Professional Learning Networks

"It is noble to teach oneself, but still nobler to teach others" - Mark Twain

When a student tells me they loves school, or a parent tells me their child does, I say, "Me too! I love it so much I never left!" While I usually say it to get a laugh it is true. I always loved everything about school and I love learning new things. School was also something I was good at too so we had a mutually beneficial relationship. I still love learning new things, and the past few years I've been working on some personal self improvement and learning more about myself and making myself a better person. This has naturally led to now me working toward being a better teacher. I have had the great pleasure to work with many inspiring and dedicated teachers over my career whom I have learned from. I am working on my Maters and will be learning more about the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale later this summer to help me in my Preschool For All classroom.

Even though I like to think I know a little bit about a lot of things, I had never heard of Professional Learning Networks. I do follow a handful of teachers on Facebook and Instagram, but never had a lot of interaction with them, occasionally commenting on or adapting an idea I came across. I was not on Twitter, one of the social networks I avoided as it seems to get a bit of bad press, and to be honest, showing my age a bit, I didn't really get it. I embraced the challenge for this assignment and got a Twitter handle, and then set out to follow some good people, which ended up being easier than I thought. I am currently only following work related accounts, and am enjoying having a form of social media where I feel like I'm learning something, instead of simply wasting time. I've already read a few good articles and a few ideas/resources to try with my class, including the Math at Home website. I also started following the Erickson Institute's Technology in Early Childhood Center, from which I hope to gain some more insight in how to best use technology in my classroom.

I will admit that I was more than a little hesitant to participate in a Twitter chat. Maybe it was an old dog/new tricks situation, or it just seemed too odd to talk to strangers on the Internet. Nothing like a deadline to help you get over yourself. I participated in the Learn Like a Pirate chat, which was about leadership this week. It was so much fun! I felt the same way during that chat, that I feel when I attend a conference, amazed at all the wonderful teachers out there doing amazing things. Even better I didn't have to leave my couch. While this may have been my first Twitter chat, I don't think it will be my last, and I want to encourage my other teacher friends and coworkers to embrace these new learning communities.