Skip to main content

Save Ferris: The Power of a PLN

This will be my 15th year of teaching coming up, and I have learned so much the past three years compared to all of my previous years of teaching. The difference? Building and engaging a professional learning network (PLN). Connecting with fellow educators from around the world via Twitter, Google+, Voxer, Pinterest, and attending conferences (on my list for this coming year is to attend at least one edcamp) has not only given me new ideas and a much deeper knowledge base, but it has also deepened my passion for teaching and learning. 
Building my PLN has been the single best thing I have done in my career so far for me and my students. After participating in Twitter chats like #paedchat, #personalizedpd, and a few others, I went into work excited every day this year past year, and I cannot wait for the next school year to begin. There was not one day I did not feel like not going in. There was not one "mental health day" I felt I needed to take. There was not one question that I did not think that could not be answered by someone in my PLN. There was not one hurdle I did not think that could not be overcome with the help of my PLN. 
So with all the fantastic ways collaborating and communicating with others has affected me, why would I not allow my students the same opportunity? If collaborating and communicating with others is such a positive and meaningful experience, why keep it to ourselves? Why are we hesitant to give up that control in our classroom? Why keep our students from working together on a regular basis when employers want employees who have good interpersonal skills and the willingness to listen and work with others?
Imagine if students were excited to come into school every day to collaborate, communicate, and learn. Imagine if students did not feel the need to try to pull the old Ferris Bueller sick day. Imagine if students felt that no question was too hard for them because they knew they could rely on their PLN to help them through. Imagine if they truly had the love for learning. Imagine if they felt they wanted to go to school, rather than had to go to school.  
This coming school year, I want to help my 6th grade students build their PLN of sorts. I want to begin to show them how powerful collaborating and communicating can be, and how relevant their learning will become as a result. To help my students get started on their own PLN, I intend to use Google Classroom, Padlet, Kidblog, and try to do a few Mystery Skypes and Google Hangouts. The more they can make strong, positive connections, the more they can begin to feel that connection to their learning. 
If one is not part of a PLN, it might be difficult to understand the impact it can make. In order to understand how powerful a PLN can be, one has to become part of one. Take some time at first to checkout different social media outlets and different topics of your interest and then engage. Sure it will feel uncomfortable at first, and it might take one out of one's comfort-zone, but that is a good thing. That is where the growth is, and your students, even Ferris, will thank you for it.  

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Turns Out Teachers Are Mind Readers (Thanks to Recap)

Imagine if you could hear every single student's thinking, thoughts, and ideas on a topic, and respond to each and every one of them without finding time to schedule individual student conferences. Imagine if your students could let you know how well they understood the topics covered during the week. Imagine how much insight you could get, and how you could adjust your teaching to meet the needs of individual students.   Well, a few weeks ago I came across Recap, a free student video response and reflection app, on my Twitter feed. It allows me to hear every single student's thinking, thoughts, and ideas, allows me to respond to each and every one of them. I checked out the site and immediately put it into action in my class calling the Recap assignments, #flashbackfridays. For 6th graders, not much is cooler than the hashtag.  My 6th grade students instantly took to it. Every one of my students are able to share their insights through a reflective process in a way that...
Post a Comment
Read more

Enter The Twilight Zone with Blended Learning

You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension - a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.  I feel that opening part of the show  The Twilight Zone  directly relates to my school year this year. This is my second full year of running a blended learning classroom, and I feel as if in some way my sixth-grade students and I have crossed over into the Twilight Zone. Strange but wonderful things are happening in and out of my classroom, that I have not, unfortunately, witnessed before in my 15 years of teaching. Students are embracing the idea that learning can take place anywhere, anytime and that their voice matters to others, as they enter a whole other dimension in Google Classroom. They are seeing learning opportunities on their own outside of the school day and wanting to sha...
Post a Comment
Read more

Road Rules on the Blended Learning Highway

Remember when you were pestering your parents to teach or rather let you drive? You were sure you knew how to drive, as you had had extensive training starting from a very early age. Part of that training included sitting on your parent's lap while they were in the driver's seat and they "let you" drive the car into the garage, sitting on your parent's lap again as they again, "let you" drive the lawn tractor around the yard, then gradually building up to driving the lawn tractor around the yard by yourself, and of course driving the go-karts at the local go-kart track during the summer. With all that training, you were certain you could drive and drive fast. Then when your parents finally gave you the car, you realized the power and potential speed of that car, and that you really didn't know how to drive well, let alone safely.  Learning to drive takes time, and as much as we want to get in that car and go fast, we soon realize we need to hit t...
Post a Comment
Read more