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This discusses the three primary tasks involved in developing a successful personal learning network. It is not a "how-to" for developing a personal learning network, but rather investigates the key elements that must be in place.

I read this article awhile back and found it informative. The authors provide insight into how and why we build learning networks. The illustrations throughout the article are helpful as they summarize the narrative sections that describe the PLN model.

This article talks about the similarities and differences of professional networks and personal learning networks. It mentions that both networks have learning as the main goal in mind, and that sometimes professional networks have formed into personal learning networks because it is more detailed and defined that that individual and what they are interested in learning.

Understanding personal learning networks: Their structure, content and the networking skills needed to optimally use them. Authors Kamakshi Rajagopal, Desirée Joosten-ten Brinke, Dr. Jan Van Bruggen and Dr. Peter B. Sloep research how networking is a skill in supporting growth and learning. The result is a model of personal professional networking. Included in the article is the introduction, methodology, the learner as orchestrator of her personal learning network, the personal learning network model and discussion and conclusion - supporting personal networking and future research. The article begins with a definition of professional networking, "the act of making connections with other professionals, with or without the intention of making long-term ties with them." Throughout the article, the authors reference weak versus strong connections, but the definition of weak is not, not strong, rather, weak ties are sources for new information, knowledge and ideas. The personal learning network model is attitude - intention, activity and skill - building, maintaining, activating. The authors conclude with a suggestion that "further development of technology to support professionals better in identifying relevant others and in developing relations online as and when necessary."

This source seeks to identified the finite features that make a successful PLN. It highlights factors that influence the individual's ability to build, maintain, and activate the personalized networks. The nine factors include: organization of the contact, network of a contact, reputation, benevolence, like-mindedness, real potential for collaboration, real potential for learning, and trends in work environment. Several diagrams are offered to illustrate how the success of a personal learning network for the individual is governed by the attitude of the individual towards the network and the skills displayed or put into practice on a daily basis. The text also stresses the potential of PLNs as they encounter existing and news social networking technologies that make the connection process easier and allow for greater fluidity in build professional development through the network.

This article discusses personal learning networks (PLN). How they are structured, what content you need to add and what type of skills you need in order for them to be beneficial to you. The main questions answered is how beneficial they really are? Can you benefit from a PLN? EDTECH543 Personal Learning Network

A detailed article on PLN's, including the PLN model with descriptions of the three stages of Buiding, Maintaining, and Activating, with factors affecting decisions during each stage.

This article discusses the benefits of personal learning networks to help professionals learn and grow. The authors used a literature study, interviews, and survey to help determine the effectiveness of personal learning networks.

Article discussing structure and content of PLNs and the networking skills needed to use them.

The authors in this article first delve into the structure and purpose of networking for professionals, but then segues into how using those skills can be used in creating and utilizing a PLN. A visual to show how the PLN model looks also helps to explain the purpose and value in participating in a PLN. While the article is slightly outdated as it speaks to how technology can work best with a PLN, the basic structure and values of a PLN is well explained.

This source is focused on PLNs. It defines them as relationships and connections that we make with other professionals. It talks about the advantages of creating networks with other professionals, and that those connections can be both intentionally or unintentionally built. It also discusses ways that professionals can create and maintain their own PLNs.

This article looks deep into personal learning networks. It looks at learner as an orchestrator of PLN. It also looks into factors related to building, maintaining, and being active in personal learning networks.

The author explains the benefits of PLNs to help educators get new skills and improve they ones that they already have. He also discusses how the structures of PLN are and how you can get benefits from PLNs. The illustrations of this article help to understand the stages of the networking process and an example of a personal professional networking model.

This article presents in an interesting model for teachers to create personal learning networks. The portion about the "learner as orchestrator of a personal learning network" was particularly enlightening. While at times the article verges into "how-to" territory, the underlying theory discussed provides strong context and explanation of the mechanics involved.

This article defines a personal professional network as "an egocentric, personally and intentionally created network of people set up by an individual specifically in the context of her professional activities," and discusses how a PLN supports an individual's growth and learning. The authors examine the strengths and benefits of PLNs and analyze how PLNs are built, created, and maintained. Studies were conducted that resulted in the finding that there are three stages of the networking process with nine factors that influence personal professional networking, concluding in the creation of a visual model of the PLN.

I found out that both strong and weak connections make up a person's learning and that each are important for different reasons. Strong ties help you create knowledge and encourage active collaboration between you and someone else (or more than one someone.) Weak ties Give us access to new information that we wouldn't have without them. In this unit, I learned that knowledge in the future relies not as much on what we know ourselves as being able to connect with people who become receptacles of knowledge. We tap into them as needed, making it unnecessary for us to be an expert in everything. Weak ties allow us access to these sources when the need arises. I also liked this quote, because it explained a bit about how to build these PLNs. "Grabher and Ibert (2008) proposed a three-layered approach, consisting of a communality layer (strong ties), a sociality layer (weak ties) and a connectivity layer (very weak ties)."

@Buffy Nallion I found value referencing the Personal Learning Model. http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewFile/3559/3131/43945

This article explores research on professional networking resulting from a literature study, interviews, and a survey. It defines and shares the benefits of a PLN. It explores a model of personal learning networks where the learner is the builder of the network. Several factors for selecting connections are addressed including interests, influences, and attitudes of the learner. Three levels of connections are described including communality, sociality, and connectivity - moving from strong to weak connections. The article lists supporting technologies for PLNs.

This article uses a networking model to examine how professionals manage connections and which factors push them to connect for the purpose of learning. Existing PLN technological solutions tend to focus on enhancing communication, but it is unclear if the technology affects the attitude of professionals and their intentions for network to learn.

This article discusses professional learning networks, which is different than personal learning networks but similar in so many ways. Professional learning networks are targeted to support the individual's growth just like a personal learning network. This article presents a model of a professional network for creating a personal learning network.

The article captured my attention by opening with " professionals need to perform flexible and independently in ever-changing environments." This makes me think of preparing students to be college and career ready! The earlier we can engage and immerse students and ourselves in PLN the more ready we will be for the ever changing future! Thanks for sharing!

My favorite sources are ones that come from someone's personal experience, so I loves this one! It is great how it talks about tips for building a PLN and why they are important.

I love how she describes PLNs and why she believes they are so important to teachers. She explains every aspect of PLNs and even expresses her own feelings that sometimes expressed frustrations. PLNs are something that all teachers should be involved in. I loved reading this. Thank you for posting it.

This is a great resources about PLNs and how they can be utilized and created. The personal insight really makes PLN's more understandable and practical.

I also like how the author explains that at the beginning joining PLNs may be overwhelming and it is important to find the virtual places that feel most natural to you.

Brianna Crowley does a nice job of explaining what a professional learning network is as well as goes over the steps of how to set one up.

I like how Crowley defines a PLN as a "vibrant, ever-changing group of connections." It really emphasizes how powerful and important PLNs can be.

This is a great article which is short and to the point when describing a professional learning network. It describes three steps one takes as your relationships build into something more in your PLN. What I got most out of the article was the ending of the article, which stresses the importance of finding a network which energizes you, instead of overwhelms you.

I like articles like this because they have actionable items. I researched more theory based articles so this was a great change of pace. I like this quote this best "If your professional life feels stagnant and narrow, or your learning feels stale and predictable, perhaps it's time to step outside the door and seek people who can breathe new life into your professional growth." The exciting thing about learning from one another is the impact we can make on one another's career. Everyone want to feel energized and that's the great thing about sharing cool new tools with each other.

Here, author Brianna Crowley describes Professional Learning Networks as "vibrant, ever-changing groups of connections to which teachers go to both share and learn. These groups reflect our values, passions, and areas of expertise." This, in a nutshell, helped me understand what PLNs are right off the bat and helped me to recognize that connections, communities, and common goals are vital. PLNs should also, according to Crowley, be created with individuals that are trusted and have similar interests, which I feel is great advice.

One of the reasons I started my PLN on twitter years ago was because of a colleague. I never really 'got into' the PLN and have basically ignored it the last 5 years. This article is a reminder to me about WHY I have a PLN and reminds me that a PLN means something different for me than it does for anyone else.

I like this very practical article on developing a PLN. It's a good one to share with colleagues to introduce them to the idea in a short, concise way with very doable steps.

This article makes it easy for readers to gain a quick understanding of PLN, why they are important, and how to get started. This is an excellent resource to share with colleagues.

Cassie- This is a really neat resource in which actual data has been accumulated and presented for teachers and their use of a social networking website. It was interesting to look at the numbers behind the ten educators that they chose and see them present some other general findings. I think the "Benefits" section towards the end of the article hits the goals of any social network precisely: 1) Access to Resources, 2)Supportive Relationships, 3)Increased Leadership Capacity, and 4)Development of a Professional Vision. IF you get into these tools to become a better educator, then I feel those are four visions that you set out to fill by utilizing the networking/technology.

This is a great resource to use to support the research behind using Twitter as an educator. I think the title of the article says it all. As the only social studies on my campus, I have learned to reach out to other teachers using social media. The end of the article brings up some interesting points regarding professional development and Twitter. Research says that teachers need more than just a "one stop shop" when it comes to any professional development, and that they need time to reflect, question, and practice. I would argue that Twitter allows for exactly that. Having a community of teachers to come back to in order to reflect on a teaching experience and/or ask for support provides a safe place to do just that.

Cassie, this was a very interesting research article that presented actual statistics and information on how teachers utilize social media, specifically Twitter. It was very informative and discussed the uses of twitter beyond just being a social outlet.

This was indeed an interesting research project. It was nice to see that there were so many collaborations that were spawned through Twitter connections. Most of the teachers said they were able to exchange information or resources at a professional level, but I was surprised by how many continued the conversation at a social level also.

I feel like this resource has a lot of valuable information. I am very interested in learning to use Twitter as a form of PLN using Twitter and this resource seems to show the value in that. In addition, I liked the research study approach to this article.

This article describes three types of connected learning communities. These include professional learning communities (PLCs), personal learning networks (PLNs), and communities of practice (CoPs). All three are used in schools across the world now and serve different but very similar purposes.

This article defines professional learning communities, personal learning networks, and communities of practice. The learning theories supporting each are described, as well as the impact technology has had on each. While the article focuses on how each can effect professional development for practicing teachers, the ideas within could be generalized to almost any profession.

Summary: This article identifies a three pronged approach to teacher professional development: PLC, PLN and CoP. These three types of learning communities are explored by connecting each type of learning community to a learning theory or theories and / or how the use of technology also improves learning communities. Support is provided by citing studies and literature most relevant to community learning in the digital age.

This work addresses the importance of technology throughout personal learning communities, personal learning networks and communities of practice and describes its importance to connected learning. Technology is an amplifier and enabler of connected learning as it addresses the challenge of time by allowing 24/7 interactions. Technology has allowed the exponential growth of PLN's as it enables finding, synthesizing and evaluating information. Technology also increases the potential for learning across communities which can then be translated to practice helping improve education.

This was a great article to see the different ways in which any professionals can gain and share knowledge with one another. I enjoyed reading how each is connected to learning theories. It is interesting that the common theme is how they rely or depend on technology. I can attest to the importance of technology for the learning communities and networks that I am involved in. Technology makes these types of professional development possible to some people who, without technology, would not be able to partake. Most of the time technology is a wonderful thing. It truly makes you wonder what we did without it :)

I agree that technology has helped PLN and PLC's to grow. Technology allows us to collaborate with people all over the work rather than people who just work in our building.

This article summarizes key differences and similarities among different connected learning communities utilized by educators including, PLCs, PLNs, and CoPs. Within the article, each learning community is described in terms of its organizational structure, purpose, and effectiveness. This research based article discusses the learning theories that are applied within each of the learning communities to support their descriptions and findings.

PLN's occur in many ways. With the growth of technology they are becoming much more popular. Many of them are engaging through blogs and other forms of social media. With these becoming more and more popular connections are constantly being made. Creating PLNs and bringing back resources and other information to our PLNs is extremely popular. Personal learning networks are happening because of connections being made with others.

This article looks into the theories that support the theory or idea of personal learning networks. It touches the effectiveness of teacher professional development in terms of PLNs. It discusses technology in terms of PLNs and also the challenges and dilemmas of PLNs.

This work goes into detail on how the individual learner impacts the creation and function of their PLN. It identifies 9 specific factors that influence how we "build, maintain, and activate" our learning networks. It fits these factors into a "Personal learning network model"

PLN: This article delves into how networking is essential to personal growth and learning; especially personal learning networks. Learning by interacting with peers lets us make the connections that either in learning or work environment is important.

A clear explanation of personal learning networks, and in particular the different ways they form and the different ways individuals interact with their PLNs. Helpful diagrams for understanding the PLN model are included.

This article focuses on personal professional networking. This is essentially a PLN in the workplace. Three primary tasks build a foundation for future activities within the PLN, 1) building connections, 2) maintaining connections, 3) activating connections. There are nine factors that influence a personal professional network. See include: communality (or commonality) reputation, and real potential for collaboration or learning. Learning within a PLN must be cultivated and involve reflection. Participants must recognize the value of other contributors to their own learning in order for the network to be truly effective, because this will allow person to know who to contact in the future for a similar issue. Networking to create a PLN depends on the person be g able to make connections between their own skills and their contacts' potential contributions. In creating an PLN, the learner "orchestrates" the environment, "browsing, selecting, and choosing" relevant resources.

This website gives 4 free Learning Networks that teachers can use on a personal level to grow professionally. It gives a summary for each of the networking websites and how that site can be used to network with other educators.

This article listed many social media sources to start your PLN. The biggest takes away that I got from this article are the two benefits of a PLN over a traditional personal development. The first one is that a PLN allows an educator to completely personalize their training. They can pick what to focus on. The second is that they can adapt the learning environment to meed the educator's needs. Once they have enough information, they can start learning and sharing about a new topic that they wish.

Describes a PLN, why we have PLN's, and the benefits of being a member of a PLN. This article talks about how PLN's allow educators to develop their skills beyond the more traditional methods and allows them to develop their abilities as an educator.

With more and more opportunities to develop one's skills beyond what traditional routes have provided, establishing your own PLN is an essential step toward deepening your abilities as an educator.

Very straightforward resource. From a teacher's standpoint, this resource is very beneficial. It demonstrates how teachers can enhance their skills away from old school (traditional) teaching pedagody and move into connectivist strategies to truly become educators in the 21st Century.

A PLN can be online or face to face connections but the virtual opportunities do not require your physical presence like attending a conference, a live master's degree program, etc. There are 2 distinct advantages to being online: 1. it's completely personalized to what each person is seeking 2. It can easily be modified based on changes in needs. Social media sources like Facebook, Twitter, and Wordpress blogs can be customized so that teachers can follow one-other and share the latest tools and information.

This discusses what a PLN is and how it can help you grow professionally. It also talks about the benefits of a PLN and how you can personalize things.

This is a great resource on the explanation of PLNs, why they are important, and how they can improve your work and learning environments. It has a solid definition and is key to understanding PLNs in a short read.

This article describes what a PLN is and how it relates to one's real world and social networking communities. It discusses why having a PLN is important to an educator today. In the past you need to be physically present to get your desired information and at times that was not even possible. Today a teacher can determine what training is necessary and find this information through their PLN network. The article explains how a PLN not only allows you to learn but also encourages you to share your knowledge with others.

Nice, simple article that explains what a PLN is. Thanks for sharing it. It can certainly help fill in any knowledge gaps for someone new to PLNs.

I liked the resource for the question "Why do I need one?" and the answers that followed. Teachers can connect themselves to resources from many different aspects of the world and teachers and sites they may not have otherwise found. It is no longer just "absorbing information" but sharing and creating new connections and ways to use the information. Honestly, after all this research, the new question is "Why don't I already have a PLN?"

This article defines what a PLN is and the necessity for educators to develop one. It describes the difference between developing a PLN and being "connected." It argues that PLNs allow educators to individualize professional development. With the emergence of technology in education, I see this as a necessary tool for the 21st century educator.

This article describes the need for teachers to be a part of PLNs. The author talks about the importance of making connections to other teachers and countless resources to make yourself a better teacher.

This article describes the benefits of developing your own personal learning network. The author touches on the traditional learning networks of the past and their limitations and examines the benefits of the tech driven network.

In the education world, PLN stands for Personal Learning Network. What it means is that an individual has developed their own personalized "network" of fellow educators and resources who are designed to make them a better teacher. This network exists both in their real-life relationships and online through their social media connections.

This article describes a PNL but also discusses the benefits of developing a PNL. By sharing within your PNL members will not only gain new knowledge, resources, and ideas, but will also develop relationships with people across the globe!

A PLN is not PD. A PLN has (at least) 2 additional benefits: you study and research topics applicable to you, decided by you; you can form a symbiotic relationship where everyone is sharing information

Catapano explains what a PLN is and why people should have one. A PLN stands for Personal Learning Network. Basically, it is a group of individuals who are fellow educators who work together both real-life and online to make themselves a better teacher. PLN are mainly through social media sources like Twitter, Facebook, or blogs. Teachers can share their resources across the world with their latest research, experiences, or discoveries. Teachers get to take control of their own professional development.

I always like to find resources that cut right to the chase and explain exactly what the topic is. This article does that with professional learning networks. This article can be presented to anyone who asks "what IS a PLN anyway". The article relates the evolution of PLNs to include social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, ect. Themes of connectivism and communities of practice are found throughout the article as the writer explains that the true benefits is that PLNs are based off teacher's interests and passions rather than the usual top down professional development experience so many teacher experience. It drives home the point that successful PLNs revolve around the sharing of experiences and resources rather just viewing and consuming.

@teachingjake503, PLNs have become so valuable to me, especially when I was a first year teacher. Having support from people outside of the establishment was extremely helpful. I think people often buy into them more because of the choice they have. They can choose to include only those they feel provide value, are positive, and can offer support.

What is a PLN? Why Do I Need One? This article provides a simple and easy to understand definition of a Personal Learning Network and how it can be used by teachers to help them become a better teachers and can be used to help educations personalize their training. The article focuses on the use of social media as the primary resource for PLNs. http://www.teachhub.com/what-pln-why-do-i-need-one

The following article discusses why educators need a PLN. These networks are design to make you a better teacher. The personal learning networks are exactly that "personalized." Most professional development is designed by others, but your PLN is created and designed by YOU.

Written by Jordan Catapano who simplifies what a PLN is and explains why one might need it. He explains that a PLN is usually designed by educators networking with fellow educators to make them better teachers. This article goes through the theories and benefits of a PLN and what they intel or include.

"Why do I need one". This article discusses why a teacher should use PLN's and more importantly, create their own PLN. This was a nice read for me to put PLN's in perspective.

This is a fascinating article! I was really inspired by at as I'm finding myself becoming more interested in making sure my social media connections are there to provide professional development (while mixing in some personal). As we become more tech centered, I can see there being value in collaborating online and learning through a variety of avenues, rather than sitting in a common area. I think this article can also be emphasized for student learning as we encourage them to learn and find connections to the content outside of the classroom.

This was an awesome article about professional use of social media. I think that it is really interesting to talk about how fewer teachers are attending face to face conferences and are instead replacing those with the use of the internet and social media!

Interestingly, I've found that in my field, Twitter has become a way to supplement the conference experience. Those who can't afford to attend are encouraged to follow along with what's happening (live) using session-specific hashtags. I can see librarian conferences eventually going by the wayside, and I'm not certain that I would be upset about that!

I like this article because it gives teachers a clear definition of what a PLN and how to connect to one. I am new to using social networking professionally so I am interested in learning ways to connect to PLN that would benefit my classroom.

Thomas Whitby is an educator that I have followed on Twitter and consider a valuble member of my PLN. So it is fitting that I would include an article written by Mr. Whitby explaining the purpose of a PLN. Mr. Whitby explains that PLNs use social media and technology to collect, communicate, collaborate and create with like-minded individuals. Unlike traditional professional development sessions, PLNs can take place any time and anywhere through the use of the WWW. Each PLN is uniques and serves its own purpose and each member is a potential source of information. Mr. Whitby concludes his article with information on how to build a PLN and links to PLN resources.

This article gives the definition of a PLN and answers the question of why they are important. It also talks about potential barriers, this is important! It also has links to other resources for PLNs.

This blog post thoroughly defines PLNs, even addressing the debate over its acronym. Is it professional or personal learning networks? This post settles on a happy medium: personalized learning network. This entry goes beyond the definitions as it addresses both the barriers to PLNs and what can be gained from them. It also offers suggestions on how to build a PLN and helpful links.

I often feel like librarians are forgotten. It is also important to note how libraries have changed over the years. Because of that change, the development of online PLNs totally makes sense. Thanks for sharing!

The author's viewpoint on the learner interaction with content was interesting. Social learning is me and COPs are us.

This article makes the reader think. Janet Clarey poses the question "are social learning and communities of practice the same thing?" Her idea is that they are not. She makes the distinction between them as social learning is taking in all information from social settings. It cannot be tracked as far as acquisition of knowledge. Communities of practice focus on sharing and collaboration of information and can be tracked.

It's an interesting article. I think social learning might be part of a community of practice - I certainly use it that way. I use my professional network to learn and question and explore, much like Clarey describes. But it's within my community of practice, because I also share, invite, and collaborate as part of the process. I believe there is little dialogue in life that can be classified as cleanly as Clarey defines these terms - I think we fluidly move from one position to another.

This article compares and contrasts "social learning" and "CoPs." The major difference in my eyes has to do with the formality of the latter. CoPs aim to track the conversations and bring like-minded people with similar goals together to grow alongside each other. I appreciate this article as it gave me a clearer vision of CoPs.

This post's author discusses the differences between Social Learning (where learning is generally unorganized and done by observing, talking, questioning and learning is often not formal or unintenational) and Communities of Practice where learning is more intentional and happens between communities of individuals with common interests.