Personal Learning Network

My Experience with my Personal Learning Network

Prior to this class I have used Twitter very little. My page has been used a few times in college for a class and a club. I knew nothing about "Twitter Chats" and their professional uses for many people. In order to get used to Twitter Chats I participated in the Slow Chat. This was a great introduction and practice for this type of communicating before engaging in a real, fast-paced Twitter Chat. Upon using my Twitter on a more regular basis, I came across a Twitter account called Wired Educator which engages in weekly Twitter Chats on Wednesdays. They refer to these weekly Twitter Chats as #wiredwednesday. I think making the Twitter Chats weekly on the same day and the same time helps build your audience. Participants know where and when to attend this communication exchange. Due to this consistent schedule of Twitter Chats, I was able to prepare and set an alarm so I could remember to attend this chat. This chat included four content questions and one introductory question. This weeks chat focused on books. Two of my responses and engagements are below.  

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I was pleasantly surprised to see others like, retweet, and respond to my Tweets. I was curious if these responders were other students of internet courses, educators, or people in academia. I spent additional time during and after the live Twitter Chat, looking the pages of people who were engaging with my responses.

For your own Twitter Chats, did you have a lot of engagement? 

New Educational Resource

While using Twitter consistently for the past couple of weeks, I became interested in the Tweets that TCEA (Texas Computer Education Association) has put out. One specific resource that caught my eye that they posted was about how to use Pixar's Shorts in the classroom to supplement reading strategies being learned. This list of Pixar Shorts was posted on Twitter by TCEA but it is originally from a blog post by a teacher named Ms. Smith. I gravitated to this resource because I use Short Films and other videos to teach my students new vocabulary words related to their feelings. We use the feelings chart to learn more expansive words to describe our feelings besides mad, sad, and happy. The short films capture my students attention although there are no words. Additionally, I like using short films because it ensures that my ELL students have limited barriers to understanding due to there being no speaking. I say limited barrier and not no barrier because there can still be differences in nonverbal communication based on cultural differences. I think this list of Pixar Shorts with matching teaching goals can be used to create a unit of lessons or to supplement lessons throughout the year. I plan on using them throughout the year in reading group to further explain and engage students in lessons about Theme, Character Traits, and Plot.  

My Thoughts about PLN

I think that Professional Learning Networks on Twitter can be very useful in finding resources for specific aspects of teaching. I think it is a great way to find and engage with teaching communities that may be similar or different to your own teaching community at school. I can see how teachers can learn about different experiences through dialogue with other teachers. Personally, I do not see myself using my Twitter page often in the future. I use Instagram to passively watch and learn about new teaching practices in various locations around the world. I do not feel motivated to find additional online communities to engage with. I think I will revisit this once my Masters is completed. In general, I prefer to engage with people in person or live on Zoom or Google Meets professional developments.