ESL-Library

Each month we will pull a few buried blog posts from the dusty archives of the web. We hope you agree that there is a lot to learn from these “oldie but goodie” posts.

Title: “PLN: Your Personal Learning Network Made Easy”
Writer: Kate Klingensmith
Date Posted: May, 5 2009
Subject: Networking
Role in Education: Community Manager and blogger in Higher Education
Twitter ID: @higheredlife
Current Blog: Inigral

Why we pulled it from the archives? Many English language teachers don’t know where to start when it comes to building a network online. Kate’s post offers a great starting point. We wish we had seen this post months ago!

Summary:
In her blog “Once a Teacher” Kate Klingensmith introduces herself as an individual who is “interested in looking at education as a new beast – one where students are out-growing traditional classroom styles faster than most teachers can adapt, one where the overwhelming amount of data available can be harnessed as an invaluable tool for shaping instruction, one where there is a definite need for innovation in order to realize every school and every student’s potential. Social networking plays a huge role in this by allowing you to build your own Personal Learning Network, whether you’re a teacher or a student.”

This week we stumbled upon an old post by Kate that we thought all teachers should see called “PLN: Your Personal Learning Network Made Easy”. As Kate reminds her readers in the opening of the post, PLNs are not something new. The Internet has simply made it possible for educators to widen their network. Kate offers a definition of PLNs for beginners as well as a chart of the various Web 2.0 tools. You can also watch an intriguing video to inspire your students to learn more about networking.

At ESL Library we know that having a trustworthy PLN is crucial for English teachers positioned all over the globe. It is also important for material publishers like Red River Press. When you tell us what you want and need in your classrooms we can do our part to build it for you. We are building our PLN and we hope you are building yours too!

Related
The Educator’s PLN
What is a PLN anyway?
A PLN is like

What are you doing to build your own PLN?

If you know of a blog post that deserves to be pulled from the archives, please share a link.

Tara Benwell

Tara Benwell is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in materials and articles for the ELT industry. She is the media director and head writer for ESL-Library. Her debut novel, The Proper Order of Things is available on Amazon and in the iBookstore.   Website: http://www.tarabenwell.com   Twitter: @tarabenwell