Wednesday, October 9, 2013

IL: How Strong is Your PLN?

An essential part of any teacher's 21st century professional development should include an active Personal Learning Network (PLN).  By loose definition, a PLN is the entire collection of people with whom you engage and exchange information, usually online.  PLN's can include any number of sources that a teacher can patricipate in including (but not limited to): social networking, blogging, tweeting, RSS feeds, webinars, social bookmarking and even face-to-face interactions.  The continuum over which you may or may n ot participate can vary widely depending on your comfort level;  Consider the 5 c's below:

Where would you rank your participation in PLN's on this continuum?

Now make a copy of the spreadsheet linked below and rate your own PLN.


Where did you score?  Remember there is NOT a good score or bad score.  Everyone is at a different level of developing their own PLN.

What we would like to hear from you is ... what importance do you place on a PLN in your own professional development?  Also, given your current level what steps do you plan on taking to enhance and expand your PLN in the next year.

20 comments:

  1. I am not and have not been a member of a PLN. I didn’t even know such a beast existed. I tried starting an on-line share group (we didn’t call it PLN) a few years ago with fellow staff members who participated in a Culturally Diverse Learning class, but no-one really participated and it died out.

    My Blogging has been limited to my daughter’s Blog when she was a Fullbright Exchange Teacher in Scotland a few years ago, and some Blogging I’ve done with my Rock ‘n’ Pop class this year. I have a Twitter account which has more followers than I have written Tweets! My main social networking has been FaceBook, on which I have been a member for over six years. But even there I have not used it as a professional tool.

    My score on the PLN Worksheet was 17. That translated as “Moving in the right direction.” I don’t know how much further I will move. I probably won’t Tweet. The idea of on-line communities of teacher-learners intrigues me, but then I don’t know how much longer I’ll be teaching before retirement. I’m always open to learning new tricks, and I like sharing what I have learned along the way, so this may be the right direction to go, regardless of how short the journey.

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  2. My score on the worksheet was 23. I do not have a twitter account nor do I blog regularly. I am a member of more than one online community and I am a member of more than one face to face community, including the inspired learning cohort.

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  3. I should also mention that I feel I have made significant progress regarding use of professional learning networks and would rate myself in the create section of the continuum.

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  4. This was an interesting question for me to consider using my professional life. On a personal level I am very connected to online communities. I follow many blogs relating to running, cooking, and parenting. I use feedly (after Google Reader went away) to track the blogs I follow and check it multiple times per day. I have a twitter account to mainly follow other runners. So if I were to rate myself based on my hobbies I would be in the 30's.

    However, separate out the amount of time/effort I put into professional PLN, and my number would be much lower. I am very comfortable using the technology, but after the work day is over I tend to focus in on my hobbies/interests instead of my professional life. I do follow 3 or 4 education related blogs and I follow some educators on Twitter. I can definitely see the value in a professional PLN to share ideas, learn from others, etc. I have learned so much from the blogs that I do read, that expanding that to my professional career would certainly be beneficial. I think the main obstacle for me in expanding my professional PLN right now would be time. I do not have time during the school day to connect in this way and when I go home my time is consumed with kids, husband, dinner, etc. Whatever time is left over I use to enjoy my hobbies, running and cooking. I'm not sure when to fit in more blog reading/connecting without losing my own personal interests. So truthfully, I am not sure how much more connected I will be after this year.

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  5. I guess that I place in the fourth category .. I have started and am making connections.

    There are some blogs that I read almost daily. One has to do with technology. I am really interested in assistive technology as well as tools for my solo math class that can be used to engage my students. I also read some other educational blogs and some personal "blogs, etc." in Facebook, etc. that I read daily.

    I am careful about what blogs, etc., I answer since I don't like to post on sites that are public in nature.

    I would value a professional PLN and look forward to expanding in that fashion in the coming years.

    pb

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  6. My PLN score was a 20 putting me at the “Making Connections” level and I think that is accurate. Part of the reason I joined this cohort was to expand my PLN and learn to participate in a way that benefitted me professionally. More than anything else, I think that collaborating and conferring with other teachers strengthens my practice and makes me a better teacher. That is why I joined this cohort. After the Inspired Learning Conference last year and TIE this summer I realized that I didn’t have a strong PLN for technology; I often did less than I could have because I felt like I had to reinvent the wheel every time I wanted to try something new.

    Joining this cohort has helped expand my PLN more and I think my next steps need to be to take a more active role in my community. I need to post my thinking not just read what’s out there and I need to see out more opportunities to participate in conversations and learning that is happening outside my building and LPS. The world is made smaller by technology so I can make my PLN global with just a few clicks.

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  7. My PLN score was a 20 putting me at the “Making Connections” level and I think that is accurate. Part of the reason I joined this cohort was to expand my PLN and learn to participate in a way that benefitted me professionally. More than anything else, I think that collaborating and conferring with other teachers strengthens my practice and makes me a better teacher. That is why I joined this cohort. After the Inspired Learning Conference last year and TIE this summer I realized that I didn’t have a strong PLN for technology; I often did less than I could have because I felt like I had to reinvent the wheel every time I wanted to try something new.

    Joining this cohort has helped expand my PLN more and I think my next steps need to be to take a more active role in my community. I need to post my thinking not just read what’s out there and I need to see out more opportunities to participate in conversations and learning that is happening outside my building and LPS. The world is made smaller by technology so I can make my PLN global with just a few clicks.

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  8. I scored a 23 and I am "Making Connections". I feel comfortable with where I'm at. Of course I am always wanting to expand my knowledge, but I don't currently place a high importance (obviously) on following others' blogs, twitter feeds, etc. There is a wealth of knowledge out there in regard to the education profession and it's always great to hear others' thinking to allow yourself to reflect on your own practice and improve it. However, I also feel like I get a lot of this from our very own PLCs that we are all involved in as well as articles provided to me by my colleagues, and professional conversations I have with them. I don't feel like I'm missing out or a lesser teacher because I'm not full connected. In fact, I think I am a better teacher, mother, wife, etc. because I do allow myself to "disconnect" when there are more important things I need to focus on. If I followed a bunch of blogs, etc. I wouldn't be the best mother I could be to my children (not that someone else can't balance - I'm just speaking for me) and I wouldn't be the best teacher to my students because I have many other more important things at hand to complete to contribute to the success of their learning.

    I hope this doesn't come off negatively, as I'm always interested in expanding my knowledge, but I'm interested in doing that in a way that's best for me that also allows me to be the best teacher, mother, wife, etc. that I can be with still some time leftover for ME. Sometimes the constant wealth of knowledge at our fingertips is overwhelming, all consuming and not necessarily beneficial.

    That being said - I would love to hear about some very awesome educational blogs others follow, etc. that would be valuable and completely worth my time. :)

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  9. Hmmmm...well I wish Facebook gave more points :) My score was only an 8 so either I didn't fully understand the questions (with a puppy and 2 screaming kids in the background that might be the case) or I am just way behind on the times. I am not sure I have time to be an active member of an online community. I guess I am not sure how to even find blogs that would interest me in reading. I do have a classroom blog set up for my students but that is the only blog I read regularly. I enjoy learning from my peers but do much better in face to face meetings. Although I love technology and all that is can offer I worry about it taking away from face to face communication. I guess I am just not ready to jump on the blog/twitter train just yet.

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  10. My score on the PLN was a 23. I have always been excited about learning form others, and it seems that these forums allow us to do so on such a bigger scope. I have always been a little frustrated with using the Internet to gather ideas for lessons because it can be such a chore to weed out the good information from the not so helpful information. By following various blogs, Google Sites, or educators on Twitter, Facebook, etc. it sort of does the weeding out for me, which is nice. Picking and choosing who to follow, allows me to have great ideas at my fingertips. With that being said, I do need to spend more time exploring the resources I do have and extending my connections/PLN based on recommendations from those I trust in the education world. I look forward to hearing about some great resources and ideas on how to use them tomorrow.

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  11. Whoo hoo! I scored a whopping 10 points! That is interesting in itself because I feel like I'm on-line all the time. Many years ago I tried getting on discussion boards for my profession (which is so filled with polarizing politics) but the experience was so awful (disrespectful comments, one sided arguments, pushing personal agendas) that I never ventured into those dark territories again. I agree with Mandy's comment. I do much better in a face to face environment. There is so much more to communication than the printed word that a written conversation loses about 30-40% (my estimation) of it's intent. I dove into the information super-highway many years ago. Each day I am learning more and more about its use, efficiency and practicality. And, each time I learn something I discover that there is something else just around the corner. I believe, that for myself, it is a journey with no end point but a lot of scenic overlooks along the way.

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  12. My score was a 29 in PLN. I am currently in a Master's program at Liberty University in Educational Technology Instruction and Design. Part of the requirements for this program is that I have to have a professional affiliation with a Ed. tech group and mine is ISTE. This program also has allowed me to participate in Twitter chats, Google+ video conferencing, and "Go to a Meeting" which is pretty cool because you can switch users and create a presentation while others can share screencasts. I love technology but also need to take a break from it. I feel I use it everyday for emails, social networking, teaching, and school. I get tired of being on the computer and need to take a break from it every now and then. I am amazed at how long most people can stay on a computer and create these amazing lessons and have these amazing opportunities to look deeper into a topic through Twitter, blogs, RSS feeds etc.
    This cohort program has allowed me to use more tech in my classroom and more effectively rather than my Master's program because that is the boring technology planning, writing literature reviews etc. I appreciate this program and love our cohort program because we all share great ideas to try in the classroom. This program has allowed me to bring my knowledge back to my school and work collaboratively with other teachers.

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  13. I scored an 11 which is much higher than I expected considering I don't use social media for anything other than what I have been exposed to through the cohort. I spend so much time during my working hours working face to face and dealing with 120 other people that when I get home I try to spend time on things that relax me...exercise, reading, walking the dog, cooking, spending time with family.

    Through the cohort I am expanding my PLN professionally. I have a long way to go before I can begin to appreciate most of what was referred to in the above posts. I look forward to advancing my tech skills and bringing these skills to my classroom and teaching.

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  14. My score on the PLN was a 9, scoring highest on consumption. I love reading blogs. I have never been one to comment and share though. I mostly read to learn about things I'm curious about and want to improve at. I read parenting blogs, design blogs, health blogs, financial blogs, my class blog, this blog, etc. There are a few education blogs I have been inspired by and used ideas from but know there are so many out there I have yet to discover. I plan to expand my PLN by seeking out the many resources available to me and being a more active participant. I want to begin stepping out of my comfort zone by being more confident to share. This activity really just made me realize I need to get with the times already!

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  15. I scored a 15 and I am definitely at the beginning of my journey. As far as social media is concerned, I stayed away from being on Facebook to keep my privacy. However, I have a LinkedIn account and I have been involved with this social media to a limited extent. However, I have been surprised how many people I know on this account that I have not seen for many years and also people that I presently know. I was amazed on how many people want to make connections. However, I am struggling to keep up with my daily professional obligations, let alone keeping up with additional social media networks. I am involved in many after school programs, assisting students with homework or assistance in understanding content.
    Also, I am involved in the staff social committee and additional professional duties outside of the class room. Needless to say, I am consumed with too much to do and not enough time.
    Nevertheless, I am in the process of growing my knowledge in the social media world and I am currently stepping into the vast waters of social media and do my best to navigate through with minimal snags and obstacles. I definitely want to move forward and jump into the 21st century skills and integrate my tech skills into the class room and also effectively communicate and converse with my colleagues. I will do my best to learn, create, expand, and then to embrace and celebrate my tech skills-- my PLN!

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  17. I thought I would rank far along but I scored a 33. I do more reading than participating on blogs and I access ones randomly. I have a couple that I follow but they are technically 'newsletters' so I don't think they count. Face to face involvement improved my score. Twitter helped also because I just started a Twitter account for Teacher Cadet class and they happen to be twitter users.

    I think having a strong PLN is very important. I find it very time-consuming also. I tend to do more listening and reading than participating on large communities. My PLN is where I am able to stay up to date on the latest topics and changes that I then share with my class. The steps I plan for next year are to increase my presence in my PLN by participating more, blogging more on my own as a reflective, learning tool and utilize Twitter as a marketing tool for my class.

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  18. I scored a 17. I think I'm strongest in blogs because I love to read about what others are doing in their classroom. I love reading blogs about non school ideas so it matches nicely with exploring for creative approaches to new units. I really enjoy reading what other teachers are implementing in their classroom. I think I have a strong PLN in my own personal life, but I frequently don't explore further with school connections. I'm interested in learning more in context for my classroom because I think teacher collaboration is the best way to refresh and improve my classroom ideas.

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  19. My score was a 17. I like to go online and read parenting and teaching blogs to get ideas. My PLN is more with my home life and not at school. I would like to have that reverse. Most of my time is on Facebook connecting with family, getting recipes, and getting ideas from teacher pages. My goal for this year is to work with other teachers and build my knowledge on technology. I need to start getting with the times. :)

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  20. My score was a 21 which means I'm making connections and moving in the right direction. I have LinkedIn and Facebook accounts but I'm not active in sharing information; I just read and update them. I do not automatically go to the Internet or blogs to read information about teaching; however, now that I know so many teachers and leading researchers in the fields of reading, educational technology, and other subjects share their blogs and Twitter feeds, I am going to look into this as a resource. I'm at the "Consume" and "Converse" on the Continuum. I am overwhelmed at the amount of information that is out there for everyone, let alone for educators. Using Google docs and Google sites has been enough of a stretch for me this school year and this class has encouraged me to move ahead with using these technologies.

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