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.

Facebook: A New Adventure!

While I enjoy the social aspect of Web 2.0, there was a long period where I avoided the popular Facebook. Besides my desire to disconnect every once in a while, I really didn't see the value of it. As most Facebook stories go, an old and true friend encouraged me to join so we could stay connected. Over the past months I have reconnected with old school friends, added members of my PLN, got updates from relatives I never see,and have expanded to work colleagues that I actually like. Then it happened...a few students made friend requests. I had no idea what to do so I let them stay in the request list while I turned to my PLN for their opinions.

On the Twitter end it was a 50/50 split. There were strong advocates against the idea and some that were brave enough to admit that they had student FB friends. On the Plurk side there were many more who were FB friends with students, but with conditions. Many would only become friends with former students and only if they had graduated from high school. So even though the majority did not seem to be in favor of friending high school students, I decided to take the risk and try it out. It helped to know I could put all the students in a list and limit what they see. Not that I was too worried about me since I try to be careful about what I post, but I did not want them to have access to my friends and what they decide to post.

Now for the bigger risk: I have decided to see if Facebook can be a valuable extension of the classroom. One of my dreams is to have students continue to share their creations after the quarter class is over. So I set up a private FB group for students to discuss and share. This is just a part of a plan to make my class more connected with a new Twitter account and Google Voice Number.

There are a lot of precautions to take, but I think this has great potential. It is the risk taking that makes a new school year exciting. Whether it becomes a success or a failure, the results will be right here.