Social Network Learning

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 was an interesting blog post that essentially asks, is it better to remain uninformed? This is a very real question for the passionate educator. Once one connects in to best practices, it can become increasingly difficult to abide in the current practice of one's own school. As an example, my wife is a nationally board certified teacher, she works in a private school with great resources (her third grade classroom is one to one laptops) , but through fairly poor leadership, the technology largely remains outside the circle of meaningful practice in her school. Her peers largely rejected any thought of instructional transformation, and as a result, her school has essentially provided every student a laptop computer to utilize as a sixth textbook, or a word processor. Being a progressive educator, engaging in professional reading, and attending conferences, can be incredibly frustrating when one understands the possibilities and sees dynamic change occurring elsewhere. It's almost like you are standing outside the gate, seeing the party, but have no means of entering. This might seem like whining, and the comments in the post somewhat bear that out, but it is part of the burden one must assume in working to create change. So, is ignorance bliss? In all honesty, sometimes it can feel so.... ts

If I may... There just may be areas of life about which we are better off not knowing, but I'm not sure. Then again, I'm happy that many hostile biologists do not possess the sequence and the genetic code for the small pox virus. Your addition to this page does raise some interesting questions.

Whenever I read or hear "Ignorance is bliss" I can't help but see thee image of Cypher chomping down on a huge steak in the Matrix. While there are definitely areas in life where mankind should remain ignorant (nobody wants that seventh grader bringing a laser gun to class), teachers being more aware of better practices or what's happening in more technologically advanced schools is one of them. Seeing these new ideas can lead the teacher to ask, "How can I make that work in my classroom even if I don't have everything they have?" At least a passionate educator might. The dispassionate educator probably isn't even utilizing a PLN.

This presentation does nothing more employ multi-media to list 18 names of individuals who are associated with the field of education in various manners.It is short and to the point. What is special, however, is that these 18 names are active members of blogs, wikis and a host of connections. Out of the 18 , I Googled 3 and was quickly transported to several presentations, links and information regarding Google Wave and the importance of using "Backchannels" in the classroom. When I was an undergraduate, I had a professor whose name was Robert Peck. He often commented that "like minds ought to form networks so as to be able communicate easily and often…but how do we make this happen?" Were he alive to see the connectedness of the Ed Tech community he would smile.

Hey Dennis- I appreciate your posts. I'm an old basketball coach and, as such, not so cerebral, but I do try. I read the link with the research evaluating exemplary teachers vs their peers. Interesting work. When reading education research, it is the publishing dates I generally find discouraging. In this case, It is ten years later, have we really moved the ball on any of this? (That's a football coach reference, but, whatever). How many generations of students will pass before we begin to ensure they receive the education that might provide them advantage? Or will America be the lagging country-still presuming standardized tests are evidence of.....heck, anything. ts

You have to check out this YouTube video of a 7th grade student giving a tour of her personal learning environment. The project was conducted as part of dissertation research implementing the use of networked learning and construction of personal learning environments in a 7th grade life science class.

I am quite humbled by this girl. Wow!

That was a great example of how good students can become at using new tools to construct and organize learning. I am impressed with both the student and the teacher. The teacher must be very dedicated and organized. The student claims that the class is basically paperless. I have never heard of the note taking program she referenced, and I think that can be helpful for me in this masters program! I also have never seen the digital poster application she used. The best part of this video is that it is proof that educational technology is being used well is some classrooms.

This article was written by one of co-authors of the article Eric posted Personal Learning Environments: Challenging the dominant design of educational systems. The key points of this article is that a PLE is made up of more than just software. While it has tools - these could be considered more of problem solvers or strategies. Some of the typical problems that these tools solve are discourse monitoring, micropattern spotting, creating and mixing media and indicating presence of other participants in your personal learning network. In comparison with an LMS which can be static this environment actually can function as an ecosystem. While I have already started on my PLE in bubbl.us, this article is making me rethink how I categorized according to tools. Perhaps, I should be thinking more about how the social network is functioning and what tools best fit the culture of the social network. How do members of the network choose to solve their problems or implement their strategies for their own PLEs?

Hmm very interesting Kae! I would love to see you take a stab at categorizing your PLE in this way, and see what you're able to come up with in the analysis. I noticed that Jamey (I think!) categorized her PLE by purpose (social, learning, entertainment, etc.), and this seemed to provide a useful sorting mechanism, as well, especially when you overlay the SNKC color coding on top. You could see where she spent her time contributing, lurking, etc. You might find some good insights using your approach, as well. Good luck!

I found this web site through a simple Google search and three hours later came up for air and realized that I was in my apartment in St. Marys, PA. The site contains video, discussion, chat, events, and so on. Specifically, I was impressed with a speech (http://edupln.ning.com/video/valedictorian-speaks-out) made by a Valedictorian of a high school, a speech in which the young girl asserts that she is only equally as intelligent as her peers but much better at following orders. And as a result of this, she is leaving her high school without hobbies and interests and is, therefore, actually at a disadvantage with regard to competing in life with the "B" and "C" students who spent the same years pursuing their own interests and expertise. I highly recommend this site and am happy to include it within my PLN.

This website caught my attention when I was searching for a resource to describe social network learning. There were a couple of key points that were addressed on the website. The first was Personal Learning Style (PLS). I think that determining what PLS works best for a student enhances the effectiveness of the instruction. The website suggests that PLS is now being adopted by companies to enhance work performance. Since I have a hearing disability I gravitate towards visual learning so my individual learning is much different than an audio learner. The other key point identified on the website is that social network learning should be inclusive of all generations. The instruction or social mechanism should take into consideration learner autonomy. The learning community for academics is much different than personal. However, because the two may be interrelated, the learner must adopt some control over their learning environment whether it is social academic or social personal.

As an online 9-12 teacher and parent of three teenagers, I know that the majority of students have Facebook accounts and spend time each day socializing through this technology median. I have often accused Facebook as being a distraction from homework and "real socializing". This article helps me rethink the use of Facebook. The old adage comes to mind, "If you can't beat them, join them". I loved the practical suggestions this paper brings forth, such as making my own "Teacher Profile" that they can keep as a friend. Through this means, students will be able to chat with me about homework whenever we are online, as well as visit my page for useful resources. Sure we can introduce other software programs to provide these teacher interaction services to students such as e-mail, Moodle and Pronto, but why not work with a program they already know and love...In addition, the topic of Facebook profiles and postings can also provide "meaningful" classroom discussions about ethics and self dignity. Thank you, Amy Brown for putting this resource together.

When I first started using Facebook, I was determined to keep it exclusively made up of my real friends. I was living abroad at the time so it was a great way to stay in touch with friends. As it gained in popularity I started getting requests from students which, even though I primarily teach adults, I ignored out of a sense of professionalism. Eventually I did friend a few students who I considered actual friends and that opened the floodgates to friend requests from every student. I felt obligated to accept them and before long I couldn't use Facebook without second-guessing everything I posted and worrying about what my friends might post. I only used Facebook as an email alternative for a few years before I became confident in the privacy settings and once again felt comfortable that I really was only socializing with my friends and not also every student, distant relative and elementary school classmate I had ever had. I think the moral of the story is that instead of using Facebook as the One True Social Network, it's better to have smaller, more specialized social networks for different purposes, such as an EduBlog set up for one individual class.

John you bring up really good points. I share the same concerns and try not to accept every friend request I receive or offer friendship just because I recognize a name.

This is a page that a teacher used to map out his own personal PLN. It's apparent why he named his site "Shambles" and I'm always a bit wary of any self-professed "gurus" but the fact that this guy took the time and effort to map out his full digital footprint and then publicly share it is pretty incredible. His network includes most of the usual suspects as well as a lot of resources and sites that I've never heard of. There's even an entire subsection based entirely around Second Life.

I actually follow Shambles on twitter. His website isn't elegant, but he's well known in the SL community as someone who uses his website as a resource aggregator. He is also one of the organizers of the Second Life College Fair.

I think you will find this video a helpful summary describing visually why educators should consider crating and participating in a personal learning network.

Thanks for sharing Glori! I enjoyed listening and watching the Youtube video. I then watched quite a few more to get a better handle on what a PLN is and how to set my own PLN up. It also allowed me to see that I already do some of the aspects of a PLN but did not know it. This will help in creating my own PLN.

Thanks to Todd for mentioning this Flickr photo in the Voice Thread. What do you think of this visual of PLE as a subset of PLN? Do you think it is accurate? Any suggestions for expanding the diagram?

This excellent article examined the manner in which students of the 18th century enlightenment constructed a virtual reconstruction of various discussion venues in 18th century London. Having completed such a project allowed the students to gain insight into the manner in which social networking has been with us for quite some time and has been responsible for revolutionary associations. The authors suggest that the current climate of social networks may stimulate a similar dynamism in that the previous coffee shops, chocolate shops, pubs and taverns where great ideas were exchanged are now being replaced by chatrooms, Wikis and social websites, such as Facebook or Twitter.

This blog is about setting up your own PLN. He gives a unique approach to learning what a PLN is about- the gardener's approach to learning. He also likens the approach to learning as an ecosystem, "...where I cultivate the information, directing it to interact with other information in ways that bring me the ideas that I need to keep doing my job." He lists several web links that are helpful in understanding a PLN.

This blog is in response to the Lee County School District and their policy of use on Facebook with teachers and current students. The blog is well thought out with various views. The author, Karl, is a professor, consultant, speaker, scholar, and expert on the convergence of learning, technology and business operations. He seems to have a good knowledge base to make his argument.

This article in the First Coast News is about how the Lee County School District is limiting teachers use of Facebook with current students. It is a very interesting take on how to use a social network site and learning.