One of the most effective tools in building a PLN is Twitter. It allows you to connect with other educators anywhere and anytime. It also allows for connections all over the world. My PLN has grown so much through the use of Twitter, and I cannot wait to see how this continues, because it is so important to have a PLN as a teacher.
A PLN is a personal learning network. This can be in real life or digitally, and can be anybody that you are learning from. There are many ways to gain this, such as edcamps, observing in schools, talking with anybody related to the field, or through social media. I have met many people at edcamps that I have added to my PLN. For example, at edcampGCC, I met a founder of a private school. Him and I conversed during two separate sessions, and he gave me his business card after the second. He is now a part of my PLN because if I ever have any questions or want to observe in his school, he made himself available. Another way that I grew my PLN was by talking with people at church about my major and studies. Through this, I engaged with two different principals in two districts close to home. Finally, as stated Twitter, has been an amazing resource for growing my PLN. To put it simply, my PLN is a group of educators that I can go to with questions, exciting experiences, and the need for experiences.
As a future teacher, a PLN is important for many reasons. First, as a teacher, there will be times that I get frustrated and discouraged. Many people in my PLN have already stressed the importance of connecting with other teachers for this reason. When I am hanging on by a thread, there will be other people in my PLN who can encourage me to keep pushing on. In addition, I will never know everything that I need to know. When I run into situations that I do not have an answer for, instead of reinventing the wheel, I can ask someone in my PLN who already knows what to do. This will allow me to devote my time and energy to other things that are still waiting on an answer. Finally, having a good PLN will be very helpful in job searching. Besides the obvious point of helping me to connect with schools to get a job, my PLN can help me to discover whether the school that I am interviewing at is a good fit for me. At an edcamp, a former principal told me that instead of just having the school interview me, I should be interviewing the school as well. He explained that one of the biggest reasons for teacher burn out is that teachers are taking jobs in schools that are not good fits for them. My PLN can help me to learn as much as I can about a school so that I do not take a job that is not a good fit for me.
Check out my Twitter page! I would love to add you to my PLN and join yours!
A PLN is a personal learning network. This can be in real life or digitally, and can be anybody that you are learning from. There are many ways to gain this, such as edcamps, observing in schools, talking with anybody related to the field, or through social media. I have met many people at edcamps that I have added to my PLN. For example, at edcampGCC, I met a founder of a private school. Him and I conversed during two separate sessions, and he gave me his business card after the second. He is now a part of my PLN because if I ever have any questions or want to observe in his school, he made himself available. Another way that I grew my PLN was by talking with people at church about my major and studies. Through this, I engaged with two different principals in two districts close to home. Finally, as stated Twitter, has been an amazing resource for growing my PLN. To put it simply, my PLN is a group of educators that I can go to with questions, exciting experiences, and the need for experiences.
As a future teacher, a PLN is important for many reasons. First, as a teacher, there will be times that I get frustrated and discouraged. Many people in my PLN have already stressed the importance of connecting with other teachers for this reason. When I am hanging on by a thread, there will be other people in my PLN who can encourage me to keep pushing on. In addition, I will never know everything that I need to know. When I run into situations that I do not have an answer for, instead of reinventing the wheel, I can ask someone in my PLN who already knows what to do. This will allow me to devote my time and energy to other things that are still waiting on an answer. Finally, having a good PLN will be very helpful in job searching. Besides the obvious point of helping me to connect with schools to get a job, my PLN can help me to discover whether the school that I am interviewing at is a good fit for me. At an edcamp, a former principal told me that instead of just having the school interview me, I should be interviewing the school as well. He explained that one of the biggest reasons for teacher burn out is that teachers are taking jobs in schools that are not good fits for them. My PLN can help me to learn as much as I can about a school so that I do not take a job that is not a good fit for me.
Check out my Twitter page! I would love to add you to my PLN and join yours!
- Twitter. It's what's happening.. (2018). Twitter.com. Retrieved 29 April 2018, from https://twitter.com/