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?