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.
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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.
A Personal Learning Network (PLN) is a network of professionals, all present to meet a goal. This goal revolves around developing his or her own learning as well as to form connections with like-minded people. Within this network is an opportunity to collaborate, communicate, and share insights on a global scale. in addition to this, PLNs are a way to stay current on research and take ownership of one’s professional development. It allows a level of access like no other. the educator gets to choose the time, place, level of engagement, and topic. this openness allows an educator to reflect, and in turn fine-tune their craft.
A PLN on my job is a way for me to grow professionally and connect and collaborate with others that have a similar interest for the purpose of gaining new insight and knowledge, sharing ideas and getting support about issues that may occur in teaching. I have several PLNs that I participate in on my job such as a community that supports online learning, faculty training and development, and for the new learning management system. School-wide PLNs add further value because it provides an opportunity to cross disciplines for totally different viewpoints. As a teacher, PLNs are valuable for sharing and gaining new ideas for the classroom, giving and receiving feedback and suggestions on assignments and instruction, and discussing things that are happening in the classroom. Getting and staying connected through PLNs are beneficial for teaching.
I responded once, but do not see my comment in the list so I thought I would try again. To me, a PLN is what I have been longing for. I’ve said many times that I wish I had the ability to exchange information and ideas with professionals outside of just my current co-workers. I am hoping creating my own PLN and following others in my interested field will help me grow as a professional and also allow me to share my ideas in hopes to benefit others, as well.
To me, a PLN is a way to embrace technology and learn from peers you would have never met otherwise. It is something that interests me so much, as I often mention, I wish I had communication with people outside of my immediate co-workers to share ideas and resources. As I start my own PLN, I am already imagining I will be more of a “lurker” until I feel comfortable embracing the idea of “blogging”.
This is great, I definitely plan on taking this course when I get a chance. A personal learning network would be a great way for me as a new teacher to develop and learn from others. I think I went through a great program to become a teacher but nothing can replace experience. Being able to reach out to others in a network and tap into their experience is truly invaluable.
A personal learning network is a way for me to have questions answered, discover new methods and communicate with other teachers from around the world when it’s most convenient or necessary. The Facebook groups I joined, such as Teachers Using Google Classroom, and Bitmoji for Educators, were invaluable as I navigated through virtual teaching with four days notice. The YouTube channels I follow have also been a vital part of my PLN. Having a PLN has been, in many instances, a lifesaver and instrumental in my growth as a teacher.
A personal Learning network means to me that teachers or students can use the internet, more specifically social media platforms to communicate and share ideas. I think of Teacher’s Pay Teacher’s and facebook or Twitter groups that I use and read and share ideas from colleagues. As a new teacher personal learning networks are so important for me to use and to share experiences to ensure I am setting my students up for success.
A personal learning network to me is a group of people that I can turn to to get support and feedback from about new ideas. It is a system of like-minded people who value education that will continually push you to try new things and keep doing what is best for the students in your classroom. Having a personal learning network means that you will not allow yourself to become complacent in the classroom and will keep trying new things, whether it is technology or curriculum or something else, to keep being better for the students you teach.
A PLN is a way to drive my own professional learning by connecting with other educators, and companies, via social media, watching videos, and reading articles. Creating and participating in my PLN will allow me to hone my instructional process to improve my students’ learning.
I am a fairly new teacher and a part of a social media group for teachers of the same grade level as I. I “lurk” quite often on the page and find ideas to use with my students. An advantage of lurking is that it allows me to learn at all times and does not require any real work. A disadvantage is that you are not allowing other teachers to have access to your thoughts and input on how you would approach a situation or teach a concept.
Being an older teacher, the importance of keeping up with an ever-changing technological world has not always been easy. Twitter is not something that I currently have, but I am really excited about having a place to go to discuss and learn about educational issues with like-minded people. This means of communication is really exciting. Having professional development opportunities at my fingertips and being able to collaborate and communicate with my peers regularly will make my life so much easier. I can’t wait to get started.
A PLN is a way to collaborate with other educators to provide and receive support or gain inspiration in the classroom. It is important to me to surround myself with opportunities to learn and grow as an educator, so I look to my PLN for new opportunities for myself and my students. Being able to share with other teachers has been so beneficial to me in my teaching career and has helped me stay positive about experiences when it becomes difficult. I have used Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and blogs of many other educators to connect and share ideas. It has allowed me to grow in my own experiences and share ideas with my colleagues as well. I have enjoyed making these connections over the years and have used these platforms to reflect on my own philosophies.
Being an older teacher, the importance of keeping up with an ever-changing technological world has not always been easy. Twitter is not something that I currently have, but I am really excited about having a place to go to discuss and learn about educational issues with like-minded people. This means of communication is really exciting. Having professional development opportunities at my fingertips will make my life so much easier. I can’t wait to get started.
PLN is a Professional Learning Network that will allow me to connect with other educators around the world. I can also use the PLN to engage in professional developments that will help me learn new information about Early Childhood Education.
A PLN allows me to stay connected with other educators locally and globally. I can choose which topics I want to learn about making my PD very personalized. I can also choose the venue of this learning through social media, video, discussions and blogs. I can connect anytime and participate or just observe and gain knowledge from other educators.
Hi, I’m just a few years from retirement but still looking to develop my tool box – I’m always looking for something new to learn or a new challenge. So this is an exciting turn for me.
I’m afraid I might be a lurker at the beginning till my comfort level rises. It’s not the most flattering word. When I looked it up, it said hiding in wait for an evil purpose. So hopefully I won’t be a lurker for long:)
Hi Hazel, I am in the same boat. I am just a few years away from retirement, but I really try to stay on top of the changes happening. This will be new for me.
Interested to learn more!
The aspect of the PLN that most entices me right now is #7. A PLN allows for broad brainstorming or fine tuning.
I teach in a rural, predominantly white community that heavily skews towards politically conservative discourse. At the same time, I teach at a public university situated within this community. My desire in building my own PLN, and consequently teaching my pre-service teacher candidates how to build their own PLN, stems from the racist climate engulfing our nation. Many of my students and neighbors have not experienced interracial friendships or even interacted with people of color. How can my students adequately teach and inspire their future students if they don’t have opportunities to build and enhance their perspective? My goal in developing a PLN is to provide students with anti-racist resources, voices, and ideas so that they can build community and combat racism in their own schools and communities when they graduate.
PLN, to me, means the ability to connect with teachers for the benefit of our students. There are so many resources at our disposal and being connected just provides that many more opportunities to help our students be successful. I like that I am able to find what will interest me and benefit me the most.
I love that PD can lead to connections beyond a building or a school district. PLN’s offer teachers and administrators an opportunity to personalize their learning at any time of the day. Conferences are motivating, but oftentimes money, time, and location interfere with a teacher’s ability to attend. A PLN opens up a world of learning for everyone!
A PLN gives teachers opportunities to keep learning and connecting with others. When I started teaching, PD meant a one and done learning opportunity. We had little chance to connect with other teachers from the conference. I like that a PLN gives me a chance to really personalize my PD and can offer opportunities that might be out of my reach due to location, price, and time.
I think one of the benefits that I liked was the 24/7 ability to connect and at all times. I think that our schedules are hectic and I enjoy that I can take my own time to look up things.
What Personal Learning Network means to me is the idea of being able to connect with other educators, especially during my first years of teaching. I will need this resource for guidance and encouragement for lesson plans. I think that “Lurking” is great, as long as eventually you have the intent to share eventually.
One of the benefits that stood out to me was that with PLN’s you have the ability to learn and connect in a way that you enjoy. This means that you can basically fine-tune what type of content you choose to see can be in the medium that works best for you. Personally I prefer to watch videos and listen to podcasts about educational information rather than reading blog posts and wordy articles, and this is okay. Its nice to know that the whole thing is so personalized.
A PLN is a way for teachers to network themselves, whether technologically or not. I feel that a huge “pro” of the PLN is the capability to make it work for yourself individually.
A PLN is a personal learning network consisting of like minded people who share ideas with one another using Web 2.0. Educators have the option of posting their ideas or just lurking to see what others post. The pros of lurking is one gets to see what everyone else is doing and get ideas to use. The cons of luring is not being fully engaged and making the most out of the opportunity to connect with people all over the world!
The benefits that resonated with me were, being able to follow your interests (or the students) and being able to get on whenever you need to. I like the idea that everything is at your fingertips. You can look up procedures for your class, how to help struggling students, and you can even use it for advice. Flexibility time wise resonated with me because you don’t have to be on it at a certain time, it’s literally available whenever you need it.
Having a PLN allows for educators to connect with other educators around the world. I think this benefit is one of the best ones. Collaboration is extremely important for educators because it allows for them to share ideas and get feedback.
A PLN is a way to grow as a teacher, connect with like minded people, and support yourself in order to support your students. A PLN gives you access to knowledge, ideas, and relationships you might not necessarily have in your immediate area. For me, a PLN will enable me to communicate with others from around the world and gain insight to become a better teacher.
What is a PLN- professional learning network.
PLN is a connection place between people with the same interests to share information and support each other.
What I have learned about PLNs is how important they are. I will take the time to persuade or educate others in learning about PLNs. Staying connected with others, having the ability to access knowledge all over the world and obtain responses within minutes is beneficial to any type of career. For me, in education it is a way to have continuing education at your fingertips and provide others with my knowledge. Knowledge is power.
Developing a Personal Learning Network is pivotal in achieving success as a teacher. The various methods to obtain information is vast. As I develop my PLN, I am learning different ways to connect with my students. I am also becoming more familiar with the various soft wares that are at my disposal as an educator.
For years now, I have been familiar with the term PLC (a professional learning community). However, at least in my area, the term has been used to describe groups of educators within schools who work together (i.e. grade-level or subject-area teams). Only recently has it been suggested that a PLC might include teachers from other schools, especially for singleton teachers. Personally, I find the idea a bit constraining.
The idea of a PLN seems much broader, connecting with other educators on a global level. I view a PLN as an opportunity to enhance my professional learning in areas that I have a personal interest, making it much more individualized than what we would get within our schools and district. My areas of strengths and needs, as well as my interests, do not fit a cookie-cutter mold with the rest of my school staff. Living in a small, rural area, the PLN lets me be in charge of my own PL.
A PLN to me, the P could mean both professional and personal. Professional because we use it to connect and gain ideas about our profession and learn from each other. But also personal, because we can choose how we do that by personal preference. I think it’s great, because I thrive in situations where I can work and learn from other people. So to be able to log onto something and learn new things and share ideas is really appealing to me.
The benefit that resonates with me is “brainstorm or fine tune ideas.” Like I said above, I thrive in a work environment where I can work with and learn from other people. I like to share ideas and learn new things from people to fine tune my craft become the best teacher I can be for my students.
Being a connected educator is important to know what is going on in the education world and to learn what works, what doesn’t, and gain some new ideas to make your classroom exciting. As a grad student, and someone who will be a first year teacher soon, I will take any advice I can get and I think being connected is really important.
I think a PLN is something I would’ve accidentally done even if I didn’t know what a PLN was. It feels second nature to use the internet and social media to look for people in your profession who have more experience or different perspectives than you. I’m always looking in the teacher tags to get inspiration or insight.
As for lurking, I think this is an excellent idea for people new to the field. I’m still in college so I know I will have more to learn than to say once I enter the field. But I think once you gain perspective and experience and confidence, then it is important to become a sharer
After reading this post, a PLN to me can mean a couple of different things. But, they all are used for the same reasons. They are used to collaborate, connect, share, and learn from other people. A Personal Learning Network for mothers and a Professional Learning Network for educators are both used similarly. They are to gain perspective and learn new information. The best part about PLNs is that you get to make all of the decisions. If you want to share information, you can. If you want to “lurk” you can. It is a personal choice.
A PLN to me is not just a network of learners and educators but a community motivated by learning. We, as teachers, love to learn and it would be simply silly to learn how to teach in a vacuum. Teacher preparation programs required an internship because you cannot learn to teach through books. There are a hundred ways to teach and thousands of teachers who have gone before us as teachers. Why would we reinvent the chalkboard?
I find a PLN most attractive because it can help me brainstorm and fine tune ideas for teaching content. When solving a pedagogical problem, I can be creative, but teaching is stressful and often there can be a lot of things that happened during the day that zap my ability to problem solve. If I had a PLN, I do not have to depend on my own creativity 9 weeks out of the quarter. I can easily tap into what other people have created and tried for their own classroom
One challenge that I have is understanding how to build the PLN. I think it is important to use technology, but it is a struggle for me sometimes. I think technology can help teachers improve classrooms. This is why I am researching and trying to understand the PLN.
Chris,
I have a similar feeling. I love the idea of using technology to build a PLN, but I am struggling with how to get started. I created a Twitter account, and followed a few others such as We Are Teachers, but don’t really know where to go from here. Hopefully, the other modules in this course will provide some guidance. Good luck with your journey!
I think being a connected educator is important for growth. I believe it is important to have a growth-mindset not only as an educator, but as an individual. Being open to new ideas and experiences allows us to reflect on what we believe in and decide whether or not we change our way of thinking. We are constantly growing as individuals and the world is also constantly changing! In education, it is extremely important to keep up with new ideas, connect and collaborate with others, and grow as professionals. If teachers are encouraging growth from students, then teachers should model growth to students, as well!
I tend to be a lurker on the internet and have been for a long time. One of the challenges of building PLN for me is that I tend to read much and input little. One of the goals that I have for completing this course is to come out of that shell more and actively engage those whom I learn from, either to ask questions or input my ideas for the improvement of the writer. PLNs are essential to build, not just as a lurker, but actively as these networks will come to your aid when you need it as much as you come to other’s aid. The benefit of a PLN is sometimes it’s okay to lurk, and sometimes it’s more appropriate to be active, and I can decide when those moments will happen. I love how personal becomes a capital P in PLN!
I forgot to add that I started a blog on here to keep me on task to accomplish my goal of not just being a lurker! Here’s the URL: https://dcepegasus.edublogs.org/2020/04/03/connected_educator/
To me, a personal learning network is all about growth and learning through professional development. A PLN is chosen by each individual. A PLN also involves collaboration, as it includes a group of professionals in a career field that work together to help one another improve their craft.
To me, a Personal Learning Network (PLN) is a pool of resources and individuals upon which to draw upon for personal and professional development. It can serve to further my interests and passions using connections that I currently have or will make in the future. It is a network that is my own to use or not use at any point in order to share, collaborate, and connect with people in my field or area of interest. I can use my personal connections in an effort to gain professional contacts and opportunities. In keeping touch with people who are in education or a related field, I can utilize their connections for insight into teaching, pedagogies, and resources. This helps lead into my more formal professional connections, such as colleagues, former and current employers, program coordinators, and even former teachers who teach the same subject and/or grade level. They serve as resources and people to turn to for more professional advice on teaching strategies, differentiation techniques, instructional software, and specific content area conceptual knowledge. These will help me as I navigate how best to serve my students. Currently, former professors serve as the backbone of my academic connections in addition to the readings, research, and tools they have introduced me to. I will always have those previous learning resources to fall back to if necessary to further my own learning and professional development. I can also rely on my own personal research skills to curate relevant research for my own benefit and for the benefit of those in my PLN. There are so many databases of scholarly journals, peer reviewed articles, and blogs from current practitioners that I can draw upon in my search for reliable, relevant information. I can choose to share my findings, thoughts, strategies, etc. with using various social media platforms.
PLNs are an invaluable source of knowledge for me. They have given me the professional development necessary to continue to pursue my personal pursuits in education. Coming from an entirely different discipline into education has been a dramatic struggle for multiple ways so a PLN has been my lifeline in learning and collaborating with other educators and gaining much needed perspective.
A PLN offers people the opportunity to build contacts and resources. These opportunities rely on a give and take interaction.
A PLC is a network of people who are connected by a common interest or profession. Although PLCs are most commonly associated with educators, people in any field can in fact be part of a PLC. The purpose of a PLC is for the members to support each other on their professional journeys. This support can take many forms, such as offering guidance, feedback, ideas, emotional support, & professional connections. Although PLC members can offer various forms of support in person, due to the fact that many people with our shared interests & professions live in other parts of the country & the world, a large amount of communication & support is done via online methods such as blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
In my opinion, a PLN is a group of people who have a common interest, need or goal who share information and support each other in expanding their knowledge base. This community is not limited to individuals in your area, rather, PLNs connect individuals from around the globe. As a teacher, I am able to use PLNs to further my professional growth as a kindergarten teacher as a whole, a teacher who supports students with language or developmental needs and given the current health crisis, a teacher who is now reaching my students through a distance learning model.
A Professional Learning Network allows teachers to connect with not only other teachers across the country but teachers throughout the world with similar interests. PLNs allow teachers the flexibility to explore their interests whether that be in a particular grade, subject area, or new teaching philosophy. Teachers also can use PLNs to collaborate with other educators to find new and engaging ways to teach their students or help a particular student in an area that they are struggling. Professional Learning Networks allow teachers to collaborate with their passion for students at the center of the conversation, but PLNs also provide support to one another.
A PLN is a community of people who share interests and mutual learning. The network supports growth through resources, feedback, interaction, and trust. Educators will find value in building a PLN because it allows ongoing learning for topics that are meaningful to personal and professional growth.
A PLN is a tool for educators. It can be a support system and resource for instruction. An educator’s PLN is an inclusive network of like- minded peers that educators can share their ideas with and learn from. Your PLN can be professional, personal and personalized. It assists in growing the effectiveness of your professional efforts. Your PLN is something you create. You join groups, people and organizations that reflect who you are as a person and educator. Finally, you personalize how and when you communicate with your network. There are many forums and schedules to create in and utilize. Technology will continue to differentiate PLNs and give educators more and more possibilities to connect and grow.
PLN’s are a community of like-minded educators who are passionate about collaborating, sharing, connecting and learning! It is a place where educators can intentionally perfect their craft to cater to the 21st century learner. Giving the present state of the world, PLN’s provide an atmosphere for teachers to hone in on blended learning. #EDTC615