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The formation of professional learning communities (PLCs) is a recent strategy in academe designed to better engage faculty and professional staff in order to stimulate collaboration, synthesize solutions based on multiple perspectives, and identify opportunities to further the major goals of the postsecondary institution. Join representatives from Eastern Kentucky University as they deconstruct a recent PLC that emphasized instructional technology and brought about new awareness, consensus building, and a shared vision of the future of classroom pedagogy.

great overview about both the strategy any the process of creating an online community from scratch.

Here are a few tips to consider when planning a professional learning community

Back-channel communication is a secondary conversation that takes place at the same time as a conference session, lecture, or instructor-led learning activity. This might involve students using a chat tool or Twitter to discuss a lecture as it is happening, and these background conversations are increasingly being brought into the foreground of lecture interaction. Digital technologies allow background discussions-which have always been a component of classes, conferences, and presentations-to be brought out of the shadows and, perhaps, incorporated as a formal part of learning activities. Instructors and presenters alike should be aware of this dynamic and the opportunity it presents to add another dimension to learning.

Suefhughes (suefhughes)'s Public Profile in the Diigo Community

How do educators keep current with the ever changing world of technology? How can Web 2.0 tools be used to communicate and collaborate with peers across the hall and around the world? This session will focus on some of the newest tools teachers are using to support their own professional learning goals.

Google Wave is a web-based application that represents a rethinking of electronic communication. Users create online spaces called "waves," which include multiple discrete messages and components that constitute a running, conversational document. Users a

Kidblog.org is designed for elementary and middle school teachers who want to provide each student with their own, unique blog. Kidblog's simple, yet powerful tools allow students to publish posts and participate in discussions within a secure classroom blogging community. Teachers maintain complete control over student blogs. Provide your students with an authentic, engaging, and interactive learning experience with Kidblog.