100 Twitter Followers!!

Okay, so I know some of you are thinking "Big deal! I have 10K followers!" But, for me this is a big deal. One of my goals is to build my PLN using social media. While it would be easy to be intimidated by people with thousands of followers and give up, I'm going to celebrate the small steps building up to that. Also, this is not about trying to achieve some magic number of followers. It is about putting myself out there and learning. 

One of the first books I read this summer was 140 Tips for Educators: Get Connected, Grow Your Professional Learning Network, and Reinvigorate Your Career by Brad Currie, Billy Krakower, and Scott Rocco. It was FANTASTIC! If you're thinking Twitter is too "hard" or intimidating, trust me I know how you feel! Before reading this book, I had lurked on Twitter, but I was not taking full advantage of the learning opportunities available. The book literally takes you through setting up your account step-by-step and goes on to explain all aspects of the Twitter world. I can't wait to share it with my colleagues!

You can get the book here (affiliate link).

Follow the authors on Twitter 
@bradmcurrie

@wkrakower

@scottrrocco

and don't forget to follow me @techingin and help me reach 200 followers! #140EduTips

Setting Goals

Now that I've had time to decompress from the end of the school year, it's time to start thinking about the upcoming year. Reflecting on my first year in our 1:1 tech pilot, it was exciting and stressful at times. However, it did give me renewed energy for teaching after 15 years. 

I've always enjoyed technology in my personal and professional life, but this year showed me a whole new world of possibilities for integrating tech in my instruction. So, heading into summer I've been working on setting some goals for myself. In the spirit of accountability, here they are:

*Overcome my "fear" of Twitter and grow my PLN using Twitter and other social media. 

*Go back to school for another master's in EdTech (MAET). 

*Read more professional books

*Work on getting Google certified at Level 1

*Blog more consistently :)

*Try to relax (at least a little)

So there they are! Future posts will document my progress. I've already been working hard on a few of them!