I'm thankful for all the smart people in my personal and professional life. Here's two people that make a huge difference in my life. 

My brother, Jim Harmening, has his own technology company called Computer Bits in Chicago and has always been supportive of my new career in educational technology. He's my 911 phone/email support with an unmatched response time compared to anything I've experienced so far. Actually, my whole family is really smart and I feel very appreciative and grateful for their support, too. I tend to talk a lot but am working on listening more, and finding that I'm learning more too. 

Below is a picture of my work buddy, Christina Lee. I love collaborating and learning from Christina and hopefully we'll carry this mutually beneficial relationship long into the future. We attended our first CA Google Summit in Santa Clara, CA together in July 2012 and it's been a fabulous learning adventure ever since. 

Is that an amazing looking salad? I think so. The picture of the super salad was taken recently at McCormick and Schmick's while celebrating Christina's birthday. It was fun taking time to just sit back and enjoy, and be thankful for good friends. I feel very fortunate and grateful. Cheers! 

I recommend joining Twitter if you're in the education field (or my family) so we can stay in touch easier. I recently read that only a small number of educators are actually tweeting these days and I hope that changes. Some educators have been happily using Twitter for years. I love reading about those experiences because I'm pretty new and don't really feel I've learned everything I need to about it yet. I love using the Twitter app on the iPad or the Hootsuite app during Twitter chats. I enjoy using Twitter lists, private and public ones, that help me catch up and follow people or topics that interest me. I don't have a zillion followers like some of these amazing educators that I follow: 
          Lisa Johnson, @TechChef4U
          Jon Samuelson, @iPadSammy
          Tony Vincent, @TonyVincent
          Kathy Schrock, @KathySchrock
          Wes Fryer, @wfryer
          Jerry Blumengarten, @cybraryman1

I follow many people on Twitter and I'm not done meeting new people either. I'm just getting started. There are a few Twitter chats I enjoy #21stedchat, #caedchat and #TLAP. I'm sure I'll explore more when I get a chance. It's a torrential amount of information in an hour where it gives new meaning to the phrase, time flies when you're having fun. 

Follow or don't follow people and companies on Twitter. Be true to yourself and enjoy your time online. You'll find what suits you after a short period of time. Do follow a few #hashtags for meaningful learning experiences. A post by Rafranz Davis, Not Easily Offended on Twitter, is a comforting read if you're concerned about how you might react to tweets or how others might react to your tweets. It may not be a worry at all and that's not a bad thing.  Another blog by Miguel Guhlin, Follow Me, is worth checking out. He has an interesting perspective.

I am enjoying the Twitter stream and my experience is very similar to the graph pictured below. Thank you Dean Shareski, @shareski, for sharing that at ISTE 2013. It makes me laugh out loud every time I look at it. I'm at the "WOW" stage of Twitter and looking for friends to follow and connect with.

Here are my top 10 reasons I think you should want to join Twitter:

1. Celebrate someone or something that interests you by sharing it with the world.
2. Give help. I know you know something that is valuable to share. Yes, that's advice I need to take especially since I am dishing it out.
3. Get help. Actually there can be a pretty quick turn around time for an answer depending on your personal learning network (PLN).
4. Learn something new. This can be so energizing, especially if you like technology. There is always something new or improved that you can research and learn about.
5. Branch out and make new friends that may or may not have the same exact views as you do. The personal growth and journey of learning beyond the classroom walls, down the block, and finally globally is extraordinary. 
6. Share your kindness. Sometimes feelings of "being the only one" vanish when you reach out and tweet. It's worth a try if you're feeling any which way because there are so many caring people, it's truly astounding. 
7. Follow #hashtags that have meaning for you.
8. Be inspired (ever hear of #TLAP - if not, you need to search that hashtag now).
9. Join a community and invite a friend. It feels good to be part of the bigger picture, beyond your local community.
10. Have fun and laugh! There are some funny people out in the Twitterverse. My niece is one of them. 

I feel very fortunate that I will have an opportunity to talk with educators face-to-face and persuade them regarding the virtues of using social media for learning, during the upcoming MBUSD TechCon 2013 event. I am leading a session with Christina Lee called Social Butterfly. I can't wait for August 20th. I am over-the-top ecstatic because we are planning to have a special guest appear during a live Google Hangout. I'm recording a backup and having a local copy on my Macbook just in case any tech issues arise. Thank you to Bill Selak, @BillSelak, and Miguel Guhlin for sharing their social media resources. 

I love teaching and learning about technology. I even love wearing techie earrings. I think they're super fun and if you want a pair, head over to TechChef4u.com for a fun shopping spree or come to my professional development session on August 20th where I'll give a pair away. As I get ready for our district sponsored professional development event, TechCon 2013, I can't help but be thankful for the strong relationships I have developed and the importance of continuing to build and reinforce the personal relationships. I'm ecstatic over the team of people I get to work with. Life is good!

If you have any hot tips for building a positive, productive team around you, I am highly interested. Please leave me a comment or two if you're interested.

EdCampHome was a phenomenal professional development experience for me! There were so many amazing educators involved. Huge thanks to everyone and most of all the team that made it possible, the four EdCampHome organizers: David Theriault, Karl Lindgren-Streicher, Kelly Kermode, and Shawn White. Kudos go out to you all for a hugely successful event. I hope people check out the EdCampHome website to enjoy some of the recorded sessions. I definitely need to check them out this week. 


I personally started a Google Hangout for Beth and Robyn for session 2 but unfortunately it didn't work out. Epic failure! It seems I had started the session late because I was already in session 1 with some awesome educators and one of my tech super heroes, Jon Samuelson from Techlandia Podcast, @iPadSammy. Then, I stopped trying to invite people to join the hangout due to the time. It was getting late and it was almost time for the final Slam to begin. 


Failing is uncomfortable! I'm still a huge fan of success but it wasn't meant to be today for my moderated Google hangout. However, I learned along the way and that is priceless. It makes me better for the experience. All-in-all a successful event and experience for me.


Thank you Isaac Pineda, for your post that includes the recorded Google hangout on YouTube that I participated in, Twitter and PD - GHO at edcampHOME. 

Here are a few screenshots I took to help remind me of the fun and amazing experience. 

Coming up on August 20th, one of the sessions at the MBUSD TechCon 2013 that I'll be leading is called "Social Butterfly." I'm super excited to have the coolest social butterfly logo! A huge thanks to Bill Selak, @billselak, for creating the logo for ISTE 2012 and giving me permission to use it. He let me modify it to add #TechCon13. Awesomesauce! I ordered some magnets and T-shirts. Sweet!