This summer, I spent a lot of time reading after attending ISTE 2018. I have not been as active of a reader as I would like, but this summer I found my flow again. I started with one which I had owned for several years (The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros) and then that led to another book…which led to another. My fire for teaching burned brighter as I began to dream up new possibilities and ask “What If…?”. And I knew I needed to do something about it.
Many of these books talked about diving (or cannonballing as Tara Martin would say) into something new as a teacher. So I started with Twitter. I had to dip my toes in the shallow end first. What I discovered was AMAZING and beyond what I thought possible. I never imagined that I could be so inspired and connect so easily with teachers around the country and the globe.As I built my PLN, I started to see posts that led me to new resources and ideas. This information allowed me to participate in my first online summit (#HiveSummit) and even watch as Canvas unveiled new resources without leaving my dining room table. I even tweeted at some of the very authors who had led me to take the jump and was beyond excited to see some of my posts retweeted or liked.
But I knew there was still something I needed to dive into. Every book I read talked about blogs. I had started playing with the idea at ISTE, but surely thought it was too bold. And then I kept reading about them. About the power of having a space to share what one has learned with an authentic audience. Something that teachers try to provide students with consistently. And I realized that one of the best things I could do as I embarked on my journey to empowering students through technology was to practice digital participation myself. After some encouragement from a couple teacher friends, I decided to take the plunge.
So here it is. My very first blog post.
And still I am learning…
Love, Write, Learn 