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A Professional Learning Network (PLN) is "any network you learn from and create to share ideas with others" (What's a PLN?...).

Where to Begin?
1. Follow Other Educators
2. Try Something New
3. Share with other Educators

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What's a PLN? And 3 Ways Teachers Can Get Connected | Common Sense Education

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As teachers, we all have unique interests and needs when it comes to our professional learning. In addition to traditional PD why not start your own PLN, or professional learning network? It's a truly personalized way to learn from other like-minded teachers. Plus, through your PLN you can also share your own knowledge and insights with others.

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"What's a PLN? And 3 Ways Teachers Can Get Connected." (2021). Common Sense Education. Retrieved January 30, 2021, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/whats-a-pln-and-3-ways-teachers-can-get-connected

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How TEDEd can help you create your own PLN

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How TEDEd can help you create your own PLN

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This blog tells the story of how one Alabama teacher created a PLN using TEDEd resources and connected over 500 local educators.

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"Teaching can be a desperately isolating profession," says Dylan Ferniany, a gifted education program specialist in Birmingham, Alabama. Yet both teachers and students benefit when educators have regular opportunities to collaborate, problem-solve and share ideas. How might we create supportive local networks that connect great educators and let them learn from one another?

For her TED-Ed Innovation Project, Ferniany designed a way to train and connect great teachers in her area. Her goal was to reach 500 teachers in Alabama - and she did! Read on for her step-by-step instructions on how you can start your own supportive learning network for local educators:

1. Start by getting to know TED-Ed, which has tremendous potential to connect teachers because it is entirely interdisciplinary.

TED-Ed breaks down the barriers of grade levels and subjects that split teachers into groups. By introducing common ground for all teachers, you can begin to create a local support network that brings together great educators from a variety of classroom settings, much like TED-Ed has done on a global scale with the Innovative Educator program.

2. Find a TEDx event near you and introduce yourself to the organizers. Offer to help build a community of educators who are well-versed in TED's resources for teachers and students.

Get started by creating an application for local educators to attend your TEDx event. TEDxBirmingham has an incredible team, led by Sarah Parcak and Matthew Hamilton. None of my innovation project would be possible without their vision.

3. Create a fellowship program for local educators with incentives to participate, such as tickets to the TEDx event, networking opportunities, and learning workshops.

Since the best teachers are often spread out among many school districts, a fellowship program that starts with training around TED-Ed resources can help you find and connect great educators all over your area. My goal was to connect and train 500 teachers in the Birmingham area.

4. Create an application for local educators to join the fellowship program.

What to look for: teachers who use TED Talks in the classroom, or advise TED-Ed Clubs, or run TEDxYouth events. Even teachers who just love TED Talks are great to get involved in an educator community!

"Having a TED-Ed Club has changed the way I teach. It allowed me to truly embrace the idea that students, every single one of them, has a voice, valuable insight, and dreams worth sharing. Even if the kids never stand on a red dot, simply allowing them a safe place to explore their interests and passions, without the burdens of traditional school bearing down on them, makes the program invaluable." - Andrew Cotten

5. From year to year, select a small group of fellows to help create programming for the incoming group.

We call ours "senior fellows." Senior fellows are instrumental in bringing ideas to life! Here are a few things that our senior fellows have done:

a) Conducted the 'Ed' in TED-Ed Professional Development Workshop Series:
b) Organized a local Education Scrimmage event
c) Presented ideas at EdCamp, Teach for America workshops, Summer Learning workshops, and in schools during staff meetings and embedded professional development
d) Attended personal and professional development workshops on how to teach with your strengths
e) Supported one another in TED-Ed Clubs and TEDxYouth events in Birmingham

6. Repeat year after year, and watch your educator learning network grow.

When I set out to train and connect 500 educators, I got to about 250 when I realized that I absolutely couldn't do it alone. So I started reaching out to the educator fellows about who they were sharing TED-Ed with, and how many people. Pretty soon we were at 500 no problem, because multiple groups of educator fellows were sharing TED-Ed on their own.

Then we came up with an innovative plan to connect even more teachers. First we thought: what do teachers need to use TED-Ed in the classroom? Well, if multiple students are watching TED-Ed lessons, they need headphones! So we used TED-Ed Innovation Project funds to purchase red headphones, and reached out to a local youth arts education organization called Kuumba Community Art to create an information flyer to go with the headphones. The students at Kuumba Community Art created an insert that takes teachers to a TED-Ed Scavenger Hunt, which enters them in a drawing to win a ticket to TEDxBirmingham 2017.

Closing thoughts:

My greatest takeaway from my innovation project was that when we find something in education that works, we have a responsibility as educators to share that with one another. I am revived by the community of TED-Ed Innovative Educators all over the world and the amazing TEDxBirmingham Educator Fellows who are right here in my community, and I could not have run this project without all of their support and sharing of ideas. Some of them run TED-Ed Clubs or host TEDxYouth events, and many of them use TED-Ed in their classrooms. The idea that more teachers and more students can share their ideas and can find their voices as a result of the work of this community is one of the most exciting education innovations that I have ever been a part of!
If you have questions about how to replicate this project, please reach out to me on Twitter. This article is part of the TED-Ed Innovation Project series, which highlights 25+ TED-Ed Innovation Projects designed by educators, for educators, with the support and guidance of the TED-Ed Innovative Educator program. You are welcome to share, duplicate and modify projects under this Creative Commons license to meet the needs of students and teachers. Featured image credit: iStock

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Start a supportive learning network for local educators

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"Teaching can be a desperately isolating profession," says Dylan Ferniany, a gifted education program specialist in Birmingham, Alabama. Yet both teachers and students benefit when educators have regular opportunities to collaborate, problem-solve and share ideas. How might we create supportive local networks that connect great educators and let them learn from one another?

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McClure, L. (2016, June 17). "Start a Supportive Learning Network for Local Educators." TEDEd. Retrieved January 30, 2021, from https://blog.ed.ted.com/2016/06/17/start-a-supportive-learning-network-for-local-educators/

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Leaders model and promote continuous professional learning for themselves and others. Education leaders:
1. set goals to remain up to date on emerging technologies
2. regularly participate in online professional development
3. use technology in reflective practices
4. promote a mindset of continuous technology improvement

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ISTE Standards for Education Leaders (Permitted Educational Use).pdf

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How Educational Leaders can use PLN's to support BT's

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How Educational Leaders can use PLN's to support BT's

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This EdWeek article describes how a PLN helped support a struggling first year teacher.

Reflection: As future education leaders working toward ISTE-L Standard 5, this gives great suggestions for how leaders can create PLNs within their school community as a support system for their BT programs.

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Hi Readers,

Over the last few years, I've worked hard to build my Personal Learning Network on Twitter. When I first jumped into the space in January 2009 it was very different. Now as the years have moved forward, I know that it's a much more robust and engaging community. The value of having a PLN as an educator is priceless. Christine and I thought it might be cool to break from our regular conversations and share a bit about how we've built our own PLN's and give some tips to our readers on how they might want to build theirs.
From Christine: Why Build a PLN?
Joining Twitter was the best thing I (Christine) have done for myself personally AND professionally. I know that this may be a shocking statement to read. My "why" story speaks volumes, but first I need to share about how I came about learning what a PLN (professional learning network) was. I joined Twitter about three months into my teaching career. I was attending my first technology conference and the presenters kept saying to follow them on Twitter. Twitter? Isn't that where people post about what they are doing every minute and follow celebrities? I had to check it out for myself, and THAT is when I discovered the EduWorld that exists on Twitter. I learned that there were hashtags that revolved around ideas, subject areas, grade levels, etc. Communities live within hashtags and that is how you connect with people who share a common passion or interest. Educators post to hashtags and if you like their ideas, you follow them! THAT was the start of me building my PLN.

So, why was joining Twitter and building a PLN such a big deal for me?

In one of my first tweets, I caught the attention of someone well known in the EduWorld: Alice Keeler. I shared that my transitional kindergartners were going to be trying out #GoogleClassroom, and Keeler found me on the hashtag. I learned that little kids were often underestimated with what they CAN create with technology. I started sharing ideas on the hashtag I founded: #GAfE4Littles. My collaboration with Keeler led to us writing our book: Google Apps for Littles: Believe They Can.

My first teaching assignment was temporary and I was left looking for a job. I attended Arcadia Unified's Innovation Summit. I shook hands with the Chief Technology Officer for the district and he shared with me that he knew who I was and what I was doing with my students because of what I shared on Twitter. My interaction with him, along with some other connections, led me to get an interview when more kindergarten positions opened up... and I ended up getting a teaching job in Arcadia Unified!

After my first full year of teaching, I had the drive to try more new things with a new school year. I moderated the first #SlowFlipChat for a #GAfE4Littles chat, and it was there that I deeply connected with another teacher's ideas: Jessica Twomey. My connection with Jessica's ideas has evolved to us co-teaching as our students have an ongoing collaboration, us joining forces and moderating the #InnovatingPlay #SlowFlipChat, and us forming a special friendship.

Twitter serves as a platform for making connections with others; offering educators a place to build a professional learning network. You have absolutely no idea what possibilities can open up because you ARE on Twitter and building connections with others. By having a PLN, you are expanding your horizons by acquiring more ideas, collaborating, receiving feedback, pursuing interests, hearing perspectives from a wide audience, sharing with your students and SO MUCH MORE!
From Lisa: How to Build a PLN with Twitter?
New Teachers, I ran a chat called New Teacher Chat #ntchat for seven years. My hope when I conceived of the chat was to support you to connect with educators worldwide and to grow your PLN. The chat was practitioner focused and I put my heart into it BUT, it didn't grow as I'd hoped. Why? Sadly as it turned out, new teachers just didn't show up for the chat! Research shows that for some reason there are very few "new teachers" hanging out on Twitter. As I share this today, my vision is that if you are a new teacher you will consider joining Twitter, staying there and taking advantage of all the resources it has to offer.

Twitter is a 24/7 "teachers lounge" where connections with educators from around the world are available to not only support you but to offer you perspectives on your work as a practitioner in the classroom.

Here are my five tips on how to build and cultivate your PLN:

1. Start a Twitter account and make time to follow a few educators- As an active Twitter user, I want to guide you to jump on the Twitter web client, create your Twitter bio and add an image to it. Taking the time to develop and create a thoughtful bio with your name, your position, your passions, and interests, makes for an interesting and engaging YOU. You're also more likely to build a following of like-minded professionals in your same field. Let folks know as soon as you've created your account so that others can find and follow you!

2. Start Following Other Educators- Twitter will automatically suggest people to follow when you first sign up. However, you'll want to start to follow Twitter accounts more closely matched to your interests. Get suggestions from friends already on Twitter or look for hashtags connected to grade levels or topics that interest you and find people tweeting and using those hashtags. Give them a follow and in time you'll be on your way to getting connected.

3. Start tweeting and retweeting- Twitter is a great place to learn and grow your practice and as you get started crafting your tweets don't forget to reach out for help. You've got up to 280 characters to use so that's plenty of space to share links to blog posts, articles and add images. Early on you'll make a few mistakes, but don't worry. You might forget to add a hashtag, or misspell a word-but Twitter followers won't mind. Come across a tweet that you love? Consider retweeting that post to your followers. Retweets are a way of giving a virtual "high five" to your followers and they are always appreciated.

4. Follow hashtags-Twitter is a busy place with lots of tweets that create lots of noise. As a new teacher, new to Twitter using a #hashtag is a way to collect tweets that you're interested in using as a resource or to connect to followers. A hashtag acts as a simple way to curate and find tweets and resources categorized by a topic or phrase. Tweeting with a hashtag such as #teacher, #education or #ntchat, helps your message to become part of a larger conversation. When you add a relevant hashtag to your tweet you'll automatically reach anyone who is following the same hashtag. It's a great way to become more closely connected with educators worldwide who can support you.

5. Join education chats- My early journey on Twitter started with participating in one of the largest chats for educators called #edchat. You can read all about it here. I was new to chats at that time but found that it was SO huge that I felt like I was truly lost. I "lurked" on the chat for a while before I was brave enough to jump on! But what it taught me was that there were thousands of educators like me eager to grow, learn and support their practice. I soon discovered many more chats and joined in when I could. Can't say enough of how the power of joining a chat can support you and grow your PLN.

There are SO many more wonderful ways to use Twitter to build your PLN and I encourage you to read more about it here. Give yourself permission to explore ways that feel right for you. Before you know it, you'll see your circle expand and collaborations grow.

Questions? Feel free to leave a comment or tweet me @teachwithsoul!

Lisa
Image from Unsplash.

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Supporting New Teachers to Build a PLN (Opinion)

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Hi Readers, Over the last few years, I've worked hard to build my Personal Learning Network on Twitter. When I first jumped into the space in January 2009 it was very different. Now as the years have moved forward, I know that it's a much more robust and engaging community.

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Dabbs, L. (2018, March 31). "Supporting New Teachers to Build a PLN." EducationWeek. Retrieved January 30, 2021, from https://www.edweek.org/education/opinion-supporting-new-teachers-to-build-a-pln/2018/03

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One of the elements of ISTE-L Standard 5 mentions that leaders need to have a growth mindset when it comes to technology. The best leaders do not rely on technology practices that they know. "The better, and more relevant" leader continuously challenges himself/herself to learn new tools. This can be accomplished by being active in a PLN.

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Whitby, Tom (2018). "Step 1: What is a PLN?" EduBlogs. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/pln-define/