A Personal Learning Network, or PLN, is a tool to collect, communicate, and collaborate with others based on your interests. The creation of a PLN is simple. Using your favorite social media sites and tools, decide which organizations or individuals you wish to "follow" in order to receive up-to-date information regarding your selected interests.
I am constantly searching the web for new tools and applications that will ultimately make it easier for me to create learning content for my audience. By creating a PLN I can follow a series of people, groups, or organizations within the realm of Adult Learning and Instructional Design. Instead of wasting time searching for information on the web my PLN feeds information to me via my selected social media outlets.
Here is my PLN. It it mostly centered around Instructional Design and eLearning. I have found that PLN's are incredibly useful and are a great way to stay informed.
If you want to create your very own PLN, here is a list of tools you may want to consider:
Social Networking (Facebook)
To keep up with personal contacts like friends, family, and colleagues
Microblogging (Twitter)
Used amongst educators and professionals to share best practices and resources in short text
Professional Profiles (LinkedIn)
To find other professionals and expert within your field or interest
Blogs (Blogger, WordPress)
Blogs monitor the heartbeat of new trends in education
RSS Reader (Digg Reader)
RSS means "Real Simple Syndication". RSS sends you updates on your favorite blogs
Social Bookmarking (Diigo, Delicious)
Share bookmarks with others and see what others are bookmarking (i.e. articles, blogs, etc.)
Good topic, Jason. I was introduced to the PLN concept earlier this year in the social media course, and then again in this course. In terms of using social media for professional purposes, I've found the PLN to be one of the most valuable exercises.
ReplyDeleteHi Jason,
ReplyDeleteThank you for providing a link to your PLN. I actually used the same networks, but follow completely different groups and blogs. It is fascinating to see how many different options and resources are available right at our fingertips. It is a truly remarkable time to be an educator or in the education field. Until this class, I had never heard the term PLN, but had been using these networks/websites for a long time for learning purposes. Great post. -Amy
Hi Jason,
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience looking through your PLN that Amy did. I have put many hours over the past several weeks trying to build my PLN from scratch. It was interesting to see the different groups you are following. I will be following a lot of them myself after reading your blog!
Quick question for you...How do you balance your professional and personal life in regards to your networks? Do you have separate accounts based on those areas of your life or do you allow them to intermingle?
Hi Brian,
DeleteGreat question! I do not have separate accounts for all of my social media sites. Some sites, like Facebook, are strictly personal. However, I use Twitter for both personal and professional feeds.
In order to organize my posts, tweets, and mentions across all of my social media sites, I use a website called HootSuite. Check it out.