While reading the introduction and first chapters in our readings this week, I was introduced to the idea of the Personal Learning Network (PLN). Actually, the idea of building a network or resources, ideas, and connection through technology was not new to me, but giving this "blob" (for lack of a better term at the time) an official name was. I have created my own mini PLNs in the past related to my hobbies and even to my work through previous courses, however I have never really realized what I was creating. In our text, the authors state, "we can learn anytime, anywhere, with potentially anyone around the world who shares our interest." Using this idea on something as simple as quilting for a hobby, as I had, is amazing, however when it is applied to our students learning and ourselves as teachers, the endless possibilities are mind blowing!
Our students can literally use technology to create a learning network in which there is no limit to what or how much they can learn. The textbook states, "unlike traditional learning environments, each of our networks is unique, created and developed to our personalized learning goals." It has always been a challenge for teachers to create lessons and curriculum that fit and meet the needs of every different learner in our classrooms - PLNs allow each of our students to create a pool of resources that are useful and valuable to them as an individual and that will help that individual student learn and grow. I love how personal PLNs are. We can add what we know is relevant and useful to ourselves, not anyone else. There are so many benefits to using PLNs in our classrooms, one of the most important to me being how personalized they are.
Before even thinking about PLNs, however, schools and teachers must realize the benefits and importance of technology in the classroom and embrace what it has to offer. For many, technology is new and uncharted territory and can be intimidating at first. It is this fear that has prevented many teachers from taking advantage of many of the new technologies out there that can benefit our students. I can't really blame these teachers for being scared, because even as a new teacher n 2006, my college education did not provide training on technology in the classroom. I learned PowerPoint from a 3rd grader! I have the advantage of having grown up with some technology and I admit I am intimidated by mos of what students these days are using - I can't even imagine how those what have been teaching for longer must feel! The text book did make a comment that stuck with me - we must "cross-pollinate adults' knowledge of learning with teenagers' knowledge of networks." To me, this statement means that we must be open to learning from our student and blending their knowledge of technology with our knowledge of teaching to lean how to effectively use technology to teach and learn.
Teachers are often not open to change and technology simply because they are comfortable teaching in the manner in which they themselves were taught. The book states that "most teachers are products of this outdated system." To them, the system was successful and worked, so why change what has worked in the past. This is a difficult mindset to overcome. It is hard to get people to change when they have had success with a particular method in the past. I think that everyone, teachers and students alike need to always have the mindset that everything changes and is changing. We must always be open to try new thing and we must always be looking for something better. We must always consider ourselves lifelong learners. "In times of change, learners inherit the earth while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."
