For me, one of the key topics from the past few has been the topic of PLNs. I was unfamiliar as to what a PLN was and have now gained the knowledge to proceed in developing one in more depth. With a PLN, you are connecting with others and bringing new knowledge and ideas back into your library.
Twitter is a great social networking tool to connect with other educators and help in developing a PLN. This past weekend, we hosted our annual Oscar party. Granted the conversation revolved mostly around movies but there was some talk about technology and what technology we used and for what reason. One of my friends is on Twitter a lot. In fact, she couldn’t help herself but check her tweets while she was here. There was some puzzlement from others and questions like, “Why are you on Twitter? Who are you tweeting with? What are you tweeting about? Do you actually know these people?” I, too, would have been one of those asking the same questions a few weeks ago.
For one, I had no clue as to the use of hashtags or that you could only include 140 characters in your tweets. I have noted some suggestions from my peers on hashtags to check out in the future. I started a small list here; please feel free to add any other recommendations.
Like Leisbet (Feb. 10th, 2014), I recognize that I am not an early adaptor and need to challenge myself and take the plunge on learning something new. I am finding some technology easier to figure out now compared to a couple of years ago when I first started in the program. I’m not sure if the technology is becoming user-friendlier or if it is me, who is becoming more skilled. I’d like to think that I have become more skilled, but I’m doubtful.
While it is great to have many different avenues to investigate when trying to develop a PLN, I recognize it is important to have specific goals in mind and choose networks that support these goals.
Emily (Feb. 10th, 2014) shared an important point on her blog about asking the question, “how do my relationships make me a better teacher?” I will ask myself this question often so as to stay focused on a specific goal and not get sidetracked.
These past few weeks forced me to realize now that I am a teacher-librarian, I don’t have the same connections I did when I was a teacher so that makes it it even more important to reach out to the wider community and develop my own PLN. As the info graphic Kimberly (Feb. 18th, 2014) posted on her blog points out that teacher librarians are in a unique position and taking professional development into our own hands is key. And as Kacy (Feb. 9th, 2014) says, I will continue to be a "social media explorer".
Resources:
Beaudry, L. (2014, Feb. 10th). Continued ICT learning. A Library Journey, [web log] Retrieved from: http://beaudrylibrary.blogspot.ca/2014/02/conntinued-ict-learning.html [Accessed: 7 Mar 2014].
Birkland, K. (2014, Feb. 18). The journey to developing my ICT skills. Ms. K Birkland's UBC Blog, [web log] Retrieved from: http://mskbirkland.blogspot.ca/2014/02/find-more-education-infographics-on-e.html [Accessed: 7 Mar 2014].
Hugh. (n.d.). If you are not creating trouble, you are not creating much. [image online] Available at: http://anakegoodall.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/if-youre-not-creating-trouble-hughgapingvoid-com/ [Accessed: 7 Mar 2014].
Lafferty, J. (2013). A closer look at hashtags. [image online] Available at: www.insidefacebook.com/2013/06/17/a-closer-look-at-facebooks-hashtags/ [Accessed: 7 Mar 2014].
