How exactly do you give a PLN to someone? Several suggestions have been made today, but the one you pick depends on your relationship with your administrator.  Instead of signing up for a Twitter account for them I am going to offer to help them set up one up. I will have a profile picture of them ready to go  and I will have some suggestions for their biography.  I will also show them how to manage and share the information that they find valuable so they can become an asset to their PLN.

I have created this list of 50 educators with my two administrators in mind.  I have chosen these educators based on how much I think my administrators will get out of following them.  I have selected a mix of teachers, administrators, professors, educational technologists, and journalists.  So here they are in no particular order:

• karlfisch
• kdumont
• shareski
• mwesch
• mguhlin
• chrislehmann
• hdiblasi
• isteconnects
• kjarrett
• LarryFerlazzo
• jwindsor
• budtheteacher
• teach42
• MikeGras
• oswego98
• Edu4U
• lkolb
• AngelaMaiers
• ddrapper
• bbarreda
• plnaugle
• jutecht
• dstall
• SuzanneWhistler
• ScottElia
• watcanz
• wfryer
• rmbyrne
• mcleod
• kellyhines
• timlauer
• woscholar
• pgeorge
• Astro_Mike
• principalspage
• canyonsdave
• garystager
• Web20Classroom
• tomwhitby
• paulrwood
• lthumann
• courosa
• rickweinberg
• HallDavidson
• edutopia
• bengrey
• dianafingal
• WendyDrexler
• teachakidd
• bethstill (You didn’t think I’d forget to add myself, did you?)

I work up to the realization today that my summer is quickly coming to an end. I go back to school in two short weeks. I am sure the time will fly by, but I am OK with that. This year I am so excited to get back to school for so many reasons. I miss my coworkers and my students. Most of all I miss my routine!

The vast majority of you who are reading this post already know about the ISTE Newbie project. The project has a new face and a new goal this year. Last year so many of you supported the project because you were familiar with Richard Byrne, author of FreeTech4Teachers. This year Jason Schrage (@oswego98 on Twitter) will be blogging about his experiences as a classroom teacher. I hope that teachers who are new are apprehensive about using technology or who are simply new to the conversation will read his blog. The inherent problem of targeting this audience is that they are NOT on Twitter. I am counting on all of you in my PLN to help spread the word about this project in your district. As you go back to work please tell people about this project. Please subscribe to his blog and add the Newbie badge to your blog. I have also created some business cards that you can print and share.

Please share your suggestions on how to promote this project. While you are at it make sure you join the ISTE Newbie support group on the Classroom 2.0 Ning.

I received an email from Jen Wagner yesterday.  Jen has been part of my PLN for some time now. After reading my post on Ways to Support the ISTE Newbie Project Jen told me that she wanted to donate 10% of the earnings of her new book, Guessthewordle, to this project. I would like to encourage you to look into purchasing this book which. Doing so will allow you to support two members of your PLN at the same time. Guessthewordle can also be downloaded onto your iPod! At $5, it is a superb deal! If you are new to Wordle then check out their website.

Thanks again Jen for your generosity. You are helping prove once again that we really are all in this together.

Before I introduce you to the newbie for 2010 I would like to take some time to explain how I came about choosing the NECC 2010 Newbie.

I spent a great deal of time looking at the various people in my PLN. There are certain qualities that I look for in a newbie. The absolute most important thing is that they possess a passion for learning. They must also have the desire to share what they are learning. They need to be visionary leaders in their field. In other words, I want someone who has big ideas because those are the people who are not afraid to affect change. My PLN is full of people who meet these criteria, but there is one person who I have been watching since December. This teacher is incredibly dedicated to his profession. He is a social studies teacher who is working hard to seemlessly integrate technology into his classroom. From the conversations I have had with him on Twitter, he is facing some of the same struggles that so many of us are. I think so many of us will be able to relate to him.

The person I am about to name has absolutely no idea this that this is even happening. While he is not obligated to accept my offer to be the next newbie it is my hope that he will! There is one condition that will be attached to this project this year which is not unreasonable. I am requiring that the newbie blog every week or two about what they are doing in their classroom.

So without any further delay please join me in congratulating Jason Schrage (@oswego98) who I have selected to be the Newbie for 2010.

I am not going to start the fund raising for this project until much later in the year. I have not even thought that far ahead! If Mr. Schrage accepts this offer I want to give our PLN time to get to know him. If it is not too much trouble please follow him and send him some words of encouragement.

Thanks to my PLN for all of your help with the 2009 Newbie project. I am literally sitting 20 feet from Richard Byrne who is in a discussion with Lee Lefever from Common Craft. I hope you can welcome Jason into your PLN. He is a rising super star!

Last week I wrote a post on how to get a newbie started off right in Twitter. Then I started thinking about all of the educators who have already fallen through the cracks. The ones who gave Twitter a try, but were really never given a proper demonstration on the ins and outs of Twitter. What about the ones who were left to figure it out on their own and felt so overwhelmed that they gave up?

Here is my challenge to you. Find someone who has tried Twitter, but who dropped out. Send them a message to let them know you want to help them rediscover Twitter. Help them make sure their profile and bio is complete. Invest some time teaching them how to use Twitter. This is something we wrongly assume people will figure out on their own.  Teach them how to do things like send “@” messages, DM’s, and add links and images. Help them bookmark different sites so they can reference them down the road.

Perhaps the most important thing is helping them find people to follow who are the right fit for their PLN. It might look like they are following a lot of people, but what really matters is the quality of information that is coming across. Help them find 30-40 good people to follow. Show them how to find people in different directories such as Twitter4Teachers and WeFollow. The next thing you need to do is help them make some meaningful updates. After a week or so reintroduce them to the Twitterverse! Add them to a Follow Friday list to help them grow their PLN. Once they see that a couple of dozen people care about what they have to say it might just hook them on Twitter permenantely!