Gamified Professional Learning Network

So how cool are the people at the PGCPS Technology Training Office for setting up a weeklong celebration of technology integration in the classroom?

Supercool!

So I stumbled upon the contest from an errant tweet to @debatepgc and when I found out about contest I wanted to be in FIRST PLACE!  

I started investigating the challenges, alerting colleagues, checking the leader-board, and in 3 hours I went from not yet participating to 3rd place.  

Once I figured out I could submit multiple times for challenges and I started dusting off the shelves of digital yesteryear and reflect more deeply on how far I’ve come with technology integration in my instruction.  

Overall I was able to document fulfilling 7 of the 10 challenges with 12 submissions from my 13 years of teaching.  I finished in 5th place from among 40 or so participants.  

Check out the badges I was awarded!

	Challenge: Use technology to communicate with colleagues, parents, and/or students. Choose one of the tools below to change or supplement how you normally communicate to a specific audience.
	Challenge: Design a visual product to inform others about an issue. Create a visual representation, such as an infographic, flyer, photo collage, or more to share information.
	Challenge: Motivate and Inspire Teachers and/or Students using digital images and limited text. Show students how to use tools such as memes, hashtags, or 140 characters or less to convey a message.
	Challenge: Inspire students to use technology to invent something new! Modify or redefine learning in a new way by using self-created music or 3-D technology to convey an idea.
	Challenge:  Tell a story, share a concept, or reflect on learning using digital media. Allow students to make a movie or share a movie with them to demonstrate knowledge.
	Challenge: Use an online platform to share and discuss ideas. Share content with students, allow students to collaborate among one another, or conduct an asynchronous meeting with colleagues in an online platform.
	Challenge: Join a professional learning network (PLN) to enhance your own learning about using technology in the classroom. View and select a resource below to begin building and connecting to a virtual educational PLN.

I think it would be outstanding if there was a webpage of all of submissions teachers shared so we could all see what those great ideas are.  Thank you Technology Training Office for making a game out of reflecting and sharing best practices with our peers!