Sharing a Light on PLNs

Reading through several Tweets and blogs I fell upon a fun way to connect with professionals, extend our PLNs and an opportunity to continue with the blogging challenge for 2014.  

According to the Dyslexic Professor @mbfxc, what started as the Sunshine Award (not sure what this award really is or was) has now become an opportunity for bloggers to share a little about themselves and learn about other members of the blogging community. 

So here are the rules...

• Acknowledge the nominating blogger (I was not nominate but inspired by @mbfxc)
• Share 11 random facts about yourself
• Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you
• List 11 bloggers. They should be bloggers you believe deserve a little recognition and a little blogging love!
• Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer and let all the bloggers know they’ve been nominated. (You cannot nominate the blogger who nominated you.)

11 Random Facts About Me...

1. I am not a morning person (which is odd since I wake up very early) and prefer to be more active at night.
2. My major in college was computer science but I decided to change (with only 2 classes left) to change to secondary education in mathematics.  Wish my advisor told me to stay finish the two classes and then continue with a teacher certification after.
3. I love great white sharks.  I do not scuba dive so going into a shark cage is not an option but I would like to see airjaws off the coast of Australia some day.
4. Summer is my absolute favorite time of year.  I couldn't live without it.
5. If I had not married and had children, I would be living on a tropical island.
6. I have had several pets in my life....fish, birds, rabbits, hamsters, dogs, cats and more  No large animals and no serpents of any kind.
7. Buying a new handbag makes me very happy:)
8. I have been a student for the majority of my life.  Starting from preschool right through  today as a doctoral student.  
9. I have been tracking the weather for some time to determine the best place to retire....California is out.
10. My Boston Terrier is a calming factor for me.  Whenever I have a bad day, playing with him helps me to de-stress and focus on the good things in life.
11. There are teachers who I have worked with in the past and work with now, who inspire me me everyday.  Thank you! 

Answers to the Questions from the Bloggers Who Nominated Me
Since I was not nominated I am just going to answer the questions which the Dyslexic Professor answered.

• Why did you start blogging? I find myself learning so much from other bloggers and feel as if it truly is a great way to share lesson, ideas, thoughts and reflections.   

• If you could possess only one piece of hardware, what would it be? I would surely keep my iPad.  This would let me stay involved in so many ways...social media, learning, friendships, etc.

• What was your favorite lesson to teach in the classroom? I love the unit on exponential growth which I extend into a project where students make a difference in the world.

• If education wasn't an option in any form, what would you be instead?  If I had to work  then I would venture into owning a small restaurant.  If I did not have to choose a "career" then I would be a beach reader for sure.  The beach and books are the best for me.

• What was the title of the last book you read for fun? And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

• What was the hardest lesson you learned? That mistakes are a mandatory process for true learning to occur.

• What is your favorite movie of all time? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Wizard of Oz

• What's your proudest moment? My proudest moments (I have three) is having all three of my children.  Nothing can beat these moments.

• Have you ever cried at a YouTube video? No....This sounds insensitive but I guess I have not seen the "right" videos.

• How do you explain your job to people?  My job is like a circus where I appear to be the ringmaster but the students are the true focus.  It is my job to guide them to show their talents and strengthen their recognition.

• What's the biggest prize/money you've ever won? Hmmmm.....I rarely win raffles or prizes but I did win a football pool a fews ago which was pretty funny since football is the only sport I do not enjoy watching.....sorry :(

11 Bloggers I Want to Know More About...

A few who I hope will start blogging...

1. Steve Capraro @mrcapraro 
2. Lynn Dizazzo @mrsdizazzo 
3. Amy Bouchard @msamybouchard
4. Susan Connelly @connellysue
5. Laura DeRose @hypatiahistory
6. Karen Coutu @karencoutu

Bloggers who challenge me as a learner and I want to know more about...

1. Julie Reulbach @jreulbach
2. Cathy Yenca @mathcathy
3. Mary Dooms @mary_dooms
4. Robin Nehila @Radical_Robin
5. Colin Graham @ColinTGraham
6. Denise Gaskins @letsplaymath
7. Leslie Nielson @InnovativeEdu
8. Patricia Hensley @loonyhiker 
9. Angela Maiers, @AngelaMaiers
10. Sandy Kinell @EdTechSandyK
11. Jacqui Murray @askateacher
12. YOU! (If you haven't been tagged yet, don't let that stop you! Write a similar post and tag some folks. Be sure to Tweet me and let me know you did it, or leave a comment below!)

11 Questions For the Bloggers I Want to Know More About...

• What made you venture in to the arena of education?
• What has been your greatest failure from which you learned the most?
• How would you transform education?
• What is one item from your bucket list that you have yet to complete?
• What is the best advise you would share with a new teacher?
• If you change one thing in your life, what would it be and why?
• If you could meet any individual in the world, who would that be and why?  (past or present)
• What aspect of education keeps you in this field?
• What is the most inspiring book you have read?
• What is one word you would use to describe yourself?
• What inspires you?

All original work in this post by Sandy Kendell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.