NETS-5 Journal 7:My PLN

A PLN is defined as a Personal Learning Network. A PLN is a online tool for members of a website to gather information from and learn from others. I created several different PLNs through Twitter, Diigo, and "The Educator's PLN" websites. These PLN sources will allow me to connect with other educators and learn from them as they share their findings or experiences. It also gives me the chance to express my ideas or any useful information or resources that I discover. 

Twitter is a web-based social networking tool that allows users with live streams to post short updates and web posts on their page. Followers are then notified with "tweets" that share the post. I created a Twitter account in order to follow and receive news feed of several educators, my fellow cohorts in the CSUSM credential program, and also to participate in educational chats. Some of the groups I am following are The Inspired Classroom, TFA Math Teachers, Mathematics Teacher, Diane Ravitch, Lisa Dabbs, as well as several other educators. I chose to follow them because I am focused on earning a single subject credential in mathematics. I enjoy reading their notifications, often on methods of teaching, their personal experiences, and great resources and tools they have discovered. Additionally I use TweetDeck to organize the groups I am following and to participate in online educational chats. I am following #ntchat (New Teacher Chat), #teachmath, #mathteacher, #mathchat, and #ed422. Through Twitter and TweetDeck, I participated in the New Teacher Chat (#ntchat) on Wednesday, March 27. Our topic was "Earth Day" and we shared several ideas on involving students in preserving the planet and teaching them about earth day. I enjoyed reading the comments of Jerry Blumergarten (cybrayman1), Elizabeth Peterson (eliza peterson), and Lisa Dabbs. Since they are current educators, they offered many creative ideas and share their stories of teaching experiences.

 

 Additionally, I use Diigo to connect with others as well as to keep track of the many websites that I utilize and enjoy. Diigo is a great tool for bookmarking websites, as it not only bookmarks websites, but also allows one to highlight and write notes pertaining to interesting information. Diigo can be used on any computer and allows one to share their favorite websites with others. I bookmarked several math websites that I found useful for future math educators. Some include mathematical websites with educational games and interesting methods of teaching. Diigo also allows me to follow other members. I am currently following Susan Glassett who is a National Board Certified Teacher in Mathematics. I also enjoy reading her findings since they are pertaining to mathematics.Additionally I am following several educators and some educational teachers. They always offer great resources for teaching as well as connecting to other educators to exchange educational ideas and techniques. I also created several tags connecting me to my PLNs. I have tags for twitter feeds as well as . This helps to always stay connected with the thoughts of others. I have a tag for The Educator's PLN, which is a great tool for connecting to other teachers.


The best way to learn about education, is through the eyes of a current educator. I became a member of the Educator's PLN, which allows me to connect with other teachers and to share my educational ideas. The public networking site offers videos, podcast, forums, educational events, and educational chat groups. I found the forums quite interesting. There are some on bullying, integrating multicultural day into the classroom, and obtaining resources for the classroom. I watched several of the videos but the video "SMART Boards Why are They so Easy to Use?" was very inventive. I was never aware of these types of touch screen-interactive white boards but find the boards necessary in all classrooms. I believe students will love the new technology of white boards. No more needing dry-erase pens or needing to erase white boards. It is similar to a computer and easy to utilize, but one can navigate the board using a touch point pen or even with their finger. In the future, I no longer see a use for marker white boards of black chalk boards. Lesson Software is also available, helping teachers to create activities. The new smart boards engage the students and will make learning more fun and interactive. From my PLN, I have gained many ideas as to how I would like to teach my future classroom. From lesson plans, to mathematical activities, I find it highly beneficial to connect and collaborate with experienced educators so that I can learn from their triumphs and trials.