SWIPE UP, SLIDE DOWN!

Now that we have established an understanding of what a professional learning network is, it is important to understand how I stay connected.

As a teacher, you are bound to connect with people every 5/7 days of the week. This connection and engagement is not only important in the classroom but it is also essential out of the classroom. This is because outside of our respective learning spaces we ought to learn more about the profession, adapt to the new changes, come up with new and exciting ways to make learning exciting and to also ensure that our teaching practice is still meaningful to learners.

What keeps me connected?

1. Public and professional profile

Creating a professional learning network requires one to always be connected and have a stable communication tool. Creating a google account ensured that i have a communication tool that i can access anywhere , anytime on my fingertips. My google account has given me access to various tools that have assisted me in maintaining my PLN. My google account allows me to maintain communication with a number of people through their email system. My account has other tools that are accessible to anyone who signs up for a google account.

I use tools such as google plus for my personal profile, Gmail for communication, google search for researches and other information that is accessible on the internet that i need for my lessons.

1.1. Google and google+

Signing up for a google account offered me a chance to extend my PLN by using some of the tools that come with being part of the google community. Google plus can be viewed as a social media tool that offers social networking basics like personal information, profile picture, work and school history. Therefore, it can be regarded as a brief description of who you are. Google plus allows you to share posts, post information and communicate with different people that you are following. It is a great tool because it has allowed me to join different communities, more especially ones that focus on education and teaching. Therefore, through this tool i can connect and engage with other teachers in any part of the world who have various expertise that can benefit the growth of my whole teaching profession.

<-------- This is an image of my personal google account. It shows different tools that come with signing up for a google account. I make use of the tools such as the google plus application for my online profile.

This is an image extracted from my google plus account. The account allows me to subscribe to various communities that i am interested in. In this case i have joined educational communities from the university and elsewhere. Google plus allows content sharing , the sharing of knowledge by different individuals in the group and conversations or chats that emerge within each community. This tool requires individuals to sign up using their organization email address, thus making it easier to connect with people that are around you as the system is programmed to suggest to you people you can invite that are within reach.

1.2. Linkedin

Linkedin is a social media tool that connects people to their future employees. It focuses on professional networking because the details it requires about a person are mostly work related, therefore, it can be considered as a brief online cv. Linkedin connects people that are looking for jobs and direct them to different job opportunities that are available on the site.it also connects those that want to connect with individuals with the same profession as them for the betterment of their career. This application allows you to attach a curriculum vitae and share information such as your resume for any employer that might need access to it.

This image show my Linkedin profile. I use this as another tool for maintaining my professional profile. Linkedin shares information that is essential when one is looking for a job. The web page generates job offers based on what interests you have included when completing your profile (this can be changed from time to time depending on what you are looking for at the time). Therefore, this tool is beneficial for creating a professional profile because it is a platform that allows you to connect with different professionals that can assist you with your career by recommending job posts based on your skills and qualifications included in your profile. Linkedin has been part of my PLN because it allows me to build my career with the help of other professionals on the app.

link to my linkedin account: www.linkedin.com/in/nosiphonondaba

1.3. about.me

About.me is a personal web service that allows individuals to connect and link different social media platforms, for example, you can provide links to your other social media platforms such as twitter, Linkedin and instagram on you about.me profile. Therefore, anyone who wants to connects with you can have access to your other socials as well from a single site. About.me offers a brief description of who you are , your interests, occupation and where you live. It also has a click button that is meant to direct people that visit your profile about your intentions for joining about.me. For example, you want to get a job or you want people to read your blog. I use this tool to maintain my professional profile because it incorporates all that anyone like a colleague or employer may need to know about me since all the platforms in which one can find out about me are linked into one account.

about.me/nosipho_zondi

My about.me profile has a 'read my blog' option because i want professionals, more specifically teachers to read my Professional Learning Network blog and hopefully create or establish there own and help better the education system and grow as professionals though engaging with others in the same field.