Staff Members’ Perceptions of the Usefulness of Their Personal Learning Networkon Twitter

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine staff members’ perceptions of theusefulness of their personal learning network (PLN) on Twitter and whether staffmembers’ perceptions of the usefulness of their PLN on Twitter were affected by theirnumber of years of educational experience, level of employment, and staff position. Anadditional purpose of this study was to describe staff members’ experiences with aTwitter-supported PLN through individual interviews. A mixed method research designwas implemented by collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. The sample forthis study consisted of District JRZ certified staff members during the 2017-2018 and2018-2019 school years. The sample for the qualitative portion of the study wascomposed of seven certified staff members of District JRZ. The results of the analysisindicated that staff members perceive a PLN on Twitter to be useful. The results of thedata analysis indicated that staff members with 6 to 10 years of education experienceperceive that their PLNs on Twitter have helped them make significant progress towardtheir professional development goal and have been a valuable part of their professionaldevelopment more than staff members with 1 to 5 years of education experience. Theresults of the data analysis also indicated that staff members with 6 to 10 years ofeducation experience perceive that Twitter is an effective platform for a PLN more thanstaff members with 1 to 5 and 21+ years of education experience. No other differences inperceptions based on education experience were found. The results showed that staffmembers at PreK-5 levels perceived that they had obtained resources from their PLNs onTwitter that they use in their classroom more than staff members at the 6-12 level.Finally, data indicated that staff members at the PreK-5 level are more likely to continue with their PLNs on Twitter for professional development. No other differences related tolevel of employment were found. Through interviews, the researcher found evidence tosupport the quantitative findings of this study. Based on the findings from this study, it isrecommended that District JRZ continue providing professional development related to aPLN on Twitter. Recommendations for future research include replicating this study inother school districts as well as determining whether there is a correlation between staffmembers’ perceptions of PLNs on Twitter and student achievement performance.