3.3- Professional Learning Network

A personal learning network (PLN) can be an invaluable resource for an educator. PLN are defined as “Personal Learning Networks are systems that help learners take control of and manage their own

learning” (Epcke, 2008). A PLN can be a group of colleagues at your school or district. The old saying that “two heads are better than one” can apply to PLN’s as each member comes together to share ideas, discuss strategies and approaches, and teach each other about new tools. All members can help to contribute the body of knowledge and skills of the whole group. Professional Learning Networks more commonly refer to the exchanging of ideas and discussions on the Internet using various web tools such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Skype, and many others. Online PLN’s can do much the same as the traditional learning communities at your own school only on a much larger scale. Like the learning community at your school, you will continue to exchange information and ideas, but you now have are learning with many more educators in diverse settings. Instead of having 5 to 10 colleagues working together, you may work with several hundred, or even thousands, from all across the world. 

One blog I have recently read is titled Dianne's Digital Discoveries (http://diannekrause.edublogs.org). In her posts, the author presents digital tools, information about educational technology topics, and insight into these resources. I  like the fact that the author shows practical uses of different tools. In her most recent post, she presented a brief overview of two new tools; penzu an online journal or diary and myHistro. I see many applications for both of these sites and will be adding them to my toolbox. In addition to those two tools, she also links her posts to her Diigo account with even more tools! I see this blog as being a great way for educators to keep up to date and informed about new tools and resources.

Another blog I enjoy reading is Cool Cat Teacher Blog (http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com). This blog is similar to the one discussed above, but it tends to offer more commentary and news about education-related topics than presenting various tools. The author makes regular updates in the form of “Daily Education and Technology News for Schools” to her blog. Not only does she present tools, but also give tips and help for their use. She also posts book reviews and even has a podcast, which can be especially helpful with educator’s hectic schedules! Not only is this blog helpful in finding out information about new tools, it also keeps teachers informed with current topics and trends.

References:

Epcke, J. (2008, November). creatingaPLN - PLN defined. Retrieved from http://creatingapln.wikispaces.com/PLN_defined