Professional Learning Networks

What is a PLN?

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Personal Learning Networks (PLN) are online spaces where people can chat and share resources. I recently created a Twitter account (@a_raser1) solely for the purpose of connecting with other educators. Over the past few weeks I have followed different educational accounts. Some of my favorites are @Teacher2Teacher, @MindShift, @edutopia, and @Impact. Since starting my professional Twitter journey I have enjoyed reading different resources to use with my students and participating in Twitter chats in order to share ideas with fellow educators and gain new insights. 

Educational Chats

When searching for a Twitter chat to participate in I started by looking at Education Chats. This provides a list of all educational chats by date and time. I chose to participate in the chat #nt2t (new teacher to Twitter). I chose this chat because, while I do have a personal Twitter, I am not a regular user. This chat takes place weekly on Saturday at 8 am. The topic of this chat was all about how we can use ideas like Game-Based Learning, Gamification, and Play-Based Learning in the classroom. The questions were aimed toward how learning can be fun and why these methods are relevant to use for our students. I found myself thinking about what I am already doing in my classroom that incorporate play-based or game-based learning and how I can add more opportunities throughout the day. 

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I enjoyed the Twitter chat, however, I felt that at times I became so focused on writing my response I would miss other responses or fall behind during the chat. I liked going back and reading other thoughts on the questions. Participating in chats is something I want to continue to practice and hopefully have more opportunities to do so.  

Educational Resource

A resource that I found was from @edutopia and discussed a sustainable plan to meet
students where they are. As teachers we are often planning multiple versions of the same lesson in order to meet the needs of every student. For me personally, I am making lessons for each individual student in my small group because they are all at different levels. However, it can be hard to keep up with each version. This article discusses what educators can do to keep it as uncomplicated as possible while still giving each student what they need. The article listed four tips for how we can make differentiation more sustainable:

• Design with the end in mind
• Use open-ended tasks
• Create menus of choices
• Encourage self-regulation

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Takeaways

After spending time using my PLN I know this account will be something I want to continue using. I appreciate having a digital space where I can connect with other teachers and find educational resources. In the past I have used Facebook and Instagram as ways to digitally connect with others, but never Twitter. Now that I have been using it more I have found a new appreciation for the space. I can not say I am an expert Twitter user, but it is a space I want to continue to explore.