I learned a lot from listening to John Evans about the pros of developing a personal learning network. I couldn't help but agree with him that you can't do it alone, and you need to stay connected with other professionals so that you can improve yourself. Professional Development is part of our mandate as teachers, and the easiest way to learn nowadays is no longer driving for an hour to a PD once a year, its by using the internet and connecting with other people all across the world! I think it is so exciting that we are becoming teachers in a time when it is possible to access information and people from anywhere in the world. The possibilities are astounding! You no longer have to be in one place with one person to learn, you can be anywhere, and the learning can happen at any time. Of the applications John talked about, the ones I am most excited to learn about are Teaching with Ted, Scoop.it, and Maple once it is fully up and running. I am also excited about expanding myself in the areas of diigo, RSS, and twitter. I don't think I have been using these tools to their greatest advantage, and after learning about all of the new tools from our presenters, and I am coming to realize that the most important thing I can do is to get organized so that I can use these tools to their highest advantage!
From the research that i did on my own before the presentation, I learned that social learning is the idea that learning is a human centred experience, and that we learn best when we learn from other people's experiences. Learning socially has become a world-wide revolution. I am very excited about social learning, because I know myself that I learn best when I am emotionally and meaningfully connected to the content. As a child and young adult, I loved to listen to other people's stories. I am an avid reader, and I think that the reason I have been so successful in school is because I am able to find ways to make the learning relevant to my own life experience. This is a skill that I have learned over the years through trial and error, but imagine the possibilities if teachers could show students how to use the tools available to them to create their own learning experience from the very beginning. This is what I am so excited about! Every person learns differently and is interested in different things, but the internet and technology provide the tools for every student to reach their highest potential. As teachers, imagine being the facilitators of this type of learning! WOW... and the way to get there is to build your personal learning network (or community or environment). I will publish a copy of my own PLN, created using SimpleMind on Monday once I get help from some of my "teammates."After all, we can't (and shouldn't) do this job on our own, because two heads (or 1000's) are better than one!!!
Glad to read your comments on the social nature of learning. When we stop and reflect on our own learning, we can see the power of this idea - and it is very interesting to get into the work of pioneers of these ideas. Thanks for the reflections, Nicky.
ReplyDeleteYour ideas and thoughts on social learning are great. I truly agree that learning is a personal experience and that learning through others is the best way to learn. It is for that reason that PLNs become sooooo important in our teaching. Sharing and learning from others gives teachers an endless supply of resources and experiences to draw from in their teachings.
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