Personal Learning Network (PLN)

When I first thought of what my personal learning network would look like, this diagram is what came to mind. I thought of it like the basis of who I communicated with daily and what I did that was a part of my life each day. I think that this class will be a good way to understand how big of a range my PLN can be and already is.

I decided it was time to expand my personal learning network and see what I could do to get better connected to those around me. There are many ways to expand my PLN, like video conferencing, pinterest, twitter, and other social media platforms. These are 10 things that I did in order to help expand my understanding of technology and how I can use them as I grow as an educator in the future.

1) Pinterest Account (Professional Account)

The first thing I did was set up a professional Pinterest account so I could begin to pin ideas of things I could use or do in my future classroom. This was a good first step in the direction of creating my PLN because it kind of gave me a base for everything else that would be to follow. Pinterest has so many great ideas when it comes to activities, games, lesson plans, and classroom set up. There is an endless amount on Pinterest and I could spend hours scrolling through finding new, creative ideas!

 

2) Creating Boards (Visit my boards)

Following the making of my Pinterest account, I created different boards to organize ideas that I had found. These ranged from inspiring quotes to classroom setup and even lesson plans. This was a great way to expand my network because it allowed for me to organize my own thoughts and I can share with others that need or want to get ideas for their own classrooms. My goal in creating this Pinterest was to help with finding ideas if I need for my future classroom and students.

3) Twitter Account (Professional account)

Next, I created my professional twitter page that you can find here. This was a space I created so that I could connect with different teachers and professionals in the area. I also am following different education accounts so I can keep up with education in our country and  how different laws are effecting us. Twitter is a great way to connect with your students because in today's world, almost all children/ students have an account, meaning you can have them tweet homework assignments at you and keep track of them as a teacher.

 4) Following Professional Accounts (find other accounts here)

For my next form of networking, I followed some teacher accounts on my twitter page from the school district I grew up in, and I followed some professional education accounts from here in the U.S. This way I can stay connected with what is happening in my hometown, as well as in our country today when it comes to education. This was a great addition to expanding my PLN because I am able to connect with those close to and far from me. I still have many more people to connect with on Twitter, but I think these first few accounts is a great start to the connections I can have.

5) VoiceThread (Create an account here)

My next connection I made was my VoiceThread account. I made this during my freshman year at UNI, and thought it was a great tool to use for any future things I wanted to add to it. It can be used for interactive learning with students in your class if you are gone one day but still want to read to them, or if you want to have the kids film themselves reading or presenting a project. This website also allows you to comment on videos, so you can give your kids a prompt and allow them to give feedback about what they liked in the book or give feedback to their peers.

6) YouTube Account (click here)

To connect myself to things I could use in my future classroom, I made a professional YouTube account. This account will allow me to create videos that I can share with my students, make playlists of videos I want them to watch for the flipped classroom unit, and to be able to find videos that will better my teaching. YouTube is a great way to be able to connect in a very wide spectrum. It will be useful in a classroom and allow me to find new and improved ways to connect with my students.

7) Lynda.com (Personal Account)

Next thing to further stretch my network, I added an account on Lynda.com. This was the first step I took and I first took the training in how to use the Google Calendar. This allowed me to branch out in how I connect with people, schedule meetings. and plan events. My network expanded with this because it has other training you can go through and add to your courses and complete them to add to your skill level. I completed the Google Calendar Essentials Training, which I then tweeted about on my account so I could share it.

8) Google Calendar

I added Google Calendar to my phone and entered in all my classes, work schedule, and any meetings or extra things I had going on each week. This was a great way to stay connected with peers and to make sure I got things done. I added this to my PLN because I knew I could stay organized and that it was a good way to branch out my network of people I communicated with. This way, if I need to schedule a meeting with someone, they can look at my calendar and we can decided when the best time to meet is.

9) Blog (Miss. B's Learning Center)

This semester I really expanded my PLN by adding a blog that I can use to connect with teachers, educators, students and more and it will allow me to share things I find for my classroom. My blog is somewhere that I can add to the list of resources I find for my students and put in new things for myself and to update other educators about my teaching journey. I named my blog Miss. B's Learning Center because it is a place I can allow my students to learn about classroom tools and for others to learn about myself.

 10) Zoom (get connected here)

This was the last step I took to expand my PLN, and it opened up a whole new area of communication with my peers. For a project in my EDTECH class, my group was able to communicate with our professor by setting up a meeting over Zoom. This allowed us to be in separate places but still have the convenience of talking face to face to finish and edit our group project. Zoom is a great resource to use with students. It gives them the opportunity to further their own knowledge of technology and also allows them to advance their learning as a part of a group.

  

Post PLN Map

This is how much my PLN grew over the semester. I found that your network is all about who you connect with and that on a day to day basis, I connect and communicate with more people and things than I realized. This has allowed me to see how I can further connect with those around me in the future and on my journey of becoming an educator.