Based on the second week of the WOW and WONDER blog, I will discuss in more detail what a Personal Learning Network (PLN) is and how to use the web to create your own PLN.
A PLN is the creation of your own personal learning network through various online tools such as blogs, crisis, microblogs, Facebook, and Twitter. Here is a video from Will Richardson explaining the importance of PLNs.
Networking not only helps students learn, but also allows them to connect with people around the world, expand their learning communities, and change their mindset. Nielsen’s article mentions that ‘Many educators in successful schools are involved in their school’s professional learning community and perhaps they Even collaborate with other schools in the district, city, state, country or beyond, but Innovative Educators also have personal learning networks ( PLN) enabling them to connect with other learners around the globe’. PLNs increase the effectiveness of learning and also give students the opportunity to be helped and help others. Learning networks are created with the needs of individuals in mind, extending the connections of relevant people around the globe. Through various social media and websites, more people from different fields and those who want to be exposed to new knowledge are planned together, and they can better discuss and communicate to achieve their goals. These are opportunities that we can’t get in a face-to-face classroom. People can personalize their own learning patterns as they learn. Some students have difficulty absorbing knowledge in a traditional classroom, but they can get more accurate information on the web. And personal learning networks also help teachers to learn from the experience and more knowledge from other teachers. Knowledge sharing is the most important core idea and learning theory in the digital age. Today’s technology has given people new ways to learn, and resources and personal insights are flooding the web. People can find the answers they want on the web, and the digital age preserves everyone’s ideas and expertise. In fact, most people have social media accounts even if they follow are some celebrities or netizens, but the Internet will certainly give you some opportunities to learn knowledge even if you are unconscious. For example, you TikTok to a video about making a cake or a video about organizing the refrigerator, or maybe you watch a makeup instructional video on YouTube.
How do you create a PLN network that is entirely your own? Let’s start with Twitter as an example. You can start by signing up for a Twitter account. If you have a personal blog or an account on another site, you can add it to your profile. After registration you can follow the people you need to follow, for example if you want to learn cooking you can follow a celebrity who writes about cooking very well, hashtags followed by keywords can be added. You can see a lot of tweets, resources and links on Twitter. All this knowledge is free and public.
References
Nielsen, L. (2008). 5 Things You Can Do to Begin Developing Your Personal Learning Network. Retrieved from: https://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2008/04/5-things-you-can-do-to-begin-developing.html
Judi, M. (2016). Building Your Personal Learning Network (PLN): 21st-Century School Librarians Seek Self-Regulated Professional Development Online. Knowledge Quest, V44(3), 64-69. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1087618
Richardson, W. (2007). Personal Learning Networks. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mghGV37TeK8&t=1s
Camiel, D. L., McCloskey, W. W., Goldman-Lavine, J. D., & Kostka-Rokosz, M. D. (2014). Twitter as a medium for pharmacy students’ personal learning network development. Current in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 6(4), 463-470. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877129714000525?casa_token=ZUqKyYXOR84AAAAA:EGj7ah7OAg8NaYRkeXp_0tghZSijkLZwNOO7X_Cu3RVEdwNsNKHyIKbVjKbd4g5bdlvVMd2U#!