Contributing to the Learning of Others and Building a PLN

Throughout the semester, we were required to interact and connect with – classmates and others in the field of education to contribute to the learning of others and help build a personal learning network (PLN).  There were three ways we were instructed to do this: using the Slack platform, using Twitter, and interacting with each other using our blogs.  This blog post will go over some of my interactions with others using each of these platforms.

Slack

Prior to this semester, I had never heard of the slack platform. It is quite similar to Discord, which is something I have used quite extensively, so I had no trouble navigating the platform.  I found it to be very beneficial, and I wish all professors used something like Slack to make it easier to connect with other classmates.  I mainly used to program to ask questions, and answer other classmates’ questions when I had the answer.  I also used it to share a few things that I didn’t deem Twitter worthy. 

Here are some screenshots of my Slack contributions:

Twitter

Out of all three platforms, Twitter was the platform that I was most active on, and was undoubtedly the program where I contributed to the learning of others the most.  Prior to this semester, I did not have Twitter; I felt Twitter was a cesspool of toxicity and disinformation. EDTC300 opened my eyes up to the good that there is on Twitter—especially for a Sask. educator.  I tried to share one resource per day along with replying to one or more of my classmates each day.  I also retweeted other useful sources that I was able to find.  I went from having 0 tweets on day one of EDTC300 to over 200 and counting today. 

I found so many great resources that were shared by other classmates and other educators.  My like section is filled with over 100 great resources and tools that will be a great help to me as a progress through my career.  #Saskedchat was a great way to connect with other Saskatchewan educators, and I am so thankful that Katia shared this resource with us.  Throughout the semester, I took part in a few Saskedchats and contributed as much as I could (some questions are difficult to answer as they are geared towards teachers).

Here are some screenshots of my Twitter contributions:

Blogs

The third and final resource we used to connect with each other, build our PLN, and contribute to others’ learning was through the use of our blogs.  Each week, I made a blog post regarding a new topic sharing my thoughts with fellow classmates and my other followers on Twitter.  Throughout the semester I commented on others classmates’ blogs 3-5 times each week while replying to comments that other classmates made on my own blog posts.  Before this class, I didn’t particularly care for blogging, but after going through EDTC300, I have a much more favourable opinion on blogging.  There is something therapeutic in having a platform to write out and share your thoughts and opinions in an informal way.

Here are some screenshots of my blog contributions:

Building a PLN was something I never thought of prior to EDTC300, but I plan on continuing to grow and expand my network through the use of these tools. I encourage every pre-service teacher to hop on these platforms to create a PLN. It is a great way to learn and expand your teaching resources!