Developing and Using a PLN

My decision to participate in these particular PLN's (professional learning networks)was based partly on an amusement factor and partly due to wanting to know more about each particular subject.  The  interests which seem attractive are as varied as the number of networks available.

Being a teacher, of course, I am interested in the content matter that is presented daily in the classroom.  Grammar, writing, reading, books and methods of teaching are the topics which draw interest because the wealth of knowledge shared among people with more experience adds to mine. Therefore, I am an avid Facebook user and many of the posts viewed have to do with the above subjects.  For instance, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Captain-Grammar-Pants is one of my favorites, written by a teacher at Evergreen College in Washington, she not only shares pictures of hilarious and horrendous grammar errors, but also writes short explanations on language usage. One thought was to use the posts as a classroom anticipatory set to engage the students in determining the error and how to correct it.
Another, just for the love of books is Book Shelf Porn, which isn't what it may be thought to be. Although this one doesn't really connect with anyone specifically, it does connect the hearts of all who just love books, being around them, looking at them, and absorbing their essence. 

A couple PLN's that I found fun to use were Edmodo and Schoology and I look forward to implementing them in my classroom.  The Edmodo site actually has a library built in which allows additions of other sites to refer back to all on one page.  This is similar to Livebinders, yet all of the "books" or sites are laid out so that they are seen in one glance.  It is easy to see that this one will become a favorite!

However, other topics capture my interest in health, nutrition, business and Law of Attraction also appeal to me.  Another website which offers a wide variety of interest in topics and style is www.ezinearticles.com , and allows connection with other teachers, writers and business people.
These were inviting because of the intrigue and interest.  The main questions were: What are these about?, What can I learn from them?, and How can I use them to benefit me or my classroom?

Some of the PLN's that I looked at the did not appeal to me were: Twitter, and the extensions of it.  Of course, I do have a Twitter account, but it is not checked daily, and due to the diverseness of interests, the appeal and interest in consulting it does not exist.  Perhaps because I do not have a specific or narrow enough interest, or because it seems to require too much time to sift through so many short messages.
Linkedin is another which doesn't yet work for me fully even though I have had an account for a few years.  It is taking a great amount of time to edit my information, or sift through the contacts.  This site seems to be for those who are more business oriented, and although that is where I eventually want to be, it does not work for me at this time.

The participants are other teachers, writers and fellow book lovers, as well as nutritionists, health observers, coaches and business people.  A lot of these contacts are people whom I will never know, and that seems to be part of the fun of it as well!