The more people I meet as I go about the business of being an educator the more I realize the importance of creating a professional learning network (PLN). Educators are a unique breed in that we love to collaborate and share ideas. Do a quick Google search of any topic with the phrase "lesson plan" added to the end and there will return 1000s (100,000s or millions!) of results. Teachers like to share what works. There are no "trade secrets" in teaching. We don't sign confidentiality agreements from the school district when we are hired.
I wrote a blog post about the importance of building a PLN back in October. Click here to read it. When I look back over the lasting learnings from the Master's program, the importance of a PLN is definitely one of the top 3. One of my goals for myself is to continue to build and leverage that network as I continue through my teaching career. I've continued to do this effectively through Twitter (as I discuss in a previous post, click here to read it). I joined a local ed chat - #napaedchat for those in the neighborhood - and I am building connections with educators in the district.
Opportunities also come through connections made on cross-district committees, meetings or trainings. I'll take any chance I can to connect with a fellow educator. Perhaps it's because I'm new to the field that I am so hungry to meet others and collaborate and share ideas. Maybe I won't find as much importance in it when I've gotten a few more years of teaching under my belt. Who knows. For the time being, I'm enjoying building and leveraging my PLN.
I wrote a blog post about the importance of building a PLN back in October. Click here to read it. When I look back over the lasting learnings from the Master's program, the importance of a PLN is definitely one of the top 3. One of my goals for myself is to continue to build and leverage that network as I continue through my teaching career. I've continued to do this effectively through Twitter (as I discuss in a previous post, click here to read it). I joined a local ed chat - #napaedchat for those in the neighborhood - and I am building connections with educators in the district.
Opportunities also come through connections made on cross-district committees, meetings or trainings. I'll take any chance I can to connect with a fellow educator. Perhaps it's because I'm new to the field that I am so hungry to meet others and collaborate and share ideas. Maybe I won't find as much importance in it when I've gotten a few more years of teaching under my belt. Who knows. For the time being, I'm enjoying building and leveraging my PLN.