DTL- Reflect- PLN

    I have been a fan of developing my PLN online for almost a year now.  I have met many people and been in contact with companies and organization through the use of my PLN.  I think having a PLN is one of the most valuable resources for a teacher.  
    I can contribute many great skills to organizations such as MACUL and NASET.  I am an educator that loves being apart of a community and enjoys learning.  I am a teacher that loves co-teaching, which has become a big trend in education, and I love to use technology with my classroom and when teaching my co-workers on how to use tech to reach students in the classroom.  I also can contribute my creative thinking skills on how to manage and track behavior of students of the general education and special education classroom through the use of technology.  I also can contribute to these organizations by enjoying sharing my experiences in the classroom with other teachers.  I love helping teachers become better educators because that is how I become a better educator, though connecting with others on and offline.

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Expand your PLN

    There are many ways social media and educational organizations can help me grow professionally.  The most important thing social media has has helped me grow is by allow me to connect with other educators that are like minded or have different minded, that encourage a growth mindset.  Many of the teachers I connected with are not even around me.  I have met many teachers in far away places, such as asia, that I have collaborated with online.  People in my PLN have inspired me to try new things and articles from educational organizations have given me new tools to help students learn in the classroom.  The second way social media has helped me is by helping me gain access to educational resources and activities that are either free or discounted to use in the classroom.
    There are many pros and cons to using Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ to become a better educator inside and outside the classroom.  It is also important to note the purpose of these resources.  The purpose of these resources is for educator to connect and gain new ideas to support them in the classroom.

Pros of Social Media and Social Networking

• Collaboration with others on topics you want to talk about or learn more about in chats.
• Lots of inspiration for yourself, teaching, and classroom activities.
• Views outside of your own to promote growth mindset.
• Sharing project and ideas with others.
• Access to documents and resources when you miss a conference.
• Collaborating with other educators while at a conference.
• Collaboration, collaboration, collaboration!  :)
• Access to information about upcoming PDs and conferences.
• Abundant amount of resources.

Cons of Social Media and Social Networking

• Time consuming.
• Sometimes too much information and resources.