Professional Learning Networks

Personal Learning Networks (PLS)
Source: Sue Waters, 2008 Blog
(Note: Current survey under way includes virtual worlds)

What does MY PLN do for
ME?
• I go to my PLN for many things:
– Learn new things
– Ask questions
– Collaborate
– Validation
– Camaraderie
– Stay in touch with friends

Discovery Educators Network

 Checked Youtube.com for relevant videos
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-
ZVCjfWf8&feature=related
 Saved and remixed images from Creative Commons
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/5959180907/
Digitally altered some of my own photos
Created the PowerPoint presentation
Blogged about the personal importance of my Professional Learning Network – Image if I
had to do this all ON MY OWN!!!
 Uploaded my PowerPoint to Slideshare, so that others may use it

Professional Learning Networks
= Breaking through Teacher
Isolation towards Collaboration
Start small – How do you eat an elephant?
ONE BITE
AT A TIME

Looked at resources and thoughts from colleagues on
Twitter

Blogs
Blogs are not about writing. They are
about conversation. Because of the
power to leave comments about
another’s thoughts, real
conversation and possible
collaboration happens. I have had
numerous conversations and even
disagreements in blogs!

Blogs
• Finding blogs to read is easy
–You can use a site like bloglines
–You can find one to follow and
see if you can follow who they
follow
–Check out your friend’s Delicious
links
–Ask!

RSS

RSS
• Real Simple Syndication
• Rich Site Summary

RSS Feeders
• Rich Site Summary or Really Simple
Syndication
• A way to bring new blog posts to you
• Many available
– Google Reader
– Bloglines
– Pageflakes
– Suprglu

1) Set up an
account
2) Click on the “subscribe” icon
3) Click to
“subscribe now”
4) Read your
subscriptions

Whatcan
Orangedofor
you?

RSS in 21st
Century
Teaching and
Learning

From David Parry, University of Albany
“The speed of reading in the age of the
digital has changed, and we need to help
students navigate this.

Reading on the internet requires two
separate skills:
• The quick analysis to find what is
worth reading
• A switch to slow analysis to carefully
consider what has been found.

“What RSS does is allow students to
make this distinction, to receive
content as "bits" easy to scan, and
then to select what they want to read.”

The challengeThe challenge

It is not the development of
technology per se which
poses such a challenge to
education systems and
educational institutions
The challenge

but the changing ways in which
people are using technologies to
communicate and to learn and the
accompanying social effect of
such use

Web logs

forming and participating in on-line social networks and
communities

a refusal to engage in these issues
risks school becoming increasingly
irrelevant to the everyday lives of
many young people

and particularly
irrelevant to the
ways in which they
communicate and
share knowledge

From Personal Learning Environment Building
to Professional Learning Network Forming
Aim
Forming
learning
network for
competence
development
Professional
network
organizing
The meaning of
social and
professional
networks for
education
Building PLE
on start pages
Conclusion

Aim
To analyze the experience gained in using
of Web 2.0 environment for competence
development and for professional network
organizing
To analyze the experience gained in using
of Web 2.0 environment for competence
development and for professional network
organizing

Web 2.0 allows
young people to be
active co-creators
of knowledge

Social-oriented applications and
professional networks - new opportunities
for learners and educators
W3C “Social Networks
Interoperability Roadmap” Incubator
Group (XG)
Federated Interoperable Framework

A learning network is a group of
persons
who create, share, support and
study
learning resources (“units of
learning”)
in a specific knowledge domain.
Rob Koper, Open University of the Netherlands
A learning network is a group of
persons
who create, share, support and
study
learning resources (“units of
learning”)
in a specific knowledge domain.
Rob Koper, Open University of the Netherlands
Social-oriented applications and
professional networks - new opportunities
for learners and educators
Special-formed
learning networks for
life-long learners

Because of their possibilities for:
 data, information and
“knowledge fusion”
 enhancing accessibility,
productivity and
innovative solutions
 research tools providing
 forming groups of personal
and professional interests
Social-oriented applications and
professional networks - new opportunities
for learners and educators
To be successful at knowledge
creation, analysis and
dissemination, learners need
from network inter-personal and
inter-group interactions

of data, information,
knowledge
of subject matter,
technologies, how to
learn

 The first goal of a
PLN is to
CONNECT
 Once you get
connected, you can
begin to
COLLABORATE
and CONTRIBUTE!
http://jdorman.wikispaces.com/ppln

Remember – If I Can do it – ANYONE CAN

Abbey, E. (2009, March 06). Personal Learning Network. Retrieved March 14, 2013,
from Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/evan_abbey/personal-learning-networks-
1110160
Grahan A. (2006, May 07). Personal Learning Environment. Retrieved March 14,
2013, from Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/GrahamAttwell/personal-learning-
environments-46423
Malinka I. (2009, April 10). From Personal Learning Environment Building to
Professional Learning Network Forming. Retrieved March 14, 2013, from Slideshare:
http://www.slideshare.net/malinkaiva/from-personal-learning-environment-building-to-
professional-learning-network-forming
Rene C. (2011, September 19). Professional Learning Networks. Retrieved March
14, 2013, from Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/ReneCannon/professional-
learning-networks-9330426
Sherrycrofut. (2009, April 20). Professional (Personal) Learning Networks. Retrieved
March 14 , 2013, from Slideshare:
http://www.slideshare.net/sherrycrofut/professional-personal-learning-networks-
1316067