Every once in a while, you hear an idea that inspires you. Several months ago I heard about Edcamp, an "unconference" for teachers. It began, says co-founder Kevin Jarrett, as an idea, inspired by teachers who attended Barcamp (another type of unconference). They ran the first edcamp last year and just had their second this spring. In between this model for professional development has spread throughout North America (you can see a full list on the right side of the edcamp Wiki). I began wondering if it would be possible to do an edcamp in Toronto? I wasn't the only one. Just days later, I saw Stephen Hurley's Tweet, asking if anyone wanted to help organize edcamp Toronto. I emailed him right away and the planning committee met for the first time on June 18, 2011. The above photograph is a collage of pictures I took during that first meeting.

The planning has officially begun. We have a tentative date (October 15, 2011), a great team and a shiny new logo (logo by: Nathan Chow):

We're currently looking for sponsors and a venue and working on our website. If you want more detail about our planning meeting, take a look at Heidi Siwak's post. There was a lot to think about after that day and we're still expanding on topics first touched on in that initial meeting. If you want to know more about what an edcamp looks like in practice, take a look at EdcampPhilly and True Life Media's video from the original event:

I'll post more information as it becomes available. In the meantime, you can follow @EdcampTO on Twitter, or be a part of the conversation at the hashtag #EdcampTO. We'd love to hear from you!