How to Create a Robust and Meaningful Personal Learning Network [PLN] This post describes how educators can develop a personal learning network that supports meaningful and relevant learning. The MOOC, Education Technology & Media, etmooc, is used here as a working example of how to develop a PLN. “My Personal Learning Network is the key to keeping me up-to-date with all the changes that are happening in education and how technology can best support and engage today’s students.” A visual image of participants in an open, online course- etmooc, which shows the potential to find and create personal connections as part of one’s PLN. I wrote a post recently about how to develop a personal learning environment [PLE], the need and benefits of doing so, for educators in particular. What is a PLN? Twitter 6×6 (Photo credit: Steve Woolf) PLN versus PLE The personal learning network can be a rich source of learning that fosters connections that become part of our professional development as the quotation at the beginning of the post from Metcalfe describes.
To build Twitter followers: Join the conversation, tweet often, be yourself August 20, 2012 by Steve Buttry Journalists often ask me how to build a following on Twitter. It’s really pretty simple: Tweet frequently.Have something interesting to say.Livetweet events and breaking news.Find and follow people who share your interests.Join the conversation.Give more than you ask for.Join tweetups and Twitter chats.Be yourself. I was tempted to end this post right there, because this really is simple. But I’ll elaborate, with the acknowledgment that even with elaboration it’s all simple. Let’s start by addressing the notion of “followers.” Tweet frequently. Have something to say. Livetweet events or breaking news. Find and follow people who share your interests. Join the conversation. Give more than you ask for. Join tweetups and Twitter chats. Be yourself. Previous #twutorial posts
Your Most Powerful Search Engine is Your Personal Learning Network (PLN) The use of search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Bing for research is commonplace in today’s online world. In fact, many of us go to these sites instantly when the need to find something first arises, be it something as trivial as finding out when a movie is playing, or as part of a multi-million dollar workplace project. These search engines have redefined how we find information, and quickly become the primary way in which many people perform research. But not for me. I still use these search engines for low-impact searches. In a world of ever-increasing search engine optimization, my personal learning network still delivers in ways that Google, Yahoo, Bing, or any other search engine never can. Google and search engines like it are very powerful. My Personal Learning Network enables me to get to information that is more tailored to my preferences, because they have a better understanding of the lens through which I am viewing the world.
5 Twitter Rules Every User Should Know We love to do stories on Twitter and how it’s helping teachers and students connect like never before. Many of our fellow bloggers publish stories on Twitter every day! So I thought it might be worthwhile to share the official Twitter logo and brand guidelines. They’re relatively simple and straightforward but worth knowing about. Twitter is a major company worth a lot of money. See Also: The Ultimate Guide To Using Twitter In Education For the full list of guidelines (there’s plenty more – definitely check out this page . Rule #1 You can’t imply that your event, book, website, or other publication is endorsed or sponsored by Twitter. Rule #2 Don’t use any of the below versions of the Twitter logo. Rule #3
Using Twitter as a Professional Development Tool Last week during a discussion about design, Jeanette Campos asked me a fairly is simple question: What are the three artifacts that have shaped you most as a designer of creative learning solutions to complex problems? Immediately one word came to mind: Twitter. It isn't the tool itself that has been so impact full for me; it's the world to which Twitter opened up to me. I started my career as a learning and performance professional much the same way many in our field do: without any training or education on what it means to work in this field. It's a challenge for individuals and for the industry as a whole. I recall those early years well. Then I discovered Twitter. To be fair, it was social media in general that enabled me to extend beyond the walls of my organization and connect with others externally in the field. I connected with a few individuals at first. Wikipedia defines Personal Learning Networks as: Every learning and performance professional should have a PLN.
A Visual Guide To Twitter For Beginners You may have a Twitter account that you don’t use very often. You may tweet once in blue moon. You may just use it to ‘lurk’ during hashtag chats you enjoy. ( Check out our list of Twitter hashtags for to get started with that!) But you may not be a full-fledged Twitter user … yet. This dense and highly visual approach to understanding Twitter is just great. The below infographic is basically a beginner’s guide to Twitter except it’s one easy-to-read format: infographics! Click the image below to enlarge it a bit – that’ll help view some of the smaller text. Personal Learning Networks (PLN) = An Attitude of Gratitude | Learning in the White Space Anyone who believes they got where they are by her- or himself is pretty much lying. We all have someone who helped us get here. In my case, I have a whole host of “someones”. And I would be remiss if I didn’t say so. I hope you know who you are, as they are too numerous to mention here. (note to self: send out many, many written thank you’s!) To begin, I don’t think Betty G had any idea of the gift she gave me so many years ago. As I built my career in training, learning, facilitation, design and development, I made connections. Fast forward to early 2010 when this little thing called Twitter came into my world. Friendships have formed with people in the learning field, whether we’ve ever met in person or not. As someone who works from my home, having connections is important, especially with my fellow “training managers”. PLN: THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!! Like this: Like Loading... Author: dawnjmahoney What do you want to know?
10 Ways Teachers Can Use Twitter for Professional Development This is our third consecutive post on Twitter. Now that you have a roadmap on how to use Twitter in your classroom and after you have identified with the different educational hashtags you need to follow as a teacher, let us share with you some ideas on how to leverage the power of this social platform for professional development purposes. Talking about using social networking to grow professionally brings to mind LinkedIn. 1- Create a strong profile page The first thing to do is to let people know about you and your interests. 2- Keep your profile professional One of the mistakes some teachers do is that they create one account and share everything in it. 3- Proper use of etiquette As an educator , etiquette should not be an issue at all. 4- Know who to follow Don't be obsessed with having a 5 digit number of followers. 5- Use Hashtags Hashtags are a great way for engaging in professional conversations.
What is a PLE and a PLN? | Gertrude Cotter In our Digital Humanities course we were asked to talk about our experience of Personal Learning Environments and Personal Learning Networks. Talk about being new to a field of study! I had never come across either a PLE or a PLN. I had to explore a little and here are some of the sites that have begun to throw light on this for me. I was looking for sites that could Explain in simple language what PLEs and PLNs are.Are they the same or different? I’m generally a fairly practical person and I wouldn’t see the point in looking for sites unless they showed me how to do “this”. Site 1: I liked this site because it explained simply what a PLN is and what a PLE is. How to Create a Robust and Meaningful Personal Learning Network [PLN] We find definitions…and ones that are not too long or complicated and they show how PLEs and PLNs are different yet linked.
Branding With Twitter: 11 Steps To Building Your Brand On Twitter Posted by John Paul Aguiar in Branding, Twitter, Twitter Marketing Building Your Brand With Twitter Now more than ever is a great time to get focused on Twitter and start building a strong brand around your business, your blog or your name. Why now? Thanks to the stats from Global Web Index, “Twitter is now the fastest growing social platform” and from what the numbers say and what I see, Twitter isn’t planning to stop that massive growth anytime soon. If you want to see results fast and you want to see traffic pouring into your website, then Twitter is the best social site to do that. I have said this for over 2 years… “If you learn the basics of Twitter, you will see results MUCH faster than you will with Facebook, Google+ or LinkedIn.” I’m talking about getting your stuff shared, bringing traffic back to your blog or website and even attracting new customers to your business. All that begins once you start branding with Twitter. The problem comes in when people try to half-ass their effort.
What is a PLN? (and why would I want to know?) | Digital Learning Team If you’ve never heard of a PLN, the funny thing is that you probably have one, and are part of one, already. PLN stands for Personal Learning Network. Originally this may have consisted of a few friends you met at teaching college with whom you shared ideas and resources, then you added in a few members of staff in the schools where you taught, teachers you met at courses, and so it grew. The internet and online collaborative tools have allowed us to broaden these networks so that we can find and interact with people who share the same interests and questions, no matter where in the world they are. As you’ve made it to our blog, then we’re probably part of your PLN! 35 Ways To build Your Personal Learning Network Online This blog post by Katie Lepi at Edudemic is brilliant. Click here to see some PLN social media tools collated using Pinterest Like this: Like Loading...
Using Twitter Lists I don’t know whether it’s a symptom of the mid-semester crunch, or a social media version of cleaning out one’s closet for spring, but over the last couple of weeks, several people in my tweetstream have mentioned that they are feeling overwhelmed by how many people they are following. Several have started culling their lists and issuing general apologies for any hurt feelings caused by unfollowing. Now, I’m all for clearing clutter and sometimes trimming your social media lists on Twitter, Facebook, or other sites is a good idea, particularly if your usage of these services has changed over time. How did I get here? When you first started using Twitter, you probably started out by following the accounts of a few people you knew, either in real life or by reputation. Then someone followed you, so you followed them back. (If you’re not currently a Twitter user, then I recommend Ryan’s How to Start Tweeting and Why You Might Want To.) How Twitter Lists Work Streamline Your Reading
edtech VISION - edtech VISION Martha Thornburgh and I are presenting “What is a PLN and why do I need one” at the upcoming NCCE 2010 conference in Seattle. We are fleshing out some of our ideas for our session so I thought I would blog some of our ideas. A PLN is a Personal Learning Network. A PLN is a reciprocal network that you create to learn from, connect with, gather information or resources, create with and finally share what you have learned. A PLN can occur in your school, face-to-face, online, at conferences or through reading, reflecting and sharing. The benefits of having a PLN? Teaching can be a very isolating profession. It can take time to build up an active PLN – so don’t get discouraged. Our session plan is explain how to develop a PLN and then share various tools that can make that happen. “Twitter is the water cooler of the Internet” ~Neil Chambers