Personal Learning Network (PLN) is a relatively new acronym for an old concept. Where those we used to network with may have been our colleagues in our own school, town, or perhaps state, thanks to social media the world is much larger now. For example, each morning in my inbox are posts from the blogs of educators who inspire me, each Saturday I participate in two Twitter chats that help motivate me, and there are numerous online communities that I can access whenever I have a quandary in my classroom.
As I've discovered #satchat and other Twitter chats, Tweetdeck has been invaluable. First, the ability to save searches in view columns has made it easier to isolate hashtags I view most often. Also, within that search column, I can eliminate spam hashtags. As the number of users in #satchat increases, the spam bots follow, so not viewing them in the stream of hashtagged posts makes the entire conversation more enjoyable. I also use the search feature to create columns for each question within the chat, so I don't overlook a new question in the main search column. Hootsuite is an iOS app with similar functions, but I prefer having a physical keyboard for Twitter chats.
Another wonderful benefit of participating in chats with other educators on Twitter is following educators who post throughout the week. I follow users from both public and independent schools, teachers and administrators, novice and veteran educators. We all share a passion for reaching students, but the variety of experiences and backgrounds open my eyes to points of view I hadn't considered before. Twitter's far from an echo chamber, it's more like a constantly evolving discussion on every topic imaginable.
While the plethora of resources can sometimes feel like trying to sip water from a fire hose, it's well worth investing the time and effort. I've become a far better educator by learning from others than I would be otherwise.
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