Personal Learning Network (PLN)

In hindsight I knew exactly what a Personal/ Professional Learning Network (PLN) was before I read the given articles. I have not yet created my own professional learning network as a future educator, but after digesting the articles, it is evident that I have already created my own personal learning network. That is because I have chosen who to follow, converse with, reply to, and read comments from to learn more about my personal interests and  hobbies which is exactly what a PLN is. A PLN in a nutshell is simply the ways in which you are connected to the rest of the world by the means you choose to learn more about and give your own insight to others about a certain topic of interest whether it be a hobby or a professional career, all in an effort to continue learning and educating. The internet has opened up an endless amount of networking abilities, hence why I already have my own version of a PLN without even realizing it. Having a PLN allows people and professionals to expand beyond their friends, offices, and classroom neighbors which creates such a large pool of knowledge to be shared back and forth which not only makes learning easier, but it keeps the information up to date as well which is great in the education community.

Professional Organizations: (I am planning on teaching at the elementary level where I will teach my students all subject, but I am currently focusing on math and science as well)

• https://amte.net/webinars
• This website is called the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE) where thousands of members ranging from preK-16 work together to create a website for future and current educators to continue learning in the field of mathematics. This website also offers professional learning such as webinars and conferences.

• https://nabt.org
• The National Association of Biology teachers, or NABT, is a place where professionals pursuing an education career in biology can come to keep up with new technology and discoveries, as well as to further their knowledge on the subject through conferences and workshops where expert speakers talk and have sessions about the subject. This is a great site to join not only when you want to learn more about the field, but also to get expert ideas to improve your lessons within the classroom.

• https://www.nctm.org/About/
• The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is one of the largest mathematics education organizations that involves educations from Canada as well as the United States. This organization is one of the best that I have come across simply because in addition to providing many helpful tools and information and networking opportunities to further educator’s knowledge on the subject, that also have a “career center” tab where you can search jobs when starting out in your career.

• https://www.ams.org/home/page
• The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is a step above the NCTM where in addition to helping people find jobs in the field, they allow you to upload your resume not only to help find jobs but to also meet new teachers and professionals in the field of work as well that helps create a PLN. This organization, along with the others, help expand people’s knowledge on mathematics through research, programs, and forums that help advance professional goals.

• https://www.mathforamerica.org
• Math for America (MfA) is an organization that focuses more on advancing the excellence each educator already has rather than fixing them or creating a plan for them to follow. This website doubles as a PLN all in one place because by joining their programs, other professionals in the same field are all collaborating and helping one another grow professionally since that is the purpose of the program.

Blogs:

• https://alicekeeler.com
• This blog page was created by Alice Keeler who is a Google Certified Teacher. She posts about all things technology, mostly centered around Google of course, and she not only explains why these tools are so helpful and beneficial to learning but she also explains how to go about using the technology as well. “Teacher Tech” is a one-stop-shop when it comes to integrating technology into the classroom.

• https://catlintucker.com
• Caitlin Tucker’s blog has a focus on blended learning coaches other educators on how to effortlessly integrate technology into the classroom to achieve the most important goals in learning. In her blog she also specifically talks about different web tools to use to make it easy for the learning educator as well.

• https://classtechtips.com
• This blog is more is more of a resource center than it is a manual when it comes to integrating technology into the classroom. Dr. Monica Burns, the blogger, provides many different digital tools in which educators may be seeking how to use or want to find different ideas when it comes to technology in the classroom unlike most blogs that tell you how, why, and in what order to set up a  “tech savvy classroom.”

• https://www.coolcatteacher.com
• The “Cool Cat Teacher Blog” by Vicki Davis is a great one for beginner educators like myself because it is a more laid back blog written by a veteran teacher who is still currently teaching. Davis’s blog is her hobby while she is a full time educator and she shares her experiences and knowledge as she goes through and progresses in her career which makes her blog very inviting being that she is not a professional in teaching people how to use technology in the classroom, rather she is living the life of a teacher who must integrate more and more technology as the years go on and she takes beginners along for the ride.

• https://edtechteacher.org/BLOG/
• “Ed Tech Teachers” is a blog where many different educators made up of kindergarten through twelfth grade all contribute. This is a great blog for people who are looking for the widest range of knowledge and guidance when it comes to integrating technology into the classroom because it is not subject or grade specific.

Local organizations that provide technology based professional development workshops:

• http://www.ettc.net/calendar/index.cfm
• This has to be one of my favorite finds in regards to creating my own PLN because Stockton is so close and where I will be attending in the fall, as many ACCC students do or will do in the future. Stockton has many workshops on a lot of different topics and fields but in particular they have a couple of technology workshops. Stockton offers coding and and “integrating technology into everyday mathematics (ITEM) which will be very useful to me since I am focusing in math.

• https://www.njea.org/learning/professional-learning/
• NJEA is a great organization that offers so many different professional learning seminars/ workshops/ conferences with technology being a big focus of theirs. From “Google Boot Camp” to “NJEA TechStock” there are so many opportunities that are very local for people to attend and improve their technology skills that can be used in the classroom.

• https://www.theteachersacademy.com/technology/
• The Teacher’s Academy located in Furlong, PA, less than two hours away, provides one of the widest range of technology workshops for future and/ or current educators. They offer workshops on how to use Microsoft, basics of computers, and how to research, along with many other things very locally and conveniently.