Professional Learning Network: How did it change? What did I learn?

Professional Learning Network: How did it change? What did I learn?
PLN2

One of the first things I noticed was my expansion of resources. Throughout this course, with the collaboration of my peers and the course content I was able to greatly expand my knowledge of online resources. Sites like quizmaker and screen-o-matic are quite new to me and I'm looking forward to implementing them into my classroom in the future. 
Some other things I have learned about my PLN is the great community of online collaborative professionals in the ESL industry. I added this to my PLN under the 'people' section as a larger circle as I believe it is something that all instructors should take advantage of. It is clear that the instructors that actively post and share their resources online are passionate about language learning and acquisition and I hope to become a part of this community so that I can improve my skills and knowledge as an instructor. This community is quite active on Twitter. Prior to this course, I was not really that familiar with Twitter though I have used a lot of social media in the past. Getting to use the ESL hashtags such as #LINCchat and #ELTchat presented me with an introduction to this expansive ESL community and I hope to use more of Twitter in the future for discussions with other ESL instructors. 
Though I was already familiar with some CLB practices and PBLA's, my PLN has expanded to include some of these resources. Learning the differences between PBLA and testing as well as the advantages of portfolio's has presented me with some insight into student assessment that I would like to implement in my classroom. However, I've put it under the training section as I believe I still have much to learn when it comes to the Canadian Language Benchmarks and Portfolio Based Language Assessment. 
Another noted change is my addition of methodologies. Prior to this course, I was familiar with differences in methodologies as I have taught in both task-based and task-supported classrooms, however, I believe that my knowledge of task-based activities expanded via my PLN in this course. I also learned about many other methodologies including suggestopedia, Audio-lingual, the silent way and so on. Having these methodologies available to me and some more knowledge about them has presented me with a PLN with farther reach and a more comprehensive knowledge of the history of ESL.
I also changed Reddit from my original PLN to LinkedIn. While doing some research throughout this course, I noticed that Reddit does not have many resources for ESL instructors while LinkedIn is full of networking opportunities in the ESL industry. Since updating my LinkedIn profile with my experience, I have had a flood of connections come in from overseas and from other ESL professionals, expanding my PLN even further than I could have imagined.
Overall, my PLN has greatly expanded into not only just 'more' branches but into more comprehensive and utile ones. I have learned that though resources are important, the online collaborators behind those resources are just as, if not more, important. 

 Additional Resources:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HegF3hezF4

https://ossemooc.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/day-6-building-your-professional-learning-network/
Additional resources:

 https://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-do-i-get-a-pln-tom-whitby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A667plNCzwA


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

First Language Acquisition versus Second Language Learning

Image
First Language Acquisition versus Second Language Learning Above you can find a diagram I made about the differences and similarities about first language acquisition and second language learning. In my research, I was surprised by how different the two are and how truly fortunate I am to be born with English as my first acquired language. To learn that Second Language learners will, truly, never reach the point of competence of first language acquisition is quite surprising. Even those who are bilingual will still have one language more dominant than the other. I’m curious to see if this changes in the oncoming years as second language learning and children being taught two languages at a young age becomes more and more common. In my personal experience, I think I am a clear example of the differences between FLA and SLL. As a child, I spoke only English but upon entering school I was enrolled into a French immersion program. From ages 5 to 13 all of my schooling was in Fr...
Read more

Unit 4 - Assignment 3: Adaptation or Creation of ESL Materials - TESL 0150

Assignment 3: Adaptation and Creation of ESL Materials Introductory Paragraphs Profile of Target Learners Learner Type : International Students Age: 18 and up English Level: IELTS 5 Goals: To prepare students for future College programs and courses Specific Needs: Academic English, Knowledge of essay writing, Note Taking Proficiency with Technology : Students MUST have a laptop and internet access to participate in the class. Learning Objectives This course is designed to develop academic reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. The students will learn relevant grammar to write strong sentences, paragraphs and essays. They will develop effective oral communication skills in order to listen and speak in common academic scenarios. Students will expand their academic vocabulary to assist them in future college programs and courses. Lesson Objectives By the end of this lesson, the learners should be able to: §   Identify ‘hooks’ and thesis stateme...
Read more

The 'Fine Line' of Student Interaction

What can teachers do to 'discourage interaction'? Teachers walk a fine line when creating a classroom that fosters interaction. It only takes a few simple errors for an instructor to 'discourage interaction.' Firstly, in regards to error correction, Brown & Lee advise that their must be an optimal balance between positive and negative cognitive feedback in order to be effective. Too much negative feedback will lead to a learner shutting themselves off from communication while too much positive feedback can lead to the "fossilization" of certain errors and develop bad habits. (2015) For example, if a student continues to drop the 's' when reading out loud at the ends of words and the instructor decides it is more worthwhile to correct other pronunciation errors, this could lead to the student continuously dropping 's''s and causing later confusion in their speaking.  Another example of the fine line that teachers walk when it c...
Read more