Barker’s PLN Awards

award

photo credit: tome213

Lately I’ve heard that end of the year lists are tacky. Well then bring on the leopard print, sweat pants with words like “juicy” written across the bum, and Snookie poufs. It’s time to get tacky!

I’ve decided to host my very own awards show and you’re all invited. Tonight I’m giving out awards to the members of my PLN who have been a great help to me over the past year. Now the whole point behind a PLN is that they all help me, but just for fun I want to recognize a few of you.

Miss Congeniality: avivaShe is the most faithful Follow Friday-er I know (next to Doug Peterson) and she always has a kind and supportive word for everyone.

My Personal Cheerleader:dougpete (and probably yours) One of my earliest followers, Doug Peterson is supportive of everything I do and he’s always there to help me when I have a problem. He’s like my Twitter Dad. Is that weird?

Paradigm Shifter: melaniemcbride She’s crazy smart and she really pushes my thinking about situated learning and gaming.

My Brother From Another Mother and Role Model: royanleeCome on. Who wouldn’t want to be like Royan Lee? He’s quiet and humble and innovative. He does amazing stuff with his kids and they’re so lucky to have him as a teacher. We also share an affinity for Thai curries.

Person I’d Have the Most Fun in a Shoe Store With:

alanacallan

angelamaiersIt’s a tie!

Fearless Leader and All-Around Great Guy: thecleversheepI learn a lot from Rodd. This year I learned that he’s also a great public speaker. I’m giving him this award because while a lot of us say things like “hey if we all got together and_________ we could________”, he actually does it.

Super Mom:msjweirDuh. Obviously that would be Jamie Weir. She’s on maternity leave and she’s still passionately pursuing her own professional development (way too much alliteration) and helping to organize events like ECOO. Girlfriend, I am in awe.

Yoda Memorial Award for Mentorship:WendyLJacksonWendy was my associate teacher back in the day when I thought being a teacher was about stickers and sensible shoes. She is still my go to person when I need a sounding board for my ideas. She’s not afraid to tell me when I’m talking crazy talk, and she gives great advice.

Best Ensemble: It’s hard to think of categories for everyone, but I really do need to thank Cyndie Jacobs, Brenda Sherry, Peter McAsh, Mike Mcilveen, John Herbert, Donna Fry, Kent Manning, David Lanovaz, Alanna King, Ben Hazzard, Doug Sadler, Colin Jagoe, Susan Young, Colin Harris, Shannon Smith.

And to all of my PLN, thank you so much for inspiring and motivating me this year. I look forward to learning with you in the year ahead!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Why you should be on Twitter


connections

Photo credit

There are a lot of people who have written great posts about why you should be on Twitter ( Laura Walker

Jason Renshaw to name two).

This is not one of them.

Well, not really.

I just wanted to take a moment to post some screen shots from this weekend. I was working on writing a paper for my graduate class on learning theories where I was asked to imagine what education might look like in the future. My plan was to narrate a day in the life of a typical high school student in 2020 and I wanted an idea of what a 2020 math class might look like. I’m an English teacher. I needed help.

So I posted this

my tweetAnd here was my first reply:

1

And then…3(keep in mind, replies that I’ve taken pictures of in chunks read from the bottom to the top)

3

4It gets better

5

I know it’s a bit confusing to read those chunks from the bottom to the top but you get the idea right? My professional learning network on Twitter makes me a better teacher. Connectivism at work.

You might also want to check out Why would teachers want to use Twitter?

Why Rodd thinks you should be on Twitter: