Welcome to the final step in our free professional learning series on building your PLN.

Now you know what a PLN is, and how people build one, we’re going to discuss ways of making time for your PLN.

In this step you will explore:

  1. How to find time to develop your PLN and embed simple practices into your routine
  2. Tips for building your PLN

Overview

Throughout this series, we’ve looked at different ways that educators enjoy building a PLN and connecting with their networks.

While we mainly focused on Twitter, blogs, and curation tools, remember, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

There are many other ways that educators connect with others and we encourage you to explore anything that looks interesting to you.

Popular ways educators are learning with their PLN Edublogs Teacher Challenge

Whatever tools you use, you want it to be sustainable. The real benefits of having a PLN emerge once you get to know people and as we’ve said throughout this series, the more you put in, the more you’ll get back.

Tips For Building Your PLN

Here are some tips for building your PLN and making the time to be a ‘connected educator’ without feeling overwhelmed.

Do what works best for you

How do you like to learn and connect best? Do you prefer reading and text based materials? Are you a keen writer? Maybe you like audio and enjoy learning via podcasts. Videos are also a popular way for people to learn and share information.

Follow your natural learning style and think about ways you can become a connected educator by doing what you’re comfortable with. Not every tool or service is for everyone!

Start small

Put your blinkers on. You really don’t need to use all the tools that are out there. Trying to keep up with many people and many tools is a recipe for feeling overwhelmed.

Some educators have built up a great network just by reading a handful of blogs and following a small number of people on Twitter. Remember, it’s quality over quantity.

Set a goal and commit

Set yourself one goal of something you’re going to commit to trying.

Maybe your goal will be to join Twitter and find 10 people to follow. Then challenge yourself to check in every day for a month and see what your followers are tweeting about. If this works for you, you can build on it. If not, you can always try something new!

Set a routine

You probably already have a number of online routines in place. Maybe you’re in the routine of checking your emails in the morning, or perhaps browsing Facebook when you sit down after dinner.

Create a routine for your PLN too.

This doesn’t have to involve a big chunk of time. A few minutes here and there to read a blog post, browse through Feedly or Flipboard, or scroll through Twitter can be all you need to get on your way.

Consider becoming more productive

We all know how easy it is for time to whittle away while browsing online. Whether it’s YouTube videos or Instagram photos, maybe some of your online browsing experiences can be redirected to building your PLN.

Of course, we all need downtime but this is something for you to ponder!

Don’t be shy

Most people in the educational community are remarkably friendly. Don’t be shy about following people you don’t know, leaving a stranger a comment, or responding to someone’s tweet.

You’ll probably be glad you did and you never know where one small interaction can take you!

Don’t give up

It’s so common to try something new and feel a great sense of discomfort. You might feel confused and overwhelmed but don’t give up! Once you get over the initial learning curve, it will all pay off. We promise!

Maybe you’ll end up like Tisha Poncio who gave this inspiring shout out to her PLN on Twitter.

 “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Edublogs PLN Challenge

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:

  1. What are your goals? Leave a comment on this post to tell us what aspects of your PLN you want to focus on first. Maybe you want to join Twitter and find some fellow teacher-librarians or history teachers. Or maybe you want to add all your favorite blogs to a Feedly account. Tell us about it!
  2. Making time. Leave a comment on this post to share your ideas on how you will make time to build your PLN. Remember to consider if there is anything you can remove from your online browsing routine to free up time for building your PLN.
  3. Share your top tip. Leave a comment to share your tips that have helped get you started building a PLN without feeling overwhelmed.
  4. Pay it forward. Remember that a barrier to developing a PLN is simply not knowing what’s out there. Why not ‘pay it forward’ and tell a friend or colleague about this series? Encourage them to take part and learn about building their own PLN!
  5. Write a post about PLNs. If you have a blog, now could be the perfect time to write about PLNs. Put all the pieces together from what you’ve learned in this series and share your own insights or goals. You never know, you might just help someone else get started! Please include @edublogs if you tweet your post so we can share it with our network. Leave a comment with a link to your post so we can read it!

Also feel free to leave a comment to ask any questions you still have about building a PLN. We may be able to help!

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.


PLN Course Certificate

Have you completed each of the 7 steps in this course AND left a comment on each post? Maybe you’d like a certificate to show that you’ve completed the PLN Teacher Challenge course!

Fill out the form below to receive your certificate via email. Alternatively, click here to open the form in a new tab.

If you don’t receive your certificate, please look in your junk/spam folder.

Claim Your Badge!

If you’ve completed the PLN challenge, feel free to proudly display this badge on the sidebar of your blog. Alternatively, you might like to add it to your About page to demonstrate your professional learning.

Simply right click on the image and save it to your computer. Then add it to your sidebar by following these instructions.

We’re so happy to have you as part of our Teacher Challenge community!

PLN Teacher Challenge badge Edublogs

736 thoughts on “Step 7: Making Time To Build Your PLN

  1. My plan for my PLN future is to find the forum I think is best for me to build my connections on. I think different applications offer different benefits depending on what you are looking for. I think I want to start by creating a professional twitter and engaging in different twitter chats that I find interesting and can help broaden my horizons. I do not necessarily want to be the one that is engaging and educating others, but I will prioritize interacting with those who are.

  2. I would like to start building my social media accounts like Twitter, Instagram, and FaceBook to have an educational For You or feed page. I currently use those accounts and media in my day-to-day life so it would be a good place to start building connections with teachers and content creators on those sites. I would also like to start following more educational blogs like Cult of Pedagogy and other Edublogs as I’ve seen a lot of interesting and relevant content on their pages.

  3. One of my biggest goals is to be using my social media networks more for education dn networking reasons and not solely for entertainment. There is a world community adn world of educators waiting to collaborate and share their knowledge, tools, and experiences that I need to take advantage of. I also want to work on curating more content on my own social media networks and possibly starting a separate account solely dedicated to my career as a means to connect with other educators.

  4. One goal I have with creating my own PLN is to stay updated on new research and ideas from teachers everywhere and try to apply that to my own teachings. Another goal I have is hopefully after a few years of developing a PLN I will have a large resource I can pull from and to potentially help other teachers and pass my information along. I would also like to have a wide variety of sources in my PLN from social media, to videos, and blogs or studies.

  5. In order to make time for updating my PLN, rather than hop on social media when I wake up, I will dedicated 15-30 updating, adding too, or lurking on my PLN.

  6. My goal for my PLN is to set aside a specific time every week to find new ideas and every month to discuss ideas with other educators. I currently do this sporadically but I think being more methodical about it will ensure I put some of these practices into place and help me find more.

  7. My current goal for my PLN is to focus on reading blogs and get a better understanding of how things currently are among educators. I’m not too familiar with what is going on other than what is trending on a platform like Twitter, so checking out some blogs would be a good source of information.

  8. To make time to build my PLN I will add it to my agenda as future teachers we have a busy agenda but it is important to start working on our PLN before teaching to have a ginormous amount of connections and resources. I feel like sitting down and allowing time to be exposed to as many of these PLN resources as I can use would be beneficial. I will also make it a routine to look through different blogs and see which ones I love the most and get comfortable with them.

  9. My goals after reading through all 7 steps about PLN are to dive in. I have already created a twitter, but I would like to follow more educators and join a bigger circle. I would also like to look into some of the tools, such as LiveBinders, to help organize my ideas and put them all together.

  10. A personal goal of mine is to read more blogs and watch more youtube for more teaching ideas. I know I also want to build my Pinterest up more than the bare-bones that it currently is.

  11. Task #1 – What are your goals? Leave a comment on this post to tell us what aspects of your PLN you want to focus on first. Maybe you want to join Twitter and find some fellow teacher-librarians or history teachers. Or maybe you want to add all your favorite blogs to a Feedly account. Tell us about it!
    My most notable intention is to start using an RSS feed. Apparently, you can often use one to subscribe to blogs as well- like Feedly, but without the need for an account! It would be more convenient than using an email list or just checking occasionally. I may also start following more people on Twitter with useful information for teaching and disabilities.

  12. My goal is to create a space for others to share ideas. A few of my teacher friends and I share ideas with each other. This is a great way to get new perspectives.

  13. My goals as it concerns building up my PLN are finding and creating more connections with educators around me that I can learn from and maybe connect with once I am in the classroom. Another one of my goals is to devote more time to find more things on Pinterest or via Twitter that I can take with me. I would also like to find more blogs I like and perhaps create one of my own.

  14. My PLN plan is to start building my space and network little by little. I want to start by exploring different pages and people to find my voice to begin sharing. While I do not intend to spend a lot of time on my PLN at first, my goal is to build a network and eventually help others in their professional development.

  15. My first goal is to create a new Twitter account to focus on PLN. There are probably pages for new teachers that give guidance and I could also share my own experiences to maybe help someone else. I also hope to continue to search for more blogs like Cult of Pedology to keep myself involved in what is going on in the teaching community. We have technology at our fingertips and it is important to use it. In my free time, I would also like to explore other platforms.

  16. After going through all 7 steps, I think it is time that I start building my network. In two short years, I will be in my own classroom and looking for advice and ideas. I would first like to create a new Twitter account to focus on PLN. There are probably pages for new teachers that give guidance and I could share my own experiences to maybe help someone else. I also hope to continue to search for more blogs like Cult of Pedology to keep myself involved in what is going on in the teaching community.

  17. I currently fill my time up by browsing many social media platforms to pass the time. I often get so wrapped up in it I spend way more time than intended browsing. Instead, I could be more intentional with my time and visit and read blog posts that I’m interested in, that will help me in my career.

  18. This has really been a very practical guide, and I’ve enjoyed it. As far as building my own PLN, I think I will follow the advice to start small: I’ve set up a twitter account, and using some of the hashtags mentioned here, I’ll start searching around and exploring some of the available creators/curators on that platform. It is a ‘network’, so I’m sure that will lead to further expansion and discovery with time.

  19. My goals for my PLN is to use it to stay in the loop with relevant topics in the teaching world, as well as to connect with fellow educators. I think having a community is important for any profession, especially one so taxing and at times emotional as teaching. I will also be using it to follow creative educators and learn from the way they look at lessons differently than I do and the way they set up their classrooms.

  20. I plan to make time for my PLN during my free time. Using this time before I become a teacher to build my online presence and finding those useful resources will only help me in the long run. During my career using my breaks to build connections is a great time and even during the year when I’m struggling with something maybe I can share something that has worked for me and ask for advice on what hasn’t been working for me. We all use our phones constantly so it’s about using that time for what is actually going to benefit us and out students.

  21. My personal PLN goal is to make more time to read blogs and other resources in the field. Just 15 minutes a night while I’m in bed and reflecting on my day with my students.

  22. I want to make a Feedly account I want to be a kindergarten teacher so I want to join groups on all my networks to start connecting with other kindergarten teachers.

  23. My goal for my PLN is to gather a great group of teachers who all have experienced teaching in the type of school im working in (title 1, etc) and create a tight knit group that are able to connect and learn from each other. I would want to create a facebook group and add people from all around the country who are looking to be in a tight knit group of teachers who are willing and want to share their stories and experience and help other teachers with advice and situations.

  24. My PLN goal is to be more active on social media (such as twitter) to actually discuss with other educators and do more of the communicating since I feel like I just keep the information to myself instead of adding input and discussing.

  25. My goal for my PLN is to stay dedicated to it. I feel like as a first-year teacher I will need as much support and resources as I can get. I think this space could be so helpful and change my career. I will definitely need to determine what works for me as well as develop a set routine. I will probably also start small and do more observing than creating when first getting started.

  26. A PLN is easy to come by on social media, any social media you may be on. I have a network of teachers I respect / pages that share resources on most platforms and PLNs can be formed in any social media. My biggest goal is to create a digital organization system to help me actually implement discovered content in class.

  27. My goal for building my PLN is to dedicate 30 minutes a week towards this project. Each week I will look over professional development blogs and through my new twitter account to see new ideas and posts that could benefit my classroom. I want to start small with 30 minutes a week so that it is a realistic goal that is not overwhelming. As I grow my PLN and find blogs that stick out to me I will raise this time so that I can cover more material.

  28. My goal to start building my PLN is to start out small and too slowly build on it from there. I’m someone that gets overwhelmed easily and starting small would help make sure that doesn’t happen. I also want to start watching/listening to more podcasts in the physical education realm. I’m on twitter a bunch looking at sports content, but I can do a better job on looking at work related pages. I’m one to look at information, but I would love to start posting/sharing ideas with others too.

  29. My PLN goal is to plan time to devote to my own PLN each week. I think having a PLN is a great way to support myself in my role as a classroom teacher.

  30. My PLN goal is to become more connected on the PLN pages I already follow and seeking more networks to join. I want to be an active contributor the pages I am a member of. I will do this by sharing the resources I am using in my classroom as well as commenting more on others posts to offer advice. I also plan to share the knowledge I gain from my PLN with my colleagues at the school I work in. I think it would be a useful conversation to add to our weekly professional learning community meetings. I plan to share my resources in the shared dropbox files in the PLN Facebook groups I am a member of. I also want to start following more education platforms on TikTok and Pinterest to learn engaging methods of teaching from others.

  31. My personal PLN goal is to look through all the platforms and find one that my students and I enjoy using. Having a newborn, teaching, and coaching keeps me busy therefor I want to start small and do a little at a time. I like the platforms YouTube and twitter. Twitter allows me to follow others in the education field and utilize hashtags to gain more information on a topic.

  32. My personal PLN goal is to contribute and put more information on the Facebook group Family and Consumer Science Teachers. I visit this page frequently for lesson suggestions and new ideas for my class. My goal is to contribute more to this group. I feel I have contributed from other’s information and it is now time for me to also share information with others.

  33. My plan is to take more initiative with my Twitter page. Twitter is usually where I put content out into the world from my classroom, however Instagram is a place that I get a lot of content and ideas from. I plan on creating an Instagram account for educational purposes so that I can not only have access to information but provide some to others as well.

  34. The further I went through this course, the more I was convinced of how necessary is it to have some for of a PLN. This does not totally mean that everyone has to create one, but even following the right social platforms could make a world of difference. My personal PLN goal is to create a network for music educators where we will be able to share ideas and ask for help when needed. In my experience, it has been frowned upon to ask for help. Nobody is perfect, and I want to create an area where that is known and accepted. I plan to start with blogs and Twitter, but more platforms will be included. We will plan to have regular newsletters and virtual meetings, but I do not want this to become a spam situation.

  35. My personal PLN goal is to develop printable resources to link with my church history podcast. I release my podcast through anchor, apple podcasts and spotify. Before doing so I will refer to other podcasts to see how they are already doing this effectively.

  36. One way I would like to build my PLN is to make time for it. There are so many platforms to look through. It takes time to build a good network. I will make a routine of browsing through different platforms and reading blogs and tweets from educational accounts at least once a week.

  37. A PLN goal I want to set for myself is to make time to look through others’ platforms and take notes about ideas and guidance to use within my own classroom. I want to include more ideas from Pinterest and Tiktok and be able to share with my colleagues any new teaching styles and tips. I tend to watch and learn from others online rather than post personally. I like to learn and adjust their teachings since most of the styles I have seen apply to elementary levels, I would like to learn more about styles for high school.

  38. A PLN goal I want to set for myself is to make time to look through others’ platforms and take notes about ideas and guidance to use within my own classroom. I want to be able to share with my colleagues any new teaching styles and tips. I tend to watch and learn from others online rather than post personally. I like to learn and adjust their teachings since most of the styles I have seen apply to elementary levels, I would like to learn more about styles for high school.

  39. My personal PLN goal is to start small so I can build a solid foundation of knowledge. To implement this goal, I will utilize Twitter and find fellow teachers/educators who have great ideas and thoughts and follow them for thought-provoking content. Since my free time is limited at the moment, I may only have 5-10 minutes each day to work on my PLN. The most advantageous time for me to work on my PLN is in the evening after putting my child to bed.

  40. I am not sure if I will post my PLN anytime soon, but I will be looking at others PLNs. I do plan on finding more teachers and classroom resources to keep my teaching and lessons up to date to help keep students involved and interested. My PLN goal is to help provided different tools and strategies that are hands on for Middle School ELA teachers to use in their classroom.

  41. My personal PLN goal is to post strategies for math teachers to use for students that are struggling in math on Facebook group Middle School Math Teachers. Once a week I will post a different strategies for teachers to incorporate in their classroom. Then I will look at the comments under each post to see was the strategy effective for other educators.

  42. As I gain experience as a teacher, my PLN goal is to be able to add useful resources to the existing information that is widely available on the web. I hope that one day other new teachers will be able to make good use of my lesson content in their classes.

  43. As I gain experience as an educator, my PLN goal is to begin sharing the ideas and content that I have built with other educators so that there are even more resources available to CTAE specific teachers. I hope that new teachers can one day use my resources to help them get started and build their own lessons in the industry.

  44. My primary PLN goal is to make it a priority to use a curation tool like Wakelet. I already get a lot out of my educator Facebook groups, my email subscriptions, and educators I follow on Instagram or Twitter, but my content curation skills leave me at the level of a Hoarder or Scrooge. With saved posts on various social media platforms, folders in my email, a camera roll full of screenshots, and 263 tabs currently open on my phone, I’m not utilizing or sharing everything I’m learning. I often spend time on Saturday mornings commenting and saving, but I need to make curating part of that routine as well.

  45. I am not sure I will start a PLN anytime soon. I am struggling as it is to keep up with the everyday tasks. I have thought about making a teacher Instagram or TikTok, but I do not know where I will find the time. The process would be to identify my audience and list out ideas. When you have a PLN, it is important to post often to get views.

  46. My personal PLN goal is to contribute and put more information on my social media pages. I have a lot of educators who follow me, so maybe some of my work can inspire their classroom. I have been doing better this year posting things that I do on my Facebook account. It has been getting positive feedback all year and I cannot wait to put more activities on their.

  47. My personal PLN goal is to contribute and put more information on the facebook group Health Science Educators Association – NCHSE. I visit this page frequently for lesson suggestions. My goal is to post at least one activity or lesson per month on this group. I feel I have contributed from other’s information and it is now time for me to also share information with others.

  48. PLNs and sharing on social media are new to me– I prefer to look at content, not create, so starting small is a good point to remember.

  49. Task 2: Making time. Leave a comment on this post to share your ideas on how you will make time to build your PLN. Remember to consider if there is anything you can remove from your online browsing routine to free up time for building your PLN.

    Because I see a lack of time as my biggest barrier to having a successful PLN, I want to focus on finding the time. To find time in my day to become a better educator through building my PLN, I plan to replace some of my time scrolling through Instagram and facebook with scrolling through the twitter account that I only use for professional learning and networking. I also plan to take time each week to read the e-newsletters I receive from blogs I am subscribed to centered around my content area! Small changes that I believe will make a big difference!

  50. I will definitely continuing building my personal PLN for my role as an educator. I think it is important to use what works best for you, because this will increase the effectiveness and practically. I have found this module to teach me new and innovative materials to add to my own PLN.

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