Professional Learning Networks
I haven’t blogged in a week because I have been busy building my Professional Learning Network (PLN). What is that, you ask? It is a group of individuals with a common interest who share ideas and resources in order to promote their own learning. My PLN consists of other educators from across the country who I have met at conferences or who I have been introduced to by those educators I have met.
Most PLNs today exist online using social networking sites like Ning or Web 2.0 technologies like Twitter or wikis. The one that I am currently using is Plurk. It is similar to Twitter, because users are limited to 140 characters or less in their message, but it is so much easier to follow conversations.
I really like how supportive the people are that are in my PLN. You can post a question or ask for a suggestion on any topic and get a response pretty quickly. Now granted, not every plurk (or message) is always educational, but they are always informational and/or entertaining.
If you haven’t created a PLN yet and this sounds like something you might be interested in, please sign up for Plurk and send me a friend request. I will be sure to add you as a friend and introduce you to the people in my PLN so you can start to build your own PLN!
