Thursday, June 8, 2017

Here’s To The Ones Who Dream… by Debbie Fucoloro


This Saturday, June 10, 2017, the third #EdcampMagic will convene. How is EdcampMagic different than other edcamps? EdcampMagic was founded by a group of educators who are inspired by Walt Disney and who dreamt up the idea of holding an edcamp at Walt Disney World while chatting on Twitter one night. Like the Robert John Meehan quote, above, when you attend any edcamp, you will find ‘teachers who uplift you, whose presence inspire you and whose dedication drives you.’ At all edcamps, amazing participants come together to learn and become better educators for our students, the future of the world. We come together to learn and discuss how to inspire another generation of humans to use their talents and skills to make the world a better place, and most importantly, at EdcampMagic we come together to dream. The difference between regular edcamps and EdcampMagic is that we are a ‘destination’ edcamp. We have people attending from all over the country as well as outside of the USA. We come together to celebrate the creativity, innovation and the art of storytelling that Walt Disney embodied and inspired.


Dream . . .

Lately, I have been inspired by the idea of bringing together diverse groups to solve problems. In other words, knocking down silos and celebrating the the talents, skills, and perspectives others can bring to the table. This theme has been explored in a variety of media. Here are a few of my favorites:


Tomorrowland:

Though not a perfect film, I was inspired by the ending in a way no other film has touched me. Long story short, we can make a difference in the world. We all have talents, and we need to develop and use them to make the world a better place. The film ends as a new group of people scour the Earth for the next generation of dreamers. These new problem solvers included a street musician, mechanical engineer, zoologist, urban gardener, judge, sidewalk artist, mathematician, wind farm engineer, ballerina, chemist, and hiker. I loved that the new problem solvers were such a diverse group with such a diverse set of talents and skills. https://youtu.be/2pXlMUyH9gs


The Medici Effect by Frans Johansson

This book was recommended to me by Rebecca Hare. I love it because it celebrates and encourages ‘...people from different fields coming together to find a place for their ideas to meet, collide, and build on each other.’



LA LA LAND

Audition: The Fools Who Dream, could be an anthem for the maker movement. It's certainly celebrating 'fools who dream.' The next line, 'Who knows where it will lead us? And that's why they need us.' YES! All of this talk of dreams and bringing together diverse people to allow their ideas to meet, collide, and build on each other is what we need more of in education! Makerspaces can provide the gateway into schools and hopefully, eventually the entire culture of the school begins to change...'Who knows where it will lead us? And that's why they need us!'


EdcampMagic is a labor of love for the EdcampMagic Edmagineers. We had the courage to dream of holding an edcamp at Walt Disney World, and here we are, on the eve of our third EdcampMagic! We have many people and organizations who have supported us, and to those people, we say, THANK YOU! Most of all, we thank the EdcampMagic participants who have overwhelmed us with their excitement, creativity, and encouragement.



This Saturday, June 10, 2o17, we hope EdcampMagic participants bring their curiosity with them. We hope participants are inspired and uplifted by each other. Most of all, we hope each and every participant leaves with the courage to dream about how to inspire their students.



Cross posted on https://theeducatorscafe.com/2017/06/07/heres-to-the-ones-who-dream/