AET/562 Version 2 / 1
University of Phoenix Material Christine Fulton
Personal Learning Network (PLN) Social Media Matrix
Your PLN is just that—a personal selection of resources that will directly benefit your professional development. Complete the matrix by listing10 social media accounts to follow—such as thoseonTwitter®, Facebook®, Pinterest®, or LinkedIn®—as well as blogs, topic-specific communities, and so forth. Include the name of the site, the authors, a description of the site, and the benefit of this site to your PLN.
Social Media Account Name / Authors / Description / Benefit of this Account to Your PLNOECD Education Today
/ Contributors include both OECD education experts and guest bloggers from the global education community. / The blog’s content is mainly education and the many variables it envelops. / This blog will help me stay ontop of the pertinent issues facing instructors.
EduTopia
/ Educators from around the country / The blog is an online community that increases knowledge, sharing, and adoption of what works in K-12 education. / Many of the articles are useful for adult learners too. There are many resources on the blog that I can use as well.
The Cool Cat Teacher
/ Vickie Davis / The blog is a fun and very insightful when it comes to technology and how to use it in an educational setting / Her concentration on technology in the classroom is what makes her blog so valuable to educators from any part of the field
The Chronicle of Higher Education
/ The Chronicle has more than 70 writers, editors, and international correspondents. / This blog is about news, information and even jobs located in the higher education market. / This blog has many uses to me and one of the most important are the jobs located on the site. Not just for applying but what is wanted in different sectors of the community. The blog also offers up articles on education in the news and a wealth of helpful information in education.
The Edublogger
/ Sue Waters and Ronnie Burt / The blog helps educational bloggers with emerging technologies in education. The Edublogger has been set up by Edublogs “the largest education community on the Internet” (The Edublogger, 2015) / Its purpose is to share tips, tricks, and ideas to provide help to the educational blogging community. This will help me in many ways as tools and articles in training are interchangeable in many instances. Great source of information.
Edudemic / Kyle Dunning / Its main goal is to help connect education and technology. / Many articles on social media use and the tools that can enhance education. Another great source of information to expand my knowledge if technology and teaching. I love the How To section.
Mind/Shift
/ Ki Sung, Katrina Schwartz and Tina Barseghian / This blog talks about the future of education and how to make the most of technology. / This is one of the many blogs I have found that will enable me to read and follow technology in education. It is a great resource for understanding what is to come next.
The Tech Savvy Educator
/ Ben Rimes / Covers every subject and how technology can help in the education of each. / With this blog and all the technology know how, I can use the information to make technology look less apprehensive as it can be too many adult learners.
There are many great articles to choose from and a very educational blog as well.
The Innovative Educator
/ Lisa Nielsen / The blog is about helping others change the way education is now to what education should be. / This site has so many articles on using social media in the classroom I cannot wait to get started. She has also written books that I do plan on taking a look at.
Educational Technology and Mobile Learning
/ Operated by a team of educators in Canada. / The team sends the time looking for the right tools then learns about them and then writes about them / This blog is an encyclopedia of technology and the many uses it has to offer. There are many articles from How to use google docs to which audio books are the best to listen to and the best apps to use on iPad and Android devices. I feel I will be referring to this blog the most when I want to learn and understand about technology in the classroom
Answer the following questions based on your research and the matrix. Include a reference page consistent with APA guidelines.
- What is a PLN? Why is the careful selection of resources important to establishing your PLN?
A PLN (Personal Learning Network) is any group that helps you develop and learn. (Hibberson, 2013)You may be interested in many different things and the PLN is a network of places to go to get further information on how to do that one thing. Or you may use your PLN for professional learning. A PLN can become a 2 way-street, as you become more comfortable with what is being learned you might want to share your thoughts or learning experiences and in essence, give back to the PLN. Below is a diagram of words I found that essentially gives true meaning to PLN.
(Hibberson, 2013)
- What role doTwitter®and LinkedIn®play as social media tools? How can these channels benefit your professional development?
Twitter is a free service that is part microblogging and part social network, which allows users to send and receive short, 140 character messages. (Smith, 2012) Recently, educators have taken to Twitter to teach. Giving links to the more in depth articles and learning tools. It is a great tool for researching information. Twitter can be used as a learning tool for the PLN or learning network known as a Personal Learning Network.(Lalonde, 2012)
LinkedIn, started in 2003, is the world's largest professional social media network. LinkedIn wants to join as many professionals as possible in one meeting place to help people network professionally. When you join LinkedIn, you get access to people, jobs, news, updates, and insights that help you be great at what you do. LinkedIn allows you to network with people and organizations in your industry. Many people use LinkedIn as a brainstorming tool. You can also use your profile's status update to ask questions to people in your network, or share news or insight. (Roos, 2015)
- Can a PLN take the place of formal classroom training? Explain your response.
No, I do not think it can take the place of formal classroom training however, it sure can enhance the learning. A personal learning network (PLN) is a network of resources including people (subject matter experts, coworkers, friends, mentors, etc.) and online resources (websites, wikis, blogs, discussion forums, Twitter feeds, etc.) that represents an individual’s learning community. PLNs are virtual spaces for people to connect, share ideas, and develop knowledge. (Whitby, 2013) Content literally moves from the person’s head, where it can become lost or muddled, to the network, where it is always available. When people with their own PLNs come together, they create learning communities or something similar to communities of practice, defined as groups of people who share a craft or profession and who come together to teach and learn from each other.“Remember that the purpose of a PLN is personalized learning.” (Whitby, 2013)
References
Education Week, (2015). Retrieved 5 September 2015, from
Hibberson, S. (2013). Five steps in developing a Personal Learning Network (PLN) - Jisc RSC Blog. Jisc Regional Support Centres Blog. Retrieved 10 September 2015, from
Lalonde, C. (2012). Retrieved 13 September 2015, from eLearn Magazine, an ACM Publication, (2015). elearn Magazine: How important is Twitter in your Personal Learning Network. Retrieved 10 September 2015, from
Roos, D. (2015). How LinkedIn Works. HowStuffWorks. Retrieved 10 September 2015, from
Smith, B. (2012). The Beginner's Guide to Twitter. Mashable. Retrieved 10 September 2015, from
Whitby, T. (2013). How Do I Get a PLN?Edutopia. Retrieved 18 November 2013, from