Friday 19 August 2016

PLG - Social Media and PLNs

This diagram from James Hopkin's presentation resonated with me.


In my response to James after his presentation to this morning, I called myself #currentlyincuriousity as a reflection of my status of a Twitter user.  I follow people, I read posts, however, I have not found the courage to engage with others in this forum.  Discussing it with the members of the MDTA cohort, I put it down to where I am in my teaching career and how I feel that I do not have a voice yet to engage with others.

Upon reflection, this feeling does not sit right with my teaching philosophy where I value the power of conversation.  Twitter is a powerful connector and I need to start engaging with others to develop my own Professional Learning Network (PLN).

Why is it important to have a PLN?  This infographic from Sylvia Duckworth gives some strong context.



To help build all our confidence in how to connect and discuss with others, Dorothy and Anne set up a provocation where we were answering a series of questions and using the hashtag #MDTAchat.  We were able to gain the technical expertise of responding to others from this exercise.

While doing this, I found myself in the "zone" - I was reading, responding and formulating ideas at a quick pace and it gave me the insight into the personal philosophies of my cohort.  I was able to see the connections that others made as well as challenge both others and my own thinking.  I found my Twitter voice!

So what next?  You tell me, I want to talk!

5 comments:

  1. I am so pleased to hear this Heath. I said from the outset that I didn't want to impose one social media tool on the group, but I did want everyone to have one opportunity to experience the power of Twitter before making a decision. Your reflections are helpful to me. Thanks.

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    1. Thank you again for the session yesterday Dorothy! Great set up and the procovation really helped cement the power of social media within a PLN. Look forward to the hui next week!

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  2. I am on the same buzz Heath! I was always so afraid of Twitter being another social network to scroll through, but it is so powerful, full of so many amazing thoughts and ideas. I enjoy following you on Twitter, and look forward to when we are in the 'part of life' stage!

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    1. You are doing so well on here - I am enjoying seeing the connections you're making on there!

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    2. You and me both - isn't it incredible how all of a sudden you can be having an in depth conversation with someone like minded on the other side of the world?! Keen to see how we develop :)

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