ICT Central's List: Personal Learning Network

Most people start off in a rocky relationship with Twitter. It doesn't seem to be as easy or as useful as everyone has said, it takes awhile before you find your niche, and there is an overwhelming amount of information to deal with. But, just hang on - it'll be worth it!!!

So what is Twitter? Simply put, it is a social networking tool. The best analogy I can make is it is much like the status updates on Facebook. It provides a quick way to say what you are working or doing now.

As the internet and web 2.0 tools have become nearly ubiquitous, PLNs can include tons of different communities - social networking sites like Facebook, blogs, Twitter, wikis, social bookmarking tools, LinkedIn, and so many more.

Teachers say the camaraderie and free, instantaneous help they find through Twitter is far more useful than traditional school training programs.

Good introductory video for new Twitter users.

An introduction to how Twitter can help teachers with their professional development.

"I really think anybody who doesn't spend a little time building a personal network is doing themselves and their school a disservice. If we're not modeling this stuff for our teachers and students, then I don't think we're doing our jobs."

A collaborative effort to teach teachers about Twitter.

This qualitative phenomenological study involving in-depth interviews with seven educators in K-12 and higher education examines the role that the microblogging service Twitter plays in the formation and development of Personal Learning Networks (PLN) among educators.

Twitter is a social network used by millions of people, and thousands more are signing up every day to send short messages to groups of friends. But where's the user manual for Twitter?

Based on ideas of collaborative learning and social networks within communities of practice, the notion of Personal Learning Environments is being put forward as a new approach to the development of e-learning tools that are no longer focused on integrated learning platforms or course management systems. In contrast, these PLEs are made-up of a collection of loosely coupled tools, including Web 2.0 technologies, used for working, learning, reflection and collaboration with others.

These days, personal learning networks, or PLNs, extend far beyond friends, family, coworkers, college classmates, and teachers, and can encompass experts and learners from around the world in just about any given field.

Networking is a key skill in professional careers, supporting the individual’s growth and learning. However, little is known about how professionals intentionally manage the connections in their personal networks and which factors influence their decisions in connecting with others for the purpose of learning. In this article, we present a model of personal professional networking for creating a personal learning network, based on an investigation through a literature study, semi–structured interviews and a survey.

In recent years, new socially‏oriented Web technologies have been portrayed as placing the learner at the centre of networks of knowledge and expertise, potentially leading to new forms of learning and education. In this paper, I argue that commercial social networks are much less about circulating knowledge than they are about connecting users (“eyeballs”) with advertisers; it is not the autonomous individual learner, but collective corporate interests that occupy the centre of these networks.

A great resource with heaps of ideas.

How I became a convert to Twitter: The teaching and education community on Twitter is truly inspirational

As more and more people join the world of Twitter (460,000 signups per day), school parents and teachers are more commonplace on this global social media tool. According to a recent Pew Internet Study, 84% of all Twitter users are between the ages of 18-49. Why is this important to school officials? The age range includes the majority of our school parents.

Twitter for educators provides good logic on why educators should use Twitter and how it can help them form a community, share resources, and meet people worldwide.

This guide is specifically for teachers who are interested in finding out more about Twitter and even jumping in to the Twittersphere themselves. It is made up of a series of videos from teachers who use Twitter all the time, so it was 'crowd sourced.' Meaning people in the crowd each added a little until there was a whole.