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.

The Power of a PLN

Gary Stager posed this question on Twitter: "As a result of your PLN*, what can you now DO that you couldn't do before?" I decided to answer this question for myself and these are some of the things I came up with:

• Get support - I am lucky to have an amazingly supportive PLN. I can ask questions and get answers. If I feel discouraged, someone comes along with an encouraging word. They celebrate with me. They have lunch and chat with me. They let me bounce ideas off them. To a pre-service teacher, or to anyone for that matter, all these little things are so meaningful. 
• Discover new tools - People are always blogging and tweeting about new tools they've discovered and it gives me an opportunity to discover new ones I might not have found or a unique way to use it and it builds my technology toolbox. 
• Build global connections - As a result of a PLN, I have built relationships with people all over the world. Technology and social media helps us to stay in touch so those relationships aren't lost. 
• Chat - I know that sounds silly but as a graduate student not many people share my interests which can get a little lonely. But having a learning network allows me to meet and discuss with people who share my passions and get excited about the same stuff I do.
• Build my network - My PLN helps me to build my PLN. Sharing my blog posts, retweeting my tweets or making a simple introduction at an event helps me to add valuable members to my network.
• Be inspired - This one I could have done without my PLN but with it, it's exponentially better. I am daily inspired by the people in my PLN for their fortitude, creativity and willingness to take risks. I hope that when I've been teaching as long as some of them, I will still have the same passion and dedication to education.

*PLN= personal/professional learning network