“Educators often forget that they are surrounded by experts every day.” —Nicholas Provenzano

The Instruction Department in my school district is playing with the Agile SDLC Model, “a combination of iterative and incremental process models with a focus on progress and adaptability and customer satisfaction by rapid delivery of working software product.” While we don’t develop software, we do develop resources for teaching and learning. My Agile group is Online Professional Development. Our group is creating a best practices sheet and a quality criterion for developing, implementing, and evaluating online professional development. We work in person and online to create these resources and we meet weekly to do progress check-ins. The point of these meetings is to do small tasks that move the group forward, fail fast, and have a product ready for our target audience.

Why is this relevant to libraries and librarians? The librarians in my district are lucky in that they have support in place with a curriculum specialist, but what of those districts where librarians are not so lucky? An online professional learning network (PLN) is the key. There are many resources online for developing a PLN, and there are many reasons to join them. Begin with Edutopia or Connected Educators. Tom Whitby’s blog post “How Do I Get a PLN?“ (https://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-do-i-get-a-pln-tom-whitby) offers some basic information about what makes a good PLN and how to get one. Looking to grow your leadership skills? Check out (and follow) George Couros, author of The Innovator’s Mindset; he has a great blog post encouraging educators to develop a social media presence and use that to grow and expand their PLNs to use for professional development (https://www.edutopia.org/blog/21st-century-PLNs-school-leaders-george-couros).

Many school districts have adopted Robert Marzano’s research on professional learning communities (PLC), which states that “the core of a professional learning community is the network of collaborative teams…who work together to improve student learning” (http://www.marzanoresearch.com/collaborative-teams-that-transform-schools). This is hard to do if you are the only one (or two) in a building or even a district. Turning to social media and other online resources can aid in creating that network that “works together to improve student learning.” Jayme Linton offers guidance in developing online PLC/PLNs stating, “Online PLCs allow teachers to guide their own learning and collaboration. The flexibility of an online PLC allows teachers to work on their own time, in their own space, using a format that meets their instructional needs. Participating in an online PLC can support teachers by extending their professional learning beyond the confines of the school building, the school day, and the school schedule” (http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/7012).

Online tools to help you develop an online PLN include:

Edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/

Shares evidence and best practices learning strategies that empower improvements in K-12 education. Sign up for a weekly email with blog posts, videos, and other resources. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

Connected Educators: http://www.connectededucators.org/

“Helping educators thrive in a connected world.” Blog posts, resources, best practices from around the world. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter: https://twitter.com

Global social media platform that can be used to post updates, comments, strategies, and resources to your followers and vice versa. Not on Twitter? Check out this link for a Twitter 101 guide: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/twitter-101-beginners-guide. Looking for whom to follow? For starters, try http://librarysciencelist.com/75-of-the-coolest-librarians-to-follow-on-twitter /.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/

Connect with fellow librarians; join groups such as Future Ready Librarians, your state association, ALA, and AASL.

Edmodo: https://www.edmodo.com/

Allows educators to connect with other educators and parents. Has a collaborative framework like Facebook.

Edweb.net: http://home.edweb.net/

Professional social and learning network for educators/librarians to connect with peers and share information, best practices, innovative ideas, and FREE professional development. School library communities include: “SLC@ The Forefront: A Community of Innovators,” sponsored by Libraries Unlimited; “Emerging Tech,” sponsored by Mackin Education Resources; “K12 Library Media Specialists;” “School Librarians Networking Group;” and “Exploring eBooks for K-12,” to name a few. These are free to join and they provide plenty of professional development.

Sometimes being a librarian can be a lonely prospect, but developing an online PLN is a way to create ongoing professional connections and life-long learning.