On craft fair weekend in Northwest Arkansas, educators are invited to hone their own craft by attending the 2015 EdCampNWA from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 17, at Bentonville High School North Building, 1801 Southeast J St. The free event is sponsored by Bentonville School District and the Educational Renewal Zone of the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas.

Registration is available online.

Participants may stay for part of the day or for the entire event, which will include a free breakfast, four breakout sessions, and door prizes during the wrap-up.

EdCamp is a free "unconference" event organized by groups of educators, specifically designed to create a participant-driven, fun-filled day of professional development. Educators can connect with like-minded individuals, collaborate on ideas, brainstorm solutions to common education problems, have group discussion, and receive information that can be immediately applied in the classroom. Sessions are determined the morning of the event, and there are no prescheduled presentations or keynotes. The goal is to keep sessions spontaneous, interactive and responsive to everyone's needs.

The first EdCamp was in 2010 when a group of teachers came together in Philadelphia. Since that time, EdCamp has grown into a multi-country movement with hundreds of EdCamps organized every year. The EdCamp model has impacted more than 50,000 teachers and their students in over 140 cities across America and abroad.

The Educational Renewal Zone has been working to gather door prizes, including fun Razorback items along with other useful items, according to Priscilla Wetzel, program coordinator. The ERZ is also providing free breakfast and snacks.

"Last year, over 100 educators from three states participated in the EdCampNWA inaugural event," said Vicki Collet, assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Collet is a member of the ERZ Advisory Board and is involved in organizing the conference.

"We hope to expand the conference to give educators across the region the opportunity to share effective teaching strategies and work collaboratively," she said.

Collet can be reached for questions about EdCampNWA at collet@uark.edu.