PLN's and The Amazing Transformation

I have an amazing teaching partner who pushes my thinking! I have observed her teach, listened to her thoughts and watched her develop her professional learning network (PLN) through blogs, Twitter and Nings. Seeing the growth the PLN offered Cathy, her colleagues the kids of her classroom, I decided to explore this fascinating world of professional learning networks. I began by following Cathy's blog, Reflect and Refine.  Reading Cathy's blog gave me the wonderful opportunity to hear the thoughts behind her instructional decisions, her perspectives on teaching and learning, and build my thinking.

Reading Cathy's blog also provided me with a network of bloggers to follow which has been a great opportunity, jump-starting my PLN. After spending some time reading Cathy's blogs and the blogs of other educators I decided to take the plunge and begin my own blog,  Primary Perspective. Blogging has given me the opportunity to reflect on my professional learning and my teaching, this has  transformed me into the teacher I am today. As a member of this blogging community I began to develop a group of bloggers I could rely on to push my thinking and ease my fears! Thank you to Mandy Robek at Enjoy and Embrace, Julie Johnson at Raising Readers and Writers, Cathy at Reflect and Refine for all of your encouraging words.   

As my comfort level began to increase I took the next step and began to explore twitter. I started slow, following people, reading tweets, following links on twitter and finally… I ventured to comment on a tweet by @jillfisch. Jill had tweeted a link to a VoiceThread her class had created. Because our class also used VoiceThread I saw this as the perfect opportunity to expand our learning beyond our classroom walls.

@jillfischJill FischMy 1st graders are climbing the walls- literally. Here is a Voice Thread (without voices) of their climbing experienceshttp://bit.ly/hCKA2s

This step was a defining moment for my personal and professional learning, I was hooked! I saw the power and possibility of my PLN! My class loved chatting with Miss Jill's crew. The kids were eager to revisit the VT, hoping for new comments, the kids felt empowered! From here I began to build my PLN by exploring more blogs and twitter connections, looking for ways to expand the learning beyond the walls of our classroom.

Our next opportunity came from my connection with Mandy Robek at Enjoy and Embrace Learning. On her blog, Mandy shares great picture books, many of which I would quickly read to my class. Having experienced the benefits of the classroom connections with Miss Jill's crew, I shared Mrs. Robek's blog, on our latest read aloud I Must Have Bobo. The kids were amazed to see the same book we just enjoyed. It wasn't long until the request was made and the VoiceThread was created AND shared with Mrs. Robek and her friends! Now, not only were Mrs. Robek and I connected, but also our classes were sharing in the connection, extending the learning for both of our classrooms once again!



I have always said the third time is a charm and that certainly proves to be true here! Our third opportunity expanded our learning globally! The Global Classroom 2011 would not have been possible without the support and dedication of my PLN. The Global Classroom began with an idea, "Wouldn't it be really cool if our class, right here in Ohio could connect and chat with classrooms all over the world!" So I asked my PLN (via twitter) to help spread the idea and request for classrooms to join (to read more about the Global Classroom and the classrooms involved visit The Global Classroom Wiki~ organized by Michael Graffin).
Connecting with educators and classrooms all over the world has been an amazing experience. The kids were engaged and excited through the entire experience. From posing questions, listening to comments, asking new questions, and waiting for new replies we were expanding our learning and OUR PLN globally!
It was at this point that I realized not only did I have a PLN, but my kids also had a PLN!



Our final project of the year, Poetry Tag was also made possible by the support of our PLN. The idea of Poetry Tag was sparked by Franki Sibberson's and Mary Lee Hahn's blog, A Year of Reading. After reading the post I tweeted my PLN and asked if they'd like to join our Poetry Tag. Our PLN accepted the invitation and we were sharing poems, exchanging comments and connecting classrooms from Colorado to Maine!
Our PLN made it possible for us to expand our learning and our classroom beyond the walls. Expanding our learning was possible, it was amazing and we are forever more transformed! Much thanks to our PLN and Cathy for giving me the gentle touch to start it all.



This week my PLN took a new turn, Cathy and I led a session, What's All the Tweeting About? the design of this session was to help others see the power of Twitter in building a PLN. While I am still a novice I was surprised at the growth I have experienced in such a short time!  You can see the presentation at Reflect and Refine.
Our (my class' and mine) PLN made it possible for us to expand our learning and our classroom beyond the walls. Expanding our learning was possible, it was amazing and we are forever more transformed! Much thanks to our PLN and Cathy for giving me the gentle touch to start it all.
I hope this is just the start…