☀️ Summer Teaching and Learning ☀️

Although summer is coming to an end and we are busy with back to school work, I wanted to take a little time to think about the professional learning opportunities I had this summer. I’m thankful to have had such variety in my summer.

In June I was able to share what I love at two conferences: SC Midlands Summit hosted by Richland Two and SC Education Business Summit.

Held the second week of June, SC Midlands Summit is a conference filled with SC educators who have just wrapped up the school year but are already looking ahead. I have presented at this conference several years and always appreciate the people who attend my sessions. This year was no different. I led a session about Digital Breakouts and the educators came ready to participate and learn.

Digital Breakout Session at SC Midlands Summit

I also was able to attend other sessions and meet a few of my Twitter PLN in person. Making in-person connections with people I follow and respect online is a great part of summer conferences.

Twitter PLN IRL

At SC Education and Business Summit (EBS) I presented the Digital Breakouts session twice and a session on maximizing Google Chrome. It was my first year at EBS and a nice opportunity to connect with new educators as well as see a few familiar faces. I am impressed that these educators are committed to preparing our students for the workforce. My session attendees were full of energy (and a little competitive with those breakouts!). It makes me so happy to think that something I shared might help others this coming school year and beyond.

Photo Cred: Rick Smoak

In July I was part of our District 5 LeaD5 professional development days. These days deserve their own blog post because they were an incredible chance to learn, grow and plan together. I appreciate that our district invests in its own people and recognizes the talent and skills our teachers have to share. I also appreciate the staff in my own school who I met with in the last few weeks to plan for this coming school year.

Besides conferences or in person opportunities, the summer was also filled with professional reading, listening and online learning.

I had a chance to read Tech with Heart and EdRenaline Rush and re-read Learning Transformed – all of which I’d recommend! I also have more great education books to finish (the list keeps growing).

I also caught up on some podcasts. Teaching with Keating and Shukes & Giff were probably my summer favorites, but there are so many good ones out there. Check out http://www.edupodcastnetwork.com/ for suggestions.

I also enjoyed the online Teach with Tech conference – 3 days packed full of mini-sessions on a variety of edtech topics. I’m glad I paid to have the option to go back and watch the videos since there were more sessions than I could keep up with.

And on top of the more “formal” types of learning, following dedicated educators on Twitter allows for numerous opportunities to grow. I learn so much from the little and big things people share on Twitter.

While I technically did not “work” from June 10-August 13 this summer, I don’t think I could ever truly take a summer “off.” When you love learning like educators do, learning goes on all year round. I always want to learn more so I can be better at my job and help more people.

I’m even more ready to start 2019-20 school year because of the opportunities I’ve had this summer.