A personal learning network (PLN) is your network, which can be as simple as following a group of educators on Twitter, networks are created around the learners own context. Can situate within a multitude of tools so as to access different resources, people and ideas, it is openly networked and there is easy entry where you can access and create different multimedia’s. PLN’s are different from person to person, where they can either be face-to-face or digital, it is driven by individuals but not without input from others. Each learner is in the centre of their own PLN and they are a part of a much wider network and this interdependence means that sharing in PLN’s is important. Oddone defines what the acronym might mean to different people, where P could stand for personal/professional, L is learning that could be informal and formal in any space or way, N stands for network where your participation in an PLN is voluntary, and you can interact as much or as little as you like.
What is collaborative learning?
According to Brindley,Blaschke & Walti (2009) collaborative learning in an online classroom can take the form of discussion among the whole class or within smaller groups.Online courses offer the opportunity to create a highly social learning environment, characterized by participation and interactivity for both students and instructors. Online learning is as much a social activity as an individual one, the quality and quantity of interactivity can vary dramatically from course to course.
Social learning or learning as part of a group is an important way to help students gain experience in collaboration and develop important skills in critical thinking, self-reflection, and co-construction of knowledge. Online learners should not be impoverished in terms of social learning because they cannot or choose not to come to a campus. Access to education should not mean merely access to content (which is readily available without formal enrollment with an educational provider); rather, it should mean access to a rich learning environment that provides opportunity for interaction and connecting (Brindley,Blaschke & Walti 2009).
Benefits and limitations of collaboration
Quality learning environments include opportunities for students to engage in interactive and collaborative activities with their peers; such environments have been shown to contribute to better learning outcomes, including development of higher order thinking skills. Collaboration is used as a means to create new knowledge, increase and develop critical thinking skills. It promotes deeper learning through shared reflection and respecting different ideas to your own. Capdeferro and Romero (2012) mention that the imbalance in the level of commitment, responsibility, absenteeism and lack of effort are contributing factors to unsuccessful collaboration. Group members who do not actively participate or are totally absent are a major frustration when it comes to collaborative learning, the meaning of collaboration is the process of two or more people working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Now if there is absence, non-participation or lack of commitment then the project is bound to fail.
References:
Brindley, J., Blaschke, L. M. & Walti, C. (2009). Creating effective collaborative learning groups in an online environment. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 10(3). Available here.
Capdeferro, N. & Romero, M. (2012). Are online learners frustrated with collaborative learning experiences?. The International review of research in open and distance learning, 13(2), 26-44. Available here.
PLNs Theory and Practice by Kay Oddone, part 1
