Distinguished Educator, Distinguished Community

This week I submitted my application to join the Apple Distinguished Educator class of 2013. After weeks of planning and sleepless nights working on my application, it was finished and ready to be submitted. I submitted my application and this screen appeared:

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, the magnitude of what I had just done. This moment was a year and a half in the making. Ever since I followed my first institute on Twitter in 2011, I knew that something was happening in education I had never seen before and I couldn't wait until it was my turn to apply. No matter what happens, many of them are already a part of my network. They teach me something new every single day whether they mean to or not. They inspire me with their creativity and fearlessness. They challenge me to be more for my students and bring my best everyday. I consider many of them colleagues and trusted friends. I am grateful that they share what they learn so I can learn along with them. I am privileged to have some of the most innovative people I have ever met in my learning network.

iAm a Supporter of Student Branding

Last week, Steve Hargadon interviewed Apple Distinguished Educator Christine DiPaulo about her iAm Collection, a collection that originated from last year's ADE summer institute. The course involves students completing a series of exercises such as creating personal brand statements, designing logos, and concludes with a resuME which tells their story. Christine shared the collection and had some of her students share their personal projects and discuss their journey of creating them. I was amazed hearing the students share their stories of self-discovery as a result of creating their student brands. I applaud and support projects and courses like these because through them students are learning how to establish and control their digital identities. They are learning that everything they create, in the digital world as well as the real world, is a representation on themselves to the world. Instead of fearing student interaction with the Internet, students are being encouraged to showcase their work and tell their story. As digital media becomes more ingrained in students' lives, it is important that they are taught how to create a digital legacy they can be proud of in the years to come.

If you missed the interview with Christine and her class, you can watch a recording of it here

For information on the iAm Collection and personal branding, check out their student page and iTunes U collection