A PLN (Personal Learning Network) is an integral resource that every educator needs to have. It is a way for a teacher to maintain professional connections to other members of their field. These connections are easily made and kept through social media such as Twitter and Facebook. The use of such platforms to keep contacts in the teaching profession allow for individuals to create a network of assistance to their growth. This system can be used to share ideas, dialogue about a variety of topics, and also discuss the effectiveness of certain teaching techniques. By being able to keep up with other teachers' progress, an individual can decide if those methods would possibly work in their own classroom.
As a future history teacher and football coach I have found myself being drawn to Twitter accounts that reflect my interests in these areas. Sources such as the Smithsonian History Museum give interesting information about many historically relevant subjects. Dan Carlin's Hardcore History also tweets about many excellent discussions and articles that really make a topic interesting. I also have kept many connections through My Facebook to former coaches and other individuals I met while playing football in high school.
Hey Russell! You seem to already be well on your way to having an expansive PLN. I also follow many different pages on Facebook that talk about proper writing techniques. I also follow pages that post examples of people's horrible grammar usage on theninternet. I didn't think about counting thosr as one of my PLN's, but I can definitely see that they would be great additions. Thanks for the enlightening post!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are off to a great start with making a PLN of resources.
ReplyDeleteIf you can, I suggest you make your link text a different color. It currently blends in with the text color.
Hey Russell! It's such a huge help to already have a PLN of resources. The earlier you establish those, the better it'll be for you in the future. I never looked at keeping in touch with my former teachers to be part of my PLN but I definitely see how it would be now that you pointed that out.
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