Free Learning Management System Hosting How to Create a Robust and Meaningful Personal Learning Network [PLN] This post describes how educators can develop a personal learning network that supports meaningful and relevant learning. The MOOC, Education Technology & Media, etmooc, is used here as a working example of how to develop a PLN. “My Personal Learning Network is the key to keeping me up-to-date with all the changes that are happening in education and how technology can best support and engage today’s students.” Brian Metcalfe: teacher, blogger at lifelonglearners.com A visual image of participants in an open, online course- etmooc, which shows the potential to find and create personal connections as part of one’s PLN. I wrote a post recently about how to develop a personal learning environment [PLE], the need and benefits of doing so, for educators in particular. What is a PLN? Twitter 6×6 (Photo credit: Steve Woolf) Logo for etmooc from etmooc.org In the etmooc we are primarily using Google+ Community , Blackboard Collaborate and Twitter to interact. Resources Like this: Like Loading...
How To Create a ‘Personal Learning Environment’ to Stay Relevant in 2013 “Our understanding of learning has expanded at a rate that has far outpaced our conceptions of teaching. A growing appreciation for the porous boundaries between the classroom and life experience…has created not only promising changes but also disruptive moments in teaching.” EDUCAUSE Review, 2012 This quote from Disrupting Ourselves: The Problem of Learning in Higher Education (Bass, 2012), gives a good a reason as any for educators to develop a Personal learning Environment [PLE]; a space where we can keep up with the experimental modes of learning, instruction, changing pedagogy and instructional methods that surfaced in 2012. In a previous post I introduced the concept of PLEs and touched on why educators may want to consider developing a PLE for 2013. Three Reasons Why Educators Need a PLEEducation is in a phase of disruption (not news to anyone)—and it’s not just a blip or a bump, but is what Harvard professor and author Clayton Christenson describes as disruptive innovation.
35 Ways To Build Your Personal Learning Network Online Personal learning networks are a great way for educators to get connected with learning opportunities, access professional development resources, and to build camaraderie with other education professionals. Although PLNs have been around for years, in recent years social media has made it possible for these networks to grow exponentially. Now, it’s possible to expand and connect your network around the world anytime, anywhere. But how exactly do you go about doing that? Check out our guide to growing your personal learning network with social media, full of more than 30 different tips, ideas, useful resources, and social media tools that can make it all possible. Tips & Ideas Get started developing your social media PLN with these tips and ideas for great ways to make use of social tools. Actively make ties : It’s not enough to just follow and read, you need to connect. Guides Tools & Resources Want to really make the most of your PLN?
Why (And How) You Should Create A Personal Learning Network What Is A PLN? Through the use of my own Personal Learning Network (PLN) , I came across several great examples that both define what a PLN is, and explain the value of creating one for yourself. According to a wikispace about creating PLNs, “Personal Learning Networks are systems that help learners take control of and manage their own learning. This includes providing support for learners to: 1) set their own learning goals 2) manage their learning; managing both content and process 3) communicate with others in the process of learning and thereby achieve learning goals Simply put: A PLN is a system for lifelong learning. ” Why Start Your PLN Now? Teachers in our district, especially freshmen teachers, have a ton on their plates this year. Here are some ways that educators are using their PLNs: 10 Easy Ways to Kick Start Your Personal Learning Network Social Networking – Keeping up with personal, more social contacts like friends, family, and former students (Facebook, Google+) Resources
Personal Learning Environments and the revolution of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development Developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky defined what the person or a student can do — or the problems they can solve — as three different stages: What a student can do on their own, working independently or without anyone’s help.What the student can do with the help of someone.What it is beyond the student’s reach even if helped by someone else. He called the second stage the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which had, as said, two limits: the lower limit, which was set by the maximum level of independent performance, and the upper limit, the maximum level of additional responsibility the student can accept with the assistance of an able instructor. This reaching beyond one’s capabilities can be pictured as the student entering their Zone of Proximal Development. The Personal Learning Environment and the Zone of Proximal Development: a static approach The Personal Learning Environment and the Zone of Proximal Development: a dynamic approach The future of educators?
Bridge to Learning - Educational Research Graham Attwell is Director of Pontydysgu. He is an Associate Fellow, Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick and a Gastwissenschaftler at the Insititut Technik und Bildung, University of Bremen. Born in 1953 he has a BA (Hons) degree in History from the University of Wales: Swansea College. He was previously Director of the Centre for Research and Educational Development at Gwent Tertiary College (1993-1996) and a Senior Researcher at the University of Bremen (1996-9) His experience includes: Technology-enhanced teaching and learning and web-based learning environment development: Specialised in research and development into pedagogies for Technology Enhanced Learning, Pontydysgu has organised a series of face to face and on-line workshops for teachers in producing Open Education resources. Graham Attwell is also Maria’s favourite philospher.
2009 Horizon Report » Two to Three Years: The Personal Web Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years Fifteen years after the first commercial web pages began to appear, the amount of content available on the web is staggering. Sifting through the sheer volume of material — good or bad, useful or otherwise — is a daunting task. It is even difficult to keep track of the media posted by a single person, or by oneself. On the other hand, adding to the mix is easier than ever before, thanks to easy-to-use publishing tools for every type and size of media. Overview Part of a trend that began with simple innovations like personalized start pages, RSS aggregation, and customizable widgets, the personal web is a term coined to represent a collection of technologies that confer the ability to reorganize, configure and manage online content rather than just viewing it. As a result, people of all ages are creating customized, personal web-based environments to support their social, professional, and learning activities using whatever tools they prefer.
Weaving a Personal Web: Using online technologies to create customized, connected, and dynamic learning environments | McElvaney Jessica McElvaney Zane Berge Authors Jessica McElvaney is a graduate student in the Instructional Systems Development Program at the University of Maryland (UMBC). Zane Berge is Professor and former Director of the Training Systems Graduate Program at UMBC. Abstract: This paper explores how personal web technologies (PWTs) can be used by learners and the relationship between PWTs and connectivist learning principles. Résumé : Cet article explore les diverses façons dont les technologies Web personnelles peuvent être utilisées par les apprenants, ainsi que la relation entre ces technologies et les principes d’apprentissage connectivistes. The ability to personalize one's online experience is not new, each Internet user creates their own personal web by deciding which sites to visit, which blogs to read, which news sites to trust, and which to ignore. Connectivism and the need for continuous learning Figure 1: Visualization of a web-based Personal Learning Environment Aggregators Widgets