My PLN journey began in earnest several years ago when I
realized that summers were the perfect time to get re-fueled with inspiration, ideas,
and to get a head-start on the year ahead.
I devoured every workshop, webinar, and online course I could get my
hands on. I love learning anyway, and
summers freed me to take things at my own pace, when and where was most
convenient to me. It’s not that I didn’t do summery-things. I did, but if I went fishing or to the beach, I had a book with
me that was related to my profession. If
I spent time on Pinterest, or Twitter, or something similar, I was adding to my
professional network and growing depository of ideas. I yearned for summer, not because it was time
off from my job, but instead it was time to dive in! Through my summertime efforts, I felt more
connected to my profession, confident that I was up to date on the latest
trends, and eager to put them into practice when the school year began!
My challenge has been to sustain my summer time blitz with an
ongoing approach to professional learning all year long. It’s not that I stop cold-turkey, but my PLN
gets sporadic attention at best. To find
some balance, my plan will be to set a realistic schedule to accommodate PLN
activities during the school year. I’m
penciling in PLN time to my schedule and looking for activities which bring me
enjoyment and professional fulfillment.
For instance, Monday evenings will be reserved for an on-going Twitter
chat (#InspirEdMobChat) that I always enjoy.
Tuesday nights at the gym will serve double duty as a time to listen to
a podcast from the Cult of Pedagogy. Friday
evenings before bed are my Twitter feed and Pinterest times, while I will set
aside time on Saturday mornings to monitor RSS feeds and to catch up on certain
blogs.
PLN offerings in education are like an all-you-can-eat
buffet, and my goal will be to consume a balanced diet of activities which will
help me to grow as an educator and teacher leader. I have created a Symbaloo webmix for
professional development that has links to all my favorite resources that make
it easy to navigate to them. I will use
my blog to share with my colleagues what I am finding and to facilitate
on-going discussion about what they’re learning as well. I will also request that our faculty
reconvene a professional development committee that can teach our faculty about
PLN offerings both locally and nationally.
So, what are you penciling in? What are some of your go-to PLN activities? Share so that we can all keep adding to our
PLN and sharing the love of teaching!
Dena, I have enjoyed participating the the #InspirEDMobChat with you and look forward to many more Monday nights! I used to roll my eyes at the thought of PD, but now I'm constantly searching for ways to hone my craft. I've never devoted much time during the summer to creating and developing lessons, but this summer will be much different. I have so many tweets bookmarked right now and I can't wait to sit down and really focus on how to improve my classroom. I'm trying to incorporate some small things during these last nine weeks, but I definitely want to expand some ideas that I've seen into some bigger ideas for next year.
ReplyDeleteDena, I agree that professional learning/development should be more than what an administrator has assigned. I have always hunted for new energetic ideas that I can use in my classroom. I have always felt that you learn more when you go looking for it instead of waiting on someone to bring it to you.
ReplyDeleteLike you I love to read. Therefore, I am always reading about something dealing with education. By going to workshops on my own, collaborating outside of my school, and searching the web I have gained a vast amount of knowledge, as well as, fabulous ideas how to make my school year go a lot smoother.
I love the view that you have and I quote: “PLN offerings in education are like an all-you-can-eat buffet, and my goal will be to consume a balanced diet of activities which will help me to grow as an educator and leader.”
Getting your faculty together on reconvening a PD committee to getting the faculty educated on how important and exciting PD can be both locally and nationally is a great idea. Thank you for sharing what you are doing because it has given me new ideas to incorporate this year.
Dena, this is fabulous! I love that you said, "It’s a point in your career that I hope every educator reaches….the day when you stop thinking of professional learning as something that is assigned to you based upon what administrators or organizations think you need, and instead, as something that you seek out, willingly, eagerly, to devour in all of its glorious forms." A thousand times, YES!! This is exactly where I am and it is where I would love to lead others in my building. To see professional learning as a gift, not an obligation.
ReplyDeleteIt's like we are fighter pilots who need to come back to the aircraft carrier to get re-fueled, re-tooled, and ready to go back out refreshed and equipped for anything. I think your plan to "pencil in some time for your PLN" is a great one and I model I can follow. Thank you for sharing! I look forward to continue learning with you.