New Mexico in April

During the last weeks of April, I ventured to Albuquerque, New Mexico as the Society representative to the 78th state organization convention. I shared a remarkable experience with the members attending convention. I arrived early and Carmen Tapia, past state organization president, picked me up at the airport and took me sightseeing prior to the executive board meeting. We went to lunch at a quaint French restaurant and then rode the tram to the peak of the Sandia Mountains. Late in the afternoon we arrived at the hotel, checked in, had a short time to refresh and then attended the executive board meeting.

On Saturday the convention continued with the general business meeting, break out sessions, luncheon for celebrating honors and accomplishments and the dinner banquet complete with local entertainment from Mariachi Herencia from Atrisco Hertiage Academy High School.

Sunday morning held breakfast, the necrology service and one more executive board meeting. Members in New Mexico were gracious and welcoming and made my trip most enjoyable. On Sunday I departed to visit more of New Mexico. I drove to Santa Fe  to spend a couple of days learning about the historic square and seeing the incredible country side. My hotel room has an awesome sunset view and I took lots of pictures.

 In June I travel to Oklahoma as the Society representative and I am so looking forward to enjoying another group of great members.

Tech savy educators

I came across a blog entry from David Warlick this morning that reviewed the ISTE affiliate conference in North Carolina, NCTIES. David has attended this conference for many years and I've followed his work for the same many years. I've been fortunate to hear him speak on an occasion or two. He was clearly impressed with the sophistication of young educators attending this year's conference as he describes,

    "...Another thing that impressed me was the technical sophistication of most of the attendees. They were  imaginative, tech-savvy educators, who were open to new ways of using their skills and their tech to create new learning experiences for their learners.  It was exciting." 
   

Just reading this account is exciting as we move forward in supporting education, making progress and encouraging young educators to be creative in spite of those tests students must take, in spite of all the extras required of teachers today and in spite the challenges that comes with working with students. What a privilege to see these examples though David's eyes.

As members of DKG, should we seek out this shining examples as potential members? Could some of those attending the NCTIES be members? Membership matters and it is up to current members to seek and find women of high caliber who have begun to show the potential for excellence in education and become acquainted. The international convention in NYC in July will be an excellent time to become more involved, connect with others, increase your own technology skills and introduce a young member to the benefits and opportunities of the Society. I hope to see you in NYC this summer.

Using Social Media

Social media is a communication tool that has become ubiquitous. From smart phones to new portable tablets, like the iPad, the use of social media apps is more convenient than ever. Twitter is a micro-blogging site that provides real-time news immediately, often as it happens. For example, Time Magazine posts daily almost every hour. CNN shows posts from 4 minutes ago to 15 minutes to an hour ago. By following a news media Twitter feed, you are always in the know. If you are interested in someone famous, most often they have a Twitter feed. I'm hooked on the HBO series, A Game of Thrones, written by George R.R. Martin. This morning as I'm working on my blog, a tweet popped up keeping me up-to-date on the next season of the series. I've read the books and can hardly wait for the next season starting in April.

There's another title I like and the movie comes out in March, The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins. Written for preteens and adolescents, this is a futuristic look at another kind of society. There are 3 titles to this series. There's a Twitter feed for this that includes the URL for a quick preview. It will be a bit graphic.  I just re tweeted this posting as I was writing this post. To re tweet means to share something you read on another tweet with your circles.
Here's the URL - http://www.thehungergamesmovie.com/index2.html

My profile icon on Twitter.

Now, you can keep up with your DKG friends using Twitter. The four administrators and the international president have a Twitter feed. You can probably find some local friends there as well. Go to twitter.com and sign up for a free account. You create your own user name and password (email address is a good user name but use something you will remember). After you have an account, find an app for Twitter on your smart phone or tablet. Set up the app with the same information you used in creating your account. On many smart phones today, you can find the app and create the account right on the phone. My Twitter ID is @lseller. Follow me. My friends here at headquarters are @corleaplowman (Corlea Plowman), @nitarscott (Nita Scott), @phyllisinaustin (Phyllis Hicky) and @jensips (DR. Jensi Souders). Join us as we share news of convention and other Society happenings.

During the convention I'll be using the hash tag #dkgcon.  A hash tag in a post enables a conversation to be grouped together so that all those following can see everything being said about a particular event. For those planning to attend the 2012 International Convention, look for the meet and greet session for Twitter. We will gather say hello and be able to stay connected with new faces at the convention by using Twitter. I can hardly wait.

Happy New Year 2012

I have really gotten behind on my blog writing. The fall begins new issues of the NEWS to get out and on a personal note, the final pieces of my doctorate work. So I thought I'd spend some time bringing you up-to-date. The Jan/Feb News will be in your mailboxes soon. It is filled with convention information and a registration form or you may register online at http://tinyurl.com/7z4k7r5

In December I completed my oral defense of my dissertation and passed! For this defense, I traveled to California for a face to face presentation with my dissertation committee. Yea, I'm done. My doctorate is in Educational Technology from Pepperdine University, Malibu, California. It's been a long journey and I'm so thrilled to be finished.

During the holiday season I went to Tennessee to visit family and friends. Part of my visit was to Nita Scott's farm in West Tennessee where I had the opportunity to ride their horse, Colonel Rey Sugar, a.k.a. Sugar Rey. That was much fun and I look forward to Nita and James finishing their move to Texas and riding again.