Creating a Personal Learning Network

(PLN)

5500:475

The University of Akron

World Internet Use

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

Internet Data Flow• 2-3 terabits of data move over the

internet PER SECOND!

• That equates to: – The ENTIRE contents of the Library of

Congress every 5 seconds.– The ENTIRE contents of the Library of

Congress moving over the internet more than 2 million times a year.

Your Data Stream

• With the internet, there is literally a river of data streaming past you.

• What can you do with all this data?

Stages of Learning• DATA

– The information streaming past you.

• INFORMATION– The data you pull from the river and make relevant to your

life.

• KNOWLEDGE– The information you keep, apply and use personally and

professionally.

• WISDOM– Combining knowledge with intuition and experience over

time in a way that makes your life better.

http://www.tobincls.com/learningnetwork.htm

PLN Basics• Personal Learning Network:

– A group of people who can guide your learning, point you to learning opportunities, answer your questions, and give you the benefit of their own knowledge and experience.

– Daniel R. Tobin, Ph.D.

http://www.tobincls.com/learningnetwork.htm

Learning is Open Source• Open Source software is software that is

collaboratively built.• Everyone has access to assist in building

the software, if they have something to contribute.– No one owns it.– No one takes credit for it.– Everyone gets to use it.

• Traditional teaching is being updated with this Open Source philosophy.

Let the Network Help You• By utilizing many of the new, social-

network oriented, Web 2.0 tools, you can ensure that the stream of data moving past you is made up of stuff you want.

• If you channel the river of data, you can choose wisely and efficiently the information that is useful for you, creating your own personalized stream.

Online

Communication

&

Collaboration

• Just like the telegraph, telephone and television have before it, the www has changed the way we communicate.

• There a many educators in the online community freely contributing knowledge and wisdom that YOU can and should take advantage of!

Blogs and RSS• Blogs are one of the most important

components of a PLN.

• If you take advantage of RSS feeds, you can easily and effectively direct and control the stream of data flowing past you.

Notable Edublogs• 2 Cents Worth

– http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/

• Dangerously Irrelevant– http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/

• Ewan McIntosh– http://edu.blogs.com/

• Moving at the Speed of Creativity– http://www.speedofcreativity.org/

• Teach42.com– http://www.teach42.com/

• Weblogg-ed– http://weblogg-ed.com/

RSS Feeds• Real Simple Syndication

• RSS feeds are a spam-free, quick and efficient way to read news and weblogs.

• RSS Readers/News Aggregators– Google Reader – free w/ Google account

• Sites with RSS Feeds are easily identified by an RSS symbol.

Other PLN Tools• There are a number of other tools you

can use to manage the data stream.

• Look for tools that:– Fit your learning style– Function reliably– Integrate with the other tools you’re using

Twitter• http://twitter.com

• Micro-blogging platform where users ”tweet” to answer the question “What are you doing?” in 140 characters or less.

• You can tweet from web, txt, phone or IM.

• The people you follow and who follow you become your PLN.

Plurk• www.plurk.com/

• Micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates “plurks” through short messages or links, which can be up to 140 text characters in length.

• Updates are shown on the user's home page using a timeline.

NING• http://www.ning.com/

• Online platform for users to create their own social websites and social networks.

• Similar to other social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook.

• Anyone can create their own custom social network for a particular topic or need, catering to specific audiences.

Keep in mind…• When you utilize ANY web-based tool,

you leave a cyber-trail behind you.

• Joe Public can find you on the internet and track you and/or your activity.

• Anyone who follows your tracks should find a PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR at the end of the trail.

• You never know who will be following you or when.

Bottom Line

If you act in a professional manner and practice digital citizenship, both you and

your PLN will benefit!

Special Thanks

• Parts of this presentation have been adapted from “Creating Your Own Personal Learning Network.”– http://www.slideshare.net/cgkel/creating-

your-own-personal-learning-network

• Used with permission from Carl Keller.