As a person who rarely uses social media for personal uses, the idea of utilizing social media in a professional setting was at first very confusing. I was especially surprised when the prevalence of Twitter within the education community was revealed.
Now as I have started to curate my use of social media through the help of my EdTech class, I find there are a multitude of valuable resources for me to discover. Throughout my teaching program, the phrase ‘don’t reinvent the wheel’ has come up on countless occasions . The idea of using social media platforms like Twitter and even Instagram as a place for educators to connect and share resources shows just how innovative technology allows us to be.
The term Personal Learning Network was new to me, how the concept was not. Without knowing it, I had begun to build and develop my own Personal Learning Network as I progressed through my teaching program. I began collecting resources of shared lesson plans or began to follow educators who shares valuable resources all before I knew the term Personal Learning Network. Watching Marc-André Lalande describe Personal Learning Networks help clarify this concept for me and all that it can mean.
Going into teaching with the plethora of resources and support provided through such a vast network of educators makes me so grateful for the ease of technology and specifically social media. I find myself using social media more now than ever before because all of a sudden I am able to find content that helps me to be a better teacher.
As a teacher hoping to go into primary elementary, the multitude of kindergarten and grade 1 teachers sharing resources, giving advice and helping new and upcoming teachers has been heartwarming. While the pandemic has kept many of us learning from home, teachers from around the world are sharing and supporting one another as they navigate the new world of Zoom classrooms and socially distanced teaching.
Below I have provided some educators and accounts that I have started to curate to build my own personal learning network:
Educators:
- Jennifer Jongsma – Wonder-full Inquiry
- Shelley Moore
- Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt – Inquiry Teacher
- Morgane Michael – Small Act Big Impact
- Allie Apels – Joys of Kinder
- Vera Ahiyya – The Tutu Teacher
- Joanna Lake – Joanna Teaches
- Rebekah Poe – Lessons & Lattes Special Education Teacher
- Emma Joens – Elementary with Emma
- Heidi James
- Jesse Miller – Mediated Reality
- Luke Richards
- Valerie Irvine
Education Connections and Resources:
- Read Local BC
- UVic EdSA (Education Students’ Association)
- UVic Faculty of Education
- BCEdChat
- Indigenous Ed SD63
- BC Teacher Education Network
- SD 63 Saanich
- SD 62 Sooke
- SD 61 Greater Victoria
- Strong Nations
I am still very much still developing my own Personal Learning Network but have already found so many resources connections through this process. I look forward to growing my own network even further through connecting with educators and resources through the multitude of social media platforms being utilized by educators from around the world.
An amazing list of educators! I follow a few of them on social media, but I am definitely going to search out these other accounts now!