My Random Keys

I'm waking up numb.

No, it's not because I was out all night drinking. (I really wasn't!) It's not because the bed was too short or because the sheets just don't know how to stay on the mattress. It's not because I have much to do before I go back to work on Monday. I'm numb not because I have logged more walking miles this week or lugged my Discovery tote around for several days.

My brain is buzzing from all of the mental pictures that are popping around inside like atoms in a reactor.  I try to focus on one idea and four more come screaming through the door.

It's Thursday, the last full day of DENSI2015 in Washington, DC.  I've met so many awesome people!  I'm around a large group of people and have met first-timers walk around and own DENSI as well as the veteran attendees. I've seen some of the quietest empower themselves with an awesome, booming digital voice online.  I've seen collaborative note-taking spaces remain sparse because all the fingers of participants were too busy trying new things, using multiple devices to capture or voices were too busy connecting shared ideas into new realities.

How can this week have gone by so quickly?  I will endeavor to focus not on the impending feelings of separation and loss tomorrow, but instead on my continued ADD nightmare.  I already have so much to capture and yet I'm going to sit through another day of being flooded by ideas and future realities that will impact students back home.

I'm waking up numb.  But it's my own fault.  I bought a ticket for the lotto that only has one ball, DENSI2015, and I won.  Now how will I ever spend all of this experience?

Onward.

Some things are great in isolation.  You have Mad Max (can't wait for the remake), Clint Eastwood's Preacher in Pale Rider and Chinese Betta fighting fish.  But when you think about those movie characters, they just don't seem fulfilled, do they?  People are not meant to be in isolation. That is why it is such a harsh punishment in the prison system.

Professionally, connecting with those in your field that are strong, creative, insightful or supportive means that you can grow and develop your skill set through dialog with those people.  Educational Professional Development often lacks that important piece.  We go to trainings, wake up at the end to sign the paper, we get our credits and then walk off back to the isolation of the classroom.

I have been incredibly lucky to be a part of a group of educators that buck that trend. I was recently told that the Discovery Educator Network (DEN) was probably mis-named. It should be the Discovery Educator Community.  My connections to this community has built a solid network of like-minded professionals that encourage me, support me, inspire me and let me do the same for them when I can.

This is a very open community. In fact, any teacher with their own Discovery Education account is already a DEN member. Becoming a DEN Star is easy and opens the door to additional opportunities like the DEN Summer Institute I just got back from.  Anybody within a stone's throw of me has been hearing about my experiences last week.  It was an amazing time because of the people that came together and further developed this community.

England, Canada and Texas worked together with a Makey Makey kit during the DENmazing Race.

I learned so much.  I saw new tips for green screening, enjoyed a diverse Maker's Fair that could be duplicated at schools, got my hands into 3D printing, discussed an endless number of websites that support education in the classroom, heard fantastic speakers and then there was the time together that built personal connections.  This community of adults left the institute tearfully, like kids leaving summer camp after meeting their new best friends.

Funny thing is, Discovery Education has this habit of reflecting our praise back to us, saying, "Y'all organized ____" or "You put these things together." I tried several times to thank Princess Porter (Palmer) and her glowing and gracious smile returned a praise about the group.   So, because she can't stop me this time, "Porter, you are loved by so many. Thank you for the opportunities you designed to enhance our community and lay foundations for a strong dynamic network of freakingly awesome educators. You have my deep gratitude and respect."

So, I am back home and back at work. My ADD is in full chaos mode with every other thought taking me back to DENSI2014 and the awesome people there.  I have new ways to reach my teachers and some new ways to use the wealth of Discovery Education resources like the Board Builders and truck load of SOS strategies.  It makes me think of the circus juggler who is juggling 20 balls at the same time, but in my circus, there is always someone to help juggle the balls with me.

Thanks for the memories.  But even more so, thanks for the future we will share together.
#DENSI2014 #MissingDENSI2014

My head is literally buzzing this morning.

I made new friends that, because of my past experiences with DENSI week-long experiences, I know will be there for the long run.  I have connected in some fun/interesting/educational ways that will stick with me for some time. This morning, right now, it’s buzzing with a lot of great memories. 

I had Moonshine! Don't worry mom, it was legal.

For one reason or another, I haven't gone 2-Stepping in a very, very long time. I'm surprised I remembered, but we had a great time along Broadway.  Nashville actually has a pretty good nightlife scene and I felt young again. Ha!

But most all of that was icing. It's the part that was sweet and what you see at a distance when first seeing the cake. Dang if the inside of that cake wasn't the best cake you ever tasted!  I feel like a 6 year old with sugar all over his face after licking up the last available crumb of cake on his plate. 

No other time spent with educators has ever made me feel this way. Please don't tell Lance or Porter, bit I would pay to experience this every year.  There are loads of DEN notes I took and many other shared that I will spend hours going over.  This reminds me of Jesus and the loaves of fishes. I walk away with three loaves of notes and ideas that will provide much more than three loaves of learning for me for some time to come. 

I’ll be sharing some of the educational meat soon, but today is about some great new friendships, catching up with Glides, trying to wipe the smile off my face, doing laundry, cleaning house, seeing Transformers with Mancub1, and wishing I had more pictures from this last week. 

So, more later. For now I will end with: Thank you Porter, Lance, Steve, Brad, Chad and the rest of the Discovery Education crew for making so many things possible last week.  Sure, we do a lot of the community, but y'all give us new wings.

#DENSI2014 

http://tinyurl.com/3cuzoz8

Admittedly, I'm not a Twitter Pro. I started the account on July 19, 2007 during a Discovery Educator Network (DEN) gathering. At the time, it was only "I'm eating a PB&J" or "just brushed my teeth" feed of information for me. I wasn't impressed.  A year later, Steve Dembo enthusiastically shared Twitter with a group of DEN Leadership Council members as a way to enhance our professional learning network. We spent time right then following each other before we went back to our respective states.  It has been a valuable since then.

There are many great teachers who use Twitter to communicate questions, answers, and resources with other like-minded teachers. No teacher is an island with an effective Twitter stream.  If you wisely choose those who you wish to follow, you can learn much from experience teachers who have already traveled down the road you may be starting.

My biggest tip is to find an educational leader that you respect and see who they follow. One can mostly avoid blind searching for professional leadership if you know that those you respect may have already vetted the authenticity or usefulness of those that they follow. Unfortunately, it also opens you up to certain education leaders who spend 80% of their time tweeting about where they ate BBQ or their latest golf score and 20% of their tweets are actually useful.

A recent article was published by Education Next giving a list of the top 25 Education Tweeters and policy makers. I was glad to know that I was already following a number of them, but found some new ones I may soon add. If you are wanting to pad your PLN, check out some of these names. (Good bets: Wesley Fryer, Steve Dembo, Ewan McIntosh, and Vicki Davis just as starters.)

There are a number of 'How To Twitter in Education' blogs out there, so I won't attempt to recreate the wheel. However, to make Twitter really work for you, keep a couple of things in mind. If you respond to and retweet the tweets that you find valuable, the originator will be more likely to start a dialog with you. Just lurking (reading only with no actual tweeting) will get you some good information, but getting answers from your posted question benefits from having people who recognize your Twitter name.

Also keep in mind that the many mobile Twitter apps out there are great for keeping your finger on the pulse of your feed and often aid in Twitterburn, that reaction to over-usage that Alka Seltzer can't fix.   My Alka Seltzer for Twitterburn is a free iPad app called Flipboard. It puts your Twitter stream all together in a visually pleasing and easy to browse view. It's worth ten times what I paid for it. ;)

Happy Tweeting! Feel free to share your Twitter resources below! Maybe we'll bump into each other out there. @mrmartinsclass .

Other Resources:  50 Ideas, Twitter in Ed slideshare, Educator's Guide Livebinder,