One year ago, I attended the High Desert EdTechTeam Summit which was hosted by my district, Hesperia Unified School District.  It was during this summit that I was inspired to create a professional learning network through social media.  As I’ve mentioned before, this summit changed my life – both professionally and personally.  Today, I am attending and presenting at the same EdTechTeam Summit and it’s hard to believe that a year has already passed.  More importantly, it’s amazing to look back and see the phenomenal impact that one summit had on my life.

A year ago today, I was in a very different place.  I had never used Twitter for professional development.  In fact, my Twitter account consisted of a few followers (my family) and a few tweets on ComicCon.  I had created a blog but, much like my Twitter account, it was pretty much dead.  I had never connected with teachers outside of my district.  I had never presented at a conference or summit.  I had never heard of the Google certifications for educators.

It’s amazing what a year can do.  I could tell you about the number of tweets or followers that I have.  I could tell you about my blog and how many posts I’ve written.  I could tell you about the summits and conferences I’ve attended or the Google certifications I have obtained.  But…none of that matters.  The thing that truly matters is the relationships that I have made while becoming actively involved with a professional learning network.  The people I have met that have changed my life, as a teacher and a person, are what truly matters.

As I think about all of the phenomenal educators I’ve met in the last year, I’ve realized that they all have one common attribute: They truly love what they do.  They love being educators.  Being surrounded by a group of passionate educators like this is inspiring and life-changing.

So, I wanted to write some “thank you’s” to these educators.  I’m not going to name them by name because they know who they are – but thank you…

Thank you for inspiring me to think about teaching in new ways and introducing me to educational practices, strategies, and technology to support student learning.
Thank you for always focusing on the pedagogy – not just the shiny, new technology that often bombards us in education.
Thank you for being passionate educators and always focusing on what is best for students.
Thank you for inspiring, challenging, and supporting me as an educator beyond my classroom.
Thank you for your words of encouragement on my blog posts that motivate me to continue sharing.
Thank you for encouraging me to me to go outside of my comfort zone and present at conferences and summits.
Thank you for teaching me about the importance of work/life balance and offering me useful strategies for creating a balanced life.
Thank you for being people that I can talk to about the victories and struggles of education.
Thank you for showing me that the world is filled with other “lone nuts” – just like me.

Finally…Thank you for an amazing year.  Here’s to many more years to come!