Dear Principal Williams, I am writing to you today to fill you in on the benefits of Professional Learning Networks, or PLNs.

Considering the large size of your school district, Cicero North Syracuse, I believe that your faculty and staff will find PLNs to be a useful tool as it pertains to the large number of your students and their varying needs.

What Specifically is a PLN: A PLN is an online way for educators to interact, share ideas, ask questions and continue to expand their knowledge as it pertains to the classroom. These online interactions are expected to help educators improve and learn from the successes of others.

The Benefits: PLNs can help an educator tremendously. Everyone has their own questions, but not everyone has their own answers. With a PLN, teachers can seek help and advice from other teachers with ease. Chances are that another teacher out there has experienced the same problems or once had the same questions as another." ...its not enough to just follow and read, you need to connect. Leave comments, reply to questions, and start your own conversation (Lepi2013)." PLNs also make it possible for other teachers and educators to expand on one's idea and help to make it better. When you are part of a large school district you are faced with many problems and obstacles. It can be hard to work with and provide the right education for so many unique students. PLNs can help a teacher seeking advice on how best to handle their classroom and all of their students. What could be better than getting the answers to questions that will help improve your classroom and benefit the students? The use of PLNs can lead teachers to the

answers they have been seeking and sooner than if they were to wait and figure them out on their own. This could lead to an improvement in the school system sooner as well which is just what we need. Proactive teachers lead to proactive students. This coincides with ICTEs and NETs wonderfully. You can connect with a teacher that shares the same educational vision, this can help empower leaders through the use of techniques that are right for the students, it goes along with implementation learning perfectly, it definitely has equitable access, there is certainly ongoing professional learning going on and much more. PLNs are a great way to make a classroom and teacher successful.

PLN Resistance: I can understand why some teachers way resist the idea of PLNs. Trying out new ways to improve your teaching can be stressful and tricky. Especially for those that are not willing to admit that their teaching may not be up to par. For many, asking for help is a hard thing to do. There are also many teachers out there that have no idea how to use the internet for more than searching on Google and would have a hard time working with and understand PLNs. Figuring out how to use the new technology and understanding it would most likely be the hardest part, followed by the lack of desire to change. With all of the standards teachers have to meet these days it is hard to get teachers to break away from what they already know and search for more. My plan to introduce PLNs into the school district would first be to show the teachers what I can do with it as if it was the easiest thing in the world and show how useful it can be. I would then hold a workshop in which teachers set up their own PLNs and experiment with the new technology. Then they will put it to the test for themselves. After that there will be a more

advanced workshop that will expand on the knowledge they have already gained from working with PLNs. If the teachers have any questions then they know where to ask them, on the PLN.

Resources: I will ask that each teacher that wishes to participate in the PLN provide their own fee that is required to pay to set up the PLN. I will also need a room for the workshops that has a smart board so I can demonstrate in a way that everyone can see. Many teachers know how to use smart boards in their own classroom so if I were to demonstrate on one the teachers might make a connection with the familiar technology and could be more susceptible to the PLNs.

As you can see, Personal Learning Networks can make a huge contribution to the lives of your faculty, staff and students. I hope you take this into consideration.

Thank you for your time, Mickaylastar Pangaro

Resources ISTE. (2012). Nets. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-for-` students-essential-conditions Lepi, K. (2013). 35 ways to build your personal learning network online. Retrieved from http://edudemic.com/2012/10/35-ways-build-personal-learning-network-online/ Online Learning Insights. (2013, January 22). How to create a robust and meaningful personal learning network [pln] . Retrieved from http://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/how-to-create-a-robust-andmeaningful-personal-learning-network-pln/ Wagner, M. (January, 2013 31). Personal learning networks for educators: 10 tips. Retrieved from http://gettingsmart.com/cms/news/personal-learning-networks-for-educators-10tips/