PLN Member- Larry Ferlazzo

First and foremost, I need to admit that I'm more of a lurker in my Professional Learning Network than I probably should be. I participate through Middle School Matters, a weekly podcast centered around middle school, technology and teaching (most of what we cover is appropriate for all grade levels). 

I try to keep track of what is happening in the news, what are good strategies, etc. In order to accomplish that, I use several tools. Naturally, I use an RSS feed to keep up with the many excellent blogs. I use Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to follow in other ways. I also listen to podcasts that are of interest. 

One of the members of my PLN that I follow is Larry Ferlazzo. Larry's day job is teaching ELL (English Language Learners) in California. He is quite prolific. He has written a couple of books (which I admit that I haven't read yet). 

Larry is really good at providing breaking educational news and linking to the source articles. He provides a wide range of articles to read. 

Larry also links to a ton of resources. He produces "Best of…." lists like crazy. In fact, he does so many that he also does a "Best of that I should've linked to but didn't". If you are looking for a wide variety of links, you'll find them through Larry's site.  [ http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/about/my-best-of-series/ ] 

Here are some topics that I learned more about because of Larry:

• Teacher Evaluation – news and trends
• Web 2.0 Tools 
• Videos that can be used in the classroom
• Resources for ELL teachers and students
• Brain research

Larry is also incredibly easy to find. Here is where you can get more information about him and his work:

• Blog - http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/
• Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/Larryferlazzo
• Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/larryferlazzo
• His newsletter - http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/about/subscribe-to-a-monthly-newsletter/