Sunshine'd on #edtech

This post has seen many titles around the interwebs: "Sunshine Awards" or "You've been Sunshined" or "The Blog Homework Meme," but they are essentially all the same thing.

I was looped in to this by Beth Holland of EdTechTeacher. I first "met" Beth over a year ago when I was chosen as a presenter for the EdTechTeacher iPad Summit 2013 in Atlanta. I didn't have the opportunity to actually meet her in person until NYSCATE this year in Rochester. I have long been a fan of both Beth's blogging/tweeting and that of her organization, EdTechTeacher. I was quite humbled when she included me in her "I've been Sunshined" blog post.

So, thank you, Beth, and my apologies for taking so long to get my own post up...

The "rules" 

• Acknowledge the nominating blogger
• Share 11 random facts about myself
• Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you
• List 11 bloggers. They should be bloggers you believe deserve some recognition and a little blogging love
• Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer and let all the bloggers know they have been nominated (you cannot nominate the blogger who nominated you)

Since I'm one to follow the rules, we'll start at the beginning...

Thanks again, Beth Holland!

11 Random facts about myself

1. I was once in a car accident so bad I had to be extricated from the vehicle. Nothing puts a situation into perspective like hearing a fireman say "better get the jaws of life" - My Honda Civic was totaled but I walked out of the hospital a few hours later. Aside from a few months of physical therapy for a wrenched back I was unscathed. Bought another Honda Civic as soon as I could.


2. I started snowboarding in 1988. First board I rode? A Burton Cruiser rental. First board I owned? A 1991 Burton Free 5. Ahhh, youth...


3. I'm a New York Jets fan. Yes, I freely admit it. Been a fan since I was 5. Long suffering. Personified...


4. I'm watching a Microsoft Surface commercial as I write this. This is a random fact list, isn't it?


5. Speaking of technology, I used my first Mac in elementary school. An Apple IIe in 1983. New York City was Mac-centric back then too.


6. I wasn't always a Mac guy. I worked for Ziff Davis, at PCWeek/eWeek, doing streaming media and distance learning/webinars on PCs from 1997-2002.


7. The first 14 years of my life I lived on the same street where my mother grew up. My grandmother lived on that same block for over 50 years.


8. I'm horrible when it comes to talking about myself (hence the second superferlous item this early in the list).


9. I'm public school educated in Brooklyn, NY until grade 8. Moved to Denver, Colorado for high school and went to Regis Jesuit High School. Regis is probably the best thing that ever happened to me -- as a student, person, man, and now educator.


10. In high school all I really wanted was to meet Glen Plake and work for Warren Miller. Met Glen Plake, never got paid to ski or ride.


11. I've worked in rock radio, rode the dotcom wave, ride a Vespa to work, and teach in an amazing time at an amazing place. I may not be the starting linebacker for the Jets or make a living skiing Banff, but I have to say I think I'm exactly where I am supposed to be, doing exactly what I never knew I wanted to do...

My answers to Beth's questions...

1. Who was your favorite teacher in school? Father Jim Burshek, SJ - senior year theology. Never let me take the easy way out, never let me stop questioning, and was always pushing me to my limits. He officiated at my wedding and is who I most want to be as an educator.


2. What’s the best topping combination to put on a pizza? Cheese & sauce. I grew up in Brooklyn, not much else needs to go on a true NYC pizza. Pepperoni maybe, but that's about it.


3. Fill in the accolade. You are Most likely to_____ Avoid Talking About Myself


4. Name of your favorite stuffed animal/toy. - The Hulk wall hanging. Circa 1970s, cardboard with articulating joints. Been hanging in my bedroom since childhood (including college and after marriage). Now he goes to my son (who at 18 months is already very proud to "show us his muscles").


5. If you could go out for dinner with anyone throughout history, who would it be? Pope Francis I. Never a devout Catholic, but I'm devoted to the Jesuits for the aforementioned reasons, and let's face it, he's just about the coolest Pope ever.  


6. Best Day Ever Wow, that's a heavy question. There's marriage, kids, graduations, personal successes, professional successes... Best day ever? Tomorrow, I suppose. Every tomorrow...


7. Favorite Song Favorite bands are easier to come up with but if I have to choose, I'd say it'd be a tie between - Rose Tattoo by Dropkick Murphys, Green Fields of France by Dropkick Murphys, and Piano Man by Billy Joel - they are the only 3 songs I know the words to right now and my 3.5 year old daughter loves them and has me sing them to her every night at bedtime.


8. What is one thing you couldn’t live without? Trick question? Air? Or water, I suppose. In the spirit of personal insight (and not stating the obvious such as my wife or children), I'll go with Scotch. It's an item that is centuries old, being made essentially the same as it always has been, and it stands the test of time like few other things on this planet. When I have a Scotch, it puts a lot into perspective, and it is quite relaxing too.


9. What is the worst book that were ever forced to read? Canterbury Tales. As a piece of writing it's not bad, but sophomore year of high school we read the old English version over the course of a semester. I don't think it was the book itself that make it my "worst read," but rather the version we read and the overly detailed analysis of every inch of text, every potential meaning, and emotion behind every metaphor.


10. Do you have a nickname and how/why did you get it? "sallad" (or "sal"). It's a long story from high school. I was the guy with the nickname everyone knew. Got it freshman year and by senior year teachers, friends, parents -- they all referred to me as "sallad," which made my parents oh so amused. Father Burshek, senior year theology teacher, referred to me as "sallad" while officiating my wedding, to many laughs and a few groans. Almost 20 years later and it's still how high school folks know me.


11. Goal for 2014 - Blogs. Read more. Write more. I need to get my thoughts to paper more frequently so I can help quiet the noises in my head. I need to read more because I know there is amazing writing out there and I'll be better off for seeking it out and reading it.

11 Bloggers and 11 Questions

The bloggers:

1. Ryan Williamson (@SocraticReview)
2. Aaron Mauer (@coffeecugbooks)
3. Stephen Ransom (@ransomtech)
4. Matthew Fuentes (@matt_fuentes_)
5. Mike St. Pierre (@TheDailySaint)
6. Brad Currie (@bcurrie5)
7. Ben Samuels-Kalow (@bensk)
8. Patrick Fogarty (@fogarty22)
9. Chad McGowan (@AHSTechTeacher)
10. Tracy Rudzitis (@wagongrrl)
11. Scott Leiberman (@scott_lieberman)

The questions:

1. What was the first piece of technology you remember using?
2. You have a week and unlimited funds, where do you go?
3. What is your earliest vivid memory?
4. What singular event would you most like to attend (World Cup, Super Bowl, America's Cup, Presidential Inauguration,  etc)?
5. Have you started a "bucket list", actually put pen to paper?
6. What is the worst internet meme you have come across?
7. Lefty or righty?
8. Have you ever walked out of a movie (or gotten close)? Which one?
9. If you weren't in education, what would you be doing?
10. Did you really learn everything you needed to know in kindergarten?
11. Goal for 2014?

Feel free to share a link to your post in the comments.

Thanks!