Hi Everyone! I’ve been MIA for quite some time. If you want to catch up on what I’ve been working on, make sure to follow me on Twitter @MsMarshall_DES and on Instagram @teacher_station. I switched grades and districts this year. I also am in my last semester of grad school! Life has been crazy, but I’m finally back!

This month’s goal for me is to grow my PLN. If you’re not sure what a PLN is, it’s your learning network of other teachers and principals and educators who you can chat with, bounce ideas off of, and learn from! It’s a powerful thing to have!

Here’s my PLN plus all my twitter chat groups! I used Padlet to make the concept map, and if you’ve never used Padlet, it’s a great resource!

Twitter chat groups are one way to build your PLN. My favorites to participate in have been #leadlap, #tlap, #bekindedu, and a new one for me #satchat! There are so many out there, and they can all be found at https://sites.google.com/site/twittereducationchats/education-chat-calendar. I like to use the tool Participate to keep track of all the updates because they can move fast, and there’s no way to read everything and keep up! Chats are always great to go back to later and reread!

Another way to build your PLN is by having multiple platforms to share your ideas! I use Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, this blog, and TeachersPayTeachers. In order to use those platforms to build your PLN, you need to have content to share! This can include pictures, content you make, comments, etc. You can share what is going on in your classroom, the layout of your classroom, fun things you’re doing for your school, or just your ideas! Whatever you are proud of, share it! I like to tell my students, “Say it LOUD and PROUD!” and as teachers, we need to say our things loud and proud when it makes a positive impact on education!

For building content… to share on those platforms… to build your PLN (see it’s all connected!), I like to use programs like Word, Adobe Spark, and Powerpoint. I recently started playing around with Adobe Spark (Teachers and Students get a discount!!) and it’s amazing. Here are some anchor chart posters I made for my room and TPT this week, plus a menu for our room transformation for opinion writing this week! It has pre-made layouts for you, you can play with colors, and insert graphics. It’s an amazing tool for creating not only posters, but also Instagram and Facebook logos, cover photos, and more to help you create your profile to start building your name and PLN!

 

You can pick up the make it plural for FREE at my store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Teachstation. 

In the end, remember you’re an amazing teacher who has things to share that will help build our community as a whole! If you don’t feel like sharing, then join to read what other people share to learn and grow, as we all should throughout our entire profession! Grow your PLN, grow your name as a teacher, and grow your brain!

Keep rocking at learning,

Emily