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Created by the Mobile Technology Learning Center at the University of San Diego

Connecting & Sharing with Networks Teacher leader uses the professional learning network (PLN) structure to get connected to fellow educators to improve their practice.

Key Method Teacher leader uses professional learning networks (PLNs) to connect with other educators, share work, seek feedback, and stay abreast of best practices.

Method Components Suggested strategies for getting connected and sharing with networks:

§ Get connected on social media (e.g., Twitter, Edmodo, Instagram, Google+, etc.) and grow your PLN. Follow leaders, researchers, speakers, published authors, and other educators you admire and want to learn from. - Share your thinking and practice. - Post pictures. Pose questions. Repost other people’s ideas. Give feedback to others. - Seek feedback and advice from other practitioners in the field.

§ Use hashtags. Hashtags are useful for finding information as well as curating information. § Attend conferences to physically connect and grow your PLN. § Participate in Twitter chats to push your thinking and get experience sharing your thoughts in a virtual

space. § Subscribe to a blog on a topic of interest. § Write your own blog, using hashtags to gain an audience. § Attend webinars on topics that interest you or align with your professional goals § Designate professional and personal accounts for the different spheres of your life. § Use a bookmarking or curation tool (e.g., Diigo, Pinterest, Curata, etc.) to manage your resources.

Supporting Research § Trust, T. (2012). Professional Learning Networks Designed for Teacher Learning. Journal of Digital

Learning in Teacher Education, 28(4), 133-138. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/55471

Many teachers have extended their learning by developing online professional learning networks (PLNs). PLNs connect teachers to other individuals worldwide who can offer support, advice, feedback, and collaboration opportunities. PLNs also allow teachers to collect information from various websites and access it in one organized area so they can efficiently stay up to date on the latest teaching techniques, pedagogies, and changes in the field of education.

§ Lieberman, A. (2000). Networks as Learning Communities: Shaping the Future of Teacher Development. Journal of Teacher Education, 51(3), 221-227. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.496.8651&rep=rep1&type=pdf

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Educational reform networks are particularly well suited to making use of new technology and institutional arrangements. By their very nature, they are flexible, borderless, and innovative; they are able to create collaborative environments, focus their efforts, and develop agendas that grow and change with their participants. Teacher educators who collaborate with, learn from, and make use of the knowledge created by these networks are helping to recreate the meaning of scholarship itself, not only for teachers, but for themselves as well.

§ Wright, N. (2010). Twittering in teacher education: reflecting on practicum experiences. Open Learning, 25(3), 259-265. http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/handle/10289/4798

Microblogging as a form of expression has gained momentum recently: a widely popular version is Twitter, which began by asking ‘What are you doing?’ This paper reports on a case study with eight participants during a teaching practicum, posting to Twitter from their phones or computers, examining the question ‘Does microblogging help teacher education students develop self-reflective practices?’ An identified benefit was a sense of community. Participants appreciated reading others’ tweets and receiving messages of support when they faced challenging situations. And while 140 characters were initially difficult and limiting for explaining ideas, it honed participants’ reflective thinking. This was highly valued in the very individual experience of teaching practicum.

§ Luehmann, A. L., & Tinelli, L. (2008). Teacher professional identity development with social networking technologies: learning reform through blogging. Educational Media International, 45(4), 323-333. http://www.aogaku-daku.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/profDEVEL.pdf

Implementing student-centered, inquiry-based science pedagogy in secondary classrooms, though identified as the goal by all science education professional organizations, is rarely a reality in today’s classrooms. Therefore, teachers committed to reform often lack a “local” network with whom they can interact around this new professional discourse of reform-minded teaching. Emerging social networking technologies such as blogging offer potential to support professional learning through the development of like-minded communities not geographically or temporally constrained. This article reports on how 15 secondary science teachers committed to reform used blogs to support their efforts to develop reform-based practices. Findings illuminate varied ways in which participants did so and what they gained as a result.

Resources § Alec Couros’ The Networked Teacher

http://dmlcentral.net/professor-alec-couros-the-connected-teacher/

§ The Complete Guide to Twitter Hashtags for Education http://www.teachthought.com/twitter-hashtags-for-teacher/

§ 3 Steps for Building a Professional Learning Network http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/12/31/3-steps-for-building-a-professional-learning.html

§ The Weekly Twitter Chat Schedule http://bit.ly/1UazzEL

§ 20 Tips for Creating a Professional Learning Network http://gettingsmart.com/2013/01/20-tips-for-creating-a-professional-learning-network/

Submission Guidelines & Evaluation Criteria To earn this micro-credential, you must receive a passing evaluation for Parts 1 and 3 and a “Yes” for Part 2.

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Part 1. Overview question (300-word limit)

§ Please describe the networks you joined, including the details of your involvement in the PLN. This may include things like: connections you have made, ideas and/or resources you have shared, feedback you’ve received, etc. - Passing: Activity description is clear with sufficient detail to know what the teacher leader did to

connect and share with networks. Part 2. Work examples/artifacts Please submit several artifacts that demonstrate your activity in your PLN, including such items as:

§ Link to social media account § Screenshots of interaction with other educators § Screencast showcasing activity from PLN

Your artifact will be assessed on the following rubric. You must earn a “Yes” on this portion of the submission in order to earn the micro-credential.

Yes Almost Not Yet

Evidence demonstrates the teacher leader seeks to connect and share consistently in a professional learning network to improve his/her practice.

Evidence demonstrates the teacher leader is beginning to connect and share in a professional learning network, but participation and connections are inconsistent.

Evidence does not demonstrate the teacher leader connects and shares in professional learning networks.

Part 3. Reflection (300-word limit) Provide a reflection on your experience, using the following questions as guidance:

§ How has involvement in a PLN improve your practice? § What is one of your most impactful learnings from your PLN, and how might you integrate that into

your practice? - Passing: Teacher leader reflects on what he or she has learned from connecting and sharing in a

PLN. The educator describes how this experience will change his or her future practice.