Photo #196: An Iowa Tweet Up

For the past year I have spent part of each evening talking to, and learning from, other educators on Twitter. I have been amazed by the knowledge and generosity of these people, as they shared their ideas and work, with someone they had never met. Today, for the first time, I met some of those people, face to face.

Last night I charged up all my toys; my netbook, the iPad, my Droid and the camera battery, so I would have everything ready to go. Kathy Kaldenburg, (@scsdmedia), made all the arrangements. We met at the Kava House in Swisher, Iowa, 117 miles from Des Moines. I was both excited and nervous on the two hour drive. What if we didn't like each other? What if we had nothing to talk about?

It was amazing to walk into a place I had never been before, and have people I had never met, recognize me from my Twitter Avatar, and call me by name. Kathy and Jan Johnson (@4alakeview) were there when I arrived. Jan and I have been communicating via e-mail since November and sharing resources. Kathy introduced us, even though we really didn't know each other before that.

When Shannon Miller, @shannonmiller, arrived, I recognized her right away. I hadn't talked to Shannon a lot, but I "see" her on Twitter almost every night.

It is odd to know so much about people you are meeting face to face for the first time. I also had a great time talking with Matt Townsley (@mctownsley). I felt like I had traveled with Shannon and Matt when they went to ISTE10 a few weeks ago, because I had followed their tweets. I have talked quite a bit with Karla Duff (teacher6th), so I felt like she was an old friend. I was meeting Ernie Cox (@erniec) and Ivy Nielsen,(@ivus2370), for the first time today, but because we had this common interest it was very comfortable.

If you ever have the opportunity to meet some of the people in your PLN, I highly recommend it. Take the risk, and continue the Tech Adventure. You'll have a great time!