My Personal Learning Network

Before this week, I had heard the term Personal Learning Network (PLN), but I never really stopped to think about how much I already had one. As both a classroom teacher and graduate student, many of the ideas, resources, and strategies I use come from people outside of my immediate workplace. Whether through social media, graduate coursework, or conversations with other educators, I am constantly being exposed to new ideas and perspectives. Along the way, educators such as April Weich have helped shape my growth through their guidance, encouragement, and support.

One idea that stood out to me from the reading was the description of PLNs as “the assemblage of people, spaces, and tools that an individual teacher drafts into service for professional development” (Dennen et al., 2020). I liked this definition because it highlights how a PLN is much more than a social media account or a list of contacts. It includes the people, resources, and spaces that contribute to our learning and growth over time.

When I think about my own PLN, I realize that many of the connections I value today began during my undergraduate program at Florida Gulf Coast University. My professors encouraged collaboration, shared current educational research, and modeled effective teaching practices. During student teaching, my mentor teachers also became an important part of my network by providing practical advice, feedback, and support.

I also found it interesting that “many teachers develop PLNs naturally without awareness of the term or related frameworks” (Dennen et al., 2020). Looking back, I think that was true for me. Long before I knew what a PLN was, I was already saving teaching ideas, following educators online, and learning from others' experiences. This week's reading helped me put a name to something I was already doing and encouraged me to be more intentional about the connections I continue to build moving forward.

Reference:

Dennen, V. P., Bagdy, L. M., & Park, Y. (2020). Preparing preservice teachers for PLN development and use: Evaluating a learning unit. In E. Langran (Ed.), Proceedings of SITE Interactive 2020 Online Conference (pp. 701–710). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education.