Reflecting on Personal Learning Networks

“The effectiveness of integrating ICT pedagogies depends on high levels of interactivity amongst and between students and teachers, and between students and the technologies they use.”  Learning in an online world

I would like to add another dimension to this – the effectiveness also requires a level of interactivity between the teacher and other teachers as well, and I believe that this needs to be a broad level of interactivity, beyond the scope the school and even the direct school network. 

Many schools are realising the potential of involving their students in Global projects, having their students actively involved in communicating beyond the classroom walls – I believe (and others have already stated) that this will have most impact, when teachers themselves have modelled and experienced this by their own involvement with teachers/educators beyond their classrooms and schools.

The rise of Web 2.0 has brought to light how good teachers are at collaboration – I believe we are one of the best professional groups at taking up with Web 2.0 technologies and using them to our advantage.    There is a plethora of educational collaborative spaces available and an enormous array of educators freely giving of their expertise and time to others. 

The scope for this involvement is wide – simple Twitter followings, RSS feeds to relevant Blogs, Wikis and Nings, subscriptions to podcasts, membership to mailing lists are just some of the way we can see what is going on in the outside world.   Many teachers are using them with students and increasingly teachers are using them to broaden their own experiences.

A powerful Personal Learning Network (PLN) does not have to be large but does need to create contacts with like minded, similar interested people.   One thing I have noticed about schools, is that despite attendance at professional development days etc, many teachers stay quite insulated within the particular school in which they teach.    Wonderful things happen within schools, but they are limited by the experience of those in the group.   

We need to choose the level of involvement that we can manage – that will ensure a feed of new ideas without information overload.  I feel that it is something that evolves.  You follow a person on Twitter, watch for a while and judge if their contribution to your learning is valuable. You elect to continue to follow or not.  You subscribe to a podcast and listen to only the relevant editions.  You skim read a Google reader account for relevant blog entries.   You soon develop a feeling of where the ‘good stuff’ is coming from and who you want to maintain a connection with.  That ‘good stuff’ is entirely subjective – no two PLN’s will be the same.

Then, the element of reciprocity comes into place.  When do we stop being a total consumer of other people’s ideas and thoughts and start to feel confident to contribute content as well?  I believe it was Jenny Luca who used the statistics that 1% of people contribute new content, 9% add to other’s ideas and 90% consume only.  Teachers on the whole seem to be quite shy about their achievements – we are not accustomed to professional flattery or comments.  Rarely do we have the opportunity to give other teachers feedback on their teaching – although some practices involving Evidence protocols are currently encouraging this.

The ability to publish to a potential world wide audience requires a certain confidence that takes a while to develop.  How do we know when we have something worthwhile to contribute if we don’t take the risk?  I regularly see examples of wonderful teaching/learning moments – I wonder – should those teachers be sharing those successes with others?  How would sharing it help that teacher or those who read it? Where does this all fit in to the busy life of a classroom or specialist teacher?  How important is this reflective practice for the teacher themselves as well as the audience lucky enough to share it ?

So I think I see the benefit of a PLN is at least twofold – a wonderful source of inspiration and professional development as well as an opportunity to step out and risk that we might have something positive to contribute as well.

Week 1 – Blogs, blogging alliance and setting up your PLN (27/4 – 3/5)

I am a dabbler in Web 2.  I have joined Twitter, Delicious, Nings etc and have used Wikispaces.  I really want to learn more about them to unlock the potential for use with students as well as continuing my Personal Learning Network .  This is my first blog as I had tried before but did not have a purpose and it all looked too hard !!

I am thrilled that other staff (6!)from my school are joining in this journey as it will enriched by their involvement so that whilst creating a PLN we are also strengthening the PD within our school at a local level.

I have joined many Nings and online groups and struggle to find the time to fully participate.  I am in awe of some of the people I have come to know ‘virtually’ – it was in fact through one of these groups that I heard about this project.  Many of these people are very generous in sharing their skills and experiences.  Some also ‘podcast’ as well as write blogs – Chris Betcher is one I follow avidly as I like the way he thinks.

Chris’s Blog http://chrisbetcher.com/ and his Podcast – the Virtual classroom http://www.virtualstaffroom.net/

Another good blog with interesting facts/ideas/theories http://whatedsaid.wordpress.com/ .  I subscribe to quite e few blogs etc using my iGoogle account.

Here is a great story about another educator Anne Mirtschin , I have never met Anne, but her name comes up again and again in the Blogs of other educators- the story tells how Anne gradually let Web 2.0 transform her teaching.

I searched iTunes and found some good podcasts- edTech Crew , RU Connected and Learning in Hand (all about using iPod touch) are some to which I subscribe.

Another great source of ‘connectedness’ is from mailing lists – I belong to OZ Teachers and OZ-TL’s – both an amazing example of  professionals sharing their knowledge.  I rarely find the confidence to contribute to many of these forums/nings/mailing lists.  I am more a lurker, but would like to feel confident to contribute.

Personally, I love the way Facebook keeps me intouch with friends overseas on a regular basis.  I have watched my teenage daughters move in to the phase where social networking via FB and to a lesser extent MySpace is a vital teenage tool.  Recently, they have also started to use to communicate about school work and I can see that it is likely to be the way of the future. 

One stumbling block is sorting out from all the tools, the one most appropriate for the current task – when to blog, when to make a Ning and not a Wiki? Diigo or Delicious ?  etc.  I hope this process might highlight the points of difference of these tools to make that selection simpler.

A quote from one of the readings “Your current safe boundaries were once unknown frontiers – Don’t be afraid to be an explorer” – Field Guide For Change Agents  – reinforces how the process of change is evolutionary – it has been happening forever and will continue to.   Are we experiencing anything more radical than each other generation?  Certainly feels like it sometimes.   As teachers I think we are some of the more resilient professionals – we have become accustomed to constantly changing requirements.   These developments should be no different.  Why does it feel harder though?