JedcampNJNY Returns - With a Full Year of Events!

After last April's highly successful JedcampNJNY in Paramus, New Jersey (see here for more), one of the most common reactions was either "When is the next one?" or "Why didn't I know about that - I would have loved to attend!"  Clearly, the model of an open-ended, participant-driven, free day of professional development (with good food) had struck a chord with many people, much as the Edcamp movement continues to grow and expand to an ever-growing list of cities.

To try to address that desire for more opportunities for professional development, JedcampNJNY will be offering a full complement of activities this coming year.  Our overall goal is to continue to expand the community that has been formed through the #Jedchat hashtag on Twitter, through various online groups such as YU2.0 and YUHSChinuch, and through Jedcamp itself, and to be able to maintain momentum throughout the year while providing several opportunities for people to participate, connect, and share with colleagues from around the region.

First and foremost, JedcampNJNY - Brooklyn is just 10 days away!  Under the leadership of Rabbi Michael Bitton (@RabbiMBitton) and David Galpert (@dgalpert), our opening Jedcamp of the year promises to be at least as exciting and dynamic as the last one.  The event will take place at Magen David Yeshiva High School in Brooklyn on Sunday October 20th, and you can fill out your free registration at this link.

Following Jedcamp, we are introducing a series of "Night Activities".  These events will be shorter and more focused in nature, and will not always follow a strict Jedcamp format.  On November 20th, Yehuda Chanales (@chanales) of Torah Academy of Bergen County will be hosting an evening dedicated to discussing Learning, Spirituality, and Inspiration in the 21st Century.  On December 18th, Shira Leibowitz (@shiraleibowitz) of Solomon Schechter in Queens will be organizing an evening dedicated to discussing educational technology and social media.  We are working as well to confirm a third Night Activity in February.  Further information about all of these evenings, including how to register, will be disseminated through the various networks in the weeks preceding the events.

Finally, our year will be capped off in May by a second Jedcamp, hosted at the Frisch School in Paramus, NJ by Tzvi Pittinsky (@techrav) and Tikvah Wiener (@tikvahwiener).  Our hope is that the plethora of events will allow as many educators as possible to take part at least once and to thereby add themselves to a growing network of Jewish educators who are perpetually linked and always have someone to turn to to discuss whatever is on their mind about Jewish education.