This document discusses personal learning networks (PLNs) and their importance for professional development. It defines a PLN as an informal network of people a learner interacts with to gain knowledge. PLNs can include social networks, blogs, and other online communities. The document emphasizes that knowledge exists in the connections between people and that staying connected through strong and weak ties improves learning. It also discusses how PLNs can help professionals learn new skills, collaborate with others, and stay up to date in their field.

1. PROFESSIONAL STUDIES 3A

4.  Professional
doing a certain kind of work as a full-time
job for payment
 Learning
involves obtaining knowledge by
studying
 Network
a net-like arrangement of connected
lines; a group of people that exchange
information

5.  Is the entire collection of people with
whom you engage and exchange
information, usually online.
 A personal learning network is an
informal learning network that consists of
the people a learner interacts with and
derives knowledge from in a personal
learning environment.

6.  In a PLN, a person makes a connection
with another person with the specific
intent that some type of learning will
occur because of that connection
 There are different types of PLN,
PLNs can include tons of different
communities – social networking sites like
Facebook, blogs, Twitter, wikis, social
bookmarking tools, LinkedIn.

8.  They learn through networking

9.  Knowledge exists in the connection we
make on a daily basis with other
individuals.
 Types of connections:
 Strong connections vs weak connections
 Staying connected improves knowledge

11.  “A personal representation that
represents a skill set, a big idea, a belief
system, and value-equation that other
people find of interest. Personal
branding is everything you do that
differentiates and market yourself, such
as your messages, self-presentation, and
marketing tactics”. C. Kupta

12.  Entails that you:
 reflect on your practice
 attend conferences, workshops and
seminars
 continuously read academic journals
and/or professional literature
 attend service training sessions and staff
meetings

13.  Learn new things
 Ask questions
 Collaborate
 Validation
 Camaraderie
 Stay in touch with friends

14.  To update our practice
 To learn, unlearn, and relearn
 To reflect constantly to the changes
around your profession

15.  The personal web site is still one of the
most critical foundations of your
professional brand.
 The online environment allow you to
manage your brand perception
(professional development).
 The web allows you to archive and
display your attributes. Web sites don’t
have to be complicated to be of value.

16.  Be sure to focus on the usability,
graphics, navigation, metadata, page
layout and information content.
 While technology comes and goes over
time, the simplicity of design never does.
Maybe a full scale web site is too much
time and effort, if so then simply create a
blog from one of the many free sources.

17.  The key is to get that professionalism out
in the public. At the heart of a
professional representation is to see that
the individual has differentiated
themselves from the pack, a diverse set
of skills and talent, and a history of
delivery. If you can communicate that in
a simple and concise manner then you
are at the top of your game.

18.  We know we can distribute information,
now we need to concentrate on how
we associate to each other, how we
build learning contexts

19.  Know-how and know-what is being
supplemented with know-where (the
understanding of where to find
knowledge needed).

21.  Professional development – learn from
content-area specialists
 Locate resources for your classroom,
such as free websites and software
 Get lesson plan ideas from master
teachers

22.  Learn about new technology and how
to integrate it into your teaching
 Find collaborative solutions
 Find interesting links to education news
 Students can also reap the benefits of
tapping into their PLNs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw
M4ieFOotA

23.  Whether you’re a full-time teacher, or a
full-time student, your PLN can be
extremely interesting and helpful. The
beauty of people communicating online
is the ease of finding and sharing
information and – if you ask for it – the
group feedback that you get on ideas
and projects.

24.  Raquseo, C. (2001, March 4). Professional
development. pp. 4-30.
 Abbey,E. (2009, March 6). Professional learning
networks. pp. 1-23.
 Stephens, R. (2005, August 31). Fifteen ways to
implement professional branding. 15 Ways, p. 19.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_learning_netwo
rk
 http://onceateacher.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/pln-
your-personal-learning-network-made-easy/