Nebraska Change Agent
' I am entirely certain that twenty years from now we will look back at education as it is practiced in most schools today and wonder how we could tolerated anything so primitive.' John W Gardner
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What the Heck is a PLN?
I don’t like it when people use acronyms and they just assume that the person they are talking to understands the meaning of them. I just realized I have been guilty of doing this a lot recently and I apologize! I have written a couple of blog posts and sent out tweets where I have referenced my PLN. I have had more than a few people contact me recently asking me to define PLN for them.
I will answer that, but first a little background.
Last summer I wrote a post about how important my PLC had become to me. PLC stands for professional learning community. (People use the terms PLC and PLN interchangeably, but PLN seems to be the term that is more popular.) I slowly moved from using the acronym PLC to PLN which is short for personal (professional) learning network. Anyone who is actively engaged in learning online is part of a PLN. If you are reading this then I am part of your PLN. The people I follow on Twitter make up the vast majority of my PLN. These are the people that I learn from and interact with on a daily basis. A PLN is an incredibly powerful tool to have at your disposal. The flow of information is available 24 hours a day seven days a week. It has been said that the more time you invest in building and contributing to your PLN the more you will get back from it in return. This is so true! A PLN does not form on its own; you have guide it and direct its growth. You have to invest time in figuring out who you want to include in your network. Don’t feel like you have to include everyone! That defeats the purpose in customizing it to fit your needs.
Do not be afraid to get to know some of the people in your network beyond Twitter. There is only so much you can share in 140 characters or less. Consider using email, Skype, chats, or discussion forums in various Nings to continue conversations that begin on Twitter. You might find you enjoy “working” with some of the people in your PLN. Collaborating on projects with people that you choose to work with is fantastic! It is an exciting time to be in education.
14 Responses to “What the Heck is a PLN?”
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June 9th, 2009 at 9:07 p
PLC also comes from DuFour (sp?) research. In our district, PLCs refer to grade level or content area meetings that usually include other staff members (counselors, media specialist, SPED teacher, etc.) where they discuss classroom practices, students and a variety of other topics. It’s exactly how you describe it, only in a face to face, controlled environment. Not as global as the PLN that you talk about.
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June 9th, 2009 at 9:31 p
It is true that you get more of anything you invest your time into – and a PLN is a great example. Thanks for reminding us all to keep investing and reaping great returns, no matter what is going on in the stock market!
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June 9th, 2009 at 2:11 p
I learned a great lesson today – I wiii always define my acronyms! Sometimes we get so caught up in what we are trying to share that we forget not everyone speaks the same language, especially the newbies (people new to online collaboration, tech integration etc.) that we are trying to mentor. Thanks for reminding us to spell out everything if we truly want to be understood.
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June 24th, 2009 at 9:14 p
[...] not sure where to begin? Collaborate with your PLN. Make use of the incredible resources at FT4T and ICTIMC for inspiration. Refine your ideas [...]
June 29th, 2009 at 1:40 p
[...] Comments Judi Roach on How MySpace Changed A LifeOutta The Classroom: Apps For The Apps | on What the Heck is a PLN?Angie Dowling on Proving the Educational Value of Twitter: One Post at a TimeGetting Started with [...]
July 11th, 2009 at 9:55 p
[...] started developing my personal learning network (PLN) in April 2008. I joined the NECC Ning and immediately started making connections with [...]
July 12th, 2009 at 10:15 p
[...] started developing my personal learning network (PLN) in April 2008. I joined the NECC Ning and immediately started making connections with people [...]
July 14th, 2009 at 7:47 p
[...] also have developed an amazing PLN that I love interacting with, but each minute I spend with them is a minute that I could (and [...]
August 8th, 2009 at 11:49 p
[...] exactly do you give a PLN to someone? Several suggestions have been made today, but the one you pick depends on your [...]
August 25th, 2009 at 9:24 p
[...] of the two projects is very different, yet the end goal is still the same. The goal is for our PLN to raise enough funds to send one teacher to the ISTE conference which will be in Denver, [...]
August 26th, 2009 at 3:41 p
[...] Teachers may identify themselves and their school (this is helpful for allowing collaboration and sharing of examples between educational colleagues and PLNs). [...]
September 5th, 2009 at 2:48 p
In Beth Still’s Nebraska Change Agent blog, she clearly anticipated my confusion. In a recent post called “What the Heck is a PLN?“ Still clarifies the difference.
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September 16th, 2009 at 2:30 p
[...] what does it mean to be an agent of change? I asked my PLN to define this phrase. Here is what they had to say: @ktompso: 1) one who helps others adjust to [...]
November 4th, 2009 at 1:15 p
[...] noon today we have raised $560. In the coming weeks I am going to post a series of challenges to my personal learning network (PLN) to help us meet the goal. (Thank you @ellsbeth for this great idea!) Starting right now and [...]