What is a …. PLN?
November 28, 2009 by Miss W.
Once you start on the steep learning curve of using more technology in your classroom, you will find it much easier if you have a PLN. This is a Personal Learning Network. There are many ways to develop a PLN.
Start locally with teachers in your own school and district, then when you go to seminars and professional development sessions add more people and, finally, when you feel comfortable start adding overseas people to your PLN.
Start with the other teachers in your school – share resources. Why keep inventing the wheel when someone has already created some lesson plans on the topic you want to teach? Adapt the plans to suit you then share with others – remember to give attribution of where you got the original plans. Keep these lesson plans on a common intranet or USB flashdrive.
Share web resources with others in your school. You are teaching a new topic and want some web resources for students to use. You don’t have to start from nothing – check out Diigo and Delicious. These are bookmarking and social networking sites where other people have found resources suiting your topic. In Australia and New Zealand, you can also check out the Learning Federation Objects at Scootle.
Join Twitter to gather more resources and add more people to your PLN. Make sure you check out Sue Waters from Perth, Western Australia. If you want to do a lot of collaborating with overseas countries, Anne Mirtschin from Victoria, Australia. If you want to learn about using different tools in the classroom, check out Tom Barrett, from England. Interested in the virtual world of Second Life, then Dean Groom from Sydney, Australia is the man for you.
Here are some interesting posts to read about developing a PLN.
- A wiki from Sue Waters on how to set up a PLN
- importance of having a PLN by Anne Mirtschin
- Darcy Moore – New South Wales, Australia
- Bookjewel - teacher librarian Victoria, Australia
- Shelly Terrell – USA/Germany – check out her video clip
- Richard Byrne – USA
- Liz B Davis – Boston, USA
- Lisa Nielsen – USA
Original image: ‘Latest update to map‘
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7988532@N06/2678603192
by: Sue Waters Released under an Attribution-ShareAlike License
Create a free edublog to get your own comment avatar (and more!)
Thank you for referring to my work and all the best with your new style blog. I note that it is directed at the Tasmanian teachers but is also applicable to the global audience.
My PLN has taken me on an amazing ejourney that never stops. A PLN is crucial to the uptake of ‘true’ 21st century learning and I have been really fortunate to make some great connections.
I am pleased to say that you are part of my PLN.