Not All Great Minds Think Alike.

I think just about everyone has heard the saying: "Great minds think alike." I do not find this to be completely true because not all great minds think alike. If they did, I don't think much of anything would be accomplished. There are many different people out there with many different ideas. As a future teacher, different ideas are music to my ears. If we all had the same ideas there suddenly becomes no room for progress. A Personal Learning Network is a great way to connect with other great minds and exchange ideas. What is a Personal Learning Network? "It is those people, places, organizations and activities which enable you to learn."

There are a countless number of different outlets for PLN. Some examples are blogs, Youtube, websites like Edutopia, and more unlikely ones like Pinterest. These all can help us become better teachers and effectively engage our students. Michael Fawcett made a comment about needing to look outside the staffroom. If the tools are out there, why not utilize them? There are also numerous ways to organize your PLN. I find Symbaloo to be the most convenient and user-friendly. You have everything you need in one place. You can connect all of your PLN outlets to your Symbaloo. It's almost like a page of apps. It harnesses the cloud as well. Personal Learning Networks are tremendously important. “Don’t worry about feeling afraid and apprehensive about your lessons because that way you know that you are learning and good learners make better teachers. You can handle everything if you’re well prepared, flexible and have the learners at your centre and if you think you might lose it – simply hand over to them and take a breath!“ Teachers never stop learning new things. Bigger and better ways to do things are always being developed. It is our job to make sure we are aware and up to date. PLN’s are a great way to do that.