Welcome to our professional learning series on building a PLN.
This self-paced free course guides you step-by-step through the process of setting up your own PLN.
We have an optional PDF workbook that will help to keep you on track and focused as you work through the 7 steps of this course. Scroll down and click on the ‘download’ button under the document to save it to your computer.
Loading...
Reload document 
Open in new tab The aim of this first step is to:
- Unpack the definition of a PLN and “connected educator”
- Help you understand why educators create their own PLNs and how they use them
What Is A PLN?
Back in 1998 when the internet was in its infancy, Daniel R. Tobin wrote an article about the term “Personal Learning Network” which was abbreviated to PLN. This term was used to describe a network of people and resources that support ongoing learning.
Whether or not Tobin actually coined the term PLN is up for debate. As Clint Lalonde has pointed out, others, such as Dori Digenti, also wrote about the term in the late 90s.
Digeni said,
The PLN consists of relationships between individuals where the goal is enhancement of mutual learning. The currency of the PLN is learning in the form of feedback, insights, documentation, new contacts, or new business opportunities. It is based on reciprocity and a level of trust that each party is actively seeking value-added information for the other.
The term has evolved and is now sometimes referred to as a Professional Learning Network — taking into account that fact that most “connected educators” use their PLN for professional growth and interaction.
As Tom Whitby has pointed out, there can even be a hybrid of the personal or professional learning network — the Personalized Learning Network.
…the shift in nuance maintains that participants are both personal and professional learners. 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.
Are PLNs Exclusive To Education?
PLNs don’t just exist in the education world. They are important in all aspects of the business world, various vocations, and hobbies.
We contacted Daniel R. Tobin to ask him about how he came up with the term Personal Learning Network. We wanted to find out if he coined the term in relation to a particular industry or field.
Daniel told us,
It came from my own experience.
As I was thinking about how I had learned to do the various jobs I had over the course of my career, I realized that I had built an extensive network of people who had helped me learn. These included managers and colleagues and people I had met while doing research for my books, speaking at conferences, attending workshops, etc.
As I started writing about corporate training and development, I realized that what I had learned from my PLN was greater and more important than what I had learned from my formal education.
Interestingly, many teachers who are active online have remarked that they’ve learned a great deal more from their PLN than from any professional development session they’ve attended.
Are PLNs Something New?
All teachers know successful teaching and learning does not occur in a vacuum. Teachers have always relied on others for guidance, ideas, inspiration, support, and new perspectives. Naturally, some teachers are more active in their interactions than others.
Traditionally, all this interaction might take place in one school community. Teachers might have rarely connected with educators from other locations — apart from an occasional conference or professional development opportunity.
Technology changed all this.
Like in many other industries, educators now have access to people from all corners of the globe 24/7. This may largely be through social media but other platforms as well, such as blogs, online communities, and news sites.
So many barriers have been removed — geography, culture, language, timezones, travel, costs, logistics.
Embracing new networks and building a PLN doesn’t mean throwing out your old connections. Of course, it will always be valuable to talk to the teachers next door and down the hall. But imagine the possibilities of building on that network in diverse ways!
Video: What is A PLN?
Want to learn more about what is a PLN? This is Marc-André Lalande’s take on the matter in less than two minutes.
Being A Connected Educator
A connected educator is someone who collaborates online and uses a range of tools to build their own PLN.
Watch the following five minute video to learn more about being a connected educator. It shows interviews with educators who explain the importance of being “connected” in order to be effective teachers and leaders.
Why Create A PLN?
There are many reasons why all teachers should develop a PLN.
Here are eight benefits of having a PLN:
- You are in charge of your own professional development. PD is no longer something that you have to “sit and get”.
- You can explore your own interests, needs, and passions (or your students’). You might have a student who is struggling with reading, or you might have heard of makerspaces and decide you want to learn more about that, maybe you have a student who wants to research global warming, or perhaps you want to find a better system for running a sports day at your school. You can turn to your PLN for advice and support with all these sorts of things.
- 24/7 learning offers the flexibility to learn and connect at a time that suits you. You don’t have to wait for a PD or conference. And 24/7 learning certainly doesn’t mean you have to be constantly online either — you decide how much time you want to invest and when.
- You can learn and connect in a way that you enjoy. This might be via videos, podcasts, text, social media, Skype, blogging … the list goes on.
- There can be light and shade to your PLN. You can engage in a general chat about education (or anything) to debrief, laugh, or unwind. Or, you can engage in deep discussion, debate, and reflection that can really challenge and transform your thinking and teaching. The choice is yours and there will probably be a time and place for both.
- You can stay current on research and best practice, regardless of whether this information is being discussed in your own school, district (or even country!).
- A PLN allows for broad brainstorming or fine tuning. You might know very little about a certain topic and ask your PLN for any/all entry points into exploring the concept. At the other end of the spectrum, you may have already done a lot of work on a topic and use your PLN to fine tune your ideas and resources.
- Globally connected students need globally connected teachers. Having your own PLN is a key way to also help your students connect with others and start developing their own networks. We know this is important to enrich student learning and help students thrive in the changing labor market.
Feel free to use the following graphic on your blog or share it with your colleagues.
Four Big Ideas Around The Connected Educator
Silvia Tolisana (aka Langwitches) has written about four big ideas that surface when thinking about connected educators.
I think about the isolation of a teacher within their classroom walls and how connectedness to a global network of experts and peers could expose and add multiple perspectives to their world view and professional practice.
I am amazed every time by the transformative nature of teaching and learning, when harnessing the power of a network to crowdsource authentic data, resources, connections and collaborators.
Last, but not least, the idea of being able to model for our students what connected learning in an interconnected world means is a moral imperative for educators who are charged to prepare our kids for their future.
You can unpack these concepts further by reading Silvia’s post.
Building Your Own PLN
The great thing about a PLN is that it’s personal!
You make all the choices:
- What tools you use!
- Who you connect with!
- How you want to learn!
- When you want to learn!
The idea of this series is to guide you through the process of building your own PLN and give you a taste of the opportunities that are out there.
Remember, we each have our own preference of what online tools work best for us.
Throughout the seven part series, we’ve included popular tools for building a PLN to help get you started.
Conclusion
A PLN is a network of people and resources that support ongoing learning.
We believe all teachers could benefit from having a PLN.
You might be in a fantastic school but in some ways, schools can become echo chambers for the same beliefs and viewpoints. It can be easy to go with the status quo and fail to really question things or bring in new ideas. A simple conversation with someone from a very different community can be so eye opening.
Your Task
PLNs are all about sharing, collaborating, and learning from each other. So here’s your chance to ask a question, comment, and get involved!
We’d like you to add your voice and ideas to our ongoing conversation about PLNs by undertaking one or more of these challenges:
- PLN Definition: Watch the video What Is A PLN? Leave a comment on this post to explain what a PLN means to you. You might like to share your thoughts on “lurking”. What are the pros and cons of this approach? Or, you might like to explain what you think PLN stands for — personal, professional, personalized … or something else?
- PLN Benefits: Choose one or more of the eight benefits of having a PLN that’s listed above to explore in a comment. Tell us why this is a benefit that resonates with you.
- Connected Educators: Watch the Connected Educators video. Leave a comment on this post to explain why it’s important to be a connected educator and how a PLN can help you. You might like to give an example of one person in the education community that you’d like to follow and learn from or with. This could be a thought leader, or just someone you find interesting.
- Go Deeper: Write a blog post to explain what you have learned about PLNs. Perhaps your post could be a way to educate or persuade others on the benefits of PLNs. Or you might like to summarize some of the information from this study on PLNs for teachers. Leave a comment with a link to the post so we can have a look at how you went.
Also feel free to leave a comment to ask any questions or share your tips.
How to leave a comment: Scroll down to find the comment box. Write your comment, then enter your name and email address (email addresses are not published). Enter the anti-spam word. Press submit and we will moderate your comment ASAP.
The following information on PLNs was adapted from an original Teacher Challenge post by Australian teacher, Michael Graffin. You can check out Michael’s original post — What The heck Is A PLN.
This resource was updated by Kathleen Morris in 2018.
The fourth benefit of having a PLN resonates with me 100 Percent. As a future educator I feel that all my students should have an opportunity to learn their own way. For example, if I have a student who learns better with hands on, I could create a virtual activity for them. I could also have a student who is an auditory learner. I could have them listen to a podcast as an assignment.
One resource that could be considered a PLN is Pintrest. While teachers are not necessarily talking to one another directly, the wealth of resources that teachers post and share beats any other site I have ever seen. When I need something, it is usually where I look first. Teachers have really taken to Pintrest, I would say, more than Twitter. – Stacy
PLN’s are a sense of community and connectedness to a group of people with shared interests who otherwise wouldn’t experience similar interests. In other words, many people find that “one thing” that bonds them, gravitate towards it, and develop helpful and impactful relationships for the sake of that interest. In teaching, I have been very blessed to be a part of a small PLN which has helped me develop a growth mindset for education and to bestow my knowledge to students so that they help others achieve success in the world.
EDTC 615: A PLN, to me, is all about building a community around yourself for the purpose of developing and learning. The focus is all about you and your needs, interests, and desires. Some communities are small and close-knit while others are quite large.
KSanGabriel (EDTC615): Interestingly, I think many educators (and people in the workforce in general) have created PLNs without even knowing it or consciously trying to do so. We look for articles and resources and blogs in a variety of places and from a variety of people/ For me, the best thing about a PLN is being able to learn about what interests me and not necessarily what someone else thinks I should learn. I can also learn as much or as little at a time as I’d like. However, the challenge for me is in reciprocating to other teachers. The term “network” for me requires reciprocity, so right now, I feel as though I’m just lurking and learning myself rather than contributing to the network.
EDTC 615: A PLN is important for collaboration and so your students get the most out of their learning. Teachers and other various staff members can learn so much from each other and how to better support the needs of our students. Planning can be done in a much more efficient and creative way when done with a PLN.
EDTC-615: A PLN for an educator is a very important piece of the job culture. Being able to share ideas and learn from others in your field pushes you to continue your growth as a teacher. You can turn to your PLN for advice and support in order to reach all students and all learners. Especially in the field of education where things constantly changing your PLN is a way of evolving as an educator.
I chose one of the PLN benefits to comment about. The one that I like the most is the fact that you can explore your own interests, needs, and passions. I feel that this is important because it allows you to explore different areas that need focus when teaching. It also can be adjusted to address the needs or interests of your students. Having resources that are flexible to meet the needs of students is a valuable asset for teachers.
Since I consider myself a life-long learner, creating relationships with other educators is an important aspect of my journey in staying connected through Personal Learning Networks (PLN). I believe teachers can benefit from improving their learning by receiving feedback and new opportunities to expand their career in education. We live in an age where social technology has boomed, so taking advantage of reaching other professionals to collaborate and share resources to improve our teaching is certainly a benefit to be part of.
(EDTC 615) A personal learning network is a collection of individuals and resources to turn to when a teacher is in need of additional support and/or want to further their personal education on various topics. What may be of interest to one teacher (i.e. differentiation for high school ESOL students) may be entirely different for another teacher (technology software for Kindergarten students). A PLN is personalized for each individual teacher. There is no one “right” way to create your own PLN!
EDTC615- A PLN to me is a group of professionals sharing a common interest or goal that are willing to support each other while bringing new ideas to the group. Each member of the PLN brings a different skill set to the group which leads to rich, constructive conversations. I have utilized social media as a way to connect with other secondary math teachers outside of my school, district, and state. Together we offer innovative ways to present and assess the concepts of our classrooms in new and exciting ways.
To me a Personal Learning Network (PLN) is a learning community which consisted of different tools which help teachers to achieve their personal or professional goals. In the world of education, we must collaborate in order to create the ideal learning environment for our students. A PLN network could be used as a place to gather ideas on how to teach a certain topic or somewhere to asking for feedback on an upcoming lesson. (EDTC 615)
Subjects, curriculums and the way they are taught are changing constantly nowadays. The best way to cope with it is building and maintaining a Personal Learning Network extending, tapping into the rich knowledge of co-teachers and other experts, but also sharing your own experience. But with the tools available today you can go even further promoting discussion, collaboration and active learning with peers.
2. You can explore your own interests, needs, and passions (or your students’). I really like this benefit because as a future teacher, I will need to explore many different opportunities for my students. All students are different, so I can use PLN to learn and explore ideas.
A PLN means educators working together to individually and collectively better their teaching. This could mean asking for advice on one’s lesson plans. This could also be common grading as a team to ensure county assessments are graded in an unbiased way. Moreover, the team can extract collective data from which to inform instruction for the rest of that year and next school year. Other people in a PLN can be people on an education Twitter blog, people completing the same professional development like me, my UMGC instructors, and other educators in my master’s program. A PLN group is flexible and shares resources from fields from which they specialize or are interested.
(EDTC 615) A PLN means educators working together to individually and collectively better their teaching. This could mean asking for advice on one’s lesson plans. This could also be common grading as a team to ensure county assessments are graded in an unbiased way. Moreover, the team can extract collective data from which to inform instruction for the rest of that year and next school year. Other people in a PLN can be people on an education Twitter blog, people completing the same professional development like me, my UMGC instructors, and other educators in my master’s program. A PLN group is flexible and shares resources from fields from which they specialize or are interested.
In my opinion, a PLC is community of professionals giving and taking ideas through a network of resources propelled by technology. It is all about connectivity to build growth and knowledge. As a first year teacher, building a PLN means that I get the opportunity to grow in the profession where I have a lot to learn. In addition, I can share some of my ideas and projects with others. PLN is the true definition of “It takes a village.” I have some experience with Twitter, but this website has provided me with more opportunities to enhance my PLN experience on Twitter. I can also look at some other forums like podcasts, video-chats, and websites.
There are so many great benefits of having a PLN! I like how it gives you control of your own professional development with 24/7 learning opportunities. I haven’t experienced many professional developments that were interesting or relatable to me. I like having the ability and flexibility to determine my own learning. It’s also a great way to connect with other educators and professionals. I like knowing that I can receive advice and knowledge from someone who has been in my shoes. As educators, we are always encouraging and motivating our students to deepen their knowledge, so we should too. A PLN is a great way to increase and advance our own knowledge so that we can better help our students.
One benefit of PLNs that hits home for me would be, “24/7 learning offers the flexibility to learn and connect at a time that suits you.” I think that offering flexibility to teachers is very important because they are very busy, like anyone else. In the connected educator video, Brian Cosby, an elementary teacher, shared that this flexibility is incredibly convenient. He says that he can post a question before he goes to bed, and wake up to have it answered because other teachers around the world are awake, and have free time at different times. A teacher in Australia is on a different time schedule than the United States which can serve to be a symbiotic relationship. We can help them, and they can help us to improve at convenient times. It can be hard to have everyone free their schedules on a set date and time, so being able to access a PLN is way more efficient and allows for more learning opportunities.
What is PLN-It’s a network of people and resources that support ongoing learning. It also help teachers in their classroom connect to global networks and peers. PLN-Professional Learning network is a tool that uses social media and technology to collect, communicate,collaborate and create with connected colleagues anywhere at anytime. The PLN consists of relationships between individuals where the goal is enhancement of mutual learning. PLN is learning in feedback, insights, documentation, new contacts, or new business opportunities.
A Personal learning network is a tool that uses social media and technology to collect, communicate, collaborate and create with colleagues anywhere at anytime. The pro’s of Personal Learning network is that you are allowed to control who is in your network and who would like to follow in a network.
PLN is a professional learning network. It allows individuals to choose what they want to learn and whom they want to learn from. Participation in a PLN can be limited to lurking, asking questions, or leaving remarks. Lurking allows individuals who are more reserved to take part in networked learning environments by exploring other ideas.
The greatest benefit to PLN’s is having the ability to explore specific interests, needs, and passions directly related to the teacher and students. Teachers can identify groups who are focused on particular subjects and look for proven methods. PLN’s allow educators to key in on skills they may need to improve in or look for strategies to aid in students learning. An example might include joining the ALA to research high-interest books for reluctant young readers. The Association of English teachers may provide tips on teaching students how to close read.
I agree that I think PLN is a personalized learning network. You start as you as a person, then as you connect, out of your connection and postings it explodes like fireworks out and back in, so now there is a flood of learning as one focuses and absorbs the responses.
All this results from networking with current technology around the world.
I think the global aspect is import. As I show the positives of global responses to my learning and sharing with students in an inner city school, they can find the positive global responses to their interests around the world as well.
I was surprised some educators spoke of doing this for four years and I never heard of it until today. It is as if a lightbulb has just gone off.
PLN is a much and as deep as you want it be. I’m excited about the PLN journey that is just beginning for me.
The PLN benefit that really resonates with me is “you can learn and connect in a way that you enjoy”. I think this resonates with me a lot because I am not super tech savvy and there are only some technology related ways that I’m comfortable talking to people and forming bonds on. It’s important, however, that I’m able to form those bonds and some of them definitely can’t be made in person so I need to be versatile in using both “in person” and “online” resources to create my PLN. This benefit means that I’ll have the ability to use tech that I’m comfortable with using or at least comfortable learning how to use. It is great that with PLN’s I’m not forced to use any platform to make connections that I’m not at least somewhat comfortable with. I know that with the stability of mind that comes with the comfort of connecting to people how I want to I’ll be better equipped to make better connections and create a better PLN.
Personal-Learning-Network
To me, it is the group of people that I trust enough to learn and gain insights from. The P is for personal because you are deciding those who you are going to put your trust in. It is a network because each person has their own network and therefore, there is a large variety of others who can help if those in your own group cannot figure a solution. L is for learning. Each group can have specific topics that they discuss and learn more about. Some various platform that can offer to be a PLN is twitter, youtube, and the educators PLN.
One of the benefits I learned is that you can explore yours or your students’ own interests, needs, and passions. There are multiple students who will struggle with different topics. Students are interested in a bunch of different topics and they might be interested in researching it. The PLN Is used to support ongoing learning for students. Teachers can turn to their own PLN to refer to as help.
As a new teacher, I am excited to find that educators use PLNs. Since education is always changing, it is important that teachers stay connected. What I really love about PLNs is #2. Each teacher is different, with different strengths and weaknesses. Having a Personal Learning Network allows teachers to explore what they need when they need it. This can be something related to a group of students or the area you teach in. With a PLN, professional development is endless!
A PLN is a Personal Learning Network. A PLN is a collaboration between individuals to promote mutual learning. A PLN can be in the form of feedback, documentation, or insights. Each individual in a PLN is wanting to grow from one another’s input on a topic. One benefit of having a PLN is having somewhere to turn if needing to help with students, work, or exploring different interests.
I like the idea of growing as a teacher at my own pace via the online PLN. I also think the online flexible schedule would work well. You could work on it at lunch or during your planning time
A professional learning network is a group of people who encourage learning, collaborating, and sharing with one another. The people in this network find ways to enjoy what they do whether at a school or in any other group. The benefit choice that I chose was “You can learn and connect in a way that you enjoy.” I chose this because I think that the best learning often takes place when you are doing something you enjoy. There are different ways to connect learning to the outside world. One example of using this benefit is through the use of social media. I recently had the idea of creating an assignment where my students would use multiple different social media platforms and create “posts” to display their work and answers to show their learning. I know my students will enjoy this because social media is such a big part of their everyday lives. It is extremely important to be a connected teacher, so that you understand what is going on in the world and can better reach your students. It is important to also be willing to try new things because the world is ever changing. By being a part of a PLN, you will be more willing to try different things and find better ways to keep the interest of your students, so that they enjoy what they are doing and learning.
I think having the 24/7 availability to connect and learn from others is a great RESOURCE.
It also gives you the flexibility to do it a time that suits you.
I find that number two of the eight benefits something that fits me best because I “can explore my own interests, needs, and passions as well as my students’ passions.” This will allow me to know what my student’s take interest in and how I can best facilitate their learning.
I like the flexibility benefit of the PLN. With this online opportunity teachers can do this during their planning time or lunch. I also like how it allows teachers to grow at their own pace via feedback from their peers.
The biggest benefit to me about PLNs are that I can control my own professional development. I know it isn’t easy to work on PD but having my own PLN lets me work in my free time and grow in more specific areas. I have specific things and people who are helping me work through things and grow to be a better teacher.
I believe that benefit 6, that talks about staying current to today’s learning styles, is extremely important to my adaptability in the classroom. Being able to be adaptable when it comes to my teaching styles, is just as important as the way that the students have to adapt to different learning styles each year when they enter a new classroom with a new teacher in a brand new environment. Flexibility is the biggest buzzword in education today, and it is exactly what our student need and deserve. It is also important that we can use a PLN at our convenience in order to get the most that we can from our fellow teachers.
This was a great and educational article about PLNs. Concerning the part about the 8 benefits of PLNs, the number that I related with most was number 4, “you can learn and connect in a way that you enjoy.” I am a huge fan of social media and see it as an asset in the educational realm. I am very comfortable using all social media platforms. Twitter is one that many educators are already using and implementing into their own classrooms. Instagram happens to be my personal favorite, and I believe it is a great tool that can be implemented into the classroom. Instagram is more focused on pictures and videos, and in the educational realm posting those pictures and videos is a great way to connect. Podcasts are a new tool I am getting into, and would love to see it more implemented in education.
It is now easy to stay updated on educational practices and research. PLN’s provide the best practices from nearby schools and even from other countries. This opens up a plethora of resources for teachers.
A PLN seems like an excellent tool to engage yourself in learning more than ever in the career of education. The ability to take charge and initiate your own professional development through discussion with other educators is something I can’t wait to be a part of. Having the opportunity to explore new ideas, specific to your classroom and student needs, provides incredible support, especially as an upcoming new teacher myself. This engagement in discussion about learning that is specific and differentiated to student needs provides new ideas, and resources that can greatly benefit them individually and as a whole.
I believe that benefit 6, that talks about staying current to today’s learning styles, is extremely important to my adaptability in the classroom. Being able to be adaptable when it comes to my teaching styles, is just as important as the way that the students have to adapt to different learning styles each year when they enter a new classroom with a new teacher in a brand new environment. Flexibility is the biggest buzzword in education today, and it is exactly what our student need and deserve. It is also important that we can use a PLN at our convenience in order to get the most that we can from our fellow teachers.
I feel that I can really engage my students by using my PLN for the use of their interests (#2). This would be a great activity or incentive to use at the end of the week for students to look forward to.
I think the 24/7 learning is a huge benefit. I like the idea the idea of not having to take time out of a busy schedule to go to a large conference or meeting, as well as potentially spending a lot of money. With PLNs, I am able to communicate with others that can offer me insight or advice at any time. By creating a PLN, I will have people that I can go to that will be able to help me at the times that I need it, not just times that advise is being publicly offered.
PLN is a huge benefit for teachers because teachers are now able to communicate with other teachers to collaborate. The teachers are able to work together to see what works and what doesn’t. This helps because you are able to get new ideas and a fresh look on what could happen in your classroom.
The benefit that I really like about PLNs is the second one “You can explore your own interests, needs, and passions (or your students’).” This is something I like to use now in my everyday lesson plans. Finding things that benefit student interest and passions help students learn and help keep them engaged in lessons and projects. There are so many things out there, whether it be people or a website, that can really benefit the classroom experience.
A PLN is a Personal Learning Network. A PLN is a collaboration between individuals to promote mutual learning. A PLN can be in the form of feedback, documentation, or insights. Each individual in a PLN is wanting to grow from one another’s input on a topic.
Professional Learning Networks (PLN) are networks of teachers developed so that teachers can connect with each other. PLNs allow teachers to collaborate, gain new ideas, and stay relevant in the world of education. Teachers are able to learn new concepts, ideas, and teaching methods from teachers within their school or from anywhere in the world through the use of PLNs.
Love this idea of PD when I want where I want. Of course I already do this!
PLN stands for Personal Learning Network. This is basically a network of people that share ideas, questions, and thoughts with one another in order to learn more about the topic they are studying. Some online forms of PLN could include YouTube, Pinterest, and Twitter
I am very excited to learn more about building a PLN. PLNs are promoted at my school as our Instructional Technologist is very pro-PLN and is always hosting Twitter chats and such. To be honest, things like Twitter Chats terrify me! I’m not sure how to go about being active in one so I am looking forward to learning. I would say that I am more of a “lurker” on Twitter but I am hoping to change that.
I am a new high school library media specialist in a district where there are no other teacher librarians. Though I have been in education for 26 years, my new role can be isolating. I am so excited to build a PLN with other high school librarians as I know how easy it is to stay in the “echo chamber” of my school. I have been a Twitter “lurker” for several years, but it is definitely time to begin taking a more active and engaged role. It is easy to passively scroll through content, but taking the time to craft a thoughtful response is exactly what good teachers ask of their students who are learning something new.
PLN’s allow you to be in charge of your own professional development. PD is no longer something that you have to “sit and get”. For example, I am our PBIS Tier 1 coach, and the professional development opportunities that interest me most are found through other educators and PBIS PD trainings.