Summer Recap

I can't believe that tomorrow starts my 10th year at Irving ISD!  That means at the end of this year I will have been in a school system for 13 years.. and wow how times have changed in just that short amount of time!  I will be posting a blog about goals for this year this week. (I apologize now for the long post :) Just know that there are a TON of other pictures and information)

This summer
-I had a chance to attend and present at the Region 10 ATPE Convention
-I had a chance to spend almost a week in Canyon with my family and Misty
-I was able to attend the State ATPE Summit where I won Support Staff of the Year!
-I spent 3 days with my amazing Podstock Family
-I was able to attend the Destination ImagiNation Ignite conference and met some awesome new people.
Since I have been a terrible blogger this summer.. I am going to give my fave 3 from each event!

Region 10 ATPE Convention:

1. Had a chance to hang out with some of the best people!

2. Learned about the changes that are happening in ATPE

3. Had a chance to present (and even did an okay job even though my computer crashed that morning!)

Canyon with Misty- I can't even begin to think of my top 3! If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you can find my hundreds of pictures there :)

ATPE Summit 2014

1. Had a chance to sit in and vote on what I wanted our ATPE lobbyist to work on this next year in the House of Delegates.

2. Was reminded again how important it is to be a part of an organization (and ATPE is AMAZING!)

3. Won Support Staff of the Year.. and had a chance to catch up with my best friend Lesley!

Podstock 2014

This year the theme for Podstock was Super Heroes.  So, I transformed into the Busy Bee (are you surprised?)  Podstock this yeas was very different for myself.  I am a Podstock Stalker (I often call myself a Podstalker)  It was amazing as always.  For myself.. I felt a little out of place (NO.. this is not a bad thing what so ever!) There were so many amazing people there.. and they were all making their own amazing Podstock memories.  It took me a long time to reflect on this.  I read the Twitter feed, Facebook feed, and all the blog posts and realize that although it was different for me other newbie Podstockers were seeing the greatness of the connections!

1. LOVE seeing all my friends old and new.. I mean my FAMILY!  Podstock is where I am rejuvenated!

2. Great extra events- I LOVED the Pinewood Derby (and of course I loved the Gift Exchange and Photowalk) and our new Scavenger Hunt!

3. Not going to lie.. my costume sort of rocked :)

Destination ImagiNation Ignite Conference

I have been a Destination ImagiNation Team Manager for 6 years now (at least.. I think 6) and this year I was able to attend a one day conference.

1. Able to connect with people from around the world! It was such a global conference!

2. Learned some new ideas to use this next year for our own DI teams at Elliott

3. Had a great evening with a new friend Peter

This summer I also had a chance to work for SMU at various technology camps.  It was a busy summer (but I don't think I would know how to spend my time if I wasn't busy!)  

What was your favorite part of your summer?

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?

Countdown to #Podstock and #DENSI2012

This morning is like Christmas! I woke up before my alarm clock went off because I am SO excited about heading to #podstock and #DENSI in just a few hours!

I have been super lucky to have been able to travel so much this last year, but these 2 conferences are ones that I have been looking forward to the most!  So, soon @eplybon will be picking me up so we can start the first leg of our road trip.

Are you going to #Podstock?  If you are.. you should think about joining the #PodstockPhotoWalk that @gingerlewman, @Nedra_I , and I are working on.  If you are joining you should grab this picture for your blog.  Find out more information HERE

Want to follow along in our adventures? Here is how you can do it :)
Follow me on plurk @ilovechefbill
Follow me on twitter @akbusybee
Follow this blog
Follow my Zapd blog for quick updates

With that being said... @eplybon (who you should follow too.. she ROCKS!) will be here in just a few hours.. and I still need to finish packing!

Podstock 2011

I can't even begin to describe the Happiness that Podstock brings me! What other conference do you walk in to are there people to greet you and are genuinely excited to see you.  People that gather together once a year because they realize the importance of a community that cherishes new ideas, welcomes new members, and is a home for all of the educators who need a boost.  


This year I celebrated my 3rd Podstock!  The first year Podstock had a little over 100 people. There were only 3 Texans, and all others were from Kansas.  The 2nd year it grew and more states became involved.  This year there were over 200 people that showed up from 12 different states.  Each blog that I have read reminds of one more piece of Podstock that makes it so important to my heart!  


The first two years of Podstock were geared more towards the 70's. Participants showed up in their hippy clothes and were ready to share ideas.  This year the theme was 50's Diner.  Participants came in poodle skirts, rolled up jeans, and pearls.  People were willing to share ideas in regular sessions and some were even willing to join in and present at unconference sessions.  It was all amazing!  From the very moment you step through the door to get your order taken, to the amazing sessions through the day, to the dance Friday evening and then to the Podstock Flashmob Saturday morning Podstock is the most amazing conference one can go to.  

I have to say though, my mom says it best.  She did research over the 50's and found this.

"In everything I looked up about the 1950's there was always pictures and information about the twirlers and majorettes. They are not like the twirlers today or even in my day. These girls strutted their stuff in parades, pep rallys, and games. but more importantly they were always in the lead...marching at the head of the band, giving the crowd spirit, leading the band to victory for the team. They were revered in their calling! In the 1950's the home school band led the parade and the majorettes and twirlers always came first. 

I know that Kevin is striking up the "bands"

My mom is pretty amazing!  The batons she sent were awesome!

 The friends that I have from Podstock are everlasting.  I am part of the movement!  I am a member of a community that is excited to teach, but also excited to learn the best ways to teach and reach students.  At Podstock you not only join the conversation, you join the family.  Mark your calendars!  334 more days until Podstock 2012 (June 28, 29, 30, 2012)

There are more amazing pictures on the Podstock Ning These are only a few!  

Other great blogs about Podstock 2011! If I have missed one, please share and I will make sure it gets posted!

Ginger

Mitch

Brad

Elaine