3 reasons why a PLN is important for a preservice teacher

Greetings everyone!

We've heard the term professional learning network (PLN) thrown around in classes. Or maybe you heard a few professors tell you that you needed one. You may be asking yourself, "Why? Why do I need one more account?"

Well, I am here to tell you 3 reasons why you need to get a PLN today!

1. You won't always have a roommate or the person down the hall to bounce ideas off of. What do I mean by that? We all need people to support, encourage, challenge and push us to be an educator of excellence. Right now, you probably have that support through classmates, peers, or people down the hall. That's great! However, there may be times after graduation when you can't reach them as they are busy with their own lives, they may be in a different stage of life, or you might just grow apart - and that's OK too. That is why having a PLN is so important. A PLN is available to help, support, lift you up, challenge, and be there to listen and bounce ideas off of. Get started creating a PLN now so you have that support system available to you even after graduation.

2. A PLN can help you with a job search. YES, you read that right! Administrators, teachers, recruiters are going to Google you and did you know that your social media accounts usually come up first in the results? So why not make that a positive, professional digital presence right off the bat? By harnessing your PLN through Twitter or Instagram you are setting yourself up for success. An administrator wants to see what you are learning about and how you are applying that knowledge to help kids! So, tweet out that great bulletin board you made or share a pic on Instagram of that hands-on activity you did with your 3rd-grade field class. Share your reflections on the biology lesson that didn't go so well and ask for suggestions from your community. Pin a picture of a meaningful takeaway from a class to document your learning.

You get it – share your learning far and wide!

3. It is like having access to a mentor 24/7. Using your PLN to help you get ideas, resources, tools, and tips is like having a teaching mentor available to you anytime and anywhere. Post a question, join a Twitter chat, engage in conversation and there will likely be someone there to guide you. Current educators and administrators are excited to help you along the path of becoming an educator of excellence. They want to train up the next generation of educators.

So, there you have it, folks, 3 reasons why you need a PLN today! Get started! Head on over to the freebie page and claim your own how to create a professional Twitter account pdf freebie!

You have the #EduMagic in you!

- Sam