Personal Learning Networks

Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) consist of the different connections and interactions one has with others (be it people, organizations, etc.) to learn! Educators should be connecting and interacting with different resources online to further their professional development as well as build a support group.

I believe that educators should build up a PLN because they sound very helpful and beneficial to both students and the teacher. The image above proves that PLNs are great ways to enhance your classroom and introduce students to new ideas and new ways to collaborate with others. 

Through the internet, making connections has become much easier and less time-consuming. Through different platforms, students and teachers are able to connect, comment, share, and therefore learn and grow! 

Technology is literally all around us and our students daily, so why not put it to use for learning? Take Facebook or Twitter for example, students don't see these as "learning tools," but instead as a way to network for their personal use. Utilize these already known platforms with students to link them to educational accounts or have them follow educational/relatable hashtags. Students already have a personal PLN through their different accounts on various social media platforms, so teaching them to network for learning purposes should not be a foreign concept!

Using social media in the classroom may seem like taboo, but keeping professional accounts that further students' learning teaches them how social media and other platforms online can be used to not only network but to learn and grow as citizens! 

This article includes great ideas and tips on how to begin your very own PLN, something that I am working on that you should too!