Journal # 7: My Personal Learning Network

Journal 7:  My Personal Learning Network (PLN)

A Personal Learning Network (PLN) is a network that is created by an individual in order to learn from others and connect and gather information from people that share common interests, concerns and resources. It requires reciprocation and having the ability to share information that you personally have created and gathered. A PLN allows an individual to have unlimited access to resources, feedback, discussions, problem solving, and most importantly, professional development. When creating my PLN, I used Twitter, Diigo, and Classroom 2.0 created through Ning. The option to have accessibility from a built in support system makes the collaboration process simple. Having the ability to organize information, streamline the flow of information/communication, and actively participate makes professional development as an educator ongoing and without limitations.

Twitter is a web-based tool used for social networking. Conversations about specific topics are constantly streamed allowing Twitter users to have unlimited access to information of interest. I chose to follow a range of people ranging from educators to advocates. Since the networking world is new to me, I decided to follow, Heidi Cohen whom provides advice for social media. I also chose to follow Liston Advocates for special education law, Dr. Charles Parker, a clinical neuroscientist providing information for ADHD medication/results, John Kramer, a teacher resource, and Education .com, for support for parents with children with special education needs and services.  I also had the ability to participate in #edchat, an online chat that creates an “open-discussion” for educators when given a specific topic/issue. On April 3, at 12:00pm, #edchat was moderated by Tom Whitby. The topic was: What should a good administrator look like and how can we get there from here? The topic was interesting and personal. I have worked for 3 administrators and the range of experience and dedication impacts parents, staff, and students directly. The chat outlined several key points at a quick rate; administrators should have the ability to support new teachers, understand the community, be a curriculum specialist, and participate in ongoing professional development. Participating in a chat is a great way to have important conversations in a structured amount of time with colleagues that have information to share, problem-solve with, and/or specifically support fellow educators.

Diigo, is a social book marking forum that allows individuals to create libraries based on specific tags /topics of interest), highlight and summarize key information, and follow individuals with similar interests and share and gather information based on specific interests. Having the ability to streamline information and organize/bookmark information allows individual to be more efficient in his/her learning and have the ability to locate information, share it, and/or retrieve it. Using Diigo, I chose to follow fellow educators using the tag, PLN. I book marked an article from Alice Bar called, Using Google Docs in the Classroom, a Webtools for Educators Wiki from C. McKell that provided a resource for teachers using diagrams, mindmaps, and timelines was highlighted, and Todd Williamson had book marked, Kathy Schrocks Guide to Everything Bloomin’ Apps Projects, a great resource for educators.  Diigo provides individuals with the ability to become more efficient when gathering, sharing, and locating information/resources for research and professional development.

Classroom 2.0 is a social network for people interested in Web 2.0, social media, and using technologies in the classroom. I signed up for Classroom 2.0 hoping to build my Personal Learning Network in education. The educational website was easy to join, user friendly, and had multiple sources to access educational resources and technology. The Social Learning Summit, Web 2.0 Labs, and Forum, allowed members to have access to resources such as the CUE conference and links to articles such as, The Top 15 Teaching and Learning Websites of 2011. The format was organized and easy to download and bookmark. As an educator, it is critical to have access to resources, conferences, and news forums that involve current topics, issues, and trends in education. Professional development should innately involve the desire to stay informed, communicate with colleagues, and collaborate with fellow educators. However, when planning, class size, case load, parent conferences, staff meetings, budget cuts, and lesson planning take up valuable time, using a PLN effectively and efficiently will facilitate an “open-forum” and unlimited stream of information to occur via computer simply by following, tweeting, chatting, book marking, and joining. I have to admit, I like this technology trend.