Wednesday, July 2, 2014

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It is the most wonderful time of the year!  July is one of my favorite months of the year. 
This summer I began by hanging out at the SMU Plano campus and teaching various courses by Black Rocket to excited 3-5th graders (and somewhat excited) 6-8th graders (middle schoolers are just a little different.  I have had a blast though!  So far I have taught Coding (HTML, CSS, and a little bit of Java) and creating applications using Construct 2.  In a couple of weeks I will be teaching a Minecraft class! 






Anyway.. so July is my favorite because...
-I get to see my family!  The first week of July I usually make the trek to Amarillo with one of my partners in crime Misty to hang out with family and of course see friends.
-ATPE Summit is in July. I have always been a member of ATPE, but after going to Summit last year I realized how  much ATPE really does for me as a teacher.  This next year I will even be the president of the Irving ATPE. I wrote about last years Summit here This year I am even presenting (and I am super honored to be a finalist for an award too!)


But.... DRUMROLL PLEASE...


My most favorite part of July is PODSTOCK!
Now, I know that some people like to go to Spas to relax and rejuvenate .. but I am one of those crazy people that love to go to conferences.. and Podstock is my most favorite of all!
Podstock is not just a conference.. it is my family. It is 3 days of meeting others that are as excited about technology in education as I am.  It is also the time for me to not feel out of place because of my quirkiness.  Each year is a different theme, and this year is Super Hero!  I am currently out of town, so having a tough time on the computer that I am using to upload my Super Hero Picture, but you can find it here- But, my Super Hero is "The Busy Bee"  I am always finding the good in all that I meet and BEElieving in them!


So, not only is there a conference.. but there are ton of fun extras you can do too!  Ginger and I just did a whole show to the extras and you can listen to it here. ESSDACK always does an amazing job, but I love that they let me play along and create things too!  Some of the extras that I am helping with:
-John Martin (Edventures) and I are working on a challenge scavenger hunt using Social Scavenger  We will be launching the MCDT (Make, Create, Do, Teach) Challenges on Monday July 14th!  Be following #podstock14 for more information
-I am super excited about the 5th annual Gift Exchange!  Anyone is welcome to join.  All you need is a gift that is under $25 and show up about 5pm on Thursday July 17th.  The most important thing to remember about the gift, it needs to represent you, your classroom or where you are from.  I LOVE hearing the stories behind all of the gifts.
-Podstock Photowalk will be Friday morning July 18th.  We will be meeting at 7am (I know that sounds early.. but it is totally worth it!) and heading out at 7:15am.  Participants joining will be back in time for the first session.


There are of course a ton of other things happening in July and at Podstock.  I will have another blog coming next week of the costumes I am creating so I can transform into "The Busy Bee" (I mean.. what other conference do you get a chance to dress up at!)


What is your favorite conference and why?  Have you attended Podstock before?  Are you going to join in all the fun extras?