“Building a personal learning network requires that you not only seek to learn from others, but also that you also help others in the network learn. Even when you are a novice in a field of learning, you can still make contributions.“ (Daniel R. Tobin)

What are Personal Learning Communities? Various terms can be used to identify this concept:

• Legitimate periphal participation
• Communities of practice
• Distributed knowledge
• Personal Learning Environments
  
• Shared learning
• Personal learning networks

A visual example of a personal learning community/environment - AJ Cann

How can I build my own Personal Learning Community?

1. See "Stop Searching - Start Connecting: The Art of Building Personal Learning Communities That Deliver" by James Folkestad, Colorado State University. NOTE: This conference presentation is over an hour long and is full of practical advice from experienced teachers. Be sure to watch at least the opening section (about 20 minutes).
   

   • Watch the presentation
     
   • Download PowerPoint notes from this presentation.

   
   
2. See 5 Things You Can Do to Begin Developing Your Personal Learning Network
   
   • Comes from The Innovative Educator blog written by Lisa Nielsen.
   • This particular blog post also includes a brief video clip of Will Richardson discussing the importance of creating a personal learning network.
   
   

   
   
   

3. 8 Stages of PLN Development - Blogged by Liz B. Davis
   
   
4. Browse around All Things PLC, a community developed "to serve as a collaborative, objective resource for educators and administrators who are committed to enhancing student achievement."

Here are some tools that can assist in creating and maintaining your PLC

1. Friendster
2. LinkedIn
3. Ning
4. Twitter
5. MySpace
6. Facebook
7. Questler
8. Squidoo
8. Blogs
9. Wikis

The Art and Technique of Personal Learning Networks - David Warlick

"As we work in a time of rapid change, with students who are digital natives, from within a dramatically new information landscape, the best description of the 21st Century teacher is Master Learner. Participants in this presentation will learn how to utilize a variety of new web-based applications to construct and cultivate personal learning networks. Educators will learn to attract information from other professional educators, experts in the fields of study, current news and news searches, student perspective, relevant resources from a growing library of web-based digital content, and other content sources to assist them in adapting to this age of change."

"It will be what you make it." - Clif Mims

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