I have to admit – it is getting more and more likely that I will become a blogger in the near future. What has happened? Where did this surprising change come from, given my earlier scepticism (see my previous blogs)?
In Topic 3, I have been working on „Personal Learning Networks“ (PLN) and „networked collaborative learning“ with colleagues from my PBL Group 11 (aka „the legendary Eleveners“) over the last few weeks. Although the concept of PLN has been discussed in blogs and on teaching platforms for several years, to me as a „digital visitor» in the social media world the term was new . In the last few days I have therefore focused primarily on finding out what PLN are and how I can use them for myself personally and in my teaching. I wanted to get a quick overview and therefore focused primarily on internet research. I will still have to deal with scientific literature.
What is a Personal Learning Network?
I have understood that a personal learning network (PLN) is an informal network in which a learner uses technology to interact with, share, and derive knowledge from others (e.g. TeachThought Staff, 2018). Learners create their own connections and develop a network – focused on a topic of her/his personal/professional interest – that goes beyond the people they interact with on a regular basis, and which can include people they have never met personally or will ever meet in person. PLN can be more or less public (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, twitter, WhatsApp group, blogs).
A PLN is an aspect of a Personal Learning Environment (PLE)
When dealing with PLN, which consists of connected people, I came across the concept of personal learning environments (PLE). PLN are embedded in PLE. Morrison (2013) describes PLE as „a self-directed learning space; a virtual framework that consists of tools to collect, curate and construct knowledge that is customized to an individual’s learning goals and interests. … A PLE can be created independently, building and collecting content sources from the Web, including creating content through blogs, podcasts, slideshares, etc. A natural extension of one’s PLE is the development of relationships with individuals that emerge from the process of building the PLE, which is how the PLN develops. When connections from a PLN are engaged, knowledge creation becomes interdependent.“
How could I use PLN personally?
When dealing with this topic, I came to the conclusion that PLN can be very valuable for me, because – especially in view of the new technological possibilities – it is an effective instrument for continuously broadening one’s own horizons, supporting one’s own lifelong learning and making it more social: anytime, anywhere, self-driven, with whomever one wants. Based on my PLE in the area of my professional interests, I have set myself the goal of systematically establishing my own PLN for my professional further development. Since the beginning of the ONL course, I have also realized how helpful (but also strenuous!) it is for my own thinking process to write down my own learning progress and new insights on paper (or in the word processing software…). I then asked myself: When I’m already documenting my ideas why shouldn’t I share them with others in order to start a dialogue in my PLN wor? So that is why I am planning my own blog! This seems to be more useful than just sending links around (e.g. in Twitter). Although you could actually do both things…
How could I use PLN in class?
In class, I’m thinking about introducing my students to the idea of a PLN by setting up a teaching blog that is jointly run by the students of a module during the semester. Every week, a different team of two will write a short blog entry on topics and articles discussed in class. The blog entry will then be commented on by the other students and me. From time to time I will also make a contribution, e.g. by commenting on a current newspaper article and linking it to a theoretical concept that we discussed in class. I’m still a little afraid of the effort at the moment, but I’m convinced that this will create new possibilities for dealing with the teaching content, which will improve the learning success and the retention of what has been learned. In addition, students are introduced to the idea of a PLN.
It really looks like as if I will turn into a Blogger – who would have thought that!
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