The Power of the PLN

So, with tomorrow marking the beginning of the 2010-11 school year, I wanted to take a moment to thank my PLN [Personal Learning Network]. And... to tell you that if you don't have one - get one.

I am really looking forward to this school year and putting the changes that were inspired by my PLN into practice. I will tell you that the changes, ideas, and inspirations that I gained from reading, writing, and collaborating were more than I could have receive in ten summers of professional development workshops.

Below I am going to list a few of the changes that will be seen in my classes and then I will discuss the people that you should add to your PLN... now!

My class will see:

• Crowd-sourced syllabi and student expectations
• Student blogging
• Twitter student network
• Parent hub using Google Sites
• Student instructional cell phone use
• Wikis for fast information
• Revamped assessments/grading policy

All of these ideas evolved from the ideas from my PLN. Now I will tell you that I did not do as good a job as I should have. In fact, my PLN was rather one-sided. This school year I look forward to opening up the conversation from both sides and offering contributions to the PLN. 

Today, through the use of Twitter, blogs, and many more social technologies you can connect with educators all over the world in seconds.

The personal learning network has forced me to grow as an educator more than any other outside force that I have encountered. I encourage you to get involved in the conversation now - the power of the PLN will take you and your students far. This school year I will also be pushing my colleagues to get involved in the conversation. This will only make us better educators, and have a direct impact on our students.

Okay, now for those of you who are going to get started... here are the people that I would recommend. These educators are contributing so much to the conversation. Now, it is your turn to get involved in the conversation.

• David Warlick (@dwarlick)
• Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne)
• Shelly Blake-Plock (@TeachPaperless)
• Karl Fisch
• Chris Lehmann (@chrislehmann)
• Lee Kolbert (@TeachaKidd)
• Joe Bower (@joe_bower)

I hope that you take some time out as we all begin to head back to school and that you join the conversation. I look forward to collaborating with you there.

More to come...

Mike Meechin, M. Ed.

mike.meechin@gmail.com

twitter.com/innovateed

For more information about Mike Meechin and Innovate Education, LLC. professional development please visit:www.innovateedu.org