A Thankful Start to 2014

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Happy 2014 Everyone!

Thank you for following me on Twitter or Facebook or Google+ or Diigo or Scoop.It or Pinterest.

Thank you for answering my questions when I lob them out there.

Thank you for dialoguing with me.

Thank you for offering help and resources even before I ask.

Thank you for visiting my blog and reading my posts.

Thank you for sharing my posts with others when you find them valuable.

Thank you for taking time to comment and let me know something I said had meaning for you, or sparked an idea in you, or reminded you of something you felt compelled to share.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas on Twitter and on your blogs so I can continue to learn and grow professionally and personally.

Thank you for inviting me to present to you or be part of a panel or podcast. You have no idea how your interest in what I have to say energizes me and builds me up.

I am grateful for you and blessed to be connected to you. Something one of you says or posts inspires and/or challenges me every single day of the year!

May you have a blessed 2014! I look forward to continuing to learn with you and from you!!

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All original work in this post by Sandy Kendell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Please see specifics on my re-use policy in the right-hand column of my blog before re-posting/re-using any of my blog content.

EdTechSandyK's Top Five Posts of 2012

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As the new year begins, I thought it would be interesting to start my 2013 postings by looking back on the five most popular posts on this blog from 2012. It's instructive moving forward to reflect on what was on my mind and what resonated most with my readers over the past 12 months.

Based on Blogger's built-in stats reporting, here are the Top Five Posts of 2012 in order from most page views to least:

1. Parent Concerns in a 1:1 iPad Initiative, October 5, 2012 - Although my district is not involved in a large scale 1:1 implementation, a mother whose son is in a 1:1 iPad school in another district contacted me because of blog entries I had previously made on the topic. She was looking for help in managing her son's time spent on the iPad at home. With her permission, I posted her email and my advice to her on my blog. The ideas shared in the comments on the post make it a great resource for schools and districts who are helping parents and students transition to 1:1 learning.
2. Trying to Ban Facebook is Not the Answer, February 22, 2012 - After seeing a news story about a Florida charter school which had sent a letter home to parents encouraging them to get their children off of Facebook, this post flowed out of me like no other post I can remember. I was largely incredulous that a school would even ask such a thing in the year 2012, and also sad that they were choosing to address problems by trying to bury them rather than attempting to work with parents and students to help them appropriately navigate our social media saturated world. This post is currently my personal all-time favorite.
3. School iPad Implementations: What Would You Do Differently?, October 19, 2012 - Upon learning that my district would for the first time be implementing iPads for student use and being tasked with helping to create a plan for said use, I reached out to my Twitter network via my blog to ask for advice from those who had gone before. A lot of great ideas were shared in the comments. The popularity of this post also shows that we're all looking to learn from the early adopters in the iPad/mobile learning arena.
4. 1:1 iPads in a Third Grade Classroom, June 24, 2012 - This post was a compilation of notes I took in a session I attended at the one day iPadpalooza conference at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas. I like to post conference notes to my blog because it gives me a one-stop-shop for finding my learnings no matter where I am or on what computer, and it extends the reach of the insights shared. Again, the popularity of this post on  my blog shows that educators are hungry for information and practical ideas when it comes to mobile device implementation in the classroom.
5. Supporting Teachers and Students in the Curation of Their Digital Footprint, February 7, 2012 - In February of 2012, I presented this topic to attendees of the TCEA Campus Leadership Academy, which was held as part of the annual TCEA Convention and Exposition in Austin, Texas. I posted my presentation slides to my blog, as I try to do with all of my professional presentations. Again, much like posting notes I take at conferences, I believe posting my presentations increases the potential reach and impact of the information I'm sharing. I'm pleased to see that it has received many hits over the past year. I also have to credit my preparation for this presentation for equipping me to write the #2 post on this list about Facebook.

And so my Top Five Posts of 2012 list is complete. Five may be a short list to draw any major conclusions from, but there is definitely an iPad/mobile learning theme and a social media/digital citizenship theme in this list. It will be interesting to see what themes/trends evolve in the year ahead. What topics do you think will get the most screen-time in the Edublogosphere in 2013?

I wish you a Healthy and Happy 2013 as we explore the future together!

Achieving Goals in the New Year

Happy New Year!

While I was scanning a few "Top 10" lists that are all over the place this time of year, the famous Darth Vader Volkswagen ad from last year's Super Bowl came up on my screen. Even after watching it multiple times, this video still makes me smile!

It struck me as I watched it that it's a good metaphor for the start of a new year. It's important no matter where we are in our lives or careers to keep growing and take steps toward achieving our goals.

So, whether you and I are working toward large goals in the coming year or simply setting small goals and working toward them in short bursts, we can take some pointers from young Darth below:

• Keep focused on what you want to achieve and consistently work toward it.
• Acknowledge when you're frustrated, but don't get stuck at frustration - get back at it and  keep trying.
• Remember when you reach your goal, look around at those who are close to you and/or celebrating with you. They were probably supporting you more than you realize!