Journal 7: PLN

         When I was first learning about a Personal Learning Network (PLN), I did not understand the concept of a PLN and was confused on how it would benefit me as a future teacher. After exploring several sites and articles I am aware that a PLN is an easy way to communicate using different Web 2.0 tools with other educators around the globe. PLNs can include several different social networking sites such as Twitter, blogs, Diigo, Skype, Facebook and many more. Anyone you interrelate with becomes apart of your PLN, whether it is other educators, or experts within their community. The good thing is that a PLN can be used whenever time is available. There is no specific set schedule and it is all online. Currently, my Personal Learning Network is blogger and Twitter because it allows me to share my opinions and gain more knowledge about education. As a future educator, PLNs will help me connect with other colleagues and share ideas about the grade level being taught.
         I was not familiar with Twitter before this class, but I have found it very useful to connect with other students, teachers, and educational speakers. There are several teachers in my network that I am following, as well as my professor. Through #edchat I was able to find educational chats and conferences I could participate in. I like using twitter because it is easy and it provides valuable information for my future career. The people in my network give good advice and ideas that I will be able to use. I participated in #kinderchat on April 4th, 2011 at 5:30pm, which is an educational chat that focused on kindergarten. It was my first chat and I didn’t know what to expect, but I was satisfied with the results. The topic of the chat was about male teachers and how they can be beneficial for students. It is rare to see a male kindergarten teacher, but I believe that the students need a male role model because they are use to having female teachers throughout their years of education. I enjoyed viewing the conversation and the information that was stated.
       I have never used Diigo before either and have discovered that it is a great tool to bookmark important websites. I used Diigo for the use of building my network with several educators and motivational speakers. The people I chose for my network stated useful information and provided several other resources that I can use in my future classroom. I tagged several things under PLN relevant to the meaning and tools available. I found websites that showed me how to build my PLN and examples of different Web 2.0 tools obtainable.
      I joined the Educator’s PLN which will definitely be beneficial for me as a future educator. It specifically focuses on Personal Learning Networks for educators. There are podcasts, chats, blogs, events and several more available at this site. I watched a video about “Best Practices in Social Networking for Educators”. It was an interview with Eric Sheninger and he is a Principal at New Milford High school in New Jersey. He thought social networking tools such, as Twitter was useless information, but finally took the plunge. He used it as a means to communicate with his stakeholders and realized that there are a group of passionate educators in all different quarters of the world. He was surprised that they were committed to helping him become familiar with Web 2.0 tools and making learning meaningful and relevant.