PLN in My Math and Physics Classroom

This school year my ten year old son came home from school very excited to find his phone so he could answer the question his teacher had posted after career day.  They had just begun using Google Classroom at that point and he loved the idea that he could communicate with his teacher and friends outside of the school day.  It was not a formal assignment just optional, but he was very excited to share his thoughts and read what others had posted.  One great advantage of using PLNs in the classroom is that learning can continue even outside the school in an informal setting.  Using PLNs shows students that learning takes place all the time and not just in the classroom.  Additionally, it gives students more tools to find needed information.  For example, my husband has been learning how to keep up a pool.  He has been learning the pump systems, chemicals and other pool care.  He has several forums that he frequents in order to find that information(really he does that for any thing he is trying to learn from putting up crown molding to finding the best way to sand popcorn ceilings!)  If our students can learn this skill of how to connect with other people(not just people they know in the real world) they can learn just about anything!  What a great advantage to teaching PLNs in our classrooms!

However, on the other hand having PLNs in our classrooms can create some additional issues.  One issue is online bullying.  If a student has had issues with a bully in their classroom that bully can essentially just follow them home.  The teacher needs to follow the classes PLNs closely to insure that classroom discussion board rules are being followed.  It can become difficult as the teacher to keep up with multiple discussion boards.  I was out for a period of time during the school yer and I tried to use discussion boards regularly, however it was difficult because I had six different discussions going, one for each section of a class.  However, as I think about that right now I could just create one per course and have just a couple to keep up with.

For the last four years I have taught physics which has given me many ways in which I was able to incorporate technology into my classroom.  The past semester I found even more ways to incorporate technology using what I had learned from the Masters in Educational Technology Program.  This upcoming school year I am switching to mathematics with one physics course.  I am concerned that I will not be able to incorporate technology to the same level as I did with Physics, so I am focusing my searches on ways to use technology for my math classes.  With physics I feel like I would be completely up for running with incorporating PLN into my classes, but I am much more nervous about using it with math.

For my physics classes last year I tried having my students daily logging onto Schoology and solving a problem for their bellwork.  Each student had to post their solution to the discussion board.  After students posted they could see what each other posted.  However, this was often difficult because it took time for my students to open their computers, log onto Schoology and post on the discussion board.  I think I could use Twitter by posting their question there and they can Tweet their solutions.  I could additionally have students create similar problems and post to Twitter and have classmates answer.  One advantage of using Twitter would be it would be quick for students to access their phones and complete their bellwork.  I think this is a way in which I can slowly incorporate PLN using some methods that I have already used, just expanding on it.  I came across one elementary classroom that has been using Twitter to post additional practice questions to each other which gave me this idea.  Here is the link to the teacher's blog Mrs. Wideen's Blog.
Here are some additional resources I found for using Twitter in the math classroom;  Math Insider, Mr. Honner Math Appreciation, and Math Problems on Twitter.

Another way I can slowly incorporate PLNs into my Physics classroom is give as part of a research project communicating with experts in that particular field.  I could have one of their required resources discussing with someone online through one of the various tools available.  As I continue to research I am finding even more ways of how I can use PLNs in my classroom.  As I contniue to learn through my PLN I will continue to find ways to turn my classroom into using PLNs.

The great benefit of creating a PLN is that a student has multiple people to learn from.  One person can give an excellent explanation which makes perfect sense to one person and makes no sense to another person.  A PLN gives one the opportunity to learn from multiple people which benefits all students.  Additionally, some students may need more help with a given area and a PLN allows them to hear information at the appropriate level.  A gifted student could be challenged by having the opportunity to dig deeper into a particular subject.

I'm looking forward to continuing to build my PLN and teaching my students to create their own PLN so that they can be life long learners!

Richardson, W., & Mancabelli, R. (2011). Personal learning networks: Using the power of connections to transform education. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.