I know there are many before me who have figured out how to build a PLN through social media (here's an overview of professional learning networks from Connected Educators). As educators, we are talking about personalized learning for our students. One of the best ways to improve in this approach to learning is to experience it for ourselves. Building a PLN is a great way to live out the personalization journey.
I decided to start my PLN journey with Twitter. For those who are new to Twitter and would like to enter this new dimension of PLN, I'd like to share a few lessons I learned and offer words of encouragement. Remember, I'm new enough at this to know I don't know much, but hopefully if I share my growth journey I can encourage others to build and learn from their own PLN.
Less than a year ago I admittedly didn't get Twitter, I wasn't interested in getting it and I was secretly scared that I couldn't get it even if I tried. So I forced myself into a growth mindset. Along my learning journey, I created mini goals to keep myself moving forward and I love how much I've learned so far. I am blown away by how much learning there is to be done through Twitter so I can't help but share.
*Disclaimer: if you already are a Twitter user, my "baby steps" journey will likely not add anything to your skill set. However, if you have suggestions to improve our Twitter journey, we'd love to have you share them in your comments.
Here are the baby steps I took:
1. Join Twitter (if you haven't already-I joined in 2012 but didn't do anything with it for two years. I told you...baby steps for me)
- Consider the purpose of your Twitter account and make the decisions below with this purpose in mind. I created my account to build my PLN and learn from others so you won't see me tweeting about the great meal I just ate or the amazing things my son does-usually. I do believe that we should have one online personality and I keep this in mind whenever I use social media. For me, choosing the purpose of my Twitter account helped me to keep my personal life and professional life organized....and I admit that my PLN may not love pictures of that amazing catch my son made at baseball practice.
- Create a handle (which is your @ name) that you'll stick with and that will represent you well. Mine is @laurajlac Not the most creative but it gets the job done. I wish I had used my full name to make it easier to search so you may want to do the same if you aren’t already established.
- Write your professional bio so others know who you are and what you stand for. @TraceyKracht encouraged me to use the same bio across all social media. This allows people to become familiar with your web presence. Here are some more tips from @InnovativeEd
- Don't stay an "egg". Choose a picture of yourself that captures who you are. Just like your bio, use this picture across all social media so people can recognize you. Resist the temptation to use a silly picture of your dog or random clip art. People need to know who you are and see your smiling face. No pressure!
- Follow people who will push your thinking and help you achieve the purpose of your Twitter account. Here are a few that I started with:
- Follow respected colleagues who are already in the Twitterverse
- See who others are following, notice who posts tweets that interest you and follow them.
It amazed me how a "community" began to form as I followed more and more people. Because my purpose was to build and learn from my PLN, I added mainly educators, motivational leaders and colleagues. It really is a small world and Twitter lets you read and share ideas with others who have similar passions as you do.
3. Observe How Twitter Works
My journey has admittedly been a timid one, which isn't usually like me. I think it was a combination of being fearful of doing something "wrong" that could negatively impact my reputation as an educator (I can't even imagine now what that "wrong" thing would be!) and the fact that it was all so foreign to me.
- Read tweets for content and to pick up on how mentions, retweets and favoriting work. There is a twitter etiquette but people are very understanding if you don't get it right the first time.
- Not sure about something, maybe a hash tag that everyone else just seems to get? Don't let that stop you. Embrace that growth mindset and Google it. Doing this not only gets me the answer but reminds me that others have the same questions because many have written about it.
Now that I'm building my PLN, I'm learning a ton and am getting great ideas from educators around the world. I was even inspired to start this blog, which is something I thought I'd never do! Thank you to the many colleagues to patiently taught me along the way.
So remember, baby steps...or just jump right in. Either way, there's just too much learning through Twitter to miss out. Get started today and next week I'll blog about growing from a passive Twitter observer to an engaged Twitter learner.
Share your journey with creating a PLN or starting Twitter. Do you have advice for those who are just jumping in?
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