One of my favorite TV moments is when Norm of the series Cheers walks into a bar and everyone shouts, "Norm" as if they were welcoming him home. Part of the Cheer's theme song, Where Everybody Knows Your Name by Gary Portnoy, goes:
Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you've got
Taking a break from all your worries
Sure would help a lot
Wouldn't you like to get away
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name
And they're always glad you came
You want to be where you can see
Our troubles are all the same
And this is what Twitter is for me, a place where my Personal/Passionate Learning Network (PLN) knows my name, they're glad I came and we find out all our educational problems are pretty much the same."
Building a Personal Learning Network (PLN)
Connecting with other educators and building a personal learning environment to support your professional learning. You'll be surprised how many educators are online sharing ideas, resources and discoveries.
Need convincing? Look at some of the great ways my PLN have supported me in the last couple of months:
"Video: The Amazing Youtube Choir
Social media continues to amaze me. I believe a new online collaborative art form has emerged in which several people contribute to create a masterpiece. This virtual choir conducted by Eric Whitacre and produced by Scott Haines will show you what I mean by a collaborative masterpiece. Read the rest of the story of how this was created here. You may also want to see the collaborative video masterpiece my PLN has helped me create. This video was tweeted by @larryferlazzo."
creating course to help teachers build PLNs (Personal Learning Networks. Use these 7 Habits of Connected People. PLN's Social Netowrking, Twitter and such.