A PLN is something called a Professional Learning Network and can differ through a few forms. Most often PLNs are created over social media sites that allow you to interact with others. Typically a PLN is seen over Twitter since topics and conversations are easy to be managed with this platform. Through Twitter, a professional educator can connect with others, start chats on different topics, and show support through a variety of ways. Overall, Twitter and a PLN offer teachers a lot of ways to meet other educators through the internet and similar discourse. Being connected and form a network of people you can turn to is so intricate and helpful for teachers. A PLN is essentially a way for teachers to befriend other teachers whereas they may not have ever had the chance to before in real life. The capabilities of a PLN allows you to meet professional educators in California when you are in Minnesota. The possibilities are endless and the knowledge these educators have is too. In a way, having a PLN is really just go to Professional Development without leaving the comfort of your home. Participation in Educational Twitter Chats and general discourse allows you to soak in the ideas, thoughts, and feelings of experienced and new teachers on a variety of topics. A PLN lets a teacher expand their knowledge base, but also make new professional relationships with people who will mentor you and give advice. So many of the people involved in the education twitter community want to reach out and help others grow. They see a need and they work to come up with ideas or find the tech that could possibly help in a big or little way. The community is so supportive and welcoming to any who come, and it is filled to the brim with great classroom ideas. For me, it is a grand resource that I intended to really dive into to help me both now and in the future when I have my own classroom.
Dorsey, J. (2018). Twitter. Retrieved April 29, 2018, from http://www.twitter.com/