PLN

Personalized Learning Network 

Social media is one of the most important tools that connected educators have at their disposal. Sites like twitter and facebook, make it easy for to educators to collect, collaborate, communicate, and create with other teachers from around the world. Personal Learning Networks or PLNs, are networks of connected educators that share resources and ideas in order to become more effective teachers. 

Our instructor Ed Warkentin has issued us the challenge of becoming connected educators and building our own Personal Learning Networks. The go-to tool has been twitter for its ease of use and large user base. You would think that sifting through all the content to find quality post would be difficult, but the amount of educators contributing to the site makes finding valuable content and resources a breeze.

had hesitations at first about reaching out to others, but I was pleasantly surprised just how helpful and welcoming the teaching community is. One of the most fun assignments we've done was a video interview with a connected educator. For my interview, I reached out to Jimmy Casas one of the authors of "What Connected Educators Do Differently" he agreed to sit down with me and answer some questions about ed tech and the future of education. Our conversation was one of the most inspiring and inspirational experiences I've had on my education journey. You can find that interview here.

It is truly a small world after all, since creating my twitter account I've connected with educators from Africa, Germany, and France. I've also enjoyed viewing my classmate's blogs and twitter postings. With online classes, you rarely get the chance to interact with other students outside of the class forums. It's nice to have another platform for interaction, and I've been impressed with the content and resources that my fellow students have shared.

I recently picked up a Samsung Gear VR and they have an app that allows you to interact with others in virtual meeting spaces. I imagine that once the technology becomes more prevalent these spaces will become another place for educators to network with one another. What Do you guys think? Will VR will become another PLN tool in the near future? Comment below.