The power of the PLN and a stunning ELT conference
Since I started tweeting last summer I have read many accounts of the power of the PLN – the Personal Learning Network that comprises the tweeters you follow and are followed by. Little could I realize then that the very first two people I followed on Twitter would give me one of the most awesome and inspiring experiences of my professional career. Those people are Burcu Akyol and Shelly Terrell – I liked the tweets they were posting at the time I started looking for followers so I pressed the “Follow” button.
The power of Twitter became very evident to me very quickly. Here’s why:
- Within a few weeks I was pleasantly shocked to be tweeting with major names in ELT.
- The greatest wealth of cool websites, tools, thoughts and ideas appeared hour after hour in my tweetstream.
- I made friends with some of the loveliest bloggers around. Both they and their blogs have been so enriching.
- My PLN encouraged me and gave me the confidence to start blogging – something I should have done years earlier.
- My PLN supported me in getting plagiarizers to take down my materials.
- I get lots of time-saving help with ideas for my websites.
- My PLN post my new lessons across the Twitterverse.
- I have an incredible source of excellent advice and support – 24/7.
ISTEK 2010 – Yeditepe University – Istanbul
Last month Burcu tweeted me to ask if I’d like to be an invited speaker at the inaugural ISTEK Schools International ELT Conference in Istanbul. I jumped at the chance to return to Turkey – my previous three visits to this wonderful country were all very special.
But what was most exciting for me was the chance to see so many of my PLN.
This was the best conference I’ve ever been to.
Ever.
Burcu made sure of that – a definite rising star graced with outstanding vision, drive, dynamism, charm and warmth.
My PLN made sure of it too. I met dozens of them. They were all more than fantastic.
There was a common element to most of my first meetings with my PLNers that I found both amusing and touching. In some instances, we would either instantly recognize each other, smile and say hello and chat as though we had shared old times. In other cases, a hug would precede any attempts at verbal communication.
I left the two-day conference with many new friends.
There has never been an occasion in my life when I have made so many friends in so short a time.
Twitter has increased several hundred-fold the number of my professional contacts.
I have made dozens of life-long friends who share my love of education, technology, blogging, materials design and sharing.
I need to thank again the biggest mover, shaker, fixer, sharer and carer around – thank you so much Shelly.
I am excited about the future opportunities that will arise from my PLN.
Roll on ISTEK 2011.
Tags: ELT conferences, ISTEK 2010, PLN, Twitter
It was great meeting you Sean!
Too bad we didn’t really have the chance to talk to each other for a longer period of time
Hopefully, next time
Anita
…That’s all so true… I’ve found Twitter so useful, for the reasons that you mention – haven’t managed to get to meet up with anyone yet, but the support and ideas that you can get are amazing.
And I’d been so cynical at the start…
your enthusiasm for the whole experience comes shining through this post Sean, ISTEK was my best online experience ever and we are lucky to do jobs where this is part of our professional experience. Agree with you completely about twitter, such a powerful tool for what we do.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Shelly S Terrell, oksan ocakturk. oksan ocakturk said: RT @ShellTerrell: From PLN to ISTEK 2010 http://bit.ly/c2JZHf via @seanbanville [...]
Very nicely put, Sean – it was great to meet you at ISTEK and your words here echo how I feel about the conference and the power of Twitter and the PLN – truly amazing
Hi Sean,
Lovely post about what by all accounts was a fab conference to be at. I only managed to catch the very tail-end on Sunday, but even on the livestream you could feel the amazingness (is that a word???) of the event. I am mightily mightily gutted to not have gone, but felt so lucky to have been able to see some of it from my corner of rainy England.
Big shout to Burcu for making it all happen – she is, as you say, a star!
Mike (I’m gonna be there next time!) =)
Hi Sean,
of ELT at the same conference and moreover I had the chance to meet the members of my PLN who inspire, motivate and encourage me to start the new day with new ideas.
I’m still talking about this very unique conference experience. It was wonderful, as I had a chance to listen to all the celebrities
I truly enjoyed your session and learned lots how news can be great lessons.
It was great to meet you
Eva
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by ShellTerrell: From PLN to ISTEK 2010 http://bit.ly/c2JZHf via @seanbanville…
Likewise Anita.
I’m sure we’ll bump into each other again and have the chance to talk longer. Perhaps at ISTEK 2011
Best wishes.
Thanks for writing Phil,
I had my doubts about Twitter when I joined. Didn’t take long to make me regret not joining two years earlier.
It’d be interesting to hear your experiences when you do finally meet PLN members – be sure to blog about it
Thanks Mark – I think it’s almost impossible to overstate how powerful Twitter is. It is quite life-changing – for the better.
Thanks Graham,
It was great to meet you too. Wish I had spent longer talking to you. There will be a next time. Good luck to you and thanks for the @twitter T-shirt idea.
Hi Mike – ‘Amazingness’ is the perfect word to describe the ISTEK conference. You must put 2011 in your diary. I have a feeling we’ll need a bigger and better word than ‘amazingness’ next time round.
Thank you Eva,
It was a true delight to meet you too. Next time we’ll have to sit down for a chat
Until next time…
[...] blog about viewing the conference (and blogging about it) from outside, or Sean Banville’s wonderful story of his own ‘twitterfication’ and the conference. Ken Wilson provides some nice context [...]
Excellent comments Sean, and it was great to meet you in person. I share your views on PLNs and the role of Twitter in building them 100%.
One of the organisers said the plan was to hold the ISTEK conference again in 2012. Did you hear otherwise with 2011?
Hope to meet you again soon.
Olaf
Hi Olaf
It was great meeting you too. I assumed (and hoped) ISTEK would be an annual event. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I look forward to our meeting again one day.
Best wishes.
Thanks so much for the mention Sean but really I was so happy to meet you! You’re more wonderful in person and I didn’t think that could happen!
I enjoyed how you tied this into your PLN. I really enjoyed meeting all the people I interact with online. I’m hoping more read this post and join an educator PLN so that conferences like ISTEK can be the norm and not the exception.
[...] From PLN to ISTEK 2010 by Sean Banville [...]
Hi Sean,
My sentiments about ISTEK and the PLN reflect yours to a tee. I’ve only been tweeting since the end of 2009 and haven’t yet taken the precarious step of starting my own blog, but I felt at the conference that I was really part of some tribe of hard-working, enthusiastic people who wanted nothing other than to simply share their knowledge and meet others just like them. Ken Robinson, in his new book The Element (well worth the read, BTW) says: “Separate from the crowd and find your tribe.” I feel that’s what we’re doing in the Twittersphere and in our PLEs.
It was a real pleasure to meet you in person at the conference, Sean. Keep up the fantastic work – you’re an inspiration J
Best wishes from a warm and sunny Istanbul (yes, I’m still here!).
Helen