Journey to Presenting for SDE Orlando

This week I am a presenter for SDE!

Holy cow!

Can I say that again?

I am a presenter....for...S...D...E!

*faints*

I love teaching and have always thought that at some point I'd share what I was doing in my classroom with others.  Blogging really opened my eyes to a new way to exchange ideas with others.  I've been blessed to share for the last few years, and really that was good!  I was happy! :)

Lately though, I had the itch to try out actually speaking in front of others rather than just blogging.

First of all,  I thought about what I felt like I did WELL.  When you're speaking in front of people, you need to be sharing ideas that you feel ownership of.  Things that you know work for YOU.

My next step was to reach out to a few bloggy buddies who have already been PD presenters.  Everyone I spoke to was super encouraging! :)

I've known Deanna for a few years and when I went to her training in the fall, she asked me if I had considered presenting!  I was even more encouraged to fill out the forms with her encouragement!  So...veteran presenters and bloggers...thanks for taking the time to encourage those of us that you know with your sweet words!  They mean so much! :)

The only people I've ever presented for were my students, so the forms for me were super easy! :)

Go on the SDE site and look for where it says presenting opportunities.

Next click on aspiring presenters and download the application.

Print out the session proposal form to apply as a peer to peer presenter. 

This just means that it's your first time presenting.

I applied in January, they contacted me because someone else couldn't present.  I didn't really feel comfortable presenting on the other topic, so I exchanged a few emails with SDE and they gave me a topic that they felt would be a good one for me!  I'll be presenting on Integrated Units on Thursday! :)  After doing a bit of research, I worked on my slides and handouts for several weeks off and on. If you are more of a talker and are planning on talking a lot, you don't need as many slides.  If you're not much of a talker...you should probably have LOTS of slides with pictures.  Somewhere between 60 and 90 is what I've been told.

Here are a few of my handouts.  If you would download a copy, please click HERE.  Remember, these are my handouts so, if you would like to blog about it, or share the ideas, please contact me first. :)

I have been practicing a ton for the last week.  Streamlining, making sure the links work...timing myself.  Making my friends and my husband listen to me ad nauseum. :/  God bless them! :(

On the day of my presentation, I plan on going to see a few other presenters grab a nice lunch, and just have a blast sharing what I've prepared!

If you are in town and coming to the conference...please stop in and say hello even if you're not coming to my session! :)  It would be awesome to see a friendly face! :)