Personal Learning Network

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(Image source 23)



Using Social Media for Personal Growth



My Twitter Experience 


@andrewdunning19


I must admit: I was very leery of creating and using a Twitter account to build my Personal Learning Network (PLN). It’s not the network that gave me pause; it was Twitter. I’m not social-media savvy. I don’t like using Facebook. I worry that social media is the downfall of western civilization. Okay, that last one was a bit of an exaggeration! However, I pushed ahead and began connecting with some other educators and organizations that I found interesting -- or at least useful -- and this led to finding even more. And it grew exponentially from there. Soon, I found myself with so many hints and tips that I couldn’t keep them organized.


So, what is a PLN? It is “a personal learning network (PLN) is a group of colleagues, mentors, and professionals that you connect with to enhance your learning and take charge of your own professional development” (Trach, 2017). It’s an opportunity to build a network of people who share some of the same interests and goals, with the opportunity to interact in a way that helps everyone build on their knowledge. (continue reading below)


(Image Source 24)

Creating and using my Person Learning Network on Twitter gave me an opportunity to find valuable resources for teaching as well as emotional support from other educators. From serious to comedic, my growing Twitter network has it all. I definitely intend to continue this endeavor throughout my career. I was especially impressed with the live twitter chat I participated in: #iledchat on Monday, October 4. The chat featured a theme, Ted Lasso, as well as a number of creative-prompts to get the discussion going. This particular chat was social in nature, which is a good way to relax at the end of the day. And because it was so friendly, it was easy to find others to join my PLN. I look forward to joining another chat where I can learn about new things to bring into the classroom.


Twitter Ed Resource

While perusing posts on Jennifer Gonzalez’s Cult of Pedagogy Twitter feed, I came across @possipit. Possip is an ed-tech company that offers a platform for parents and teachers to communicate effectively. Gonzalez re-tweeted an article posted on their website (possip.com): 5 Tips for School Leaders to Mentally and Emotionally Support Students Returning to School. 


Read the article HERE.


The five tips are: communicate; practice; listen; use tools, and refer. The authors stress the importance of communicating with the families as well as students in order to reduce the stress of returning to school. “For many people, the more information they have, the better equipped they feel to take on something difficult or unknown” (Possip 2021). When communicating with students and families, school leaders should emphasise the expectations they have of students as well as the consequences for failing to meet them. Practice includes a variety of activities to help students acclimate to their environment, they say. One such practice is to allow anxious students to visit campus before school starts. Listen means making sure that students feel heard. “Sentence stems such as ‘It sounds like you’re feeling __ because __’ and ‘What I’m hearing is that you’re __ because __’ are useful in showing that you are listening and helping students gain vocabulary to identify their feelings.” Possip offers a wide variety of tools to help students. This includes breathing exercises, journaling, and guided meditation. Finally, school leaders need to be on the lookout for signs of stress among the students. Identify those youths who may need extra support, and refer them to the school counselors.



To learn about breathing exercises click on:

 



www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdUyHPa66A4 

or read this article at www.healthline.com/health/breathing-exercise


Additional Resources

How to Participate in a Twitter Chat

How to Create Your Own Personal Learning Network

12 Most Effective Ways to Engage on Twitter


References

Possip (2021, April 21) 5 Tips for School Leaders to Mentally and Emotionally Support Students Returning to School. Possip.com. possip.com/5-tips-for-school-leaders-to-mentally-and-emotionally-support-students-returning-to-school/


Trach, E. (2017, December 8) Personal Learning Network (PLN) Benefits, Tools, and Tactics. Schoolology Exchange. www.schoology.com/blog/personal-learning-network-pln-benefits-tools-and-tactics


Comments

  1. NMZumpanoOctober 10, 2021 at 7:50 AM

    It sounds like you found a great resource on Twitter and overall enjoyed the experience! Social media is what you make it- if as educators we continue to build each other up and share resources it may not mean the end of western civilization :)

    ReplyDelete

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