The Connected Self – Round 2
After Jenny’s email tonight, I did a little searching to find a reference for personal learning networks. This article is about the role of Twitter in personal learning networks. I thought this was timely, since we will be looking at Twitter tomorrow.
The author states this definition:” A PLN is an informal learning network of people you connect with for the specific purpose of learning, based on reciprocity and a level of trust that each party is actively seeking value added information for the other.” That definition causes me to reconsider my own personal learning network. I am not sharing information with any of the people I follow, there is no reciprocity. What have I created then with my RSS followings? I feel connected to these professionals, but the flow of information is one way only. I don’t know that I have any ideas to share with these people who I view as experts. I think I need to do some more reading about PLNs and reflect on what it means to me.
I find it interesting that educators are getting connected and using the Internet for their own professional learning, which, in turn, will inspire learning to teach with technology to facilitate their students learning.
I had never considered the need for a PLN to be reciprocal, but when forced to think about it I do think it is an important factor. I too had set up some people to follow in Twitter and Reader. I found that I lacked time to follow them and eventually gave up on them. Thinking about it now though it might have been because I wasn’t contributing to the conversation in any meaningful way. I was simply following, or listening, to others. I too viewed others as experts as opposed to member of a collegial circle. I wonder if we would feel more connection and responsibility to participate in these PLNs if we have had face to face encounters with the people in our Networks? Again this comes down to my own preference for face to face networking, which I feel can then be maintained using technology. So… how do we get the most out our PLNs? What role could we play as Teacher-Librarians in forming and helping to maintain PLNs with and for our teaching colleagues?