Farewell #ProjectPLN

"All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players:

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,"

As You Like It Act 2, scene 7, 139–142

When I think about the morning I decided to text Kelly and tell her about this awesome idea I had to bring together people from our PLN to share their thoughts and ideas, I always smile. It was a crazy idea that I had no idea where to even begin. So much time has passed since that first idea. My life has changed in so many ways. I have an amazing son who is turning 2 in a month, my website has been busier than ever and I speak at conferences around the country. All of this for a little guy from Detroit who used to be too short to ride the the roller-coasters. 

It has been a painful decision to make, but Kelly and I have decided to let ProjectPLN close shop. Our goal was to give a voice to people who did not have a space to share their thoughts. After a few years, I feel there are so many people that have taken to their own blogs and have spoken their minds. Project PLN seems to have served its purpose and it's time to say goodbye.

It was an absolute honor to work with Kelly on this project. She always managed to find the time to help me edit the magazine and tweak the layout while she was designing her own school. I couldn't think of a better collaborator for this venture and I know we will be working on something equally awesome in the future. 

I love this Shakespeare quote because I feel it represents a little of who I have been these past few years since I became a connected educator. My role in education has changed dramatically over the past three years and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for me. I do know that no matter what I end up doing, I can count on my PLN to be there to offer guidance and support. 

Thank you to everyone that helped make Project PLN a success and supported our crazy idea with your own posts. Project PLN started off as an idea between two passionate educators and it became real because educators cared. That is something very special that I will be able to hold on to long after Project PLN fades from the collective memory. 

I look forward to the next great adventure.

Nick

Share With #ProjectPLN - November Issue on Best Practices

Hello everyone! Project PLN is looking for posts to share with the educational community. We count on you to tell amazing stories that we can place on Project PLN.

For the November Issue, we are looking for some examples of Best Practices regarding Classroom Management, Homework, Parent Contact or really anything that you think is a Best Practice.

These can be older posts that you would like us to submit or something brand new you want to share. You do not have to have your own blog to submit. All educators are welcome to post. We want to encourage all educators to share their thoughts on Project PLN.

Please share your Best Practice with use at ProjectPLN10@Gmail.com. Please include a photo, a short bio and any links that you would like people to visit after reading your post.

Please send all posts by Friday November 9 and we will be posting later the next week.

Feel free to share this with all of your friends and neighbors who are excited about education. We really can't wait to see what you have to share!

Nick and Kelly
Co-Editors Project PLN

#ProjectPLN November Issue

We are now accepting submissions for the November Issue. We have decided to label it the “Sharing Issue”. There are many great lesson plans, resources and tools out there and it is tough for teachers to find the time to look for them. We want Project PLN to be a place where people can share their awesome lesson plans or resources with everyone out there.

If you think you have something awesome to share, please send an email to ProjectPLN10@gmail.com and we will add it to the November Issue. Please follow the guidelines for submissions below so we can quickly and easily load your posts to the site.

Please email the article or link to the article to ProjectPLN10@gmail.com

Please include a small bio that includes your blog, Twitter handle and other information you would like to share. A picture is encouraged, but not required.

It may be a piece you have published on your blog already. A good idea is still a good idea even if you had it a few months ago.

Please submit posts by Monday November 5. We expect for the issue to go live on Tuesday November 13.

Thanks again for all of the support you have given Project PLN over the years.

Nick and Kelly

Co-Editors - Project PLN

Project PLN Call for Articles! #ProjectPLN #EdChat

Project PLN is back and we are ready to hear from you! We have taken this time off to reflect and re-charge our batteries. We are excited to open up the August issue to our amazing PLN who have wonderful ideas to share with all of us.

Our August issue is going to focus on Back to School Tips. We know that all of you out there have little tips and tricks to make the start of the school year a little bit easier. There are many educators out there that could really benefit from the sage advice of professionals. We are looking for anyone involved with education. You can be a teacher, classroom assistant, principal, hall monitor, superintendent, coach, etc. We just want you to share your ideas with the world.

All articles will be published and we only ask that you follow these guidelines:

Please email the article or link to the article to ProjectPLN10@gmail.com
Please include a small bio that includes your blog, Twitter handle and other information you would like to share. A picture is encouraged, but not required.
It may be a piece you have published on your blog already. A good idea is still a a good idea even if you had it a few months ago.
Please submit posts by Friday August 17. We expect for the issue to go live on Tuesday August 21.

That's it! Just send us a post and we will share it with the rest of the world. We can't wait to hear what you have to share.

Nick and Kelly

Project PLN Editors

Project PLN - December Issue #edchat #ElemChat #EngChat

For the December Issue, we want to do something AWESOME. We want to hear from students from across this country and around the world. Educators, politicians, parents and many more have been telling everyone what schools should look like to best serve students. Well, we had the crazy idea of actually asking the students what they would want their school to look like if they could design it! These can be group projects or a collection of smaller projects. If you send it, we will publish it.

Using this Google Doc, please sign up for the grade level you teach and have your students draw, write, film, animate, etc what they want in their dream school. In all, we would like to have 13 posts representing K-12.

We would love to have all submissions by Monday December 19 so we can put them up for Tuesday December 20th before the Holidays get the best of us.

We are still looking for teachers to sign up for 1st - 4th, 7th, 10th and 12th grade. We will still take anyone from any grade, but those are still empty as of November 28th. Please share this post with teacher in your building and see if they would be willing to sign up and share some amazing work.

If you have many different projects to share, please feel free to share a folder with us on Dropbox if that is easier. You can share with us at ProjectPLN10@gmail.com. We will take the documents from there and place them on Project PLN.

As always, if you ever have questions or ideas, please feel free to contact us at ProjectPLN10@gmail.com or @ProjectPLN.

Best Wishes,

Nick (@thenderdyteacher) and Kelly (@ktenkely)

Co-Editors

Project PLN

#SchoolDidAGoodThing - November #ProjectPLN

Happy November everyone!

We are excited to bring you the November Issue of Project PLN because it focuses on stories that will make you feel great about what you do as an educator. We know there are many fantastic stories out there of the good things schools (and teachers) are doing, so we decided to share them with everyone. Let the contributors know what you think about their story and feel free to share your own story on Twitter using the hash tag #SchoolDidAGoodThing.

For the December Issue, we want to do something AWESOME. We want to hear from students from across this country and around the world. Educators, politicians, parents and many more have been telling everyone what schools should look like to best serve students. Well, we had the crazy idea of actually asking the students what they would want their school to look like if they could design it! These can be group projects or a collection of smaller projects. If you send it, we will publish it.

Using this Google Doc, please sign up for the grade level you teach and have your students draw, write, film, animate, etc what they want in their dream school. In all, we would like to have 13 posts representing K-12.

We would love to have all submissions by Monday December 19 so we can put them up for Tuesday December 20th before the Holidays get the best of us.

We will be taking January off to recharge our batteries, but don’t let that keep you from writing! We would love to have people work on submissions for the February Issue which will be the Passion Issue. What are you passionate about and how do you show it in your classroom?

As always, if you ever have questions or ideas, please feel free to contact us at ProjectPLN10@gmail.com or @ProjectPLN.

Best Wishes,

Nick (@thenderdyteacher) and Kelly (@ktenkely)

Co-Editors

Project PLN

#ProjectPLN - The Best Issue Ever

For our October Issue, we want to focus on the best parts of education. Now, that could be the best lesson you have ever taught or learned. It could be the best tool you used with your students. It could be the best book on education or website dedicated to education. We want to hear from our PLN about what is the best of everything out there. If you don't share, who will?

Please send all posts to projectpln10@gmail.com. We would appreciate it if each post had a bio and a picture so everyone can get to know the awesome person sharing the great resource.

The deadline for submissions is Sunday October 2 and the issue will go live on Tuesday October 4. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

@ProjectPLN
ProjectPLN10@gmail.com

We can't wait to hear from all of you.

Nick and Kelly
Project PLN Co-Editors