The Power of the Professional Learning Network
When I first began teaching in the 1980s as a graduate, the people I would turn to for support would be my fellow teachers and my leadership team. They knew everything I needed to know about what to teach and how to teach it. Or so it seemed.
At times, depending on budget allocations, I could go off to a PD to hear what was happening with Literacy or with new technologies. This information sat with me until I was ready to use it or would be buried within my mind with all the chores that were more pressing at the time.
In 2008 this would no longer be enough for me and wonder if it is enough for others. Admittedly I am not a graduate teacher anymore but still feel that there is a wealth of new knowledge and experiences, especially in the area of ICT out there that I cannot ignore. So would my immediate colleagues be able to support my desire to learn and grow now?
In the last 8 months my life as a teacher and learner has changed somewhat to include a new online Professional Learning Network (PLN). A network that is growing and fluid enough to accommodate my wonderings and discoveries, my shifts in mindset and my whims.
I joined online communities such as –
Classroom 2.0 – http://classroom20.ning.com/profile/helenotway
Twitter – http://twitter.com/helenotway
And social book-marking networks -
Delicious – http://del.icio.us/helenotway
Diigo - http://www.diigo.com/dashboard/helenotway
As a result of joining these online communities and developing them into my own PLNs, I have been on a huge learning curve and also a journey that I have some say, in how and when I learn. I am able to self regulate my professional growth and can share my reflections along the way through the same networks that support me. This blog helps me to process and document my journey.
Recently I met up with, what I choose to call, my new Learning Partners. These were educators who I had met online through Twitter and our respective blogs, through Diigo and more recently Second Life. It was wonderful to meet them in real life, but know they are just a tweet away in my PLN.
This is a photo taken recently at the ICTEV 2008 Conference, on Saturday May 24th. Jo McLeay, Tony Richards and Jess McCulloch are enjoying an ‘unconference’ in the sun. Without my online PLN I would not have known these educators, nor would I have been able to share and learn with them.
Earlier this month Sue Tapp organised our first Bloggers Feast in Melbourne. We had a wonderful time. You can hear and read about it here -
Tony Richards – EdTechCrew Podcast
Sue Tapp – And Another Thing
Jo McLeay – The Open Classroom
Could you get by without your PLN?
7 comments May 31st, 2008
