On Saturday, January 30, 2010, southwest Florida will play host to its first ever barcamp, and I have been given the unique opportunity and privilege to coordinate a parallel event for K-12 students – we’re calling it JuniorCamp. As far as we can tell, this may be the very first barcamp for kids held in the US (and maybe the world). (If you know of others, please let me know) So, we are traveling new territory here. Having never attended a barcamp myself, all I knew about them was what I read on the web and what I saw on video from other barcamps. Of course, with kids, we had the added layer of parental permissions and preparing kids to speak in public – many for the first time.

I decided to start with friends and colleagues whom I knew would be willing to try something completely new and take a risk. I asked my fellow school librarians to identify kids they thought would be willing to share how they are using technology for learning…anything related to technology that they wanted. Six of my colleagues took the challenge and suddenly we had 40 kids signed up to present at JuniorCamp SWFL.

This Saturday they will gather at Edison State College to make history, to share with each other – and any adults that pop in – what they can do with technology, what tricks and tips they know about programming, hardware, software, blogging, creating digital content, doing research and more. I am excited about the event and the opportunity for these students to share and shine.

I’ll let you know how it goes…in the mean-time, wish us all luck!