Establishing a Personal Learning Network (PLN)

I can still remember my first “professional development” session as a first year classroom teacher. I was excited because the topic was technology…and then, it started. First, we went through the phone system manual line by line (dial 77 if you want to listen to voicemail, dial 3 to delete voicemail, etc.). Next, we accessed or e-mail on our VAX mainframe terminals. Finally, we ended with a bang…we learned how to use the copy machine. Twelve years later, I have participated in and led hundreds of professional development experiences. Some good, some bad. However, in almost every case, professional development was being done to me OR I was doing it to “them.”

In 2001, Garret and his colleagues identified multiple components of effective professional development. The two most important components are duration (60-80 hours) and collaboration. Additionally, it was vitally important that the experience aligned with participants’ goals. The Science and Engineering Indicators 2008 provide evidence that, in practice, professional development seldom matches these components. Rarely, is it a dynamic, collaborative experience conducted over an extended period of time.

A couple of years ago (fall 2007), I was introduced to the concept of personal learning networks. It didn’t take me more than a day or two to realize the power of PLNs as a way for educators to take control over their own professional development. Learning from (or more appropriately, with) my PLN is dynamic, collaborative, focused on my goals, and sustained.

What is a personal learning network? Personal learning networks have been around for a long, long time. We generally just don’t attach a label to them. You have a network of people and information sources that you turn to when you have questions, need advice, or want a sounding board. It is comprised of the magazines you subscribe to, the websites that you read regularly, parents and friends, colleagues, etc. The Internet provides an opportunity for you to expand your network and optimize it for your needs.

A good personalized learning network takes time to develop and nurture. It is also very hard to place artificial expectations that can be evaluated within a course structure. Immerse yourself in the education “blogosphere” and social networks. Get a taste (from a firehose) for what this stuff is all about, and then begin to internalize things. Worry less about my expectations and more about yours - What is meaningful to you?

Jeff Utecht has a nice post regarding the stages of PLN adoption. This is a good framework for seeing that the initial “chaos” is OK and needed in order for something useful to emerge.  (Added 6/15/2010 - Jeff now has a book available regarding PLN's. Find it here and on D2L.)

Your tasks:

1. Explore Social Networking and Twitter and create an account.  Start building your network.  This is an ongoing process. It takes an investment in time, so keep at it for the next two month or so.  If after that time, you don't see the value, drop it.  Try to participate in #scichat (Occurs other week @ 9:00 PM Eastern) as often as possible.

2. Over the next couple of weeks, explore other networks for teachers.  You might want to take a look at Classroom 2.0, The Synapse (for Biology teachers), and the NSTA online community. The idea of a web-based "PLN" is emerging as a viable form of professional development -- but it isn't "perfected" yet.

Going Further

The focus in this "project"  is using personal learning networks for professional development. However, a few teachers at Arapahoe (CO) High School have started working with their students to develop personal learning networks. These three blog posts (and the links within) provide an overview of this project.

• http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/08/creating-personal-learning-networks.html
• http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/09/creating-personal-learning-networks.html
• http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/10/personal-learning-network-presentations.html