My summer vacation has been over for way too long. I have a rare job classification that gives me the month of July off. In fact, because my principal supports professional development, I was technically back at work July 24th at CUE Rockstar Solana Beach! Blimey, that was a short break! Here's a quick summary of what I did on my summer vacation.
Reading - a lot of it! I brought home bags of books from my library. There were many authors that I shamefully hadn't read, relying instead on reviews and blurbs to promote them. I'm happy to say I've read about 20 of them, and can only kick myself for not bringing home ALL the Tamora Pierce titles we own. I do love spunky female characters! I'll have to push her on the students who tore through Seraphina earlier this year.
I also read tons of books for myself. I loved The Ocean at the End of the Lane and Me Before You. I just started J.K.Rowling's pseudonymous mystery, The Cuckoo's Calling, and am enjoying it. I only hope she'll write more books featuring these characters. Cyndi Lauper’s memoir made me laugh through most of it, and shake my head through the rest.
I did some professional reading, too. (Are you starting to see a theme to my summer here?) Two that really stood out were To Sell is Human, by Daniel Pink and The Age of the Image, by Stephen Apkon. Both were perfect for summer PD, as they were enjoyable reading and gave me plenty of ideas to use when school starts. Pink's book will help me change my approach to working with students and staff. I’m not a very visual person, so I was highlighting furiously in Apkon’s book. I’ll definitely be sharing both with the staff. I see many ways to incorporate Apkon’s ideas in my digital literacy lessons and when I assist students with presentations.
Reading - a lot of it! I brought home bags of books from my library. There were many authors that I shamefully hadn't read, relying instead on reviews and blurbs to promote them. I'm happy to say I've read about 20 of them, and can only kick myself for not bringing home ALL the Tamora Pierce titles we own. I do love spunky female characters! I'll have to push her on the students who tore through Seraphina earlier this year.
I also read tons of books for myself. I loved The Ocean at the End of the Lane and Me Before You. I just started J.K.Rowling's pseudonymous mystery, The Cuckoo's Calling, and am enjoying it. I only hope she'll write more books featuring these characters. Cyndi Lauper’s memoir made me laugh through most of it, and shake my head through the rest.
I did some professional reading, too. (Are you starting to see a theme to my summer here?) Two that really stood out were To Sell is Human, by Daniel Pink and The Age of the Image, by Stephen Apkon. Both were perfect for summer PD, as they were enjoyable reading and gave me plenty of ideas to use when school starts. Pink's book will help me change my approach to working with students and staff. I’m not a very visual person, so I was highlighting furiously in Apkon’s book. I’ll definitely be sharing both with the staff. I see many ways to incorporate Apkon’s ideas in my digital literacy lessons and when I assist students with presentations.
Every year when Comic Con comes to town, I've avoided the area. This year I went, and it was totally worth enduring the crowds! I had a one day pass, and my goal was the young adult panel including Marissa Meyer, Veronica Roth, and several other favorite authors. Expecting a crowd, we headed to the room early, only to find Congressman John Lewis speaking about a graphic novel he co-authored with Andrew Aydin and illustrated by Nate Powell. I was so interested in the story we skipped the YA panel and waited in line to get several copies of March Book One signed. It's hard to explain how inspiring it was to shake Congressman Lewis's hand. As I stepped away from the signing table, I was interviewed by a reporter for NPR. The segment just aired last week, and I'm surprised I sounded coherent, because I honestly was lost in thought about the role John Lewis played in the civil rights movement.
I spent far too much vacation time on the computer, curating my Scoop.it pages, following #ISTE2013, joining the NotAtISTE2013 Google + group, exploring links I'd saved during the last few months, and generally luxuriating in uninterrupted time to noodle about the Web.
And lastly, while I was already back at work, I got to meet up with the wonderful Melissa Techman and her lovely daughter! We talked geeky library things, and our daughters bonded over their love of South Korea. It was great to connect in person, and our conversation just flowed like a continuation of our Twitter chats.
Reading all the blather above, I realize I could have summed up my summer in one sentence: I did what I do at work, only minus the students. I'm already looking forward to sharing what I learned on my summer vacation with them!
I spent far too much vacation time on the computer, curating my Scoop.it pages, following #ISTE2013, joining the NotAtISTE2013 Google + group, exploring links I'd saved during the last few months, and generally luxuriating in uninterrupted time to noodle about the Web.
And lastly, while I was already back at work, I got to meet up with the wonderful Melissa Techman and her lovely daughter! We talked geeky library things, and our daughters bonded over their love of South Korea. It was great to connect in person, and our conversation just flowed like a continuation of our Twitter chats.
Reading all the blather above, I realize I could have summed up my summer in one sentence: I did what I do at work, only minus the students. I'm already looking forward to sharing what I learned on my summer vacation with them!