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Today we had a planning afternoon for our PLP group at Toorak College. It was just what we needed. Time to talk things over, show one another what we have done, teach one another some new skills and contemplate what all this means for teaching and learning. It was great. By the end of the session there was a sense that we have purpose and direction.
Seeing people excited about possibilities enthuses me. One of our teachers has set up Artrak, a blog to showcase the talented students we have and to provide our girls with links and updates about happenings in the creative world that will interest them. Sue, who works with me, is excited about developing the libray blog, 2rak info 4 u. I was able to show people the dynamic environment our Yr 9 ning has become as four classrooms work together. Amanda has created a wiki supporting Business Studies and has introduced them to Working together 2 make a difference where the students are creating pages and building their digital footprints. There are other projects starting and our group is working towards supporting the efforts of one another. We are forming connections across our subject areas and classrooms.
My experience with Powerful Learning Practice has seen me benefit from the connections I have made with like minded educators who are active in our ning environment. People like our community leader, Darren Kuropatwa, Tania Sheko, Susan Carter Morgan, Carey Pohanka, Frances Manning, Alex Ragone, Jennifer Clark Evans, Amanda Ritter, Hiram Cuevas, Melanie Hutchinson, Adrian Camm, Rhonda Powling and others who value the sharing nature of the ning. It’s had a huge impact on my understanding of virtual learning communities and the power of the connections you make. Yes, it does take time but the rewards come in the form of support, encouragement and professional learning.
Our journey continues with PLP and we will see the impact it has on teacher adoption of new ideas as they are embedded into practice. Today was a good day. I’m hopeful of more to come.
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Lucacept - intercepting the Web 
Jenny, I’m excited as I read about your progress with PLP and mustering up community involvement for new connections. It sounds like great things are happening with many people involved. I must say that you’ve been the main inspiration for me since I started with the blog and the PLP program. I wonder how I functioned before I discovered the sharing network. Now, if I do something that blocks the sharing aspect, I feel as if I’ve been shut in a dark room with no way out.
I wondered how I functioned too Tania. You are one of the people inspiring me. If there is anything I can do to help Whitefriars let me know. Only too happy to offer support.
Hey Jenny, I’ve been meaning to get back here to comment, but time seems to slip away. So glad your meeting went well. Our next one is this Friday, and I am hopeful we will also pull things together for our project.
It’s been a great year, hasn’t it? I am excited about yours and Hiram’s connection, too. He and I skyped about it on Friday. I wish we could participate, but I am feeling so overloaded. I am with you in spirit, tho.
On another note, I would love to connect our ninth-graders in your ning if you get to the point you want some visitors. We are blogging and using our class wiki, but it would be fun to connect in a different way. We do the novel Frankenstein next and then poetry. Anything we could do with either of those?
Perhaps just some friendly connections?