Find a mentor! Newbies who aren't tech savvy or familiar with twitt have many questions and cld easily get discouraged if there's no one to help or pvd guidance

Try not to underestimate the power of social media. Encourage teachers to be leaders in technology. I have learned more frm twitr in 5 mnths than 10yrs teaching

Having a PLN allows sharing of knowledge and ideas. Twitter is a great way to meet people you would not be able to otherwise & gain from their ideas.

Give it time and spend time doing it. It will not happen overnight and you have to spend time cultivating it. Believe me, once it gets going it will be awesome!

Get to know others with the same interests in different locations. See who they follow, read much, and retweet when you can.

Having a PLN and belonging to other PLNs is a great place to bounce ideas off of colleagues and get perspectives about what you might be contemplating.

I started following one person who I knew was someone I respected and then followed another person that she followed who had great ideas and I'm up to 22...

Start small, get comfortable and then branch out trying new things. Find someone to follow and then connect with others they follow.

Search interests to find blogs worth following. Subscribe to their feeds and follow links and subscribe to more feeds. Repeat process with Twitter.

Provide your professional staff with time to collaborate before the school year begins. They can discuss their PLNs and how to improve them.

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? This is the type of mentality admins must have to launch a collaborative campaign to support a PLN!

Know that 140 characters in a microblogging format is not the end but the beginning. Conversations continue on blogs, chats, and in person.

Don't be afraid to respond to people you follow on Twitter. If you like a link or resource, tweet praise/thanks. Everyone likes to know they're being "heard."

Chiming in from Florida, Using twitter with a quick #edtech search will kickstart your PLN!

PLNs are great 4 sharing ideas & communicating within a school or district! Plus, you can post staff notes, links to resources, etc. Fun, too!

begin by modeling a tool during face to face sessions. encourage them to leave and try out that tool on their own. you've built capacity and confidence!

Lead by example, jump in , be fearless and reach out to people. Compliments are a great way to start or an open, honest question.

Its not about the tools you use to build a PLN (like twitter). Its about the connections, resources and learning you will benefit from by building a network.

spend time observing others who have a strong PLN. Watch for frequent names and check out their tweets to see if they would be of use to you!They will support u

Start small by following people you know or respect. Thier tweets will lead you to others with similar interests. Be sure to fill out your bio. Have fun!

Networking has always been important however with the tech/tools available it is easier than ever and networking has become global.

Follow your peers, your staff and your district - you'll be surprised how connected and knowledgeable you'll feel, (and be).

Use Twitter to find engaging educators for your network. Just dedicate 10 or 15 minutes a day to read their ideas & links if this is new to you. Good learning!

Learning network online makes it easy share your work, know what others are doing and what they recommend to you. Even if it is a very specific subject.