PLN. I have to admit at first I was skeptical about the term. I watched the video three times and read the article several times. After our CLC online discussion, and some reflection, I've finally made the connection to it and me as a professional. Sometimes we as teachers get bogged down in our day to day and all the demands put on us, that we don't take a step back and reflect and consider. Maybe after 19 years under my belt, I just move through it all automatically. Well, that saying...You can't teach an old dog new tricks...you really can. And having a PLN helps teach those new tricks.
Since our building has been, in my opinion, one that has used technology for a long time now, the knowledge I have gained has been through my #9LN (School 9 Learning Network). Co-teachers talked me into Facebook, introduced me to Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers. I can say I am a strong lurker on all of these forums! Google went nuts within our building and I took district Google online courses to be able to use Classroom and Forms and Slides. To present it to my students as a means for work and research has been eye opening, for me as well as them. The change from paper/pencil, from teacher-led to technical paper/pencil and student-choice/self-lead has been bumpy, error-filled, and exciting all at once.
My PLN has mostly been via word of mouth. I'm on several teams where we discuss the latest this or suggest to go try that. There is even a Teacher/Leaders Team at our school via Google Classroom where lesson ideas are posted for all to see and try. But I can see having a Social Media PLN would open up even more avenues and hopefully, inspire me. I can see how it would contribute even more to my learning as a teacher and zero in on an educational focus. It may even give me food for thought. While I currently share with my colleagues, I never share outside of that circle...not even with other district buildings/teachers. I'm sure I have some good ideas or successful lesson plans that maybe others would like to take a look at. Sharing will be a goal for me. I look forward to building new relationships in education. This "old dog" is always open for new tricks!
