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. | 2/2/2009 20:06:32 | First of all, it is important for teachers to connect with other teachers in person. Go to conferences. Actually talk to people! After that, there are several tools available for creating a PLN. Obviously, places like Twitter and Plurk are helpful. Facebook is turning into a great PLN tool for me as well. In addition....blog. People read them. They may not always leave comments, but they do read them. Get connected with bloglines or Google Reader as well. Read what others are saying. Leave them comments. They notice. Finally, get a Skype account to chat in real time by one-on-one and in groups. That's the beginning. We'll talk about presenting at conferences, joining groups like the Discovery Educator Network, and more in a more advanced forum. :) | Tim Childers | Teacher | Clevelandn, TN, USA | tchilders | tim.den | tchilders.den@gmail.com |
. | 2/2/2009 20:37:42 | Join networking groups, such as Twitter, Classroom 2.0 Ning, Teacher Librarian Ning, and read/comment on blogs in the blogosphere. The blogosphere can be easily managed using a reader like Google Reader, Bloglines, or Netvibes (and these are just a few.) The relationships you cultivate here will in all likelihood overlap, but the benefits with be worth the overlap. The learning will come fast and furious, so soak it in. Listen to and participate in some of the EdTech Talk Weekly shows online. Join DEN. (These are the ways that I developed a PLN, and they worked for me.) | Cathy Nelson | Media Specialist/Teacher Librarian | Myrtle Beach, SC | Cathyjo | cathyjonelson | cathyjonelson@gmail.com, SL-Bentley Noel |
. | 2/2/2009 20:38:41 | I would recommend teachers start with something easy and something that everyone needs. Everyone saves favorite bookmarks, but most people save them in their browsers. This is inefficient and ineffective if you're not at that computer when you need them. Using an online bookmarking tool, such as Delicious.com, allows teachers to bookmark their bookmarks online and access them from anywhere.
From there, I recommend teachers share their Delicious usernames and add each other to their networks. To build a global network, teachers can start to click through and add other users who have similar interests.
Teachers can form their own network in their classrooms with their students to share bookmarks common to a lesson. Students can create their own ad-hoc networks while doing research projects.
This is a great way for teachers to begin to see the value in social networking. | Lee Kolbert | Technology Program Specialist | Boca Raton, FL USA | TeachaKidd | TeachaKidd | kolbert@mac.com |
. | 2/2/2009 20:44:51 | Create an RSS feed to follow educator blogs - or blogs on topics that interest them. Join Twitter and follow educators - share links to specific blog posts that resonate with you or make a connection with those you follow. | Theresa Gray | Professional Developer | Hamburg, NY US | theresagray | tgray2 | theresagray2@gmail.com |
. | 2/2/2009 20:51:12 | I have just begun using Twitter over the past few months. It is an easy way to 'meet' many teachers from around the country. I have also joined Ning and joined some of their groups as well. I also have worked with friends at the district level and have asked for their help in building my network, and for help with the creation of projects with teachers in other states. And, attend state and national conferences, or become a DEN Star Educator. You'll definitely meet lots of people that way. I hope this helps! | David Fisher | Teacher, 5th Grade | Boca Raton, FL, USA | davidfisher65 | davidfisher65 | david.fisher@palmbeach.k12.fl.us |
. | 2/2/2009 20:53:06 | I would suggest looking at a blog of interest and then notice the blog roll. This will give you a network to follow. Leaving comments on blogs help as well to get your name out there as someone who is trustworthy to accept into an interest group. Also, make sure your posts to blogs or social networks maintain a professional integrity one would expect in a professional environment. | Lori Feldman | Resource (special education) Teacher | Lincoln, NE 68516 | lfeld52 | lfeldman52 | Plurk: lfeld52 |
. | 2/2/2009 20:53:12 | I highly suggest joining a network of like-minded people (those that have common interests). Twitter/Plurk is a phenomenal network where you can choose who to follow and who follows you. It has become a staple in my everyday learning. Not a day goes by that I haven't learned something I didn't already know or I learn to look at something that is familiar to me in a whole new way. | Cheryl Lykowski | teacher/elementary | Temperance, Michigan USA | CLykowski | CLykowski | |
. | 2/2/2009 20:55:35 | I would suggest that teachers look to twitter and find someone they respect to follow and then check to see who they follow. However, I would advise teachers to not hurry to fast to grow your network. Small is fine. Also, if the people you follow on twitter have blogrolls -- check to see who they read. But again -- start small. Your network does not have to be huge to be powerful.
As for suggestions of building classrooms without walls....first talk to another teacher at your own school and see if you can swap classes one day. Perhaps you teach history for both classes, he/she teaches math. Or if you are reading the same books, turn it into a project day where your students move from rooms to rooms as if they were centers. Begin building your classroom without walls at your own school first. | Jen Wagner | IT/Help Desk | CA | JenWagner | JenW0424 | http://www.jenuinetech.com |
. | 2/2/2009 20:58:11 | There are many avenues to build your own personal learning network; they just take time and patience as it doesn't happen over night. Mine started with the DEN and has grown from there. I learn so much through Twitter and Plurk that I don't know what I would do without them anymore. I would feel "lost." These two social networks lead to others-nings, blogs, wikis and the like. They are a great starting point! | Teryl Magee | 4th Grade Teacher | Knoxville, TN | teryl_magee | poohandtiggertoo | plurk: teryl_magee |
. | 2/2/2009 20:58:51 | Not much but it's how I suggest building a PLN. http://www.chuckholland.blogspot.com/ | Chuck Holland | Instructional Technology Specialist | blythewood sc | chuckholland | | |
. | 2/2/2009 21:01:21 | The P in PLN is important, so there is not a one-PLN-fits-all-solution, but from my experience working with undergrad students, grad students, and practicing teachers, here are some of the steps to building a PLN.
1) Before you blog, read blogs. Read many of them. Get a sense for tone, audience, content, style, etc. Use an aggregator like Google Reader. Read, and comment.
2) Begin a blog, but think bigger. For many, this is the centre of your PLN universe. Personalize it. Create an 'about' page. Write things that matter to you, but leave invitation for response. Ask for feedback, suggestions, opposing viewpoints ... invite participation. Get people that you know who blog to visit and comment on your space. Nothing gets you motivated more than when you see a few new comments.
3) Begin a social media project that is meaningful for you. I've always wanted to become a better photograph so I joined in the 366/2008 photo project. Basically, we created a Flickr pool and a bunch of us took one photo per day. All year. We learned about each other through this. It had nothing, and everything, to do with my work. Social media in the classroom starts with social media in your own life. If you are an educator, you will bring the important ideas from your personal life into your school life. It's natural. Learn, so that you can help teach others. Be selfish sometimes, but then learn to share.
4) When you are ready, try microblogging (twitter or plurk). Find other educators that are passionate about social networking. See the resources people share. Have fun. Learn. Contribute. Twitter in education is a type of gift economy. People help each other. People learn from each other. We all benefit.
5) Get involved with online PD opportunities. For instance, check out http://edtechtalk.com ... there's a great lineup of webcasted shows to choose from. Don't worry about not knowing all of the lingo. Lurk and learn. When you are ready, participate.
6) Experiment with other media and social network. Try Facebook. Browse Youtube and TeacherTube. Become aware of how all of this work. Find out how kids are using it.
7) Ask people for help. You'll be surprised by the number of people who are willing to help you along the way. Tweet me or direct message me once you have your blog or twitter account setup. Let's learn together!
Best of luck building your PLN.
All the best,
Alec Couros aka courosa/http://couros.ca | Alec Couros | Professor, educational technology & media | Regina, SK, Canada | courosa | aleccouros | alec.couros@uregina.ca, and courosa for most things online. |
. | 2/2/2009 21:02:46 | One suggestion I have for reaching beyond the walls of the classroom is listening to Our City Podcast. There are nearly 60 episodes from around the world and each one has an email address of the teacher. It's a great way for classes to get to know one another. So contributing an episode is not only a great learning experience, but it can lead to connections to other classrooms. | Tony Vincent | Consultant | Phoenix, AZ, USA | tonyvincent | | tony@learninginhand.com |
. | 2/2/2009 21:11:38 | PLN--start by creating a feedreader account -- search weblogs using Google Blogs/Technorati -- add blogs to your reader. See if blogs have blog rolls. Subscribe to several that seem interesting. Start your own weblog. Respond/comment on other blogs. Write about things you are passionate about. Rinse and repeat every month or so. Attend a conference and meet up with people.
| Christopher D. Sessums | Lecturer, University of Florida College of Education | Gainesville, FL USA | csessums | cdsessums | csessums@gmail.com |
. | 2/2/2009 21:27:08 | To begin building a personal learning network, I would suggest signing up for a Twitter account and begin following those people out there who speak and blog about education such as Will Richardson, Richard Byrne, David Warlick, etc. See who they follow and who follow them. Respond to their questions and/or thoughts and read their blogs. Become a member of Classroom 2.0. This is a great resource. There are many other great online resources out there.
Building a personal learning network takes time. Be patient. It's worth the effort. | Anna Jukes | Technology coordinator/Title 1 reading teacher | Belle Rive, Illinois, USA | ajukes66 | anna.jukes1 | ajukes@roe25.com |
. | 2/2/2009 21:28:25 | My PLN expanded through the use of Twitter. I started following educators interested in using technology who were sharing their projects on Twitter. I also became a member of several Ning groups including:
http://globaleducation.ning.com/, http://projectsbyjen.ning.com/, http://elementarytechteachers.ning.com/, http://classblogmeister.ning.com/
I strongly recommend joining ning groups because you're joining an existing network as well you can see what types of projects people are planning.
When I'm putting together unit plans I look for projects that allow my students to collaborate or talk to students in other parts of the world. To my students walls, geography and time zones are just minor details that allow us to bring students together to work on projects. | Kimberly Brown | Teacher | Regina, Sk, Canada | classroomqueen | haultain | kimberlybrown5@gmail.com |
. | 2/2/2009 21:47:36 | The best tool I have ever used to build my own personal network is Twitter. I have made more professional contacts through Twitter than in any other way. Twitter is also very easy to use, it's easy to manage how much time you invest in using Twitter, and it is accessible from just about anywhere.
As a chemistry teacher, I have received so many great ideas to incorporate into my classroom and my lab demonstrations and experiments.
I have also found that the use of Wiki's greatly improves how my students collaborate on group projects (in particular the creation of group lab reports after an experiment). I find the students are more careful about what they write when they know that the other students in the class, in addition to their teacher, will be reading their work. It also makes the collaborative part of the group work occur outside of the classroom through the computer and the internet. | Jean-Louis Bontront | Teacher, Chemistry | Windsor, Ontario, Canada | jeanbont | j-lbontront | jlb@gecdsb.on.ca |
. | 2/2/2009 22:02:51 | The term "personal" means connecting with others and that takes time. For me, it began by reading blogs and finding those that resonated with me. Some have raved about twitter but I can't speak to it as a starting point since I already had a PLN before I arrived.
My advice, find 5-10 weblogs you resonate with. Then find 5-10 classrooms that you connect with. Use classblogmeister to explore classrooms. | Dean Shareski | Digital Learning Consultant | Moose Jaw, SK, Canada | shareski | dean_shareski | http://ideasandthoughts.org |
. | 2/2/2009 22:11:22 | Talk online with other teachers. Start w/ classroom20.com and then branch out to twitter and plurk as you get more comfortable. Connect with teachers who teach the same grade and/or similar content. Connect and create opportunities for your students to collaborate. | Christine Southard | Classroom Teacher | Long Island, NY, USA | CSouthard | ChristineSouthard | CSouthard on Plurk, ChristineSouthard@gmail.com |
. | 2/2/2009 22:39:57 | I would strongly suggest that they begin social networking together to build trust with one another. This can be done through blogs in which they begin by sharing about themselves and gradually move into talking about their teaching and then student learning. Once the teachers are comfortable with this, then student involvement begins to happen next (hopefully).
Familiarity and understanding of the PLN through blogs would be a wonderful starting point. | Theresa Reagan | Principal | Hudsonville, MI 49436 | tee62 | | theresaereagan@gmail.com |
. | 2/2/2009 23:36:54 | I would suggest first finding your own voice. Start a blog and continually experiment with it. Do it for yourself to help refine your thinking and to collect ideas and resources.
Secondly, I'd join a few communities and lurk for awhile. Classroom 2.0 is a great one. There's much to explore. I also have to offer a shameless plug for my ning on global education: http://globaleducation.ning.com.
Thirdly, I'd start using Twitter. You probably won't get it at first, but start following a fair amount of people. Don't feel like you have to keep up with the flow of information because it's impossible. Just jump in when you can! I also have a group in Diigo called Twitter Freaks, if you really get into this and are looking for some fun Twitter resources.
| Lucy Gray | Tech Coach | Chicago IL | elemenous | elemenous | elemenous@gmail.com |