Over the course of my first semester here at The University of South Alabama, I have learned how important a personal learning network is as an elementary education major. Before taking EDM310, I used Twitter just like the majority of college-age students, and I never once thought that Twitter could be a useful tool for my personal learning network. Little did I know, Twitter is a great way to connect with educators to call upon for help, and to consult and collaborate with, in order to assist in my growth as a professional educator.
People/Tools I Follow on Twitter
Krissy Venosdale: @venspired
Krissy Venosdale's Venspired blog is educational and inspiring for aspiring teachers.
Brian Crosby: @bcrosby
Brian Crosby was assigned to me as a C4T, and his blog Learning Is Messy is quite fascinating! I highly recommend his blog.
Miguel Guhlin: @mguhlin
Miguel Guhlin was assigned to me as a C4T, and his blog Around the Corner-MGuhlin.org is also very fascinating. He posts quite a bit about technology. I highly recommend his blog.
William Chamberlain: @wmchamberlain
William Chamberlain is a Comments4Kids advocate.
Michael Fawcett: @teachernz
Michael Fawcett is a primary school teacher in NZ, and has awesome thoughts on PLN in his video PLN.
EDM310 Lab Assistants:
Melissa Canterbury: @MelCanterbury13
Jacey Chandler: @JCblaire7
Lindsey Estes: @lindsey_estes
Rebecca Lathem: @BecLat
These ladies are great to answer questions not only regarding EDM310, but any questions regarding elementary education.
Teaching Palette: @TchingPalette
Teaching Palette is dedicated to teachers who constantly work on perfecting the art of education.
Education View: @EducationView
Education View is a great source for education news.
Education Innovation: @EducationInnov
Education Innovation tweets on the hashtags #Education, #Leadership, #Innovation, #Teaching, #HigherEducation, #School, #College, #University, and #Learning.
U.S. Department of Education: @usedgov
This Twitter account is a great source for news and information from the U.S. Department of Education.
U.S. News Education: @USNewsEducation
This Twitter account is a great source for U.S. education news and rankings.
Teach For America: @TeachForAmerica
This Twitter account is a great source for teachers to provide students with opportunities to attain an excellent education.
Education Sector: @EducationSector
Education Sector is committed to developing innovative solutions to our nation's most pressing education problems.
The Education Trust: @EDTrust
Ed Trust works to close the gaps in opportunity and achievement for students pre-K through college.
HuffPostEducation: @HuffPostEdu
HuffPostEducation is an education news source and online hub for passionate voices.
Education Nation: @educationnation
Education Nation is a place for educators to discuss what they think it takes for student success.
CommonCoreQuestions: @CommonCoreQs
This account provides educators, administrators, and parents with the most rigorous ELA assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards.
Common Core: @common_core
This Twitter account promotes challenging, rigorous instruction in the full range of liberal arts and sciences.
Excellence in Ed: @ExcelinEd
Excellence in Ed Twitter account is dedicated to fostering excellence in education across America.
Technology in Motion: @atimpd
Technology in Motion is devoted to providing professional development that enables educators to become and remain proficient in the use of technology so they can better facilitate learning.
ACOEducators: @ACOEducators
ACOEducators is a member driven association for teachers in the state of Alabama.
Scholastic Teachers: @ScholasticTeach
Scholastic Teachers encourages educators to talk books, education, trends, and life as an educator on their Twitter.
Teachers.Net: @TeachersNet
Teachers.Net is a great teacher community that provides information on news, articles, lesson plans, and teaching jobs.
AL Department of Education: @AlabamaDeptofEd
The Alabama Department of Education is the state agency for K-12 education. This Twitter account provides information regarding education in the state of Alabama.
AEA: @myAEA
AEA is a Twitter account for professional organization for education employees in Alabama.
Dropbox: @Dropbox
Dropbox on Twitter gives updates on new features to the storing device Dropbox.
Office of Ed Tech: @OfficeofEdTech
The Office of Educational Technology provides leadership for maximizing technology's contribution to improving education at all levels.
SMART Technologies: @SMART_Tech
SMART Technologies is a place for educators to ask questions regarding SMART technologies.
ASCD: @ASCD
The ASCD is an international education association dedicated to providing programs, products, and services that empower educators to support the success of each learner.
Teaching STEM: @TeachingSTEM
Teaching STEM is a networking and information service for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teachers and educators in schools and colleges.
edutopia: @edutopia
This Twitter account encourages tweets on inspiration and information on what works in education.
Teaching Matters: @teachingmatters
Teaching Matters is dedicated to increasing teacher effectiveness, which is one of the most critical factors in student success.
All4ed: @All4Ed
All4ed works to improve education policy so that all students can graduate from high school ready for college and careers.
iSchool Initiative: @iSchoolAdvocate
This is a student led organization on Twitter dedicated to reforming education through technology.
Creative Education: @CreativeEdu
Creative Education provides great classroom ideas, education chat, and the latest teaching trends.
eChalk: @eChalk
eChalk tweets about educational technology, community engagement, collaboration, learning platforms, and social learning.
...and many, many others!
My PLN grows every day! I learn so much just by scrolling through my Twitter feed and seeing what people share and post. In my opinion, my personal learning network on Twitter is far more useful than googling a question or a problem. My personal learning network constantly tweets informative tips and shares tools that are all very current and effective. When I first started following people and tools that I felt could assist me in my career as an aspiring professional educator, I couldn't help but wonder, "Are these people even going to follow me back?" To my surprise, many did! I am obviously not the only one in the education field who wants to connect with others in order to expand my personal learning network. I will definitely be an advocate of using Twitter as a personal learning network, and I can't wait to influence my future coworkers to try it out as well!
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