Growing my PLN using Web 2.0

Last week's Summer Learning Series challenge and this week's lesson in my elearning class are about podcasting. The challenge was to listen to at least 3 podcasts and tweet about each one. I am in the process of completing these, but I did take time off for vacation. Thank GOD for vacations!
My class assignment was to research podcasts, then create my own. So after much procrastination and dreading to hear my own voice, here it is:

listen to ‘Starting the New Year--On the Bus’ on Audioboo

I thought it would be nice to call attention to the bus drivers' efforts. Students, and parents, like all of us, need to be reminded that each person they come into contact with is working for their benefit. After all, would we even have bus drivers if the students weren't there to ride? So why would anyone choose to drive a bus? To ensure children's safety, that's why. So thank them for it.

For my own learning, I found that using Audioboo to record podcasts (even though my macbook has a podcast app already on it) was quick and painless. And after some going back and forth in both Audioboo's Help section and googling "how to embed an Audioboo podcast into a Blogger post," I successfully embedded my first podcast into this blog (see above)! I gave myself some Dr. Jean's fireworks!! (Kinder teachers know what I'm talking about.)

**If you'd like to read more and maybe even join Tedd Nesloney's Summer Learning Series challenges, you will find it here.

And here's a great footnote to growing my PLN:
Tonight I tweeted Tedd Nesloney (the very same) to thank him for his willingness to help those of us who have been slow to jump on this 2.0 rocket and included a link to my July 8 blog post.

Great post!! “@rtinkerap: Building my PLN http://t.co/eeWYA8kSTA”
— Todd Nesloney (@TechNinjaTodd) July 16, 2014

Immediately, not only did Tedd graciously favorite, reply, and retweet it, I had several others-- his followers--do one or more of the same!! My blog went from a dead 1 or 2 pageviews here and there to 83 just tonight! I know that isn't much in the grand scheme of things, but it made my day. More than knowing people saw my post and maybe read to the end, this quick action validated what I heard at ISTE in Atlanta and what I've been reading about in my Twitter feed: it isn't enough to write the blog posts, you have to advertise them by tweeting links, putting them on Facebook, etc. I believed what I read but I didn't have faith it would happen for me…until tonight. I am honored and humbled by the other educators that took time from their evenings to check out what I had to say. Awesome!!