Growing my pln

For the last few years I've been a pretty hardcore Twitter resistor. I'm not really sure why to be perfectly honest. Maybe it's because I didn't really understand it. I think I also had the false misconception that there weren't any educational resources on Twitter. It wasn't until two things happened that my view on Twitter changed.

First, my husband (an elementary PE teacher) joined Twitter and almost immediately found a community of like-minded teachers who he could chat with, bounce ideas off of and ask questions. In a small, rural community we often feel quite isolated because many of us work with only one or two other staff members in the same job position.  This was an eye-opener for me because while my husband has a small team of 3, at the time I was working in complete isolation in a lonely team of one. 

The second thing big eye opener for me was when I attended a CUE Rockstar mini conference. The first session I went to was all about Twitter. Sitting there and listening, it took about 15 minutes and I was convinced. I knew that I needed to spend the time and figure out what Twitter was all about in order to build my Personal Learning Network. 

So here I am- approximately 4 months later. I currently have just over 100 followers and try to participate in at least 1 to 2 chats per week. Living in a remote, rural community Twitter is my way to stay connected with the rest of the world. On an almost daily basis I find a new tool, resource that I truly learn something from. And while my district is pretty cutting edge for being as remote as we are, Twitter is helping me to push the envelope even more.