Connected Educators

Teaching is not an "island business," meaning we can not coming into our classrooms early in the morning, shut the door, do our own thing and keep learning contained within those walls. Teachers have to be connected to the other educators in their building and, what I believe, more importantly, to other educators around the globe. 

We teach our students that there are opportunities for learning everyday. We want our students to learn from each other. Why should we not expect the same from ourselves?

The creation of a Personal Learning Network can help you break down the walls of your own learning and provide for you professional development any hour of the day. But why create one? Where do you start? 

Why A PLN

Voicethread

The 21st Century Educator

Resources

Articles From Professional Journals

• Blogs: Webs of Connected Learning by Miguel Guhlin Tech and Learning July 2006.
• Twitter 101: Are You Tweeting?   Journal: T&D August 2009, 24-5.
• Rosenfeld, E. Expanding Your Professional Network with Nings. Teacher Librarian February 2008, 60.
• Professional Development for Transforming Education by Anita McAnear Learning and Leading With Technology June/July 2008,  5.
• Trial by Twitter: The Rise and Slide of the Year's Most Viral Microblogging Platform by Vance Stevens Teaching English As A Second Or Foreign Language Journal, June 2008.
• Grow Your Personal Learning Network by David Warlick Leading and Learning with Technology March/April 2009, 12-16.

Wikis 

• Twitter4Teachers  -- Wiki for teachers who are looking to build their PLN.
• Nings for Educators  A collection of Nings for educators.
• 21CLC-Personal Learning Networks- Suggested Resources and Tools For Building a PLN
• Personal Learning Networks:The Power of the Human Network- More Resources and Tips For Building a PLN

Blog Posts

• Classroom 2.0- Ten Reasons to Join in 2009  (http://thumannresources.com/2009/01/01/classroom-20-ten-reasons-to-join-in-2009/) by Lisa Thumann 
• Stages of PLN Adoption   (http://www.thethinkingstick.com/stages-of-pln-adoption) by Jeff Utecht
• Ten Tips for Growing Your Learning Network (http://edtechpower.blogspot.com/2008/10/ten-tips-for-growing-your-learning.html by Liz Davis
• Twenty-one Ed Tech Leaders You Just Have to Meet  (http://thumannresources.com/2008/10/13/21-ed-tech-leaders-you-just-have-to-meet/) by Lisa Thumann
• Seven Ways To Find Teachers On Twitter   (http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/03/seven-ways-to-find-teachers-on-twitter.html) by Richard Byrne
• Personal Thoughts on Twitter  (http://oswego98.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/personal-thoughts-on-twitter/) by Jason Schrage
• Digitial Footprint-Your Online Data Trail  (http://langwitches.org/blog/2009/09/13/digital-footprint-your-online-data-trail/) by Silvia Tolisano
• Some Things I Learned About Building Effective Social Networks  (http://www.stevehargadon.com/2009/01/some-things-ive-learned-about-building.html)  by Steve Hargadon
• How to Become a Twitter Teacher in 23 Steps or Less? (http://www.kapilbhatia.com/2009/03/07/how-to-become-twitter-teachertt-in-23-steps-or-less/) by Kapil Bhatia
• The World's Largest English Department (http://www.teachersourcebook.org/tsb/articles/2009/10/01/01ning.h03.html) by Elizabeth Rich

Why Twitter