Personal Learning Networks

How many of you have a personal learning network (PLN)? If you don't, it's time you got one if you want to a) have a wealth of resources for questions you might want answered; b) want to keep up with the ever-changing world of education; and c) be a model for life-long learning for your students.

PLNs are social networks of like-minded people willing to share their expertise, answer questions about topics you are passionate about or interested in, and provide resources that you may have never found or don't have the time to find. I have found several resources that I have used myself and/or passed on to staff. In this article, Kevin Honeycutt reviews a book by Gallup's Jim Clifton on the need to "teach our kids to invent, create and innovate and not in the near future but right now, today." It came from the social network Plurk and is a jpeg, so I think you can get to it without being a member.

Another blog I came across was about "Freelance leaners" and the fact that more and more people are able to be entrepreneurial in nature and become basically freelance workers. They may work on a project until completion, disband, and then get together with different people on another project. Are we teaching our students to be able to do this or are we still expecting them to get a job and stay with it for their career? Or are we giving them the skills to change careers multiple times based on their interests and opportunities?

A PLN provides us with tools to learn more, create more, and find more resources than we could on our own. Getting started is easy and helps streamline our learning process.