Knowledge and networking were in free flow as more than 160 attended Edcamp Qatar, the definitive “unconference” for educators, at the American School of Doha (ASD), earlier this month. The participant driven learning day camp aims to educate educators on a variety of topics and follows a UN-conference protocol.
The well-attended event was organised by Alisha and Kley Feitosa, Ian Huffaker, Lychelle Bruski, Gretchen Bade, Kelly Retzlaff, Emily Graves, Craig Campbell, Hannah Morz, Peter Kratz, and Lisa Bastedo, with local and international participation.
Alisha Feitosa, one of the organisers, told Community, “The great thing about Edcamp is that it’s differentiated learning for each educator. Interest is usually high because participants get to decide what they want to discuss, and they get to discuss it with educators who have similar questions, issues, and goals. Unlike traditional professional development – in which an ‘expert’ comes in, delivers lectures to a diverse group of teachers, and leaves – Edcamp allows teachers to network and build a professional learning community that is more sustainable and meaningful for them.”
Of the 160 plus participants, educators from India and Lebanon attended, along with teachers from Qatar based schools like Qatar Academy and Doha British School. All iterations of Edcamp are free to attend.
The conference followed a format in which multiple topics were covered in an hour, which included examples such as Twitter for Beginners, Supporting Third Culture Kids, and Music Sharing. Participants could go to whichever subject interested them most and “vote with their feet”, and leave if they wanted to and go to a different session. The ideas for topics came from the participants, and as a result were more relevant to educators within the region, making for a very interesting way of advancing professional development. Following the conference, there was a screening of the film Most Likely to Succeed with a Q&A session with its producer.  
Lychelle Bruski, one of the organisers, explained to Community that Edcamp offers a very informal environment which allows people to ask questions and share ideas. “Edcamp is a great opportunity for educators to talk about the issues that they are interested in discussing because the agenda isn’t set until the day of the conference. Having three sessions allows people to learn about a number of topics in one morning.”
Patricia Klennert, English teacher at ASD, said that the experience was not only meticulously planned by the organisers but the Skype session with the producer of the Most Likely to Succeed also showed how hard the organisers had worked to make it happen. “I didn’t plan on staying the whole day, and I did, which tells you how much I loved it,” said Klennert, adding that it was “a compliment for ASD” to have teachers that are dedicated to learning and collaborating in a kind of professional development that can be done in a way where discussions are more proactive and individualised.
Social studies teacher Gretchen Bade also had an extremely positive experience and said that she would love to be part of putting together another Edcamp. “Currently, I feel it is one of the best authentic professional development experiences I can be a part of. In one of the sessions, we got into a discussion on how interesting an Edcamp for students would be, what the session board would look like, and what conversations would occur,” Bade said.
The vastly positive feedback was reflected by Upper Elementary Learning Support teacher Hannah Morz, who said that Edcamp “opened my world to so many new resources and connections personally and professionally that I can’t imagine my life without Edcamp now.” Bruski said that there is a plan for another conference next year; one that would be even more efficient and run smoother so that more attendees could join in.