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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.

The authors David Boud and Heather Middleton acknowledge that in many cases the learning that goes on through informal discussions between coworkers is almost always more valuable than the learning that takes place inside a classroom or formal professional development workshop. As part of the article the authors examined informal workplace CoPs in four different workgroups within the organization. They wanted to see what types of learning occurred. Through interviews with participants they found that the larger the workgroup the more diverse the opportunities for community professional development. What they discovered in that end was that sometimes these workgroups developed characteristics of CoPs and other times the group is not cohesive enough to really develop a shared learning environment.

This was a very in-depth paper looking at how adults learn from one another in the workplace in informal ways. I have been reading a lot about Communities of Practice this week and I was struck by how the authors discussed structural factors, such as seniority and large scale workforce, could effect the true development of communities of practice. It discussed political and beurocratic issues could be possible setbacks. This is not something I had considered but is a true reality. When reading, I saw it is easy to assume that like-minded practioners in a similar domain could all just work together in harmony. It is truly more realistic to realize that certain issues like seniority could possible stand in the way.