PLN PART 1

Mary Liebman Honeycutt

Researching PLNs

At Druid Hills Middle School, we have established Professional Learning Networks

(PLNs) that intersect at all levels. Currently, we have a PLN for each content in each grade

level, one for each team of teachers, one for the grade level as a whole, one for each content

area department, a specific digital learning/technology team, and a PLN for the entire faculty.

For example, I am a member of the 8th grade ELA, Team 8A, 8th-grade Teachers, English

Department, and the Druid Hills Faculty. These PLNs meet with varying regularity. 8th-grade

English and Team 8A meet once a week, 8th-grade Teachers and English Department meet

1-2x per month, and the whole faculty PLN is facilitated digitally through Microsoft Teams.

Outside of our school building, the district facilitates PLNs based on region and content areas,

with some PLNs very active and others only engaging on Teacher Workdays. In addition, the

past few years have led to the creation of a district-wide Digital Learning Team PLN that meets

monthly or more and engages frequently using digital tools (Microsoft Teams and Canvas) to

discuss best practices, address global concerns, share resources, and develop plans for the

implementation and support of digital learning in the individual schools.

My Goal:

My goal for this semester is to engage fully with the district-wide digital learning team

and use that engagement to support the teachers at my school with the implementation of digital

resources. Our school has just switched over to Canvas at the beginning of the school year and

many of our teachers did not feel supported in the transition. I have volunteered to serve our

school as the head of our local digital learning team, working with the district-wide PLN to

determine best practices, develop training and support for our teachers, and then disseminate

that information to the teachers in my school. In addition to simply sharing information, I will help

coach teachers on the effective use of Canvas within their classrooms. I will use my

engagement with this PLN to help answer teacher questions, provide additional training
resources throughout my school building, and deliver training sessions at grade-level PLN

meetings. In particular, I will present strategies for using Canvas to amplify engagement and

learning, rather than simply replacing low-tech options.