Personal Learning Networks

In Richardson & Mancabelli's Personal Learning Networks 2011, we are being told that we need to change our way of looking at learning and teaching. Because our schools have opened up to the world through networks, "we now have two billion potential teachers, and soon, the sum of human knowledge will be at our fingertips." We can try to stem the tide by limiting our students' access to that world, but if we put a barrier in front of them, they will find a way around it. That characteristic of human nature has not changed.

The more I read and the more I study how the world is changing, the more I realize I know very little. I certainly do not feel technologically literate. So, what am I going to do about it? In the old adage, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em", I feel I must create my own personal learning network.

It is time to reach out beyond the walls of my school, my district to connect with other teachers and learners. It is important to be in control of my own learning. I don't think it will be easy. How do I actually connect with people that have the same learning goals as I do?

First, I believe that I need to know myself and what my learning goals actually are. It is also critical that I am confident in the principles I base my daily work in. If I cannot measure what I find out in the world against a vision of who I am or aspire to be, the choices become much more difficult. I have some ideas of how I want to go about this and what connections I would actually like to make.

Secondly, I need to know more about how to navigate the networks, how to establish a space of my own. I think this blog is a good start. I also have been reading Will Richardson's Wikis, Blogs, and Podcasts and Personal Learning Networks by Richardson and Mancabelli. I've also been following a few blogs and doing a little exploring.

Finally, it is a matter of just getting out there.

Learn by doing, right?