Challenge Week 3

We made it to  our THIRD Summer Learning Series Challenge!!!  I am so pumped about this week’s challenge!!

So just to give you an update, we’re now at over 1,150 participants from 7 different countries who are learning together.  That’s some pretty exciting stuff!

As I’ve said before I want to continually bring you challenges that aren’t just from me, but are from brilliant minds from across the world.  I’ve reached out to friends of mine, that I’ve built relationships with online and face to face, who are all coming together to help build this Summer Learning Series for YOU!  That’s how passionate we are about getting you connected and learning.

This week’s challenge is another two-parter!

Part 1:

To continue our theme of learning about Twitter this week’s challenge comes from Daisy Dyer Duerr out of Arkansas. You’ve heard a lot of talk about hashtags and me wanting you to include the #SummerLS hashtag on your tweets.  But I know some of you are still trying to figure out what exactly a hashtag is, and what does it do??  Well this challenge is built for you then.

First you can watch Daisy’s challenge video HERE.  

Daisy’s challenge is for you to participate in at least one moderated Twitter Chat this week using a hashtag.  Tom Murray has put together a pretty comprehensive list of all the twitter chats that go on in a week for educators.  You can find that list HERE.

The easiest way to participate in a twitter chat is by using a program like TweetDeck or Hoot Suite.  My favorite is TweetDeck, and I made a quick video explaining Tweet Deck (and a little more about hashtags) that you can watch HERE.

Like Daisy’s video says, try to include the #SummerLS hashtag while you’re participating to drive even more people to checking out what we’re doing.

Once you have participated in a Twitter Chat fill out the Google Form HERE to show your completion.

Part 2:

I love reading, but sometimes I don’t even know where to start when it comes to finding a great education book.  Well, there are three people who I’ve had to pleasure of getting to spend some time with who have written ABSOLUTELY incredible books.  You may have heard of these people or their books.  But I reached out to them, and in the midst of their incredibly busy schedules, each of these 3 authors took time out of their schedules to make you a video challenging you.

So the part two of this week’s challenge is to watch all three videos below.  Pick one (or more!) of the authors, get their book, and complete the challenge they’ve set forth!  None of these books are long or complicated so they should be an easy read in a week!

If you’re a teacher you may like….

“Teach Like a PIRATE” by Dave Burgess.  Dave is absolutely amazing.  I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know him and spend time with him on several occasions.  He’s one of the hardest working men I know and he is so passionate about changing the way we do education.  His book is all about being a passionate educator and engaging children.  If this book doesn’t like your fire and get you excited, I’m not quite sure what will! You can check out Dave’s challenge video HERE.

If you’re an administrator you may like….

“Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times” by Eric Sheninger.  I had the extreme pleasure of meeting and getting to spend some time with Eric about a year ago for the first time.  He is incredible intelligent and has such a huge heart for changing education, but more specifically for helping more forward the leaders in the distrcit.  His book was a great read for me as I jumped into administrator.  I honestly feel that this book should be a requirement for anyone in a leadership position.  You can see Eric’s challenge for you by clicking HERE.

If you’re in education at all you may like….

“Passion-Driven Classroom: A Framework for Teaching and Learning” by Angela Maiers.  There are few people who have inspired me and changed my mindset of who I am and what my potential is, more than Angela Maiers.  She is widely known for her #YouMatter movement on twitter and travels the country speaking about finding your passion and helping kids discover their “genius”.  My favorite quote comes from Angela; “You are a Genius and the world NEEDS your contribution”.  You can see Angela’s challenge video by clicking HERE. (for Angela’s challenge, after reading her book, you’ll write about what three things stuck out to you most and how it will impact your school year).

After reading one of the three books listed above (or several of them!) You can fill out the Google Form HERE to complete your challenge!  Also, don’t be afraid to reach out on twitter to these authors (and others).  They love interacting and love hearing about what you’re gaining from reading their materials.  I always love tweeting out little tidbits from books as I’m reading them and tagging the author in those tweets so they can see how much their writings have meant to me!

Well, now you’ve got your Week 3 Challenge!  What are you waiting for????  Let’s get learning!