Sorry for the delayed follow up since my last post. I decided to fly home to visit my family but the day before I arrived Chatham was in the eye of a storm and my parents power has been out ever since. “Welcome home!”  Should be back up tomorrow so I will follow up on Nings then.

For today I am sitting in a Tim Horton’s to update you on G+ Circles. I have to confess that Google Circles could very well be the resolve to my previously mentioned issue with using Facebook as part of my PLN. Essentially, with G+ Circles I can add people to a circle, much like you add friends in Facebook, but instead of having a mass collection of “friends” you can group people. I can have a G+ Circle for work colleagues, alt. educators, friends from MET, etc. My actual “friends” stay in Facebook and my professional friends and colleagues stay in G+ Circles. It has potential. Unfortunately it still means being even more dependent on Google but that may be a non-issue for most. (It’s the whole issue of all of your eggs in one basket – lots of people love this, others wonder what could happen if Google decides to put a price on their services). Something to think about I suppose.

Here is a great video to explain how Google Circles works and how it can resolve the Facebook issue.

So, now that we understand what Google Circles are, I have to confess  I like it! It is another way to connect and collaborate with people – that I know, and those that I don’t know – but who share similar interests.  (It would also be a useful tool to get students working together in groups).

I am including a link to Edwin Watson’s video that explains how to get started with Google+ and set up and use Google Circles. There are also a number of Google Circles already in progress on a variety of educational topics for you to join. Here is the best site I have found for breaking down a large handful of G+ Circles for Educators.  Check it out.

The biggest thing to keep in mind when creating your PLN is that it is just that – PERSONAL – the choices you make are yours. There is no one, cookie-cutter version of a PLN. Take your time, think about what you want to do? Why you want to do it? And how the tools that are out there can make it easier for you to achieve your goals.  (-: