EdTechTrek

Below you will find a poll/question and the results to date of that question. I have been thinking about this for some time now. The title, PLN, or Personal/Professional Learning Network, has been in circulation for some time now and it represents one’s support network beyond the physical, face-2-face relationships that we typically have within our daily reach. It represents the potential power one can tap into when harnessing a much more global and virtual network of like-minded and often expert groups. Tools such as microblogs (Twitter/Plurk), blogs, social networks (Ning, LinkedIn, Facebook) , backchannel conversations, social bookmarking (Diigo, Delicious), and other social applications (YouTube, SlideShare,…) that allow a community to participate in ideas are all key to building your PLN. However, I think we have sometimes represented the responsiveness (hence, the utility) of one’s PLN a little too simplistically at times. For example, the message may come across as “embrace these tools, build your PLN, and you will have a wealth of collaborative power. Or, blogging will revolutionize your teaching/learning. Or, use a wiki and the world will come and help you add content/flesh out your ideas. Or, get a Twitter account and your every question will be responded to by a wealth of great folks who will also all want to follow you. Perhaps some of that comes from watching the response that the “super stars” receive when they ask questions, post blog posts, twitter questions, or invite others to contribute in some way. It is just not that easy as it may seem… or as easy as we (I put myself in that boat) have sometimes communicated. Building a PLN is hard work and it requires diligent, active, and participatory excellence. Many times questions may go unanswered. Many times blog posts may receive no commentary. It is one thing to “take” from your PLN. That’s the easy part. It is a totally different thing to have your PLN “give” to – or work for – you. The latter requires a much more significant depth of relationship.

I have noticed that often my own PLN gets an intellectual shot in the arm when I have met folks face to face in various settings. So, I posed the following question. The response was what I suspected. It is far from a representative sample upon which firm conclusions can be drawn, but it does make me think that face to face connections remain critical for learning, networking, building, and sustaining a vibrant PLN. I noticed that many of this year’s NECC attendees mentioned how valuable it was that they were there physically versus simply being a virtual fly on the wall… that the face to face relationships were an essential part for them. I also recall reading some comments by folks who couldn’t attend physically and how much they missed the physical connective experience, myself included.

It is so much more than simply using the tools, isn’t it – just as being an effective teacher is so much more than the new tools one surrounds himself with.

What do you think? What has been your experience? Please contribute to the embedded poll below.

Things have really changed over the last few  years with the emergence of social media tools that allowanyone to share anything with just about anyone. This post is more of a reposting of a couple of great posts (I highly recommend that you read them both) that on the topic that I have been thinking about for some time now. Will Richardson recently published a post titled, “The Less You Share, the Less Power You Have“. From a comment added to this post, I learned about “Planning to Share Versus Just Sharing” by Scott Leslie. The idea of learning within a learning network really resonated with me, especially in a reply by Scott Leslie to a comment left on his post:

“…networked learners (or networked employees) approach the problem of sharing differently (and in my experience more effectively) than hierarchically-minded ones. I’m saying that the people who say they need the knowledge need to be involved (directly, intimately) in producing and sharing it, otherwise it turns into a ‘publishing’ exercise, not an actual learning one.”

This has been much of my experience as well, sitting and chairing committees who talk and talk, then who begin to amass volumes of information, and in the end are mostly left with just that – volumes of information. Logistics of common meeting times always seem to snafu key meetings, the clock always seems to drive the agenda rather than the interest and passion, … Sure, I know time is of the essence and most of us have more than our fair share on our plates. But that is exactly it… learning, networking, creating, discussing, sharing, revising, contributing,… does not have to operate in the traditional sense anymore. The hoarding of resources for one’s own gain doesn’t seem to get you all that far anymore. Virtual learning networks are becoming far more powerful and empowered.

Of course, in higher education there is still that need to protect one’s own intellectual property and ideas for the purposes of advancement and status within the organization. “Publish or perish” is still a driving force and the need to publish something unique before someone else does will continue to drive the hoarding, secretive approach to learning. But, there is still room for personal and professional learning networks in all of that, too. I see folks creating wikis of their dissertation process and blogging about their big ideas. I see folks using GoogleDocs to collaboratively publish. Tweets go out to a larger audience soliciting information and ideas. Presentations are posted and streamed live… unprotected. And what I notice through all of this as the people doing these things seem the most alive, enriched challenged, stimulated, …

There is no lack of great models out there for those interesting in diving in to these new waters. They are a Technorati search away. They don’t protect their tweets for the most part on Twitter. You can find their wikis. You can join their Ning social networks. You can participate in their CoverItLive live blogging streams. You can enter their live presentation streams in Elluminate or UStream. Here is a great place to begin.

There is a world of sharing and learning going on far beyond the physical walls of your place of work… regardless of the continent or country that you live in. In a recent post of mine I shared this quotation that really hit home with me.

HE WHO LEARNS FROM ONE WHO IS LEARNING,

DRINKS FROM A FLOWING RIVER.”

-NATIVE AMERICAN PROVERB

You don’t have to be alone or by limited by the limiting logistics of physical groups and static documents that end up in files somewhere to be used sometime… by only you. Share. Share to learn. Share to grow. Share to contribute. Don’t worry about possible criticism. We all need it. We all need feedback from a wide and diverse audience. If they give feedback, it’s because they care and are passionate about the same things. What have you got to lose?

You have so much to gain.