This workshop will help you develop a Personal Learning Network (PLN), connecting you with digital resources, learning spaces, and colleagues around the globe. After a brief introduction, you’ll decide when, where, what, and how you’d like to learn, and begin to develop connections to fellow educators and resources to support your learning. In this session, you might explore tools to organize and share digital resources (e.g. Evernote, social bookmarking), social networks and communities with resources for educators (e.g. Twitter, Pinterest), websites and apps for the classroom (e.g. educational podcasts), and/or virtual courses (e.g. webinars, MOOCs, online tutorials).

1. Building Your Online PLN
Lauren Zucker
Quad District PD
Summer 2016

2. 1. Your Name
2. School, Grade Level(s), Subject Area(s)
3. Favorite Digital Tool or Online Space for
Education Resources / A Goal for Today
Introductions

3. Today’s Agenda
1. What is a PLN? What does mine already look like?
2. Building Your PLN: Overview of Resources
3. Open Time to Play & Explore + 15-minute break
4. Whole Group Share - Share 1-2 resources or spaces
with the group

6. What is a PLN?

7. Benefits of Being a Connected Educator

8. My Existing PLN
PLN - a personalized network of all of the
people, spaces, and tools that I use to learn
5 min Quick Write - What does your PLN already look like?
Mrs. Zucker’s PLN (created on Padlet)

9. Your PLN: Tools to Consider
Edublogs Teacher Challenge - Building Your PLN
Curation Tools (Evernote, social bookmarking)
MOOCs (#CLMOOC)
Twitter Chats (see subsequent slides)
Podcasts (NPR’s TED Radio Hour, RadioLab)
Library resources (e-books, audiobooks, Hoopla)

10. General Resources on PLN Building
Edublogs Teacher Challenge - Building Your PLN
PLN Guide from Edutopia (written by Tom Whitby)
Live Binder on PLN Building
Jerry Blumengarten’s Digital Library of Teacher
Resources by Topic and Grade Level (@cybraryman1)

11. Educational Podcasts
For Teachers:
Top 36 Educational Podcasts & Teacher’s Guide to
Podcasting
For Students:
Creating a Podcast with Audacity and Related Resources
& Standards-Based Podcast Rubric (by Lauren Zucker and
Mary Florio)

12. Blog Resources (From Dorothy Fox)
Edugblogs- Edublogs is the largest education blogging platform on
the web. It's easy, safe and packed with features. Edublog Award
Winners- follow these bloggers
Subscribe-- find a blog you love and enter your email to subscribe
Bookmark- bookmark in your browser or use a bookmarking site
Delicious
RSS Feed Reader- Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication An
easy way to keep track of blogs you like.
Blog aggregators
Bloglovin

13. Edcamps & Conferences (From Dorothy Fox)
Edcamp.org - An organic, participant-driven professional learning
experience. A community created by educators, for educators. The
leading edge of professional development in education.
Local Edcamps: EdcampNYC, EdcampAccessNJ, EdcampExit8A,
EDcamp Wyckoff, 7-11-16
Edscape - local education conference
ISTE - International Society for Technology in Education
Virtual ISTE Conference 2016

14. Why Tweet?

15. Why Tweet?
1. Read a link or two on this Resources Document
https://goo.gl/WXJxDU
2. Add some reasons to the Participant Document
https://goo.gl/NAtsua

16. The Basics
New to Twitter? Take a deep breath...

17. Twitter Glossary
Tweet - A 140-character message on the micro-blog, Twitter
@ - This symbol precedes each username (aka “handle”)
# - Hashtags precede a word or phrase; if you click a hashtag, you
can see other tweets organized by that topic (e.g. #edtech)
Follow - Subscribing to someone’s account so you can see
everything new they post; not necessarily mutual
Adapted from: https://support.twitter.com/articles/166337#hashtag

18. Twitter Glossary (cont’d)
Like - Click the heart next to a tweet to show you appreciate it
Reply - Responding to someone’s tweet (starts with their
username)
RT (Retweet) - Copying or quoting someone else’s tweet to
share with your followers; if you alter it, it’s a modified tweet (MT)
*Note: Numbers next to these icons show how many users liked,
replied to, or retweeted a tweet.
Adapted from: https://support.twitter.com/articles/166337#hashtag

19. Twitter Glossary (cont’d)
Profile - The information you share publicly (your tweets, bio,
photo)
Mention - Including someone else’s username in a tweet to get their
attention, or give them credit (e.g. @Beyonce is cool)
DM (Direct Message) - A private message to someone you follow
Pinned Tweet - If you “pin” a tweet to the top of your profile, it
appears first (tweets appear in reverse chronological order)
Adapted from: https://support.twitter.com/articles/166337#hashtag

20. Be Smart

21. Finding Twitter Chats
Google Calendar - official list of chats for educators
19 Twitter Chats for Teachers - great recommendations
from ISTE (Int’l Society for Technology in Education)
List of Chats- chats for educators, organized by topic

22. Courtesy of: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/twitter-teachers

23. Twitter - follow & connect,
schedule a chat, explore lists
*Curate & Organize* your files
and resources (Evernote,
Drive, Dropbox)
Podcasts - search, listen,
download an app
Experiment with a new tech
tool
Open Time to Play and Explore!
Create a digital visual
representation of your PLN
Explore Videos - Webinars,
YouTube, TED-Ed
Research 2016-2017
Conferences (in-person
and virtual)
Explore MOOCs (#clmooc;
Great Courses on Hoopla)

24. Whole Group Share
1. Walk us through 1-2 resources, spaces, or tools that you
use or discovered today during our open time. These can
be general, or subject-specific.
2. What are your next steps for continuing to build your
PLN?
3. Do you need any additional resources, workshops, or
support from the Quad to continue to build your PLN?

25. Email (zuckerl@northernhighlands.org) or Tweet me
(@LGZreader) with any questions!