I have a framed quote on my desk at work that says, "Be who you needed when you were younger." As a child, I was regularly told that I was different but that difference wasn't always seen as an asset. Many assumptions were made about me and my family. These assumptions didn't stop just because I became an adult. Being judged by my outward appearance is something I noticed as a child and I continue to notice that every single day, because it happens every single day. And now that I am an educator, I make it my daily goal to be who I needed when I was younger. I want to be an advocate and a voice for those whose voices are not regularly heard. In the spring of 2016, I was happily surprised to
I recently returned from a five-day conference in San Antonio, TX. It is the five days that shape the other 360 days of my year. The five days of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference are powerful, to say the least. Over 20,000 people arrive from over 70 countries to geek out and, more importantly, gain inspiration for future goals. We learn from each other, build relationships, and find ways to nurture the areas in which we need growth. Learning from each other is an enormous part of ISTE. Whether we're chatting at a poster session, figuring out a new tool in a playground, listening to a keynote, or in a workshop, we are learning every single second of the
