As my gracious boyfriend drove most of the way home today, I was once again able to participate in some Twitter chats. My PLN (Professional Learning Network) is growing day by day. I thought about my PLN a lot today, and realized that the educators that I connect with, by either reading their blogs or (hopefully) having them read mine, are a huge part of it. The blogs I follow provide me with endless ideas, refer me to new technology, and allow me to reflect with fellow educators.
I am having a great time gaining Twitter followers to expand my PLN and participating in/learning from conversations each day. As a result of these conversations, I have been able to read several very interesting articles and blog posts written by other teachers, and I'd like to share a couple from today's Twitter perusal with you now:
The first one is by Jessica Cuthbertson, entitled "How to Become a Teacher Advocate":
Jessica explains ways that we can, and should, put ourselves out there as advocates for our profession- because who would be better at it than us?? She offers options for teachers who are ready to speak out in a more public fashion, but also for those who are just beginning to work as an advocate. The latter refers mainly to Twitter as a platform for positive and productive teacher conversations, as well as a way to share great things that are happening in classrooms around the world.
The second is an older post from way back in July by Sarah Da Teechur (blog persona- couldn't find her real name) called "Gone Fishin'- A Reflection on Social Media":
The first one is by Jessica Cuthbertson, entitled "How to Become a Teacher Advocate":
Jessica explains ways that we can, and should, put ourselves out there as advocates for our profession- because who would be better at it than us?? She offers options for teachers who are ready to speak out in a more public fashion, but also for those who are just beginning to work as an advocate. The latter refers mainly to Twitter as a platform for positive and productive teacher conversations, as well as a way to share great things that are happening in classrooms around the world.
The second is an older post from way back in July by Sarah Da Teechur (blog persona- couldn't find her real name) called "Gone Fishin'- A Reflection on Social Media":
Sarah's post is all about using Twitter as an educator. I found it while reading a conversation that stemmed from #NT2t (New teacher to Twitter chat) this morning. The conversation was about how to discern who to follow and not follow. Sarah's argument is that she doesn't need to be "impressed" to follow someone. She usually checks to see if the person is affiliated with education and then if the answer is yes- follow! This is the criteria I have been using and I totally agree. I use the same criteria for the blogs I add to my blogger feed. I'm trying to grow my PLN- and I don't need to be impressed by the amount of followers you have or how "insightful" your posts are. If you are an educational blogger or you join an educational Twitter chat you are trying to learn just like me- and I am happy to learn with you!
And last, but certainly not least, as a music teacher who interacts with students with autism on a regular basis, I am happy to share a nice post I read by Jennifer at Teaching to Inspire in 5th- "Autism Is...A Post from the Heart":
Here is the poem she wrote about Autism:
I thought that was a great end to my sharing for the night. :) Happy Saturday!
~Ms. Patrician
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