As 2008 wraps up...

As a blogger I am ashamed that I haven't been posting in awhile, but I think many of us experience this as life gets busier. For me it was the new state technology measurement (this needs it's own post) and finishing another semester of graduate school. I really did miss blogging because of the reflection piece.

This month has been very busy for me on the technology end. I actually got invited to join a district group that is exploring different online conferencing tools. Being the only teacher is kind of making me nervous around the heads of testing, library services, and technology. They are great people, don't get me wrong, and I have known many of them before this but I want to show them my best. I used Google Docs to take notes which impressed the group and threw out some ideas that really started some good discussion on the potential of online meeting tools. The only bad part is that it has put my head in the clouds about future opportunities outside of the classroom. Since my district's budget is under severe strain, I going to re-focus my efforts on being a great teacher while still making the connections I need to for future opportunities.

Then I great early Christmas present, I won a MICCA grant! I get $600 for some pocket video cameras and memory cards. In return for the grant, I have to present in the poster sessions at the MICCA conference. Unlike other grants I got some extra bonuses, free MICCA membership and free registration to the MICCA conference. The MICCA membership is going to come in very handy when getting a room for NECC. Of course no one at school will care since I have gotten no response on winning the Turning Technologies Grant or on becoming a Google Certified Teacher, but I have gotten to the point that I don't really care. I have a freedom in my computer lab that most teachers have to fight for. I have decided in 2009 I am going to embrace being off the radar to expand the projects in my classes.

So what is next? Yesterday I spent some time on grantwrangler.com and found some good stuff. There are some great contests for my students to enter and I even set up a Google Calendar just to reflect all of the upcoming deadlines. As much as I enjoy the time in my PJs and the laptop, I am excited for school to start again.

A Rock Star Life: Part One

I love music concerts! You get to hear great songs and you get pumped by being surrounded by fans of the same band. You can scream your head off and dance without feeling like a complete idiot. While I have enjoyed every concert I have attended, I never think about the experience from the band's perspective too often. Imagine everybody there to see you, what a high! What about when the crowd goes nuts after a terrific set? Nothing can compare to that kind of rush.

So at this point you might be wondering why all the concert stuff? It relates to this concept Steve Dembo has repeated in different presentations. In simple terms, if you know your tech stuff, then you should be out presenting and sharing. While I know that I am not on the cutting edge, I do know that I am ahead of the mainstream. My thought was to start out small at a district conference just to see of I could actually present to a crowd other than the teachers in my building.

I finally understood what Dembo meant during my Google Apps presentation. The lab was full and people opted to stay by seating in chairs, on the floor, and by standing. I could feel the focus of the group and their excitement from learning something new. Of course my plans kind went out the window in the streams of questions. Lunch time came and pass in the discussions after the presentation. There was just enough time to grab a bottle of water and set up for the Web 2.0 presentation for a full crowd.

The rock star feeling hit me while I was driving home in the rain. It was this rush that I can't fully explain. I turned the radio up and sang my heart out. I want to use this post to remind me of that feeling if I get too afraid to send in a proposal or feel exhausted in the effort to prepare. For those who play Guitar Hero, I think I might be ready to try another venue or another set.

Now to get back to the thirty day challenge.

Thank-You

So, the next challenge posted by Steve Dembo is to write a thank-you email to the person that encouraged you to blog. While I read many blogs like Dembo's and Will Richardson's, it never inspired me to write and continue to write on a blog. I thought I would stretch Steve's assignment to thank those who put me on the path to technology enlightenment.

1. My former AP, S. Frye. Three years ago she was the only admin to attend a local technology conference (the same one I am presenting at this year). There she learned about the middle school technology course that I teach today. Not only did she fight for adding this course at our middle school, I was the only one she had in mind to teach it.

2. The DEN STARs, especially those at the summer National Institute. All of you inspired me to be a better teacher and hopefully a technology leader.

3. My PLN on Plurk. Beside the amazing resources, they are always so supportive through my good days and bad.

From the bottom of my heart, Thank-you!

What is wrong with ClustrMaps?

The Day 2 challenge is to sign-up for a service to get real stats on who visits the blog. This is some pretty serious stuff! Read Steve's Blog to see the rationale, which does make sense.

While my new site meter may tell me more, I still enjoy my ClustrMap. I have enjoyed watching the dots grow across the map and some dots have actually grown larger. Even if the dot came by accident I was glad it was still there. It made me happy to think someone stopped by and may even be feeling the same challenges in their schools. My map encourged me to keep writing and I was glad I added it to my blog.

Only time will tell on how stats will help my blog. I hope it doesn't hurt my blogger self-esteem.