Building a Professional Learning Network

A professional learning network is a group of people that someone connects with to learn their ideas, questions, reflections, etc. Being a part of a professional learning network gets us as teachers outside of the four walls of our classrooms, and it allows us to connect with other educators. Some of the tools that can be used to build a professional learning network are: YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, and Google Plus. As educators, we realize that education is constantly changing. One way that we can see how to roll with the changes is by having a professional learning network. Nineteen to thirty percent of teachers quit within their first five years of teaching. Three percent of first-year teachers believe that they receive appropriate supports. If a teacher receives mentoring, collaboration, and extra resources, then the first-year turnover is cut by more than half. When a teacher has a professional learning network, they can grow as professionals with the support from a diverse network of people and resources. Teachers can expand their connections, seek help, find an emotional support group, and gain a large amount of professional knowledge anywhere and at any time when they are using their professional learning network. To build a professional learning network there are a few simple steps that can be taken. Creating a Twitter page that is focused on following educators, building a circle of connected educators on Google Plus, following education blogs and chats, and joining education groups on Facebook are just a few that will get someone started. Most teachers use social media for their professional learning networks, they use them to get themselves out there and learn from others. I will be using a professional learning network in the future. I will use it to share my own ideas to help others in there classrooms. I will also be using a professional learning network gain expertise and knowledge from other educators in order to better my own teaching and classroom. I think that following education groups on Twitter and Facebook will most likely be the way that I will learn from others professional learning networks.