I get by with a little help from my friends - The Power of a PLN

I am passionate.  I am competitive.  I am driven.  And...I was having a really hard time accepting that I was losing the opportunity to go to ISTE this year!

So what happens...

I have some friends...some peeps from my PLN...step in, pick me up and go to bat for me.  The craziest part?!  I have never met most of these people in person!  W-O-W.  You want to talk about the power of your professional learning network!?

Check this out...

People like Amy Mayer, Sandy Kendall, and Jason Markey retweeted my request for votes last week.  What happened then?!  I SOARED to first place in voting and then slowly got comfy in second place.  Works for me.  The top two go, so I'm in!

Unfortunately, I found myself in third place a few days ago after exhausting all of my efforts to gain votes (this is a tough race!) and I tried to come to terms with not getting to attend this awesome conference.  (Really hard for me!)

BUT NEVER FEAR!  Today, Karen Bolotin, who I have NEVER EVEN MET (but LOVE her blog!) AGAIN retweeted my plea for votes (she had already done this last week!) and even went one step further...

Karen not only got Martin Burrett (ICT Magic) to tweet out my cause...HE MADE A VOTING BADGE TO PUT ON HIS SITE!  WHATWHAT?!?!  Check out the badge in my right sidebar.  Yeah!  Someone I DON'T EVEN KNOW made that.  For me.  To get votes for me to attend a conference.  SAY WHAT?!

And THEN, Robyn Farmer, an amazing photographer friend and former educator, approached me and said "How about we have a drawing for a $25 Starbucks card if people go vote for you?!  I'll post it on my blog!  Everyone loves Starbucks!"  I have been reading the comments people have left on her blog and I am blown away.  I have been moved to tears!  Complete strangers are supporting my cause.

Powerful.

So, when you find yourself wondering "Does a PLN really work?" or your teachers ask "What can a PLN really do for me and my students?" remind them of me.  Win or lose, there are people out there who care about me and my teachers and my students and my district.  I get by with a little help from my friends!

Oh, and if you want to vote for me, just click on Martin's awesome badge at the top of this page.  :)