Journal 6: Grow Your Personal Learning Network (NETS-T 5)

Warlick, David (2009, March/April). Grow Your Personal Learning Network. Learning and Leading With Technology,36, Retrieved March, 12.2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/

A personal learning network is a network of friends, families, peers, and acquaintances that increase our knowledge. These networks have grown immensely since the age of technology. Growing technological resources have allowed information and communication to become more accessible and unique to the individual using that technology. In the article, “Grow Your Personal Learning Network,” David Warlick explains that in order for educators to be successful and stay connected, they need to use these technological resources to manage, create, and/or extend their personal learning networks.

In doing so, educators can become a part of an online community that allows them to find information sources and a wide array of other educational opportunities. These personal learning networks (PLNs) make this information more readily accessible and easier to find.

In the article, Warlick states that there are three main types of PLNs. The first is the personally maintained synchronous connections. In this type of network, a person can communicate with others through enhanced technologies such as instant messaging, chatting, or teleconferencing. The second is the personally and socially maintained semi synchronous connections. This is a collaboration of networked learners who can take part in discussions through forums such as mailing lists, wikis, Google docs, Twitter, etc. The third PLN is the dynamically maintained asynchronous connections. This is a PLN that connects us to the content sources that we choose. It essentially brings information to you versus you having to search for the information. This is done through an RSS aggregator such as Google reader or Page flakes. These personal learning networks are not only important for educators, but also for their students.

Personal learning networks are an important aspect of teaching because it exemplifies the idea of life long learning. One of the most important things that a teacher can model in their classroom is a learning lifestyle. Preparing students for an ever-changing future, especially with technology, means teaching them to teach themselves and pursue a lifestyle that involves continually learning.

Question 1: How will you challenge yourself as an educator to extend your personal learning network?

It is hard for me to make an effort to extend my personal learning networks. It’s not that I’m not interested in the information, it’s that I have a hard time managing all the information. After reading this article I have realized that I can start small and limit the number of blogs that I subscribe to so that it’s not so overwhelming. I can also organize my subscriptions by topic or job function. The most important thing that I can do to challenge myself is to take 15 minutes a day to learn something new and update my PLNs.

Question 2: How will you challenge students to extend their personal learning networks?

I think that I can incorporate many of the learning networks into your lesson plans. I could have my students research a topic on the internet and use the internet as a tool to collaborate on a completed project. I can also have my students spend ten minutes a day using their personal learning networks to find new and interesting information on a certain subject.