PLNs: Lifelong Learning in the 21st Century

 
Initially, I was not keen on joining a Professional Learning Network (PLN) simply because I did not know what the term meant.  I was familiar, however, with Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) because it is part of the culture that my school has been trying to build and foster.  Also, it did help that I presented on PLCs with a team for the 28th Annual Pacific Educational Conference in Saipan last year, in which we had to conduct some research for the presentation.  With the use of deductive reasoning, I figured that PLNs are similar to PLCs.  I will not go so much in depth on what I've learned about PLCs but I must mention that collaborating and learning with other teachers within the school community and beyond is critical to the profession (DuFour).

So what is a PLN?  A PLN is "a tool that uses social media and technology to collect, communicate, collaborate and create with connected colleagues anywhere at any time. Participating educators, worldwide, make requests and share resources" (Whitby).  In short, it is bringing professional learning to the next level- by connecting with other professionals globally through technology.

To get started with my PLN, I joined Twitter since it is very popular, and therefore I could have many, many choices on which companies and professional groups I'd like to follow.  I cannot commend enough the smartness of the design that Twitter has that has made sharing information to all parts of world so easy.  It is fast, accessible, relevant, and focused.  Groups that I'm following currently include @neatuday, @edutopia, @rmbyrne, @ScholasticTeach, and @ESLlibrary.  I follow them for new instructional strategies, research pertaining to student learning development, and articles on educational trends.  As an ESL Reading teacher, I love @ESLlibrary because it has great ideas for lesson plans and language learning strategies.

Another PLN that I joined is English Companion which is part of the Ning Network, a social media platform that has more focus on what you want from your community.  I joined English Companion because it caters to the various range of needs in teaching English- from teaching remedial reading levels to teaching AP classes.  The forums and blogs enables its participants to interact, exchange ideas and give assistance to each other.  One thing that was difficult about this network though is the amount of information from so many members that can be quite overwhelming. 

One area of improvement for me as a PLN member is to participate more and contribute with my own ideas in order to make my PLN interactions not just one-sided.

References:

DuFour, R. (2004). What is a professional learning community? Schools as Learning Communities, 61(8), 6-11. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may04/vol61/num08/What-Is-a-Professional-Learning-Community%C2%A2.aspx.

Whitby, T. (2013). How do I get a PLN? Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-do-i-get-a-pln-tom-whitby.

Image:
Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/sites/default/files/styles/feature_image_breakpoints_theme_edutopia_desktop_1x/public/slates/collaboration1.jpg?itok=GEGYz-NT.