To Deserve or Not Deserve

I have heard the word "deserve," quite a bit lately as others found out that I will be receiving one of ISTE's Emerging Leaders award at this year's conference in San Diego. Technically I knew since early April and tried to keep it under wraps for as long as possible. Words cannot express how grateful I am from all of the lovely messages from my PLN who really made me the educator I am today. At the same time, I am still wondering whether "deserve," is the right word? It seems more like I found the golden ticket to a career I really enjoy.

"Lucky" might be a better word. It seems like some of the events that put me where I am right now was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Before being a Tech Integration teacher, I was teaching sixth graders to be true readers and writers. Just happened to be one of the few teachers that would put in the work with the mobile labs. So I was offered the new position and lucky to have an AMAZING, supportive supervisor that has put up with me for five years. Lucky to win so many grants to build up from a set of desktop computers to a multimedia lab.

"Fortunate" would definitely describe my journey of instructional technology. The DEN, Discovery Educator Network, has been so wonderful to me over the years! Some of the absolute best people in my PLN, I met at a DEN event. Not only did they share their expertise, but they have the best positive attitude about changing the world of education one classoom, school at a time. Being a Google Certified Teacher and Trainer has expanded my network to include more fantastic educators. As I see so many tweets from those that can't make this year's ISTE conference, I am fortunate that I have been able to attend 5 years in a row.

When I submitted my application at the beginning of this year, I knew I didn't "deserve" any award. There are so many young educators that are working hard to try and change the face of education, they deserve awards too. Going through the application was actually the best part because I could reflect on what has happen and decide where I want to go in the future. When I submitted the application and now receiving the award, there is so much more to do. I vow to work even harder to earn the word "deserve."

Ghosts of Conferences Past

As I sit here unable to sleep and not yet packed even though I am leaving later today, I started thinking about my experiences from previous NECC/ISTE conferences. Still a relative newbie to other attendees, each conference was a completely different experience for me. Looking back there were some lessons I learned that will hopefully make ISTE 2011 in Philly an even better experience.

San Antonio 2008: Complete Newbie

I sat at home online when I read about NECC in Atlanta and was determined I needed to go to this conference the following year. It was an overwhelming experience, I was too afraid to talk to anyone, and I was completely worn out trying to go to every session. Despite those three factors, I enjoyed the trip. The Riverwalk was so much fun and I loved the history of San Antonio.

D.C. 2009: In my neighborhood

This was the conference where I ventured into the Bloggers' Cafe and learned more there than most of the sessions I attended. I attempted to get over the shyness and that only happened in spurts. There was a new problem, I spent too much time with people I knew and worked with in the district. I love them, but I missed out on a lot of new connections.

Denver 2010: New Adventure

Third time around I felt a little more confident and I actually presented. I had a lot of fun because I said, "yes" more often than "no." This was the first time I had a room mate and I think that pushed me to venture out more. There were times that others diminished my confidence, but I blame myself for that.

So what can I gather from all this:

1. I do have a room mate this year.

2. I have said, "yes" to a lot already and "no" will be erased from my vocabulary.

3. Since the conference is close to home, I will limit my time with work colleagues.

4. I will take time to enjoy the city, even though I have been to Philly many times.

5. Balance sessions with informal conversations.

6. I am gonna be me and not worry about what others think.

May Philly 2011 be the best conference so far.

2009 is my hope for 2010

Of course this time is a great time to be reflective and figure out if 2009 was a good year or the one that I will slip away quietly. There were many events that I found about 2009 to be personally rewarded.


Feeling closer to my network: This was the latest addition, but one I felt should top the list. I am truly blessed to have a wonderful network of people that I can learn from everyday.


Article about Grants: The unexpected surprise of someone outside of my school and PLN finding out about my plans to bring new technology to the school. The best part was that students were the focus of the reporter and photographer. They were the whole reason for all of that work.


Finishing Grad School: The other day I realized that I earned three degrees in one decade. I can't say that I found all of the answers in formal education, but it did give me a great foundation to be a reflective educator.


Becoming the Tech Liaison: This has been a great lesson in leadership and learning about the needs of my school.


ISTE 2010 Acceptance Email: This was an amazing surprise since I never expected to have my first proposal accepted. What was even better was that PLN bud Ken Shelton brought up the idea of working on a proposal during a rough tech moment at my school and helped me through the whole process. The icing on the cake is having an amazing panel to converse with during ISTE '10.


The Last NECC Conference: It was local this time which made it a different experience than San Antonio. I had the best of both worlds by spending more time with those I rarely get to see in my district and from across the country.


The Last MICCA Conference: At the time I didn't know this would be the last one due to the name change to MSET. It was a perfect ending because it was my best experience at MICCA. Of course it was the people that made it a cloud nine experience. I am so grateful to have a local sect of my PLN that give me the courage to push my own limits.


Powering Up with Technology: While I can't say this has been highlight in my presenting experience, there were some definite highlights! Spending a day with my favorite techies, supporting a new presenter, and seeing Aaron Smith, the Art Guy, win a netbook only to rid it of Windows XP was worth it.


DEN Leadership Council: This is still a work in progress, but a great lesson on being a member of a group.




The best part about all of these events is that they make me excited for 2010. I like the idea of a fresh start and new adventures. While I spent days trying to find an inspiring ending to this post and 2009, I think I will borrow the words from my High School/Facebook friend Scott:

My resolution for 2010 is to let no day this year go wasted. I hope all the people close to me find a little bit of happiness in every day of the year and on some days a lot.

Am I normal?

If last week was any indication, the answer is a resounding no! My favorite time this past school week was when I had an opportunity to meet with other district techies to discuss the possibilities of the Livescribe pen in schools. I love brainstorming and being around people that are thinking ahead rather than backwards or worse those that complain about the present. It refreshed my spirit to think that technology is still moving forward while I spend my days reviewing the functions of Study Island or resetting accounts.

Then the end of the week marked the Powering Up with Technology conference in my district. Another opportunity to be around people that "get it." Not just the experts, but even the newbies inspire me because they see the value of technology in education and they are willing to give up their time and money to pursue knowledge.

I gave up a night of potential fun Friday so I could be at my best for this conference. I don't expect the people that went out that night to "get it." One of them even was even rude about after the fact. That is okay because I had a great time Saturday and that is a hundred times better than a night that most of them are not going to remember in the morning.

So if you are normal too, embrace it! Normal is boring and won't change the current state of education. I will continue to enjoy my differences and try to surround myself with people that see the big picture whenever possible. MSET and ISTE are too far away! :-(

The Week in Review

Since I waited all week to post, here is a week's worth of thoughts in one post. Sorry if this seems confusing, but it is an insight into how the brain works.




Steve Dembo has an interesting blog that I try to keep up with, but there was a recent entry about the pathway to becoming an expert that stuck with me. I have always struggled with this term and think that it is too loosely used (that might be the overly critical side of me). In the masses of NECC I will be labeled a newbie, maybe intermediate user. (BTW, don't you hate those technology user surveys you get at your school? On those I have to pick expert level based on the questions, which makes me feel bad like I am bragging. ) At my school, I am almost past expert and onto guru status. I am the one who is in charge of the school's website, newspaper, anything that needs to look nice to go out to parents, and emergency tech support. Of course I have to go to all technology trainings, not because I need them, but to train the staff in a user-friendly way. While most would probably feel proud of this level, it makes me sad for a couple of reasons. One reason is that I am the best in technology the school's got, that is a shame since I am no where near a expert. The second reason is that nobody else steps up, there are a few others that understand technology, but don't help others. Probably the worst part, which is selfish, is that don't have the collaborative environment that will help me grow. I guess that is why so many have turned to cyberspace for their personal learning environments.

Now onto the NECC controversy......

If you don't already know (which I can't imagine if have used the Internet in the past 5 days) NECC posted a set of regulations that required anybody recording sessions to get permission from the presenter and ISTE. Blogs, twits, and the NECC Ning set afire with postings about how unfair this policy was considering ISTE is suppose to encourage global collaboration. It was amazing to see the power of this community. Through a vigorous campaign, ISTE actually changed this policy to only require the permission of the presenter to record.

If anyone reads this, please don't hate me for what I am about to blog.... While I agree that ISTE was wrong for changing the rules at this late date, I kind of understand their position. To me it was brought forward when plans were underway to ustream as many sessions as possible and that is already on top of numerous podcasts. I think the organization was afraid of all of the endless possibilities, which is a topic we are struggling with as the ways to communicate expands. Many excused them of worrying about the profits, but on my hopeful side I think that they were worried about their presenters. These people work hard to prepare and maybe ISTE was worried that hard work would end up on YouTube or re-created for a local presentation. Even though I don't mind the conference being open, I imagine some do considering the costs of attending. Plus, ISTE deserves some credit for being as open as they are with posting all resources from sessions, supporting the lounges, the ning, and even the unplugged conference. I have never seen that at any other conference I have attended.

Lastly, my progress into 2.0---

I have been trying to reply more in Twitter. Not that I am sure if anyone cares about my 1 cents worth. I really enjoy the NECC ning because I get great advice and all of the interesting discussions. I think that I want to join more nings because of the format and collaboration.





So excited!!!!! NECC is almost here!!!!!