Reflection #5: Is my Personal Learning Network Up To Par?

Twitter. The word Twitter has integrated itself seamlessly into the dialogue of our pre-service teaching program. We are given handles to follow, tweets to look out for, and tips on how to master the art. As far as social media platforms go, Twitter seems to reign supreme as the go to Personal Learning Network for teachers. Pinterest takes a very close second, maybe even overlapping and tying with Twitter at times, but the limited 100 character interface is dominating. What does it mean then if I don’t have a Twitter account? Do I even have a worthy PLN?

Networks come in all shapes and sizes, they are the webs that connect us to one-another;  we learn, grow and live within them. A PLN is simply a more honed network with education at its epicentre. Elizabeth Trach defines it as:

“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.”

https://www.schoology.com/blog/personal-learning-network-pln-benefits-tools-and-tactics

Therefore, it is not that I don’t have a PLN but that mine hasn’t adhered itself to the World Wide Web. Rather mine remains tethered to my physical space, to the people I meet and am connected with on a slower moving scale. It lacks the fluidity and openness that comes from a PLN that blends seamlessly with the expansive nature of social media.

I must admit that I’m nearing the brink, that by the end of this course and the program as a whole, I will find myself sitting with my phone tweeting and retweeting the content of others. But for the moment I am holding out a little bit longer, prolonging my inevitable jump onto the education centred social media and Twitter bandwagon.