For the last few years I've been a pretty hardcore Twitter resistor. I'm not really sure why to be perfectly honest. Maybe it's because I didn't really understand it. I think I also had the false misconception that there weren't any educational resources on Twitter. It wasn't until two things happened that my view on Twitter changed.

First, my husband (an elementary PE teacher) joined Twitter and almost immediately found a community of like-minded teachers who he could chat with, bounce ideas off of and ask questions. In a small, rural community we often feel quite isolated because many of us work with only one or two other staff members in the same job position.  This was an eye-opener for me because while my husband has a small team of 3, at the time I was working in complete isolation in a lonely team of one. 

The second thing big eye opener for me was when I attended a CUE Rockstar mini conference. The first session I went to was all about Twitter. Sitting there and listening, it took about 15 minutes and I was convinced. I knew that I needed to spend the time and figure out what Twitter was all about in order to build my Personal Learning Network. 

So here I am- approximately 4 months later. I currently have just over 100 followers and try to participate in at least 1 to 2 chats per week. Living in a remote, rural community Twitter is my way to stay connected with the rest of the world. On an almost daily basis I find a new tool, resource that I truly learn something from. And while my district is pretty cutting edge for being as remote as we are, Twitter is helping me to push the envelope even more.

Welcome to what I hope to be the first of many blog posts. I'll start this with a bit about me.
I was a teacher for 7 years teaching grades 3, 4 and 5 over those 7 years. The majority of my experience was in 3rd grade which I loved. I'm still quite passionate about teaching and I love the classroom and I miss it on an almost daily basis.

I moved out of the classroom 3 years ago to become a TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment) to work with teachers and help them integrate our 1 to 1 netbook program. Yes- we've have 1 to 1 netbooks in grades 3 through 12 for almost 4 years now thanks to the amazing brain child of our superintendent and a partnership with AT&T. We were included in their case study and white paper that you can check out here if you like. I was chosen for this position because I was very successful as one of the netbook pilot teachers and helped pushed the others beyond what they thought possible. 

I continued to work with teachers on technology integration and then last year with the transition to Common Core State Standards, my job expanded to include curating CCSS aligned content for teachers to use. 

This past summer I was hired as the TK-8th grade Coordinator of Educational Technology and Curriculum Coordinator and I couldn't be happier about my new position with Lake Tahoe Unified School District. I know that I'll be able to support the teachers and students even more now. 

So far this year has been a learning experience and I'm continually growing. I have both my family and my new found Twitter Personal Learning Network (PLN) to thank. I can't wait to see what the remainder of the year brings!