Classy Graphics Course Review!

So, I just finished the Classy Graphics Summer Cohort taught by #edtech guru, Tony Vincent!  First, let me say that I am a Tony Vincent stalker(lol), I mean fan!  I have followed him for years and love seeing him at conferences and listening to him speak in person!  He is super energetic and positive and is FULL of knowledge!  I am always so inspired to go back and do better after learning from him or reading his blog learninginhand.com.

After taking his class I am armed with the tools to be more creative than ever!  Here is a video that I created after reflecting on my time in the Classy Graphics class.  I provide my thoughts on the class as well as show you some of the graphics that I learned to create courtesy of Tony Vincent!

I HIGHLY recommend that you take this course!  It is REALLY worth every penny!  I am a believer that you have to continue to learn and grow yourself personally and professionally!  This course provides any educator or educational/instructional technologist with tools to brand themselves, create amazing infographics and presentations, and even more so, to share your knowledge with others!

If you are interested, Tony just released the sign ups for his fall cohort.  Here is the link to his website with more information!  It starts on September 18, 2017.

http://learninginhand.com/classy-graphics-with-google-drawings-fall-2017-register?fromhome

Who's in your PLN?

A Professional Learning Network (PLN) is a group of excited, enthusiastic, innovative educators that connect to share and learn!  Most of the time this takes place through social media, however the face to face relationships that form as a result are priceless!  You know how you have friends on Facebook that you haven't seen in years, but when you finally do see them in person, you feel like you just saw them yesterday because you've kept up with them on Facebook?  Well, my PLN is the same way!  I have followed #edtech educators for years and have had the opportunity to meet many of them in person!  I may or may not have had a few fangirl moments meeting some of these amazing educators!
Be mindful about who is a part of your PLN.  We have a practice of adding people on Twitter, for example, just to add them.  I have spent some time recently, cleaning up the people on Twitter.  If they haven't tweeted in over 2 months, I hit the unfollow button!  I am committed to ensuring that when I scroll through my Twitter feed, that it's full of positive, innovative, creative and enthusiastically passionate educators and leaders that truly care for children and their futures!  I would consider the following when you are making connections that lead to the relationships formed in your PLN:

1. What value will this person add to your professional and growth?
2. What value will you add to this person as a result of being a part of their PLN?
3. What can you learn from this person?
4. Is this person continuously growing themselves and others?
5. Is this person innovative, creative and excited about the future of education and technology?
6. Do they genuinely care about people?
7. Who is in this person's PLN?

I've had several fangirl moments when meeting some of the #edtech leaders that I follow on Twitter! Here are a few!

Anthony Salcito from Microsoft with myself and fellow Georgia Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts!  I think of Anthony as the Steve Jobs of Microsoft!  He is so knowledgable about technology in education and I always leave from listening to him feeling so inspired!
@anthonysalcito

Tony Vincent!  I've met him a few times and he never disappoints!  He is just as sweet in person as he is online!  I could sit and talk to him for hours about all things #edtech.  He is like a walking encyclopedia of creative ideas that I wish would transform to me through osmosis!
@tonyvincent

Every time I meet Chris Craft I have to get a hug!  The first time I met him, he was full of such genuine energy!  Even now, every time I see him or talk to him, it's like I'm with a friend I've known for years!  I have 3 pictures with him from 3 different events and this is his signature pose!  He's AMAZING!
@crafty184

Leslie Fisher is one of the most down to earth #edtech gurus I've ever met!  Her heart is pure gold!  She's amazing, and smart, and transparent, and just a phenomenal person overall!  If you EVER see her, buy her a caffeine free diet coke!  Trust me!  She'll love you forever!
@lesliefisher

Mike Tholfsen, Microsoft Innovator, and Alice Keeler, Google Guru!  After seeing a side by side of these two awesome people on Twitter during ISTE 17, I HAD to find them both and get my own side by side!  I ran into Mike in the expo hall and Alice on the streets of San Antonio!
@mtholfsen    @alicekeeler

So what about you?  Who's in your PLN?  Who would you have a fangirl/fanboy moment over? What are you learning from those in your PLN?

#thefridayfour

It's Friday!  It's Friday!  It's the end of the week and the last day!  You know what that means!  It's time for The Friday Four!  Here are mine....what are yours?

1.  What went well this week?

I led an AMAZING G-Suite training this week at a local charter school who is freshly going Google! This group of educators was brand spanking new to Google and all that's in the G-Suite.  I was able to show them how to log in to their drive, Docs, Slides, Forms and Sheets.  I shared several different add-ons and extensions that they thoroughly enjoyed!  The feedback that I received after the training was really positive and I can't wait to see how this group of educators takes off with Google this year!

2.  What can I do better next week?

Next week, I'm looking to cross some things off of my to do list and tie up some loose ends.  I have a few work ideas/work projects that I am excited to work on and check off my list!  Time management will definitely play into this!

3.  Who or what did I affect in a positive way this week?

I'm going to refer back to question #1!  Training 20-ish educators on G-Suite filled me up!  I loved reading through all of the feedback at the completion of the training!

When asked what part of the training, participants found most valuable, here are a few of their responses:

"How to not only create documents but also how to have students the ability to become interactive by using google classroom."

"How to access cheat sheets and a general one-stop resource."

"Assignments in Google Docs adding and grading them from the classroom."

"Everything!"

"The stream page on Google helped me to streamline what I was already doing on Google."

4.  What is something I did professionally for myself?

This week, I reached out to one of my Google idols to pick his brain out about some things!  He is so inspiring and when we got off of the phone he had me feeling like I could change the world! For him to not only respond to my inquiry, but take time out of his day to talk to me on the phone was really appreciated!  I am truly blessed that he is a part of my professional learning network!