PERSONAL LEARNING NETWORKS

As educators, we know that learning takes place every day and everywhere. But with the need for

information and expertise in all sorts of related and unrelated fields these days, we just can't learn

quickly or deeply enough to satisfy personal or professional demands. Consider the following

approaches most people take:

Workshops and training programs: These may be great, but they end after several hours or days.

How do we continue to seek guidance or confirm our understanding once the workshop or

program has ended? In addition, so many in the ELT profession live in areas without a large

enough community of teachers to allow regular workshops and training.

Self-directed and continuous study: Yes, this proves essential to our professional development.

Yet, at first, we can't apply the ideas gleaned from many sources so readily. We need to move this

information to flexible knowledge that then lets us quickly adapt and apply it to new situations.

How do we do this?

Observe a lesson in whole or in part (or be observed): We have the chance to gain some new

ideas. If we see a successful activity that has students actively participating, we similarly have the

chance to add this to our teaching repertoire. If we are observed, it really only becomes a mini-

workshop unless our peer provides repeated feedback. How well do we know the whys and hows

and what ifs that allowed for the success of the lesson and/or activity?

Thus, Personal Learning Networks, or PLNs, are vital to improve as a teacher.

A personal learning network represents a group of people who can:

1: Recommend articles, guides, websites, blog entries, experts, and so on. This tops the list

because it supports all the following points. With a personal learning network, we automatically

have access to the accumulated references and resources of possibly hundreds of people. For

each person in our network, they are similarly connected to other people in other networks. Each

person is a hub of sorts. And some people may be very active networkers, connecting to and

engaging with thousands of people individually. These can be considered mega-hubs.

2: Guide your learning. When we hold conversations with others in our PLN, they provide

knowledge and expertise gleaned from articles, websites, blog entries, and personal experience.

They've accessed this information more than once, thought about it, tested it, perhaps retested it,

and linked it their pre-existing storehouse of knowledge and expertise. They then share the

information with us, as well as possibly recommend the articles, websites, etc. In short, they guide

our learning.

3: Answer our questions. This is especially important, because training and workshops, self-

directed study, and personal observations generate so many questions. We seek to plug that

information into what we presently know. However, without answers to those questions, we don't

move towards the ability to apply information in new and novel ways. The knowledge remains rigid

and stuck to the situation in which it was initially learned.

4: Push us in new directions. Let's say we understand but one aspect of an idea, resource, theory,

etc. Our PLN can offer competing theories, caveats, or suggestions. We eventually have more

methods and models on which to base our future studies and endeavors.

5: Challenge our currently held beliefs. Discourse advances understanding because it requires us

to support our opinions. The careful analysis that comes with discussion reveals the fallacy, truth,

or perhaps inapplicability of the information to a given situation. Many times we must reevaluate

the beliefs we currently hold.

6: Prevent us from taking the comfortable, well-walked road again and again. When confronted

with challenges and problems, most people instinctively fall back on what has worked in the past.

Although newer, better, and more efficient methods may exist, it takes time to move those new

methods into action. Our personal learning network provides us with the chance to carry on the

discussion, which reinforces what was learned but not yet implemented. It also allows access to

additional materials and resources that offer improved comprehension.

7: Offer support. Not every day goes well. Not every lesson meets our anticipated objectives. A

personal learning network provides much needed support. People in our network can provide

recommendations, guide our learning, answer our questions, push us in new directions, and force

us to more carefully examine the ideas and information we currently possess. (Review the above.)

A personal learning network requires reciprocation, which means we similarly provide all of the

above points too. A PLN isn't unidirectional, as is a workshop or book. And even a novice on the

topic can actively participate in the discussion. Although he may not understand the full depth of

the conversation, he still has access to articles, sites, lesson plans, and experts that allow him to

provide value.

So where can we get access to personal learning networks?

First, it's easy to share ideas and information with our coworkers, perhaps between classes in the

teachers' room. It's easy to ask one another questions or give answers. There are also

professional organizations. These often provide newsletters, forums, and conferences that allow

us to gather support.

Although these traditional PLNs remain valuable, they're also somewhat limited in their breadth.

For example, a handful of teachers who work together likely have faced the same difficulties, or

teach the same demographic of students. As a result, they then have faced the same problems,

discussed possible solutions, and accessed the same information. Professional organizations offer

a wider network, but conferences don't get held every day or even every month. Forums may be

active on some topics, not so active on others. Newsletters most often remain one directional.

Web 2.0 offers the best and quickest ways to expand our personal learning network. Much of the

article was written with web 2.0 in mind, as so many links and references are at hand to share. We

can communicate with teachers all over the world, twenty-four hours per day. We can ask

questions, offer comments and advice, or make pleas for help.