Using Twitter as a Professional Development Tool Last week during a discussion about design, Jeanette Campos asked me a fairly is simple question: What are the three artifacts that have shaped you most as a designer of creative learning solutions to complex problems? Immediately one word came to mind: Twitter. It isn't the tool itself that has been so impact full for me; it's the world to which Twitter opened up to me. I started my career as a learning and performance professional much the same way many in our field do: without any training or education on what it means to work in this field. I recall those early years well. Then I discovered Twitter. To be fair, it was social media in general that enabled me to extend beyond the walls of my organization and connect with others externally in the field. Connecting with the community of learning and performance professionals on Twitter exposed me to new ideas and possibilities that enabled growth that wasn't possible before, simply because I was unaware of the possibilities that existed.
Step 1: What is a PLN? Welcome to our professional learning series on building a PLN. This series guides you step by step through the process of setting up your own PLN. The aim of this first step is to: Explain what is a PLN.Help you understand why educators create their own PLN. The following information on PLN was co-written by Michael Graffin, a relief/substitute teacher and blogger from Western Australia. You can check out Michael’s original “What the heck is a PLN” post here. What is a PLN? The word “PLN” stands for “Personal Learning Network”, and it has its origins in connectivism theory (Siemens, G. & Downes, S., 2005). Why you should begin your own PLN —Ashley Azzopardi (@ashleyazzopardi) Let’s take this a little further… The Personal: Having a PLN is about making connections and building personal relationships with teachers, school administrators, university professors, and experts around the world. The Learning: Having a PLN is about sharing ideas and resources, collaboration, and learning. Your Task
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?
Personal learning environment This article or chapter is incomplete and its contents need further attention. Some information may be missing or may be wrong, spelling and grammar may have to be improved, use your judgment! 1 Definitions Graham Attwell defines Personal Learning Environments (PLE) as an idea that firstly integrates "pressures and movements" like lifelong learning, informal learning, learning styles, new approaches to assessment, cognitive tools. “The most compelling argument for the PLE is to develop educational technology which can respond to the way people are using technology for learning and which allows them to themselves shape their own learning spaces, to form and join communities and to create, consume, remix, and share material”.([2], retrieved 22:17, 25 April 2007 (MEST)] On also may define a PLE as a system (but some may not necessarily agree). “A PLE is characterized by the freeform use of a set of lightweight services and tools that belong to and are controlled by individual learners. .
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...
50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom I am excited to announce that the book “50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom” is now available for sale on Amazon. The book was co-authored by Libbi Miller who teaches with me at California State University Fresno. We both are users of and fans of Google Classroom. This book dives deeper than my blog posts on ways that you can use Google Classroom. If you are using Google Classroom or thinking of using Google Classroom this book is for you. Google Classroom helps you to easily create a blended classroom. If you are new to Google Classroom the first thing you want to do is set up your classes. Google Classroom makes it easy to get started with assigning work. My best tip is to number your assignments. Direct students to log into Google Classroom at Google Classroom allows students to submit digital work to the teacher.
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.
Educational Networking - home Building a Personal Learning Network (PLN) by Jane Bozarth “Simply showing up is not enough. As with most things in life, you get back what you put in. If you want to build a Personal Learning Network, then you must be an active part of that network; it’s not a spectator sport.” Since Social Media for Trainers was published I’ve fielded lots of questions about incorporating social media tools into workplace learning endeavors. Another question that comes up relates to the developmental needs of trainers and instructional designers: What are some strategies for building or extending your own Personal Learning Network (PLN) via social media tools? Who? My interests are in e-Learning, instructional design, social learning, and social media. Where? My best time investment all week is the Twitter-based #lrnchat, which happens twice each Thursday (11:30 am ET with questions repeated at 8:30 pm ET). What else? Brown, Davison, & Hegel’s Power of Pull stresses the importance of reaching outside your usual areas of interest and expertise. Figure 2. How?
Early Modern Information Overload Find using OpenURL Rent from DeepDyve Early Modern Information Overload Abstract Contemporary discussions of information overload have important precedents during the years 1550-1750. Incorrect username or password. Please select your institution to authenticate with Shibboleth.
Personal learning network A personal learning network is an informal learning network that consists of the people a learner interacts with and derives knowledge from in a personal learning environment. In a PLN, a person makes a connection with another person with the specific intent that some type of learning will occur because of that connection.[1][2] The following is an excerpt from Dryden's and Vos' book on learning networks:[4] "For the first time in history, we know now how to store virtually all humanity's most important information and make it available, almost instantly, in almost any form, to almost anyone on earth. We also know how to do that in great new ways so that people can interact with it , and learn from it." Personal learning networks share a close association with the concept of personal learning environments. Aspects[edit] PLNs are becoming an important part of professional development in several fields with some businesses creating their own e-learning content and PLEs for their employees.
Your Most Powerful Search Engine is Your Personal Learning Network (PLN) The use of search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Bing for research is commonplace in today’s online world. In fact, many of us go to these sites instantly when the need to find something first arises, be it something as trivial as finding out when a movie is playing, or as part of a multi-million dollar workplace project. These search engines have redefined how we find information, and quickly become the primary way in which many people perform research. But not for me. I still use these search engines for low-impact searches. In a world of ever-increasing search engine optimization, my personal learning network still delivers in ways that Google, Yahoo, Bing, or any other search engine never can. Google and search engines like it are very powerful. My Personal Learning Network enables me to get to information that is more tailored to my preferences, because they have a better understanding of the lens through which I am viewing the world.
Defining Inquiry Learning: Part 1 | macfrit7234 The above “Tagul” word cloud is a visual definition of what “Inquiry Learning” looks like through my eyes. I placed it in the shape of a checkmark since I think that is what most of us as students look for to show we are on the right track. However, when you look at some of the words I have used as descriptives being correct or right doesn’t necessarily fall into place. One of the main things I have learned over the course of the last couple of weeks is that inquiry-based learning is about the process maybe even more than the final product. In revisiting Tina Barseghian‘s article on Diana Laufenberg, “Creating Classrooms We Need: 8 Ways Into Inquiry Learning“, and Laufenberg’s TED video “How to learn? From Mistakes“, this thought of great process vs. great product becomes clearer. I think as teachers we don’t have much of a problem with #1 and #2, but when it comes to #3 we kind of take a step back. Like this: Like Loading...
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