Standards and PLNs

Learning about what is out there for teachers to create a PLN was really fun and educational for me.  As a future teacher I often feel overwhelmed when I think about all that will be asked of me, it was comforting to see that there is an entire network of teachers who will be in the same boat as me and can offer support and help.  An article written by Caitlin Tucker lists five reasons why teachers need PLN's they include: Connecting, Learning, Embracing Change, Expanding Scope, and Getting Inspired.  All of these were great reasons to me.

Much of this activity reminded me of an opportunity I had last semester to attend NCTE (National Conference for Teachers of English).  I was able to attend many academic sessions where I gathered teaching ideas but I also got the opportunity to meet people in my content area from all over the country.  I left excited and ready to get to the teaching field.  That excitement has since wore off a little bit but I felt a little bit of it come back as I read and learned about what teachers from all over the country are doing and was able to connect with them over the web.  Technology is an amazing tool.

Some of my goals now that I have a PLN are to continually work to expand my network and actually implement and use the information I get.  I also want to create my own teaching profiles at some point and then give back to my PLN network and share my ideas with other teachers.

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