Let me say up front that I am not a professional educator. I have
done some teaching, but not in an educational institution.
Because many of my customers are teachers I have become aware of a
new phenomenon in education called Personal Learning Networks (PLN’s).
There has been much already published about how to start and
participate in PLN's on the internet. You most likely have attended meetings (or will soon), in
your school or school district on how to get involved with them. This seems all good to me and if I
was a teacher I would embrace this new trend. Not sure what we're talking about? Watch this
video:
I won ‘t bore you by recapitulating the how to’s or why’s. It
seems pretty obvious to me. If you are passionate about what you do as a teacher you will be
involved in getting better at your profession. Collaboration is king.
I have two thoughts on PLN's as an outsider.
My first thought is that the explosion of social networks are an
interesting and wonderful cultural seismic change. The internet has scores of social network
assemblies like facebook, linkedin, etc. Just scratching the surface of PLN’s I learned a dozen new
acronyms.
People are connecting and there is no stopping them. Thank God for
this need to connect with others that He has hard-wired in us. Deep relationships shared over a
common passion is what makes life fulfilling. Now you can connect with people all over the
globe.
This brings me to my main point. PLN’s are a great way to foster
friendships with people who see things the way you do about a subjects you are
passionate about. How exciting it is to find someone who has the same take on a nuance of a subject
that others don’t see. It’s almost like saying, "you see things like that too!". What a wonderful
way to start a deep friendship.
The value of this to our global society is great. Many of the
great movements in history that have been beneficial to the world where started by a small group of
like-minded friends who where passionate about an idea. It was these little groups of friends who
turned their backs on the conventional thinking of their times that have transformed the
world.The abolition of slavery or apartheid or the
Reformation. All these great movements where started by a small group of friends who saw the world
differently than the status quo and became empowered in eachother to do something about it. I'm
convinced that, through the collaboration power of PLN's, many of you will break new ground in
the years to come.
It's time to get on board.I will be seeking to find learning networks in the small business
world.
