Personal Learning Networks

21st Century Educator: Creating a Personal Learning Network
Melissa Lim, mlim@pps.k12.or.us

Prezi presentation can be seen at:
http://prezi.com/wmts5nfdf6oe/

What is a Personal Learning Network?
"...Personal learning networks are created by an individual learner, specific to the learner’s needs extending relevant learning connections to like-interested people around the globe. PLNs provide individuals with learning and access to leaders and experts around the world bringing together communities, resources and information impossible to access solely from within school walls."
http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2008/04/5-things-you-can-do-to-begin-developing.html

"A personal or professional learning network involves an individual's topic-oriented goal, a set of practices and techniques aimed at attracting and organizing a variety of relevant content sources selected for their value, to help the owner accomplish a professional goal or interest."
David Warlick

The Technology Toolbox: Choosing the Right Tool for the Task
http://mscofino.edublogs.org/2008/01/19/the-technology-toolbox-choosing-the-right-tool-for-the-task/

Blogging:

The best use of a blog is for an individual seeking feedback - this could be an individual student or an individual teacher. We love blogs because they promote interaction between author and reader, however it is the author that determines the content/discussion focus - not the reader. Therefore, this option works very well when an individual (or even a group of individuals posting to the same blog) are seeking feedback or comments on their ideas and thoughts.

Features of a blog:

entries posted in consecutive order, newest on top
posts often includes relevant links
comments from readers extend classroom learning
personal learning journal

Ideas for classroom blogging:

a teacher blog to share learning with parents and resources with students
a classroom blog where all students can contribute but there is one blog to maintain
individual student blogs linked to a teacher blog to allow individual reflection

Wikis:

The best use of a wiki is for collaborative knowledge building. A wiki allows for shared ownership for all members, meaning that together the authors of a wiki determine what information is posted online. Because a wiki is a great place to share and document information, it can be thought of as an easy-to-create collaborative website.

Features of a wiki:

Easy to create website
Easy collaboration beyond classroom
Extend discussion beyond the classroom
Trackable page edits

Ideas for classroom wikis:

a resource for all assignments, rubrics, deadlines and resources to increase home-school communication
a “home-base” for bringing multiple tools together
a presentation format to demonstrate student learning

Social Networking:

The best use of social networking is for connecting students (and teachers and parents). A social network allows for a variety of tools to be directly embedded within your network (like blogs, podcasts, groups and forums) so it is a great venue for bringing people together and allowing them to select the tool that suits their learning style. Social networks allow users to communicate with all members in a variety of formats.

Features of Social Networks

Create groups of learners
Facilitate forum discussions
Personal reflection space within a community
Members take ownership of their learning
Easily upload multimedia

Ideas for classroom social networks:

to begin a dialogue with differentiated groups of learners
to private space to connect students
to help develop independence in leading discussions or planning projects

Collaborative Multimedia:

The best use of collaborative multimedia is to allow for creative representation of ideas. When a blog is too text driven, or a social network is too complex for your needs, or your students would benefit from video or audio presentation, you might want to try a multimedia format. Collaborative multimedia lets you bring together voice, audio, and video into one product and allows others to comment and add on to your work.

Features of multimedia tools