THE GROWTH, CREATION, AND PARTICIPATION OF MY

PLN

BY REBECCA CONSIDINE

EDU-210 MODULE 11

GROWTH

• For my PLN I started with nothing on it. I had very few things I was following. My PLN is on Edmodo and I had very few connections. My webpage looks like this now!

• Although not perfect still I have more I can still add to it, it’s still growing. The great thing about a PLN is that you can continue building your network meeting more and more people.

• You learn so much from each connection you have.

• You never know what you may have to teach at some point so it’s good to develop your PLN so you have access to people who can help you if you need to quickly make a lesson for a class you have never taught.

WHO AM I FOLLOWING?

The first person on my PLN that I have been following is Sandy King. She is a 5th grade teacher that loves to use technology in the classroom and is very open to helping someone new to Edmodo around the site. To me she was good for me to follow because she talks a lot about using technology in her classroom and shares ideas on how to teach using this tool. For myself this is helpful because I am not very good with technology a lot of the time especially when it comes to explaining to someone how to use it, so she has given me some great ideas!

WHO AM I FOLLOWING CONTINUED…• The next teacher I have chosen to follow is Mr. Mohamed El-Ashiry he is a Drama and English teacher. Drama is my major and English is my minor so this combo is really helpful for myself. He is a very energetic person with many ideas. He really wants to make a difference in teenager’s lives and to me this is so relatable I want to make a difference to a kid one day and I think he is very inspirational! It was challenging to find drama teachers to follow on Edmodo so he is one of the few I found, so I am grateful for him to be on this website to help other drama teachers! I can learn a lot from him as he writes how he teaches and gives ideas and tips!

WHO AM I FOLLOWING CONTINUED…• The final teacher I am going to bring up that I am following is Mrs. Monica Thomas. She is an 8th

grade English teacher. With English being my minor I am not as aware how to teach this yet. There are many things I need to learn in teaching Language Arts especially to Junior High students rather than High School students. She has a lot to say that I can learn from and is a great connection to have in my PLN. She has much information I am unaware of which is very helpful for me.

PARTICIPATION

• I have had the pleasure this semester of using Edmodo in the second module giving me more time to look at it and come back to it. I have joined more communities mainly to help with the subjects I am associated with and the use of technology so I can learn more. I check to see what others have posted and tried to propose questions if I have any so that I can learn as much as I can! It’s challenging for me to post much because I feel like I don’t have enough experience as a teacher to say much.

CONCLUSION• Overall I have learned a lot from my PLN and really understand the

importance of having a Professional Learning Network. You need to make connections with people. Relationships are important in and outside of the job. You can’t be a teacher without some help here and there. If you want to get better as a teacher you need to connect with other teachers to get advice and tips. PLN’s give you an opportunity to meet people and try out new ideas from other teachers, and you may help other teachers as well with your own input! From twitter to Edmodo no matter what program you are using you need to make and use your PLN. Keep it updated and know that it’s ok if not everything's perfect as long as you are trying. Having A PLN can help you to help your students learn and make your classroom a better place and you a better teacher.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Considine, Rebecca, 2015.Edmodo. [photograph]