Never Stop Learning - A Meek Moose Quest for Superteaching

First off- I can't help it- I must show Peep.

Now- moving forward- the social media mayhem continues as I've added a Facebook page AND opened an Etsy shop!  Can I juggle it all?  I'll have to- since the big sis is involved...

If you'd like to pop over and Like Me or Follow me or whatever you're supposed to do to validate me as a person- go for it.

Click to go to Facebook Fan Page

Click to go to Etsy Shop

But- digital diving isn't all I've been up to.  I've finished my first Professional FUN READ! Because, yes, for me, reading professional books (the ones I pick, anyway) is tons of fun!

So here it is...

                               

I remember seeing a bunch of hubbub about this book either last summer or the summer before.  I finally decided to take the plunge (ooo- punny) a couple of weeks ago.  The book does NOT disappoint!

I "tweeted" my favorite quote from the book the other day:

"My purpose is too mighty to be dragged down by negativity."

 and Dave Burgess now follows me!  Which, I know, does not mean that he is reading my every tweet.  But it's like getting an autograph- in my opinion.  I made the same face I make when I'm in Target when it happened:

Dear Gawwwwwd! Get that woman some lipstick!

I probably make that face at everything though.

Why I like this book:

1) It's positively uplifting and brings perspective for those of us that want to be innovative and go against the grain but feel like the world isn't with us.  They aren't.  But we shall press forth and care not!

2) If you look at all of the suggestions Mr. Burgess has for what to infuse into your lessons, you can easily create a check list to keep with you in your lesson planning "area" to keep yourself on track for making your lessons awesome.

3) It breaks down creativity and passion and how it's available to everyone- not just those touched by God as they exited the womb.

I found the link for the Book Study that went on last year.  Lots of folks linked up to discuss this book.  If you click Gina's Blog Button, it'll take you to her fist post on Chapter One- where an amazing 105 people linked up.  And from there, you can see all her chapter posts.  I know I'll be reading through them.

***UPDATE  I just stumbled across a current book study going on as well- start out at Okinawan Girl to get started!***

Why do I spend my extra time reading professional books anyway?  Because I want to get better at what I do.  I want to be AWESOME.  Not really for other adult sorts of people- because a lot of them are like, irritating... but for ME and the kids I spend my time with.  That's another thing I like about the Pirate book- Mr. Burgess talks about how what we teach has lasting effects beyond the time we spend with a student during the year.  And that's what it's about.

But I don't stop at just professional reading.  I also like taking PD courses. Which brings me to the "sponsored" part of my post.  And I can't even say that it's sponsored, I'm not receiving any compensation for it or anything- I just received an email from Bob Clary, the Community Manager at Webucator asking me if I'd like to write a post about what I think is the most marketable skill for success in the workplace for the young folks leaving school.  And hey- I think I have an opinion on that, so why not write a post about it?

I truly believe marketing yourself as a life-long learner is essential.  And to market yourself, you really have to show that you are going out and improving your skills outside the realm of being ASKED to improve yourself.  Certainly, once we get jobs, we are given trainings in new skills that our employers hope will make us better.  But I think there is a lot to be said about showing your employer, or your future employers through your resume, that you are interested and passionate about your field so you go out and educate yourself in your free time.

I keep a section of my resume for listing professional books I've read, and professional development courses I've taken.  I make sure to note the ones I did of my own free will.  For example, I am SUPER DUPER excited about this- because I did sign up to do the week-long wetlands class starting on the 23rd.

Annnnd- even better!  After I chewed my nails paying the $245 for the whole week- I woke up the next morning to find out I got a scholarship and get to go for free! Wahooooo!  I really hope I get to wear my rubber boots. #flythatfreakflaghigh

You all should know by now how I love Sally at Fairy Dust Teaching.  She offers e-courses all the time and I've been able to apply every one of them to my teaching.  And her Learning Spaces course I do believe is the reason why I got an Exceeds Expectations in classroom environment this year.

Click to see Summer Course Schedule

I've stumbled upon two sites that offer e-learning courses as well. The first one I started with is Craftsy- doesn't sound like it would help me in the Education field so much, does it?  BUT- and Yay Me! - they had a course on how to illustrate children's books.  Which I think will help immensely when I'm teaching through picture books- and help me make things for my class.  Most of their courses are at a cost- but there are some free.

Click to go check them out

Recently I found Udemy.  They have an AMAZING number of courses for free- and some paid as well.  But my course log is full of freebies right now. They have free ones on Edmodo, photography, coding, learning foreign languages (I really want to be able to speak Spanish and communicate with my kids' parents without a translator...), Instructional design, even a bootylicious makeover plan ( because WHY NOT look awesome while being awesome?)  There is a course for everybody at Udemy.  And if you like that sort of thing, they even teach you how to make your own courses and offer them on the site.

Click to go see all they have to offer!

What I like about both of these programs is that they have an app version for my phone and iPad, so I can take the courses with me anywhere, and learn while I'm out and about.

Now, I've gone to go check out Bob's website - Webucator.  This site offers courses for a fee- but it's Technology and Business courses, lots of microsoft tranings- really good stuff.  They have some free tutorials too- I have my eye on the HTML courses- because I know that can help me with my blog.  As far as paid, self-paced courses- there's one on Instructional Design that speaks to me. The first two lessons are available as part of a free trial, so it's worth looking in to.

Click to go to the free tutorials page

And, undoubtedly- there's a million other sites out there offering lessons that are going to make you better at whatever it is you're passionate about.  So, to sum up - yes I do believe Making Yourself a Life-Long Learner - no matter what your profession - is the most marketable skill you can bring for professional success.

Which skill do you think is most important?