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I am biased as I am a Will Richardson fan. I went to a day with him last year and it changed so much about what I thought. As a direct result I signed up for twitter and began to try and connect with people. He wrote a book on PLN's and his last TED book 'Why School' is a must read. Here he talks through the whole topic as well as big picture issues. Focused on education and good practice. Love the way he thinks and explains. Worth a follow think he is @willrich45

Thank you for the post, It was very insightful. I like how he compares a PLN to your own bigger brain, or something along those lines. I think this is a great way to think of a PLN. There is so much information out there one person can't possibly conceptualize it all, so we create PLNs a system of more brains to consult whenever we have problems or questions.

Richardson summarizes the importance and components of PLNs for educators and students. He summarizes that PLNs are networks of like-minded people that act as a network that converse and brainstorm answers to questions. Richardson notes that PLNs act as powerful sources of professional development for teachers. He discusses the current state of PLNs in our students' lives and how they are creating their own connections through various social media platforms. Finally, he relays the responsibility of teachers to inform themselves about PLNs in order to properly and safely guide our students through the use of PLNs.

This article opens by explaining that personal learning networks are about learning through interactions with others in multiple ways. These PLNs allow learners to join multiple groups and access resources to help them learn when needed. One big topic it hits on is how the learning is initiated by the learner on their own. The writer goes on to say that today there is access to so much information on the internet that makes it so much easier to access the resources to help people learn. It also discusses how learning is self-directed yet the resources within the personal learning network can make that easier.

This article by Stephen Downes provides a great insight into what an effective PLN looks like and how it functions. I enjoyed reading about his second stage of PLNs, which is the "personal learning environment." This idea is presented as the evolution of PLNs due to technology and connectivism in the classroom.

This article by Stephen Downes gives a definition of a community of practice and then discusses PLE's moving into networks and the characteristics of a learning network: diversity, autonomy connectedness and openness.

As I was relatively unfamiliar with learning networks before this course, I wanted to find resources that showed me what they looked like and examples of how they can be used. This article introduces the importance of using digital tools effectively and empower ourselves to gain the knowledge the web offers. The author states that "Learning therefore evolves from being a transfer of content and knowledge to the production of content and knowledge". Working in a network, PLE or communities of practice allow learners to be creative about information and knowledge, instead of just consuming information and knowledge. The article highlights the key benefits of a PLN: diversity, autonomy, connectedness, and openness.

Interesting blog post about developing PLN examples.  Provides a bit on how, a bit on why and a few examples of the PLN

Hey Ben. I was lucky enough to go through the PLP program and have heard/talked to Will on a number of occasions. His energy and ideas are what have me heading in this direction.

This is a nice post. Good information on developing my own PLN and the examples are useful. I too have seen that name out there and after reading this article I think I may need to research these Authors a bit further.

This article, and more specifically, the video within, explains Personal Learning Networks. The emphasis on connectivity makes it clear how PLNs and connectivism are related.

I liked the simplicity of this source Jill. I does a nice job clearly explaining just what a PLN is and what its core aspects are. Thanks for sharing!

To the point and very clear. More than the reading, the video did an excellent job of explaining what a PLN is and how you can best use it to your own advantage. Great source.

This is one of the few resources I decided to use that was not found at scholar.google.com but rather a simple Google search. I choose this power point because it breaks down Personal Learning networks in digestible pieces easy to understand. Within the presentation Pam does a great job establishing the importance for teachers themselves to establish their own PLN's to not only benefit themselves but also their students that will be learning from them as well. She goes on to describe what a PLN is and the benefits they offer. What I like most about Pam's presentation is that she includes ways to set up popular PLN's from scratch such as RSS readers, blogs, twitter, and professional networks as well. The quick points and step by step processes made this a standout resource for me when learning about personal learning networks.

FYI I couldn't get you link to work Jason might need to fix it.

This blog summarizes why Siemens felt the need for a new learning theory and what connectivism consists of. I like how this post highlights that today there should be more of a focus on finding and putting together existing knowledge in new ways, rather than trying to find or invent new knowledge.

In this article that focuses on social networking and learning, Ruth Reynard explores research conducted by The National School Boards Association (USA), in partnership with research firm Grunwald Associates and with the support of Microsoft, Newscorp, and Verizon, published a 2007. The research cited indicates that learning through social networks is mostly "unidirectional (posting messages, downloading media files, updating personal information) and students utilize it as "a self-reflective learning environment." However, the author points out that the researchers also found if instructional design is geared toward "the user controlling the tool rather than the tool dictating the user's activity," learning collaboratively can increase knowledge because the learner becomes actively engaged in the task, rather than passively approaching it.

I really like the message where it says that students become more actively engaged when they control the tool rather than the tool dictating the user's activity. The students then take control of their learning. They map the course they want to take.

this was very interesting - I found myself wondering how much of it was still relevant given its "age." Crazy that 2008 is "old" but social media has changed so much since then!

10 Reasons Every Teacher Need A PLN This article has a great graphic that provides outlines 10 reasons teachers need personal learning networks. The reasons range from finding great resources, to sharing ideas, to getting support when needed. As one contributor to the site so succinctly stated, "professional development often leaves a lot to be desired. The key is to help teachers teach themselves through sharing and engagement (Todd Kominiak)." http://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/10-reasons-every-teacher-needs-professional-learning-network/

Teachthought.com is an excellent resource. This particular resource is titled "10 Reasons why Every Teacher Needs a P.L.N." This page is filled with multiple resources at a glance to help better learn and understand the theories behind PLN.

The article opens with explaining multiple examples of dominant design and then leads into how the shift should move towards personal learning environments. The first thing it explains with this is how the learner can use a variety of technologies instead of just one software. The writer then states that it should be built to support the user's goals. After this it goes into explain how it can be used not only on a personal scale but global scale as well by the use of social media, knowledge bases, learning contexts, etc. The rest of the article discusses how the world is moving towards a personal learning environment and how therefore the other types may become a "less attractive option."

This article discusses personal learning networks, specifically in how they challenge the current design of educational systems. It argues that the current education system follows a dominant design which pushes following a typical design that focuses on the integration of tools, draws a very obvious line of who the teacher is and who the learner is, restricts content and connections, along with others. They should instead focus on creating personal learning networks which focus on the connections that are being created rather than the tools implemented, form symmetric relationships where any user can consume or contribute, provides open content, and many other reasons. It also gives possible implementation stratifies and possible challenges to this system or ideology.

This is a more atypical resource for our assignment but I felt that it was very appropriate for many of my K-12 peers. This text discusses the history of PLN and how educators must use PLN as a part of their learning tool kit today. Both authors are educators as well as business men who ofter a mix of experience in their attempt to convince you that PLNs are one of the major ways to captivate and engage students in the learning process.

Go to the first option, it is the article written by Attwell. This article gives a summary of what a personal learning environment and it's benefits. This article gives good examples of what a PLE and how it works as well as some history and theoretical background.

Great read! Totally agree that while life long learning is nothing new, technology brings it to a different level (even though the focus of the article was on education rather than the technical aspect.) I also found interesting the discussion on new approach to assessment (the traditional one on the outcome vs. the new one on the competencies for such an outcome.) Some food for thought!

Great article! I liked how the article defined PLNs and gave ways to use them for deeper understanding and engagement. I used to teach an introductory tech course at our local high school and I will be speaking the the teacher and sharing this article with him. I feel that the benefits of students using PLNs is limitless.

Here, Ravenscroft conducts a theoretical look at connectivism. He asks what the role of networked technolgies is in the digital age and suggests that tool selection, desired dialogue, and genre should all be considerations for networked learning. He says that "embracing connectivism means that we need to consider new design metaphors for future learning that place the person, their social behaviour, and their community at the centre of the design process and the resulting network technologies" (155).

I found this to be a particularly interesting article. The authors propose the development of a new theoretical model that integrates the foundations of social constructivist thinking, with an emphasis on dialogue, with the connectivist approach to networking. This combination in turn is meant to illicit, support, and increase in collaborative inquiry. The dialogue game provides the students just enough structure necessary to facilitate a organic discussion and critical inquiry.

This article provides a succinct definition of a personal learning network and provides a list of advantages of establishing your own PLN. The article also discusses ways to create your own PLN and methods to continue to make it successful.

This article is better at the set up of an PLN and how to use it. It does give 3 of the benefits of having PLN.

One of the things that really stands out for me in this article is the idea that you need to be consistent to get real results from PLNs. One of the reasons that I decided to take this class was to force myself to post regularly on social media. It's helps get your message out there and keeps you on people's radars. Cool article! Thanks!

Great short video that hits all the highlights of what is a personal learning network, and how the narrator uses his. Great resource that gives an overview especially for visual/audio learners.

This is a great video that explains succinctly what PLNs are and even how they can be used in different situations and by different people.

The primary focus of this article is on the way blogs, wikis, and RSS can be used to create personal learning networks and communities of practice in the field of public affairs education. There are useful definitions of both PLNs and CoPs and an overview of how connectivism is contributing to collaboration within the classroom environment.

This source is geared for the post-secondary setting but the information can be applied to anyone. The post discusses steps to creating a personal learning network but also explains why it is important and should be focused on. Many "tip" lists just name reasons but don't give you a larger picture of why it should be considered.

Even though I am not a K-12 teacher, I found this simple infographic list 10 reasons why you should have a Personal Learning Network. A Personal Learning Network can help inspire you to take on a new challenge, encourage new ideas, and keep you connected with other teachers passionate about teaching.

Love this graphic! It makes the PLN concept so simple and easy to follow. I must have reviewed the same article.

The infographic included in this post is great. It helps understand the need for PLN's in a simple way.