Personal Learning Networks

  I was very intrigued by this week’s readings.  We learned about Personal Learning Networks. Needless to say, we all have them to some degree.  Personal Learning Networks are people or resources that you consult to solve problems, answer questions and most importantly, to learn. I have several important networks that are important to me.  First of all, my coworkers are some of my most important resources.  I am very lucky to work in a fabulous school.  We all are willing to share our knowledge with each other.  I have worked in schools where that has not been the case.   I have my social studies department. We share activities and other resources with each other. I also have my technology network.  I have several friends and coworkers that are very into technology.  We write grants, and experiment on new technology and consult with each other.  If I have a problem, I know exactly who to go to in school.  Out of school, I also have similar networks.  I have used Edmodo to learn about new technologies and teaching practices.  There are groups on Edmodo full of teachers ready to lend a helping hand.  If you ask a question on these message boards, there are hundreds of teachers ready to help you out.   I have also expanded my networks by enrolling in courses in the Instructional Media program.  I have met some great educators through this program and have learned a great deal from them! 

            After looking at Utecht’s scale, I believe I bounce back and forth between Perspective, Know it all and Balance (Utecht, 2008).  When I am introduced to a new network, or if I am on a quest for knowledge, I have a tendency to fall into the know it all stage.  I sometimes consume myself with knowing everything there is to know about a topic. There comes a point where I have to put it in perspective and realize that I am being a little obsessive and lay off. That would be the perspective phase.  I then eventually use these networks in moderation and enter the Balance phase.  I actually giggled to myself when reading this article.  I can see myself total immersed in a network, forgoing the rest of my life.  My plan to keep utilizing my networks to my best advantage is organization.  If you don’t keep your networks organized, you sometimes lose a part of your network! I love to use diigo to help organize my thoughts, and also use google docs to do the same thing.  Torbin is correct in stating that personal learning networks are “the most powerful learning tool” (Torbin, 1998).

Works Cited

Torbin, D. R. (1998). Building your Personal Learning Network. Retrieved September 14, 2013, from Dan Torbin- Corporate Learning Strategist: http://www.tobincls.com/learningnetwork.htm

Utecht, J. (2008, April 3). Stages of PLN adoption. Retrieved September 14, 2013, from The thinking stick: http://www.thethinkingstick.com/stages-of-pln-adoption

Via, S. (2010, June 10). Personal learning networks for educators. Retrieved September 14, 2013, from www.youtube.com: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6WVEFE-oZA