PLN & Twitter

 PLN & Live Twitter Chat

Image Source: Giphy

Let me start off by saying how extremely intimidated by this assignment I was. I use social media at like the bare minimum anyone can use it so when the assignment said to create a twitter account and then participate in a live chat I honestly was over it before it even started. Intimidation immediately took over. Now, I have a twitter account, used the account, but can't honestly say I will ever use it again (but then again who knows), however, the assignment was completed and it wasn't as bad as I imagined it to be. The hardest part? Well finding a live chat, participating in it, figuring out how twitter worked, responding to people, retweeting them, it was a whole lot. I had no idea where to start. 

Questions I had at the start of the live twitter chat?

1. Why is this relevant?

2. How do I find a chat?

3. Will people even respond?

4. How quick does this happen?

Answers I had at the end of the live twitter chat?

1. Its relevant because educators actually respond and are invested in helping professionals grow and learn (Honestly WOW, I was so surprised and happy to see this)

2. Mrs. Z was honestly so great, I emailed her a few different times and each time she was so supportive in helping me find one that worked for me

3. OMG PEOPLE RESPOND, its almost overwhelming 

4. Everything moves sooooooo fast so I really needed to stay ready

Image Source: Giphy

PLN

What is a PLN? I used many different resources but came to really like edutopia article on PLN's. Essentially, a Personal Learning Network is a tool that uses social media and technology to collect, communicate, collaborate and create with connected colleagues anywhere at any time. Participating educators worldwide make requests and share resources. Seeing this happen on twitter was pretty cool. I had no idea this kind of support existed out there for educators other than someones personal network.

Joining a Twitter Chat

I decided to join a Ted Lasso live twitter chat, this was actually really fun and also really overwhelming! 

My Twitter handle is @UNTITLEDEDU

These are the questions that were asked during the #ILEdChat chat followed by my responses

Image Source: Personal Image Screenshots

Image Source: Personal Image Screenshots

Reflecting on the live twitter chat

Twitter moves so fast, I blinked and like 50 people tweeted! It was quick, so I learned really fast that I needed to figure out a way to keep up! It took about 10 minutes to find my groove but then I got it. I have to say with this Ted Lasso chat for #ILEdChat was great because they listed the times for each question to be answered which really helped keep me organized and on task, without that I would have gotten lost in the sauce of the twitter world. The chats overall were engaging, fun, and interesting. It was really nice to see how so many people from all over can connect at the tip of their fingers. I was really happy to have a friend from class do this chat with me because at some points we both felt lost and were able to support each other and navigate through it.

Resources I found from Twitter:

Image Source: Twitter AmazEd Resources

This is what the site looked like at the homepage and then what it looked like when I clicked on 1st grade, that's the grade I work with now so I tried to find something that would be appropriate for my student who I work with 1:1.

Image Source: Be a dinosaur

I found this resource to be perfect for my student because sometimes he struggles with reading, and this website was extremely interactive and a fun way for him to become engaged in the learning! I did try this out with my student as a reward choice for awesome behavior and he loved it! Going forward this is definitely a resource I will continue to use with my student and with future students!

Top Reasons this was an awesome resource:

1. Its interactive

2. Its has many options

3. Students don't feel like their actually learning because their having fun

4. They want to keep going on the website

5. It ranges from Pre-K to 5th Grade

Another resource I found on twitter came from 

@UnderstoodOrg which is completely relatable for me in my current role as a special education classroom assistant since I work 1 on 1 with a student.

Image Source: Twitter

This is a website that I actually have used a lot within my masters program 

it has always provided such valuable information in a short and concise way. This article was interesting for me because the student who I work with (I am a seca, special education classroom assistant) does have AD/HD along with OHI (other health impairments). I struggle daily with his need for perfectionism and working though that has been challenging so I am always looking for ways to connect with him better and help him with these challenges and hurdles that he has to overcome. Everything that the article stated pretty much lined up with how my student feels in regards to his work and how it needs to be "perfect"; what I found the most interesting and helpful was at the very end, the section that said "how to help with perfectionism". This was a short sectioned that talked about praising the student for what they can do, having sentence starters for the student, and that using phrases like "try your best" can be triggering and can cause more stress for the student. The biggest take away for me is recognizing that "if you have ADHD: People with ADHD often have trouble shifting their perspective from one situation to the next. Try to be kind to yourself. Remind yourself that sometimes good is good enough" (Drinks, T). I will make sure that I apply this to my student and hope to see some shifts in his perspective and attitudes when it comes to his work and perfectionism.

Top Reasons this was an awesome resource:

1. It is easy to read and very informative

2. It can actually help 

3. The information presented on this website has helped me in the past

4. It offers alternatives you may have not thought of when it comes to helping a student address perfectionism 

5. These tips can work with any student

People I follow on twitter:

@UnderstoodOrg

@AmazEdResources

@EdTechCoaches

@Education_Ire

@ChicagoMuseum

@EDU_GovNL

@ACEducation

@educationgovuk

@timeshighered

@DEC_L_SIG

@SpecialEdNESA

@DBE_SA

@educationweek

@DepEd_PH

@edchatnet

@EMSDD

@DrKatedeBruin

@PledgetoInclude

@KUSpecialEd

@dcu_incl_spe

@SpecialEdOK

@sped_misd

References: 

Drinks, T. (2021, October 4). ADHD and perfectionism. Understood. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://www.understood.org/articles/en/adhd-and-perfectionism. 

Whitby, T. (2013, November 18). How do I get a PLN? Edutopia. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-do-i-get-a-pln-tom-whitby.