Professional Learning Networks
Personal Learning Networks (PLN) are a major aspect of education and many other careers, in these spaces, you have colleagues, mentors, and others who are there to contribute to your success and for you to share your ideas and projects with others. A PLN will look different for everyone, if you would like to explore some of my learning networks then check out some of the links below.
At some point this year, in no small part because of this master’s class, I have become more of a contributor than a consumer in my immediate learning community. I am having a meta moment in who I am as an educator and even who I am period. I have never considered myself a “tech” person, but here I am. The one who is learning and solving and making and using. Inspiring my colleagues to do the same!
And more recently, in my current course, I have had the opportunity to answer questions and help others, if even in small ways, navigate the DLL program. In turn, my collaboration with fellow grad students has in not so small a way improved my studies.
It is my responsibility as an educator to continue learning new ways and methods of teaching, to collaborate with other educators in a meaningful way, and share what I learn with students. It is my hope that I can help bring passion to my students so they have a love for learning. Below are some of my favorite professional network sites.
This foundation is dedicated to transforming K-12 education so that all students can acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to thrive in their studies, careers, and adult lives. Founded by innovative and award-winning filmmaker George Lucas in 1991, they take a strategic approach to improving K-12 education through two distinct areas of focus: Edutopia and Lucas Education Research. I found Edutopia on Twitter, when a colleague of mine sent an article to me. I’m hooked!
Listening to this ed tech company is helpful for learning how other people are using innovative technology in education, and very inspiring. They produce thirty minute interviews with people who are making an impact in our field, and interviews are easy to share or point co-workers to.
Of course, TED talks are commonly shared videos as well. Some of my favorites will always be Brene Brown, Sir Ken Robinson, and Rita Pierson.
TED was born in 1984 out of Richard Saul Wurman’s observation of a powerful convergence among three fields: technology, entertainment and design. The first TED, which he co-founded with Harry Marks, included a demo of the compact disc, the e-book and cutting-edge 3D graphics from Lucasfilm, while mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot demonstrated how to map coastlines using his developing theory of fractal geometry.
Twitter is an open service that’s home to a world of diverse people, perspectives, ideas, and information, according to the About section on their website. “Happening Now” on Twitter in education:
MindShift@MindShiftKQED – MindShift explores the future of learning, covering cultural and tech trends and innovations in education. Their website – https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/ is chock full of news, resources, podcasts, tv and it’s free!
edutopia@edutopia – Edutopia, as seen above, is a foundation that is dedicated to transforming K-12 education so that all students can acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to thrive in their studies, careers, and adult lives. Edutopia also has a website filled with resources: https://www.edutopia.org/
Facebook has some excellent educational groups that are run mostly by educators. There is lots of information, presentations, files, images, and links that are shared with each other. Some of these are great places to ask specific questions you may have or just to be a consumer of information like me.
One of my favorite groups this school year has been Bitmoji Craze for Educators. The collaboration and creativity of this collective is astounding.
DFW Teachers Lounge – This is a private group for educators in the Dallas and Fort Worth area. The group was established in July of 2015. It is a place for DFW educators to connect and share – and sometimes SCREAM – just like the real teachers’ lounge!
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