Spring 2013 Teaching and Learning Workshops: Building your Personal Learning Network (PLN) May 21, 2013 Peter Newbury ctd.ucsd.edu CC-BY-NC

1. CTD WEEKLY WORKSHOPS:
BUILDING YOUR PERSONAL
LEARNING NETWORK
Peter Newbury
Center for Teaching Development,
University of California, San Diego
pnewbury@ucsd.edu @polarisdotca
ctd.ucsd.edu #ctducsd
resources: http://tinyurl.com/PLNCTDSp2013
May 21, 2013 11:00 – 11:50 am
Center Hall, Room 316

2. New ideas…
Building your personal learning network (PLN)2
The very idea that there are online communities in
which you have digital identities is
 new – when did you first see your name online?
 rapidly changing with advancing web speed and
technology

3. New ideas about new ideas…
Building your personal learning network (PLN)3
We are just beginning to study how online communities
and digital identities function.
Today’s presentation is heavily based on work done by
Bonnie Stewart @bonstewart
Alec Couros @courosa
#etmooc etmooc.org

4. Building your personal learning network (PLN)4
2. online
environment
3. how you
represent
yourself 4. how to
participate
1. benefits

5. 1. Benefits to being online
Building your personal learning network (PLN)5
When you’re online, you can be a
learner teacher
leader follower
contributor consumer
mentor mentee
expert novice
supportive vulnerable

6. Online communities are about
Building your personal learning network (PLN)6
y
o
u
p
e
o
p
l
e
relationships

7. For me…
Building your personal learning network (PLN)7
 I am no longer alone at conferences
 I fulfill my obligation to share conf with others
 I have colleagues around the World
 my followers support me when I’m unsure what to do
 my followers came with me with I moved
 Twitter is my Google
 news source, esp breaking
 I can share my knowledge, advice, experiences
 I can connect people

8. 2. Online Environment
Building your personal learning network (PLN)8
…is a “networked public” with
 multiple, overlapping global networks
 always accessible
 people, events, knowledge are visible, traceable, searchable

9. Building your personal learning network (PLN)9
Academic learning Networked learning
product-focused process-focused
institutionally-directed self-directed
mastery participation
bounded by space, time always accessible
hierarchical ties peer-to-peer ties
plagiarism crowdsourcing
authority by role authority by reputation
audience = teacher audience = World
Who we are is shaped by the
context(s) we’re addressing.

10. 3. How to represent yourself
Building your personal learning network (PLN)10
Each of us have a digital identity, or identities, which
represents us in the online environment.
A digital identity has many traits.
What are yours?

11. Building your personal learning network (PLN)
1. Performative self
We need to perform to develop an identity. This
is where we show our scholarship and expertise.
How willing are you to
put yourself out there?
very - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - not at all
2. Quantified self
There are analytics to assess your influence:
friends/followers/circles, blog traffic, Klout
How important are your scores to you?
very - - - - - - - - - - - - - - don’t care
3. Participatory self
Getting in and participating is what makes it
possible for others to find and engage with you.
Do you participate or lurk?
participate - - - - - - - - - - - - - - lurk
4. Asychronous self
It is up to you how quickly you participate. You
control when and how your respond.
Do you like talking on the telephone?
love it - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - hate it
5. Enmeshed self
Your in-person and digital selves are intimately
connected.
How much of your in-person self are
you willing to reveal?
everything - - - - - - - - - - - - private
6. Neoliberal self
Creating a brand for yourself, “Me, Inc.”
Are you willing to self-brand?
yes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - no
Defining your Digital Identity
Adapted from Bonnie Stewart presentation to etmooc.org

12. Context Collapse
Building your personal learning network (PLN)12
“The audience you’re speaking to is not the only
audience that’s hearing you” – Bonnie Stewart
Context collapse is that moment when your networks
and identities overlap in unexpected ways, both good
and bad.
Be aware that it will happen.
With foresight, the good hugely outweighs the bad.

13. 4. How to participate
Building your personal learning network (PLN)13
blog
Twitter
facebook
pinterest
Google+
…and many, many others

14. Building your personal learning network (PLN)14
Twitter (twitter.com)
 “water cooler”
 the best street party you’ve ever
been to
(Wordpress) blog (wordpress.com)
 a place to archive your thinking
 write it for yourself, share it,
people will contribute back
blog
Twitter
Good investment: Twitter + blog

15. Building your personal learning network (PLN)15
Twitter
account
handle
avatar
name
bio
location
want more?
If you have something
interesting to say,
people will find you,
follow you, engage
with you.

16. Benefits to being online
Building your personal learning network (PLN)16
When you’re online, you can be a
It takes time, motivation, dedication to build and
maintain a personal learning network.
The investment is worth it.
learner teacher
leader follower
contributor consumer
mentor mentee
expert novice
supportive vulnerable