I entered this year with renewed energy just like I have the past two years. Summer is incredibly rejuvenating. Over break, I enjoyed exploring Twitter (an AMAZING source of 24/7 professional development) and coming up with all sorts of new things to try this year.
I tried to incorporate Instagram last year, but wasn't very successful. I am taking on that challenge again. Instead of posting photos of my daughter during my maternity leave (like I did last year), I am determined to use Instagram in a much more academic manner this year. There are seemingly endless possibilities. Here is a photo of some of the ideas I wrote down while researching a bit.
Speaking of both Twitter and Instagram...
While at our Dublin Leadership Academy, I met our new superintendent, Dr. Todd Hoadley. I was attending a PD session titled #dubchat, and Dr. Hoadley came in, sat down next to me, and recognized me from Twitter. How cool is that!? We got to talking about social media and he asked me if I knew anything about Instagram. Of course I do! I'm only slightly OBSESSED (*Note: I have over 1,200 photos on my personal account). Because of my knowledge (obsession) with Instagram, I was invited to Central Office to help create a Dublin City Schools account. The whole experience invigorated me and made me feel valued in such a huge school district despite only having three years of teaching experience. I'm very lucky to work in such a wonderful district -- one that welcomes all new ideas.
One of my summer ideas is to have students blog. I've hit some roadblocks, but I'm not giving up. So we'll consider that 'to be continued..." :)
