Professional Learning NetworkChantelle Hawkins

Day 1 of My PLN

Superior

@gcourosMr. Couros is a good person for myself, as well as other pre-service teachers in the Edmonton area, to follow because of his standing within the educational community. Not only does he often post information that can be of great help and insight about teaching and technology, but he is also a good person to start building a relationship with. If someone were able to create a professional relationship with him, or someone in his position, through social media it could possibly help them when they apply for jobs in the future.

Organization

@edtechtalkThis is a valuable resource for me as a pre-service teacher because technology is changing rapidly and it is hard to keep up. Not only will following this page make that easier, it will also give me ideas on how to use technology in the classroom or, at the very least, connect me with people who would be able to help me

Organization

@edutopia

This is a good organization to follow because they often tweet and/or retweet resources that could be valuable to pre-service teachers such as myself; such as ways to “Engag[e] Students in Math.” They also offer pieces of inspiration which can be valuable to new and veteran teachers.

Contributions

Through Twitter, I have managed to connect with other pre-service teachers as well as superiors in the field whom which it is unlikely I would have connected with otherwise. By posting opinions on topics, such as cyber bullying and technology within the classroom, conversations and discussions were started. Not only was I able to connect with people who shared my viewpoint on certain subjects, but I was also able to communicate with others who opposed it. This enabled me to see a different perspective of a situation and also made me see that as the times are changing, society (with an emphasis on teachers) must change with it. Being scared of technology is only going to hinder an educator. The relationships, conversations and knowledge that can be caused because of technology are too valuable to the teacher and to their students for them not to be as involved as possible.

Growth of My PLN

References

George Couros (@gcorous).

EdTechTalk (@edtechtalk).

Edutopia (edutopia). “New via @TheJLV: Engaging Students in Math http://bit.ly/WpL4t3  #mathchat #edchat #edu (sponsored by @autodesk).” 15 Oct. 2012, 12:46 P.M. Tweet.