Becoming an educator is the most challenging, terrifying, exciting, fulfilling journey I have been on so far in life. It can be physically, emotionally and intellectually exhausting. There is so much to know and understand to be effective. This is my second career and I am over ten years in. My first career was in the hospitality and tourism industry. I owned numerous businesses and became a Certified Executive Pastry Chef and Master Baker. Certifications are not everything, but they help push you in excellence and ad value to your credibility. Whatever I do, I want to do well, with excellence. Although I entered the education world with a provisional certification, I have since pursued and attained a B.S. in Family & Consumer Science and Career & Technology Education; M.Ed. in Adult Education & Training and M.Ed. in Educational Leadership. With all of that knowledge I still feel like there is so much more to know and understand. Particularly because I am an entrepreneur at heart. A creator. An innovator. As of late, an edupreneur. Since I come from industry, I have always felt like my students were both my customer and my gross profit. Providing exemplary customer service and providing a pathway to success to them is of great importance to me.
I am driven to create, innovate, collaborate and use technology. I love to learn. I imagine that is another reason I have three degrees now. I like being part of a college campus and being around others who have similar interests and pursuits, but it can be an expensive habit. An effective way to quench my appetite for learning is via the internet. I have made a list (although not extensive) of resources put into environment categories. These allow me to learn when, where, how and in what context I want to. I can learn at any hour of the day and at the optimum times for my mind to consume knowledge. Not necessarily at a time and place predetermined by someone else.
On Demand Learning
These are websites that I can go to
KQED Teach: Sign up for free. I am able to start and stop short courses of instruction to build my technology skills. I create artifacts to demonstrate my skills and knowledge I have acquired. I use it as a model for designing instruction for my students. It has a community of teachers you can share your experiences with. I love it!
Edupreneur Academy: I just discovered this and signed up for free. So far I am enjoying learning and of course using it as a model for how I might implement digital instruction for my students. My biggest takeaway so far is using a teacher blog for instruction and have students respond in the comment section.
Microsoft for Education: Sign up for free. This has so many things that are useful. There are courses teachers can take for free to learn about endless topics. Resources to provide students instruction using digital technology including virtual field trips and Mystery Skypes. Teachers can receive badges for demonstrating competencies. This is a good model to create gamified instruction. It also has a community so teachers can build relationships.
MOOCs
Coursera: Sign up for free. Choose from courses offered by universities world wide. Complete coursework in the time allotted. Pay a fee for a certificate for professional development.
Social Platforms
Edmodo: Sign up for free. This can be used as an online learning platform. Teachers can set up classes, give grades, award badges, build courses, build a teacher learning network within their school, district and other communities. Teachers can build two way communication with parents. Teachers can share resources in Spotlight. Become certified Edmodo Trainers or Ambassadors. Teachers can also receive badges. Teachers can participate in the teacher learning hub where they can complete daily activities for points placed on a leaderboard that can be used for classroom support.
Twitter: Sign up for free. Follow professional educators and organizations. Engage in twitter chats to learn and grow from others. Build a personal brand. Use as a portfolio.
eMail Subscriptions
Accomplished Teacher: SmartBriefs from the NBPT for National Board Certified Teachers. Full of articles, research, surveys, books etc. to help teachers stay current in teaching trends and certification requirements.
ASCD:The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development for current research, books, trends, Educational Leadership magazine and conferences.
ACF: The American Culinary Association Culinary Insider Magazine to stay up to date on culinary trends, health and safety, certification and networking.
FDA: US Food and Drug Administration to stay current about laws & regulations, outbreaks and safety.
There are many more avenues that I learn from on a daily basis, including my students. Never underestimate a child and what they can teach you.
