PLN Pinterest Reflection

My PLN Pinterest

 

In the education world, PLN stands for Personal Learning Network. What it means is that an individual has developed his or her own personalized “network” of fellow educators and resources that are designed to make them become better and effective teachers. This network exists both in their real-life relationships and online through their social media connections.

With more and more opportunities to develop one’s skills beyond what traditional routes have provided, establishing your own PLN is an essential step toward deepening your abilities as an educator (Catapalo, 2014). In the past, teachers were able to get connected to teaching resources through master’s courses, education journals, conferences, professional development, and other similar activities. All of these were and still are excellent ways to broaden your knowledge and skills in education. However, because each of these requires your physical presence and procurement of physical materials, they also come with certain restrictions.

A PLN is different in that it offers two additional benefits traditional personal development cannot. First, a PLN allows an educator to completely personalize their training. If a teacher wants to learn more about implementing technology in the classroom, or discussion methods, or how to help struggling readers, they can adapt their network to provide exactly the information that’s needed. What’s even better is that, once educators feel they have the information they require, they can immediately adapt their PLN to cater to different needs.  

Also, the “network” portion of a PLN indicates the high degree of symbiotic relationships that such personal development depends on. An educator is not merely absorbing information from others: they are sharing (Catapalo, 2014). They are not gainingwhat they need from some distant, impersonal sources: they are building relationships with others across the globe.

I have become increasingly interested in personal learning networks in my role as an educator. As all teachers know, a teacher preparation program can provide building blocks for learning, but all teachers need to continually engage in various learning experiences to improve teaching practices. When we talk of social media, we can call it is as any technology that enables communication, collaboration, participation and sharing. Or any tool for augmenting human social and collaborative abilities, or any medium to support and facilitate social connection and information exchange (Walter, 2012).  

We all realize that great learning happens in groups and collaboration is the key. And social media allows people to connect with each other in spite of geographical distances, to complement face to face communication and enhance the learning process by increasing the access to learning resources. PLNs are a fantastic way to continue learning! I find that by expanding my PLN both face to face and online, it has really enriched my teaching.

I am a fairly new teacher, and things that I had learn in collage few years ago had totally changed.  Common core was implemented this school year and that also has made a big difference in the classroom as well. Getting connected with other educators online has helped me a lot in my teaching career. When I became an active social-media Pinterest user, things has been a lot easier than before. A connected educator is a connected learner who collaborates online and uses a range of social media tools to build their own personal learning network to interact with other educators (Burt, 2014).

Having a PLN is important to me because it has helped me connect to people around the world. Being connected with other teachers is imperative in today’s world because we don’t teach alone. As a teacher, having that support network- whether it is at school or online, can make a difference in the way you teach.

I LOVE my personal learning network (PLN). It is so helpful to have a group of educators from around the world that I can bounce ideas off of and collect ideas from. A PLN is the best way to get pushed out of your comfort zone to keep growing. It is the best place to test out new ideas as well as have ideas challenged. Being part of a PLN has made me a stronger leader and educator as well as a more reflective practitioner. All of these skills are keys to achieving our best. We can’t tell our students to be life-long learners if we don’t model learning as well. A PLN is the best way to find new ideas, curate resources, and grow your circle that I have found. It takes work, but it is so worth it.

My PLN is really important to me because it consists of people who understand what it is like to explore and comment on technologies and pedagogy. They see world trends and embrace changes that support the development of innovative teaching methods. Sometimes I feel like I am on a wild ride but I know that getting out of my comfort zone is the best way to learn! That’s what my PLN does for me.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                    

                                                                 References

Burt. R (2014). Edublogs Teacher Challenges. Free professional learning for educators
                   by educators. What is a PLN? Retrieved From:
                   http://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/pln- challenge-1-what-the-heck-is-a-pln/

Catapalo. J (2014). Teachers Alliance. Lesson & Shared resources by Teachers, For Teachers.
                   What is a PLN? Why do I Need One? Retrieved From:
                   http://www.teachhub.com/what-pln-why-do-i-need-one

Walter. B (2012). Teaching a Vallege. We’re better when working together. What is a PLN?
                  Retrieved From http://www.teachingvillage.org/2012/01/03/what-is-a-pln-anyway/