

Should We Unconnect from Our PLNs Over Summer Break?
I think this is a dilemma that many professional educators face. Do we get away from all things school-related for the summer? Or should we stay connected to and continue to develop our personal learning networks and nurture our professional growth?
Some Low-Cost Summer PD Ideas for Connected Educators
Summer is a great time for educators to hone their classroom skills, deepen their content knowledge, and grow as professionals, says history teacher and connected educator Jennifer Carey. With computer access and an Internet connection, you can bring professional development to your own living room at little or no cost. Jen shares four ideas she’s pursued herself.
How Twitter Made a Bad Week Better
Twitter’s power as a personal learning network made coming back to school after the winter break more tolerable for Lisa Noble and her Canadian elementary kids. The highlights included tweets from space, transmitted by astronaut and social media maven Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut who landed on the international space station just before Christmas. And then there was littleBits…
The Power of PLNs: My Cover Tells a Story
Texas ed tech leader Tim Holt shares a story from the writing process of his first book to demonstrate that what we often preach about personal learning networks is true: Help is out there when you need it.
Connected PD on a (Zero) Budget
Teachers are hungry for professional learning but their eyes are often bigger than their pocketbooks when it comes to professional conferences in distant cities and pricey online courses. Connected educators can feed themselves, says Becky Bair, who’s not busting the bank this summer but staying home with Twitter and Google Reader.