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I have led professional development, and shaped a series of professional development classes, to assist teachers in the adoption of one to one laptop programs. Saying that, I couldn't agree with this blog post more. The dynamic change in resource for teachers, and the ever shifting landscape of technology, makes many teachers feel a sense of frustration in attempting to get a handle on what's "out there". This post articulates, and I believe my experience validates, that the answer to engaging these issues does not lie in more and more professional development, but rather, assisting teachers in the creation of their own learning networks for both support and guidance. PLN's are not only more effectual, professional development is expensive. I brought someone in to help our teachers establish personal PLN's, but I don't believe I properly considered how important this was to the process. As I'm quickly learning, PLN creation and engagement may well be at the foundation of any school transformation. ts

If I were to be honest (and I guess, why not), I would like to develop professional development that would assist learners toward meaningful understanding and engagement of PLN's. For me, the missing link is the PLE. I'm still grappling with that myself. What should my computer screen look like? I get your dingo's, the elephant head thing, tweetering, et al. I still struggle with a mental picture of how my new computer screen looks. What exactly is going on there? I think that is step one in this. Somehow. I'm going to figure this out. Somehow. And yes, I get the irony of posting a PD is dead reflection-and than wanting to create PD. Kind of not functionally getting it.....still missing something visually.....hmmmmm.....(love the process though:)..... ts

Timothy, I am confident that by the end of the term you will have a handle on this brave new world- including your computer screen.

This is a really good blog on how to start developing your own PLN. The blog suggests 5 steps to follow to get started and offers some websites to visit. At the end, the blogger provides additional resources if needed.

I really like this blog that you found. The clip has some great inside on PLN. My favorite part of this blog is that the steps to get started on developing a PLN are simple yet detailed enough to make sense and there are several resources listed.

Now you can hire African Drumming Team in any family or official celebrations. Rhythm Connect is engaged in providing this opportunity to their customers. The modules are developed in adherence with traditional music.

I think that this slideshare presentation provided an interesting perspective on where social networks have come from historically as well as their uses. On slide number 27, the author points out that because of how social networks have developed, students really expect them to be used as a social outlet, not necessarily an educational one. As we work to harness the potential that exists within social networks to be effective learning environments, we have to recognize and utilize the medium in those ways that students understand and expect. The author points out 3 particular ways to best harness these networks for educational purposes. First, by defining goals from the introduction. We have to be upfront with our students about the purposes of the network, how we expect the tools to be utilized, and the professional manner in which we will be utilizing the network. Second, by staying on topic. The instructor plays the critical role in maintaining the focus of the class on the specified topic. And third, clear participation rules. Students have to understand how they are expected to participate. How often, with whom, and what will constitute adequate participation will all have to be addressed. I liked these points of discussion because they are relevant to every kind of social network, not whatever is the current flavor of the day. Honesty with our students about the purpose and expectations for conduct apply just like in a regular classroom. The exciting part is all of the additional tools that are available for students to commmunicate and collaborate which simply do not exist in a traditional classroom. The asynchronous nature of it all is a unique aspect that changes the way we look at class interactions. Social networks are like any other tool. We have to understand how to use it before it can bring about the results we desire.

I like this site, especially the link to social networking, which is why we are here. Seems like a great tool for the classroom too!

Todd, I found the challenges section interesting- that students expect social networks to be just that- social- rather than educational. We will need to keep this in mind and address it as we utilize SNL. There suggestions for keeping things running smoothly are also helpful- define goals, stay on topic, and have clear participation rules.

I just learned two valuable lessons…one write your work outside of the textboxes and save it because your computer may freeze and you'll lose your work…how many times have I told my online students this, yet I did the same mistake?! Secondly, develop a system of finding the same resource over again. Perhaps save it in your favorites or copy and paste the link somewhere… I spent 15 minutes trying to refind my resource. Grrr. Back to the purpose of this post...This video link provided a summary of how teachers can use a PLN such as Twitter to "stream" information for use in their classrooms. You can take what you like or let the information float by knowing that more information always comes down the stream. It provides a simple visual example of using PLN. Much of the information contained in the video has already been stated throughout our Diigo group, but I chose it because I liked how it summarized PLNs. I actually used my newly established Twitter account to find this resource. I typed "Personal Learning Networks" into the search field , scanned through the posts that were in English, found one with "teachers" in the title, which is my interest and reviewed the resource posted. I liked the resource and felt I should share it with my Boise peers. From this point, I can read further into the topic by clicking on related links or I can explore the person's profile that provided the link to get to know the source. However, I chose to take the information and move on in the interest of time. Perfect!

I love this video! I posted an article about Twitter before I watched this video, now I have even more information I can bring back to my principal to support the use of Twitter. Thanks for posting this!

I like the link. I like how descriptive it is, and it gives an interesting introduction. In my last class, (522) I did a web cast presentation on how to use twitter effectively for teaching purposes. This video validates a lot of my research on the use of twitter in education. There are so many cool social media outlets, I wonder what the next "biggest thing" will be? The presenter's English accent threw me at first, but then I envied his brogue.

This article on PLC's is a good one. It goes over the definition of a PLC and explains why they are now so commonplace in education. I highlighted the key point, "suggesting that when teachers had opportunities for collaborative inquiry and the learning related to it, they were able to develop and share a body of wisdom gleaned from their experience." Because I think it sums up all the reasons why PLC's are now being utilized so often in education. Research has proven that when PLC's are utilized effectively in schools, student learning improves greatly.

Commons In A Box (CBOX) is a free software project aimed at turning the infrastructure that successfully powers the CUNY Academic Commons into a free, distributable, easy-to-install package. Commons In A Box is a project of the City University of New York and the Graduate Center, CUNY and is made possible by a generous grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. CBOX takes the complexity out of creating a Commons site, helping organizations create a space where their members can discuss issues, collaborate on projects, and share their work.