Personal Learning Networks

Here is my Animoto video on Personal Learning Networks (PLNs).  Over the past several weeks, I have been reading about PLNs and trying to develop my own PLN.  The resources I found particularly helpful include Ian O’Byrne’s blog post about PLNs, Mark Wagner’s tips for getting started, and Debbie Morrison’s post about creating a robust PLN. There are several common pieces of advice that I have found in articles, blog posts and videos about PLNs. As I have stated in the video, to develop a PLN, teachers should:

  1. Connect with like-minded teachers.  Think of areas of interest and search for blogs, Twitter feeds, Google Communities and other places where teachers are discussing issues relevant to your role in your school. 
  2. Contribute to the conversation.  It’s okay to “lurk” for a period of time, but in order to create a true PLN teachers should share their knowledge, pose and answer questions, and contribute to the overall goal of the network which is to learn from each other.
  3. Collaborate with others.  Through collaboration, teachers create new knowledge for themselves and consequently for their students. 
I believe that teachers can gain so much through developing a PLN.  Besides gaining knowledge for themselves, they will also be modeling several important skills and practices for their students. These include showing students how to:
  • locate and curate information found online.
  • create their own PLN.
  • be responsible and ethical consumers and producers of Internet content.
  • develop a positive digital footprint.
See this blog post about my thoughts on using Animoto for the first time.  

Comments (6):

  1. Unknown

    August 3, 2013 at 22:15

    That was awesome!! Way to go Tim

    Reply
  2. Tim

    August 4, 2013 at 00:12

    Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Tim

    August 4, 2013 at 00:12

    It was worth the effort.

    Reply
  4. Nancy Atterberry

    August 4, 2013 at 03:10

    Very cool. The video was very professional. Great message too!

    Reply
  5. Tim

    August 5, 2013 at 00:06

    Thank you. It's easy to make it look professional with Animoto.

    Reply

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