Education doesn’t stop when you get your teacher’s license.  We need to follow the profess we make/give to our students that they are life longer learners – because so are we. (Tom Whitby – Founder of #edchat).

Purpose of my PLN

  • Instant feedback.
  • Connects with other educators and stakeholders.
  • Sources tools and resources to support learning and teaching needs.
  • Personalizes your own learning.
  • Accessible and flexible.
  • Excels your learning.

Planned Usage of My PLN

  • Share and garner ideas.
  • Participate in collaborative online learning.
  • Make new connections by meeting new educators.
  • Seek new point of views on topics.
  • Communicate with a diverse group of educators.
  • Find information and support.
  • Model how to be a master learner.

Platform to Build My PLN 

Since this is my first time building a PLN through media, I’m going to keep it simple by starting with Twitter (even though I have other networking tools – Pinterest, TED Talks, YouTube, LinkedIn).  Having one platform to start with will give me the opportunity to decipher the experts and/or organizations that will give me the most out of my desired purposes and/or to meet my objectives.  It will also allow for better time management, as with my already loaded day, I really do not want to be sucked into all the creative ideas or informative talks that all my networking tools have to offer.

tweet, twitter icon

Formation of My PLN

I started out with my #lrnchat to begin my activity.  Through this chat group, I have added some of the members from the group based on their profiles and interests which are in alignment with my objectives.  From the connected educators video, I was very impressed with the founder of #edchat, so he has also been added to my network, as well as #sd61learn and #sd61Inclusion, to build what I’m expecting to be an awesome PLN.

Strategies Used to Start Building My PLN.

In building my PLN, I’ve used the below strategies and will definitely alter it as I go along to tailor my needs and making it as effective as possible.  Please feel free to choose any and/or all of the below.  It can also be used as a guide in prompting your thoughts as it relates to your desired needs.

  • Search Tool Icon – this allows the narrowing down of exact and/or keys words of what is needed.
  • Say Hello in Chat Groups – especially if it is your first time. Doing this allows others to recognize your presence and welcome you, so that it doesn’t feel weird to you or pointless.  This way, you’ll also be prompted to get engaged.
  • Follow Educators You Admire – this allows and/or promotes participation, since they will most likely be posting things of your interest.
  • Devote Allotted Time to Your PLN – set a specific time of day and the amount of time to be spent on your network(s) so that interaction with your connection can be done regularly.

While networking, remember two things, PLNs are 1) only valuable if people contributes and 2) you’ll never find the exact insights you need if you don’t try. (Elizabeth Trach – Professional Writer and Blogger).

References

M.-A. [DevPro PD Flipped]. (2012, October 18). What is a PLN – Marc-André Lalande’s take [Video file]. Retrieved from from https://youtu.be/hLLpWqp-owo

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology [Office of Ed Tech]. (2013, September 18). Connected educators [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/K4Vd4JP_DB8

US Department of State, The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, American English. (n.d.). Developing your virtual personal learning network (PLN). Retrieved from https://americanenglish.state.gov/resources/teachers-corner-personal-learning-networks-plns

www.schoology.com/blog/personal-learning-network-pln-benefits-tools-and-tactics