Personal Learning Networks

[Jim Lerman]

Dear Colleagues and Friends,
I've lately become very taken with the idea of the power of personal learning networks and have been doing a lot of research and thinking in the area. If this topic interests you, I'd like to bring two items quickly to your attention in hopes that you might visit::
A new, rather lengthy post on my blog at http://jlerman.wordpress.com/2008/02/24/personal-learning-networks-...
or
http://tinyurl.com/3douzf and
Formation of a new ning devoted to PLNs at http://plnpln.ning.com
My hope is that these steps will lead to a great deal of productive sharing.
Thank you.
Jim Lerman

[thornybee]

This looks interesting Jim, I'm going to have a look that's for sure.

[Jim Lerman]

Looking forward to your participation!

[ddeubel]

Jim

GREAT post and that slide also really set me a thinking..... I've long been developing my own "community" or PLN with an idea of fostering content over sensation. That to me seems the direction that education should go. Too often discussion gets bogged down in words, ideas get stuck in polemic mud.....you get the picture. If we really want kids/students to succeed, we have to create a place where content is fused into higher thinking. Bloom's old synthesis and evaluation. Too often communities don't get there and it becomes a parade of knowing not understanding.

Further, the one pitfall I see so often is about ownership. Number 1 on my own social networking manifesto is defined by that slide -- openess. No creator! No ownership! Organic growth and no directing! Meaning, even though one person started the fire, it is for everyone to warm themselves there and throw wood onto it.

Thanks for the great read and I'm going to mull over some more of the points you made.

David
http://eflclassroom.ning.com

[Jim Lerman]

Thanks, David

[Connie Weber]

Hi Jim and David,

Hey--that metaphor about the fire seems vaguely familiar.... ; )

Jim, I printed out and read your post and the Will Richardson link that you provided. Oh my gosh, I'm totally geeked. I've written comments in the margins of your blog, made little pictures, exclaimed things, and mostly noted "check this out!" over and over again. How I love to sit down at the computer on an information hunt. You've left a great trail to follow. The fact that it's spring vacation and I can just pursue any area of learning I want, and I got to see your thoughts--what a treat. I am there.! Utterly geeked out thinking about the possibilities in networking.

Thank you. Lots to explore.

Something that's really interesting to me is the state my class is in, after putting a lot of energy into learning how to network all year long (even rebuilding from a crash) and where they could go from here.

It's like the class sits on the cusp of a a wave, and is ready to tumble over into the force of the action, sweeping into other waves, merging powerful forces.

I love thinking about all that is happening...love also thinking about the leadership variables in the mix. Reading Margaret J. Wheatley. Here's some of her writing, in the intro to Leadership and the New Science:

"Though the outcomes to be gained from reading this book are unique to each of you, the ideas I have chosen to think about focus on the meta-issues that concern those of us who work in organizations: Where is order to be found? How do complex systems change? How do we create structures that are flexible and adaptive, that enable rather than constrain? how do we simplify things without losing what we value about complexity How do we resolve personal needs for autonomy and growth with organizational needs for prediction and accountability?"

It's no longer about building up pieces of things, putting them together to get a whole. It's about the pieces and the whole being a dynamic entity that evolves.

This idea from Wheatley always gets me: "Chaos is necessary to new creative ordering."

Here is a great Margaret S. Wheatley articles source.

Sorry I went on so long. Thanks for listening. I'm getting back to my studies! (Oh wait--I'm IN my studies right now!)

[Jim Lerman]

Hi Connie,
Your post isn't too long at all. In fact I find myself wanting to read a lot more!
What grade level do you teach?
When you speak about networking in your class, what kind of networking are you talking about? Physical (wires and servers and stuff) or interpersonal?
Thanks for the connection to Margaret Wheatley. I'll definitely check it out.
Jim Lerman

[Connie Weber]

Hi Jim,

I have a 4th/5th grade class that has been using a ning this year for networked learning.

One effect is that we end up being "in school out of school", at home and over vacation. For instance, since it's vacation right now, classmates check in with photos of where they are (all over the place) and descriptions of what's going on. A couple of food blogs might appear. New music goes up, comments fly back and forth. Videos are harvested and posted off youtube. All on our little private ning. The kids are connected; they have a sense of belonging to a networked class "learning family."

If you want to hear about the experiment (what I call a major "shift" in education), you can read about what I've been doing on my blog at Fireside Learning. (You'll have to scroll down to blog entries and select those entitled "evolution of a homeroom class".) It'd be great if you would. I find myself absolutely full of questions about everything--and loving the whole experience. I am absolutely certain that using a ning for class work and community connection has been one of the most powerful tools for learning that I've ever seen. I've been around a while: 30 years a teacher. I'm one of those lone wolf early adopters who found a new pack, extending my local collegial environment into much more broad and interconnected communities.
The fact that I'm extensively "networked" provides a model for the students as well. They see a lot of what I'm doing professionally, especially since a lot of the resources we use in class I've harvested from my learning networks and brought back to the class network. And my class is very involved in Artsnacks, Kevin Honeycutt's fantastic arts-oriented network. Also David's EFLClassroom. It's all so mind-expanding and dynamic!

[CIndyLane]

Jim,
Looking forward to sharing this with my ELITE III group which meets THIS wednesday. We are going to explore the differences between Community and Networks and proceed to build both...Thanks for the great information and timely too! *You are part of my PLN!!!
Cindy Lane

[Jim Lerman]

Great to hear from you Cindy. You're in my PLN too! It's exciting to learn that you might discuss the PLN ning group and/or my blog post with your ELITE III group. Please encourage anyone interested to join the PLN ning. I'm really hoping for this to evolve into something.
What do you know about PLNs?
What do you want to know?
Best,
Jim

[Kevin Prentiss]

Was interested, tried to follow the original link, says it was deleted. Did I miss something? Can you provide a new link?

[Jim Lerman]

Hi Kevin,
I regret to inform you and the rest of the community that due to unforeseen circumstances, it was necessary to take the site down.

[Mechelle De Craene]

I'm sorry to hear of that Jim. That must have been hard. I remember one year, us teachers were told not to blog anymore. Education is challenging sometimes...

I'm you're here to share and I'm looking forward to learning more from you Hope you have a good evening.

Best Wishes,
Mechelle : )