Professional Learning Networks

 As the old saying goes, “No man is an island.” In your professional career that statement rings true. If you want to get better you need to be a part of a group of like-minded individuals that are pushing for success. Professional learning networks (PLN) provide a way in which teachers can share ideas, get new information, and improve at their craft. Below are a few professional learning networks that I’ve looked into, or belong to.

At My School Site:

I am a member of the Geography, Econ, and Government PLCs at my school. We share work with each other weekly.

Watch the video to see what my Gov/Econ PLC lead thinks about my contributions to the professional learning environment.

Here is my Geography PLC lead discussing my contributions to our community.

I don’t just take from the community, I contribute. Here is an example of the last item that I shared with my Geography PLC.

Other PLNs:

“We Equip Christian Educators to transform their schools”

More information about the Christian Educators Association International can be found here.

“(Advancement Via Individual Determination) is a nonprofit that changes lives by helping schools shift to a more equitable, student-centered approach. They train 85,000 educators annually to close the opportunity gap, so they can prepare all students for college, careers, and life.” More information can be found here.

AVID’s focus is to get students from underrepresented backgrounds to go to college. Their program is based on WICOR (Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading). I am part of the AVID PLC at my school site. We share ideas when we meet. During a normal school year, we meet about two times per month.

To get to their website, click >“Improving Economics teaching and learning for over 20 years“

The Economics Network is the longest running organization who’s goal is to improve Economics education. I just joined this group, I haven’t had an opportunity to share an idea or take an idea.

The ADL PLN is a group of like minded Digital Educational leaders of the future.

The goal of the ADL PLN is to help teachers be successful using CSLE (student centered learning) and COVA (student: Choice, Ownership, Voice, and Authentic learning opportunities) methods. If you are interested in coming to one of our meetings, contact me for meeting times and dates.

If you are just starting out as a secondary teacher, Real Rap with Reynolds has some videos that can help you out.

If you are working in a Google district, here is a link to Google for Education’s Teacher Center. This is a great place to get an understanding of what Google can do for your classroom.

Click here to go to classroom 2.0. This is a free, community supported network that is aimed at helping beginners, and those who are interested in using technology.

Do you want to take a look at my blog regarding PLNs? Click here