21 things teachers can do to grow their PLN (Professional Learning Network):

21. Join an education Ning, forum or online community.

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1. Join an education Ning

Ning is an online platform for people and organisations to create their own communities and social networks around specific topics/interests.
Whilst their popularity has waned over the past few years, with many educators favouring more popular tools such as Faceook, Twitter, Google+ etc, Nings should not be dismissed as a powerful tool growing your PLN (Professional Learning Network).
 
Popular education Nings
  • Classroom 2.0 (http://www.classroom20.com/) – A free community supported by network of  over 66,000 educators from 188 countries with an interest in web 2.0 technologies and their impact on teaching & learning.
  • The Educator’s PLN (http://edupln.ning.com/) - A Ning dedicated to the support of a Personal Learning Network for Educators. Featuring podcasts, discussion groups, videos and a plethora of resources, The Educator’s PLN is the perfect place to connect with other educators from around the globe.
 
Useful links:​

2. Join an education forum / community
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Online communities and forums are a great places to share resources / best practice, meet other educators and further your professional development. 
 
Popular education forums/communities
  • TES Community – TES boasts over 2 million users from 197 countries and claims to be "the largest network of teachers in the world". TES is probably well known for its magazine and plethora of both free and paid for downloadable resources created by teachers for teachers. However, TES also boasts a massive community of teachers who readily share advice, resources and best practice. To find out more, visit: https://community.tes.com
  • A-Z teacher stuff forum – Boasting many thousands of discussion threads covering a wide range of educational topics, the A-Z teacher stuff forums cover everything from general discussion to subject/phase specific topics as well as more specialised forums such as behaviour management and game based learning. To find out more, visit: http://forums.atozteacherstuff.com/index.php
  • edWeb.net – A free online community where educators can connect and collaborate, form professional learning communities and discuss the latest education trends. To find out more, visit: https://home.edweb.net/
  • Computing At School (CAS) – With a community of 20,000+ members and more than 3,000+ resources, online discussions, and more, CAS is your one-stop shop for all things Computing/computer science related. To find out more, visit: https://community.computingatschool.org.uk/door
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