you may now (and as you can read more about in the THATCamp guide to proposals) we set the schedule for the THATCamp together, at the opening of the event, but we do this based on session proposals that the participants come up with. This website is a good place to do that, and it allows for discussion, comments, and feedback. The key thing is that we do not propose individual talks in these sessions – instead, the session is an opportunity for people to get together to discuss or work on a topic they share an interest in. Each session has a session leader (which is often the person who proposes the session).
There are roughly four things people do in THATCamp sessions: Talk, Make, Teach and Play. Sometimes one session contains elements of all these, but it’s also a fair taxonomy for THATCamp sessions. In a Talk session proposal, you offer to lead a group discussion on a topic or question of interest to you. In a Make session proposal, you offer to lead a small group of hands-on collaborative working session with the aim of producing a draft document or piece of software. In a Teach session, you offer to teach a skill, either a “hard” skill or a “soft” skill. In a Play session, anything goes – you suggest literally playing a game, or you suggest some quality group playtime with one or more technologies.
The THATCamp proposal guide has several examples of such sessions. If you look at these proposals, you can also see how other participants actively comment and signal their interest in such sessions. Please do the same with the THATCamp SHOT proposals – this will ensure that we can have an efficient and productive unconference! The only set thing at the THATCamp is opening, lunch, and ending – the rest is up to us!
I’m still thinking about this but I’d like to talk with others about “Ed Tech” and the increasing use of “technology in the classroom” and beyond such as MOOCs and the like.