Teacher, Teach Thyself: Make your own Professional Development plan

Kenneth Shelton, Walter Reed Middle School, with networking colleagues: Meg Griffin, Ginger Lweman, Sylvia Martinez, Lisa Parisis, Adina Sullivan, Paula White


The premise:
Networking, collaboration, making connections, and contributing to networks you build.

How would you define PLN?
PLN is a personal or professional learning network, which helps you grow both personally and professionally. (Twitter is a great example!)

What tools do you use to Connect?
Twitter is the easiest way to interact with others, who will help you with projects, workshops, ideas, etc.
Plurk (has limits, however)
Classroom 2.0 (ning network of people)
Skype

What are some of the networks in which you are a member/active?
(the following is a list from around the room:)
Apple Distinguished Educator
Discovery Educator
SMART educator
Twitter
Reading blogs, and making comments on other peoples’ blogs to develop relationships
Ed Tech Talk webcaster (edtechtalk.com) to use for webcasts every night, and there are also archived webcasts

With all of the above tools, there will always be someone out there who is like you, or has the same issue as you, that you can share experiences with, or solve problems with.

Free Tech for teachers blog, Richard Burns

Be selective about checking on Tweets or Plurks….might be too much information, but don’t give up! Know WHO you want to really follow, and look for them, or their ideas.

1-9-90 rule: when it comes to networking, there’s a rule. …1 person posts content, and 9 people repost it (the content)..then 90 people consume it!

Itweet.net (will auto update for you where Twitter will not)