The Professional Learning Journal of the Connect Charter School *formerly the Calgary Science School
Innovate West Wrap Up
by Dan McWilliam
Our school is still reverberating from the energy and ideas at Innovate West this past weekend (May 23-25, 2014). This was our third year hosting a connected group of innovative educators from Western Canada and beyond. These educators are the 'grassroots' who have developed a social support network online and Innovate West provides the physical meet up of the social network.
The Conference celebrates people and provides them the time and space to share, discuss and develop innovative ideas for education. The conference format begins with a tour of Connect Charter School classrooms on an operational school day where students and teachers share what they are working on and are available to conference delegates. Facilitated discussions are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday with an emphasis on participation. This connected group of educators continue to work together and inspire each other through the year via social media, Edcamps, networking days, and more.
Thank you to all of those who attended and those who followed online. We would also like to thank Office Solutions Inc. for going above and beyond in providing our internet infrastructure. They were also on hand all weekend to answer questions, troubleshoot issues and to even provide prizes for attendees. Thank you for this past weekend and your ongoing support :)
We would also like to thank Telus Spark for their contributions to the conference. We were so fortunate to have Spark co-host the reception event on the Friday and to have Dr. Devon Hamilton welcome everyone to begin the night. The space was perfect and the food was excellent. Thank you as well to the many Spark team members who attended and presented at the event as well.
Join us for a future Innovate West, the next one is planned for October 24-26, 2014. Check http://innovatewest.ca
Links to some of the reflections and social media about Innovate West:
YouTube Video created by Rick Fawcett http://youtu.be/YbLpQT-kop8
Blog Post Written by Michelle Baldwin on Avenue4learning:
http://avenue4learning.com/2014/06/13/innovate-west-2014/
Blog Post Written by Jesse McLean
http://jessepmclean.com/2014/06/13/collaboration/
Storify tracking some of the traffic on the #iwest hashtag
https://storify.com/DMcWilliam/iwest
Blog Post by Dana Ariss
http://daariss.wordpress.com/2014/05/24/more-questions-than-answers/
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