My PLN

This semester I was introduced to the idea of a personal learning network, or PLN. I've never heard this term before, but I find it interesting. Below is an image of what I believe my PLN to look like now. As the semester continues, my goal is to grow my PLN and use technology to connect with more people. Ways I can grow my PLN include using Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook. In addition, both Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) have discussion forums that, instead of ignoring, I can participate.

My Pre-Map

As the semester marched on, I learned the many ways my PLN can grow. I thought PLNs strictly included direct interaction with people such as teachers and speakers. I also thought PLNs only included interacting with people online in educational settings, such as KDP webinars or journals. Throughout this semester, I learned all sorts of resources are at my disposal. Twitter allowed for me to form a community of peers, Pinterest enabled me to reach into the cyber void and see what others are doing, and both NCTE and KDP have discussion forums that allow for like-minded educators to discuss. I made it my goal to take advantage of each of these and more!

With a goal to reach out more, I began my journey to expand my PLN.

1. Twitter: Bite-Sized Conversation

As the insistence of more than one professor, I overcame my disdain for the social networking site and created a Twitter account. My only previous experience with it stemmed from a high school Spanish class where we had to talk to strangers in Spanish and comment on news in Spanish. This time around, I created a professional Twitter account that I used to follow several education accounts and organization.

My Professional Twitter

Through Twitter I was able to stay up-to-date with important events, such as the NCTE Convention, and engage in conversation about education topics such as the role of standards-based grading.

2. Facebook: Joining the Crowd

I've had a Facebook account since 2009, resulting in it being filled with photos from my youth. My first step was to clean up my Facebook. I changed privacy settings, deleted or hid photos, made it so strangers couldn't comment on any of my posts. I followed education-humor groups and unfollowed the low-brow humor groups I liked in high school. After cleaning it up, I joined UNICoTE. UNICoTE is the UNI Council of Teachers of English, the university's version of NCTE. Through the UNICoTE Facebook group, I was able to stay connected and reminded of any events that were coming up.

Facebook turned out to be part of my PLN I interacted with most. I have the Facebook app on my phone, so I was always connected no matter where I was. This enabled me to have conversations and take advantage of opportunities as they happened instantly. Here is an example of me interacting with a member during Thanksgiving break when everyone had left campus to go home:

I was instantly connected to the members of the UNICoTE organization through social media, allowing me to gain an important resource (an activities book for teaching Macbeth) that I will need for student teaching in the Spring.

3. Pinterest: Down the Rabbit Hole

Off all the social media I used to expand my PLN, Pinterest was both my favorite and an abhorrence on my soul. I loved the connectivity with people, ideas, and lesson plans. I loved being able to dive in, swims through endless posts, and create my own collection of important artifacts that I want to use in my classroom. The issue stems from, I never wanted to leave. At night, I would settle down and open Pinterest, intent on adding to my "Writing" board. Perhaps I would find excellent advice for character development or a lesson plan for writing workshop, as pictured below:

Four hours later I would still be wading through the mass of ideas and pins with no desire to leave. While educational, informative, and a priceless resource for sparking creative lesson plans, I would often neglect homework. So, I loved Pinterest, but it is a dangerous tool that must be wielded responsibly.

5. Blogs: A Light at the End of the Tunnel

Teaching is a difficult profession. Sometimes, we can feel like little islands getting thrashed around in a hurricane. But we must remember that we are not alone; there are others who share our hopes, experiences, and feelings. A great place to connect with these people is through blogs. Blogs are amazing platforms that allow teachers to find places of solace—places where they can relate with one another, learn from each other, or vent their frustrations.

I followed many blogs and scrolled through their pages, soaking up as much information as I could. One blog focused solely on science and all things "nerdy".

In a recent blogpost, The Nerdy Teacher vents frustration at the recent onslaught of people encouraging flat-earthers (people who believe the Earth is flat) that their opinions are facts. As an English teacher, I can relate with the struggle of teaching students to distinguish between fiction and nonfiction, only for the online community to shatter everything I'm working towards achieving.

Another blog I follow, Cool Cat Teacher by Vicki Davis, explores the way technology can be integrated into the classroom. Her most recent post discusses the importance of coding and how to teach it in elementary classes.

I found this post incredibly interesting because I do not know what coding is or how to do it. But is it something that is gaining not only popularity, but importance in our tech-savy world. In order to keep up, even as an English teacher, I need to be aware of advancements such as this.

6. YouTube: Not Just for Watching Cats

As someone born in the mid-90's, YouTube became an integral part of my adolescence. I only thought YouTube was for watching funny videos or listening to music. Never did I think I could utilize it as a teaching resource. Now, I don't mean just finding videos about certain educational topics. But rather, fostering an intellectual community through the viewing platform. To do this, I followed a education/humor page called Bored Teachers. They post various videos to inspire, motivate, and uplift teachers. Much of their content is designed to elicit a laugh from their audience and to let them know they are not alone in their struggles, such as the following:

They also post videos that offer advice and hope, as seen below:

7. Zoom: Connect from the Comfort of Your Couch

Zoom is a video conferencing web service. I had only used it once before for my level II field experience, but I think it has amazing potential. To use it, you can either download the app for your smartphone/device or use the website through your computer. Zoom allows for multiple people to video conference, which is convenient when working in groups; sometimes it's a struggle to get everyone in one place. I can use Zoom to discuss with other professionals, ask questions, or set up meetings with peers who I no longer live near. I can also use it as a teaching tool to connect students with people all over the world, such as another classroom to discuss a book we've all read.

8. Discussion Forums: Being a Part of the Conversation

I am a member of various organizations but never fully integrated myself in them or took advantage of them until this semester. These organizations include Kappa Delta Pi (KDP), National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Iowa Council of Teachers of English (ICTE), and University of Northern Iowa Council of Teachers of English (UNICoTE). (These are all private or closed groups that require membership payment to participate, so I can only attach links to the homepages.)

 Rather than passively associating my name with these organizations, I did my best to fully take advantage of what they have to offer. I attended UNICoTE and KDP meetings here on campus. I joined ICTE. But most of my involvement stems from participating in the NCTE Discussion Forums. These forums asked questions that allowed hundreds of teachers across the country to discuss, relate, and offer their insights all in one convenient place. One forum I was particularly invested in was the following:

Urban education is a topic I am interested in and I felt so lucky to be able to join the conversation. The discussion forum gave me access to information, talk with teachers about their experiences, and collaborate on solutions. It was fantastic to feel a part of this community and learn so much.

9. Webinars: Teaching Teachers

Good teachers never stop learning. They strive for professional development and are always looking to expand their horizons. I am grateful to be a part of Kappa Delta Pi, an honors society among education. Being a paying member allows me access to their abundant of resources, specifically their webinar and podcast library. I am emailed invitations to join webinars in real-time, allowing me to join the discussion as the webinars progress. Or, if I am unable to attend the webinar, I have full access to their archives. This allows me to peruse the webinars and watch any that interest me. KDP is always striving for excellence and so offers a variety of topics, as pictured below:

10. Authors: People, Not Stars

As a teacher of English, authors of all kinds are coveted. The art of being published is yearned for and we as teachers are grasping for anyone who has unlocked its secrets, both for ourselves or our students. However, authors are always thought of as being as far away from us common folks as the stars—unreachable and unattainable. However, thanks to UNI, I was given the opportunity to meet two authors: Lisa Delpit (author of the pedagogical book Other People's Children) and Dorothy A. Winsor, a young adult lit/middle level author. Lisa Delpit was at a discussion panel covering topics from publication to pedagogical approaches when it comes to teaching a diverse classroom. Dorothy Winsor was a quiet sit down with two classes that covered publishing, book exposure, and when a novel stops being a middle-level work and becomes young adult literature. In addition to meeting Dorothy Winsor, I also got on her mailing list for her eNewsletter:

This newsletter and her blog keeps me updated on everything new going on with Winsor, upcoming events, and when her next book will be published. This is a great resource to have because it shows my future students that authors are people and there is hope of anyone being published. In addition, Winsor's newsletter can help me foster interest in reading, which is always the number one goal for English teachers.

Expanding my PLN

As the semester concludes, I believe I achieved my goal to expand my PLN. I joined social media sites and used them in educational ways that I never thought possible. I participated in groups, discussions, and lessons to develop myself as a professional. I spoke with people, peers, and mentors to create connections I can fall back on whenever I am in need of support. I feel that as my PLN grew, so did I not only as a professional, but as a person. Here is the final map of my PLN, now so big and complex it required color-coding!:

My post-semester PLN

As noted in the above image, I also learned something surprising. In my Pre-Map, everything followed a semi-hierarchical structure, a direct line of items sprouting from others. In my Pre-Map, nothing interacted with anything else except me. In my Post-Map, I found things connected with others. In an attempt to remained organized, I color-coded the connections as followed:

• Blue- Online
• Orange- Organizations such as KDP, NCTE, ICTE, and UNICoTE
• Yellow- UNI
• Green- Social Media
• Pink- People
• Red- Me

Eventually, everything began to connect with everything else and I was unable to draw lines without creating a messy, interwoven web. To distinguish what connects with what, I shaded in several boxes with multiple colors to signify they are connected to something even though a line does not attach them. An example of this is how the Facebook box is colored blue, pink, yellow, green, and orange. This is because Facebook is online social media that connects me with people (old teachers and peers), UNI (past classes and groups such as Spring 2018 Student Teaching), and organizations (NCTE, and UNICoTE are very active on Facebook and uses it to make announcements). Throughout the semester, I learned that each facet in a professional learning network can weave itself with others into one big supporting web of peers and ideas that I can utilize as a safety net when I am feeling overwhelmed and alone. 

My journey to grow my PLN was a long one that, while it made me uncomfortable at times, helped me grow as a teacher.