Journal Response #6

Warlick, D. (March/April 2009). Grow Your Personal Learning Network. Learning & Leading, 36, Retrieved March 7, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/Current_Issue/L_L_March_April.htm

In this week's journal article, David Warlick discusses PLN's, or personal learning networks. He points out that, as technology changes, people have more choices about how to connect with one another, and easier ways to access information. Warlick list the three typse of PLN's. First, he discusses personally maintained synchronous connections, which include more traditional methods of communication, such as Skype and Ichat, where the user is basically focused on one way of communicating and/or asking questions. Collaboration happens in real time. Next, he brings up personally and socially maintained semisynchronous connections, which is sort of multi-tasking communication; Warlick uses the example in his article of a kid doing homework while having multiple chat windows open. This means that the user has multiple sources who may answer questions, or communicate with them, but the communication doesn't necessarily happen in real time. Finally, there are dynamically maintained asynchronous connections, such as RSS. With the other two types of PLN, the user has to seek out information, but with RSS, information comes directly to the user.
Warlick follows this summary with a diagram of the ways that multiple PLN paths can affect a learner. He mentions that, as the learner gathers and analyzes information, they add to this information, which is then picked up and added to by still other PLN networks. He mentions that this great connectivity also adds to a person's responsibility, because we are all part of someone else's network. He states that an essential part of education in this era involves teaching students to be self-directed. PLN's help do this, because of the wealth of information they offer, and because they make information quick and easy to access.

Question #1
How can I use PLN's in my future classroom?
Social bookmarking tools and other RSS feeds will greatly enrich my future classroom. Most of my students will have grown up having great familiarity with this type of technology, and so will feel comfortable using it in the classroom. Tools like a social bookmarking and a class blog can help students stay connected to the classroom community while accessing new information to add to the learning community.

Question #2
How can I make better use of my own personal learning networks, as I journey towards becoming a teacher?
I am already comfortable with some networking tools, like ichat and blogger, and of course, I text and email. But I could do so much more. While I was introduced to social bookmarking in class, I feel that I need to continue to practice using it, and get comfortable navigating Delicious. Sometimes, the information-gathering technology we learn about in class is so simple it's hard for me to grasp it. This is the way I felt with Googledocs, but with practice, I realized that technology doesn't have to be scary, and sometimes it really is as easy as it looks. ED 422 is encouraging me to be brave, and experiment on my own with tech tools and resources.