Connecting with others is rewarding; it makes us feel like we are not alone in this world. –Jonah Berger

There are times that I think that I am stuck in a time warp. Although I find myself thinking about what the future holds, I spend a lot of time thinking about what has happened in the past. I guess one could say that I like to reflect on where I’ve been and where I’m going. I suppose that’s true. As we wrap up another school year and my third year as an instructional technology coach, I have a lot to reflect upon.

I started this job with a few instructions on things that would need to happen in our district, but I did not have any idea of where to go to get answers. Lucky for me, there were two of us hired to serve as instructional technology coaches in the district. My colleague and now friend, Robin Harris, felt the same way I did. We were just a little lost that first year. However, things changed for us. Two weeks after I  got hired, I was in Atlanta at  the ISTE Conference (International Society for Technology in Education). Talk about brain overload! That fall, we went to GaETC and presented. I think that’s where the shift started. Our session was entitled, “From Tin Cans to Twitter: Maximizing Your Personal Learning Network”. We talked about Twitter, Voxer, and Google+. People listened, and we started making connections with people across the state and region. As my circle grew, so did my level of knowledge. I began reaching out to others to get and share information.  I took advantage of my ISTE membership and joined the online communities, started lurking in Twitter chats, and stumbled upon #Edumatch. Realizing the power of being a connected educator, I attended a few edcamps and actually contributed to some Twitter chats. Oh my goodness! Who ever knew that there was so much useful knowledge out there on social media?

Fast forward to May 2017… I was recently named the ISTE EdTech Coaches PLN Award Winner for 2017. I co-authored #EduMatch: Snapshot in Education 2016 with 19 other phenomenal educators from around the globe. I have presented at ISTE 15, ISTE 16, GAFE California Summit, GaETC 2014, GaETC 2015, GaETC 2016, G Suite for Education Southern Summit, and was selected to attend the Google Geo Teachers Institute in 2016. Oftentimes I am participating in #Edumatch Tweet and Talks discussing important topics in education and moderating Twitter chats book studies, and I am currently in the process of writing my own book which will be released in 2018. All this is possible because of the connections I made via social media.

I would love to see more educators connect via social media. Amazing things can happen. My part in making connections will continue to happen as I move forward into the fourth year of my job as an instructional technology coach. I am excited to participate in the ISTE #ETCoaches Blogging Buddies project. I am part of a group of educators who have committed to blogging at least once a month and commenting on the blogs of the people in my group. My group consists of Katie Siemer, Tara Helkowski,Rahila Mukaddam, and Knikole Taylor. I am looking forward to this blogging journey with these ladies. So many good things have already happened as a result of my connections on social media. I cannot even begin to imagine what will happen once we get going. Having a group of people to help hold me accountable will no doubt help me improve my craft. It will be nice to be a cheerleader for them and for them to cheer me on. We all need people in our corner to be there for us. I see these ladies being part of my #edtechvillage. Let the journey begin!