Professional Learning Networks (PLN)

 Happy Saturday!

I'm so excited to have a long weekend. This timing it absolutely perfect so I can get caught up on planning, grading, homework, and rest! Yesterday, we had a half day of in-services for our ROE 30 district and our guest speaker was Damon West. He was a huge inspiration! If you have time definitely check out his website or social media accounts Be A Coffee Bean! Now lets dive into one of my social media accounts X, previously known as Twitter. 

Professional Learning Networks

I have recently created an educational twitter account. This account is part of my professional learning network as an educator. I found a great quote to quickly introduce this concept. According to website American English, "PLNS are an essential part of lifelong learning for teachers. A PLN consists of the people you informally learn from and share ideas with as well as the resources, tools, and materials that support your learning." There are so many great benefits to PLNs for 21st century teachers. 

Twitter Account

Photo Source: Author

WOW! I have had a personal twitter account since since 2012. Now in 2023, I have created a professional twitter account. Check out my Twitter here! I have been using this twitter account for about a month now. At first, I didn't know where to get started because I have never used this platform to look for education resources. This year, I have been using Instagram and TikTok a lot to find educational strategies or lessons to use in my classroom. However, my first step was to follow at least 15 educational accounts. My twitter feed began to have lots of relatable content, motivational posts, and more! Here is one educational resource that I found and will be using in my classroom. The account Help A Teacher posted the image below. Recently, my third graders have had some friend struggles and they are being unkind to each other. In my classroom, I like to say we are a family because we need to care about each other, support one another, and grow together! I plan on writing this on my whiteboard as a reminder for all my students to be kind to everyone even through differences and disagreements! This is important for kids to understand at a young age because it will go with them as they continue to get older. Not only do kids need this reminder but also some adults need it to be friendly.

Photo Source: Author

Twitter Chats

I have successfully engaged in my first twitter chat! A twitter chat is a scheduled virtual conversation that connects the online community together to share ideas. A host must begin the twitter chat and schedule a specific time so others can join in on the topic. I struggled to find and participate in a twitter chat at first. However, I found an awesome one Wednesday night! An account affiliated with @ISTEoffical posted that there was going to be a magical twitter chat hosted by @KBeddes! I would have to say this chat was magical, especially being my first one. The theme was perfect for the beginning of October- Edtech Tricks or Treats. This was such a great experience to see the perspectives of fellow educators that I have never met before. Below I am sharing the chat questions and my responses through screenshots. I loved all six questions and enjoyed sharing my resources with others while learning new strategies from more educators. 

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PLN Overview

I enjoyed creating a PLN and using the platform X (twitter). I really like having two twitter accounts because one can strictly be for personal use and one for professional use. I believe this will allow me to see more educational resources in one area than having both combined on my personal account. This gives me a better work/life balance as well. If I have personal accounts, I can use them as a space to get away from my work and catch up with friends and family. As a teacher, I am still trying to find my balance between work, school, and personal life. Also, I am looking forward to joining another twitter chat soon!