Journal Two

Nets 3 and 5

Ferguson, Hadely. (2010). Join the flock!. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/Leading_and_Learning_Docs/June_July_2010_Join_the_Flock.sflb.ashx

Twitter has become a leader in social networking. It is often talked about with relation to celebrity use but the world of twitter is also becoming a great tool for educators when creating their own PLNs. PLN, or personal learning network, is a community of individuals around the world who are learning together. Through PLNs educators are able to communicate and collaborate with others who share similar interests and possibly more or different experiences.
Twitter comes into play with PLNs because it allows everyone to bring their personal learning networks together. Through access to websites such as this one, which is also free, it allows you to dedicate a little or a lot of your time to gaining new ideas that you will be able to contribute to your class room experience. The key to using twitter is really quite simple but in order to get the most of the experience you must tailor your profile to you personally. Your PLN is more likely to grow if you include a photo of yourself and include a bio specific to your interests in education. By doing small things such as this you are more likely to come across people that not only you are interested in following but that also may be interested in following you. Twitter is simple to use and can be increased or decreased in participation as seen fit, and a great way to allow your PLN to grow!

Isn’t twitter also used for personal social networking, how do I separate the two?
Twitter is great for both, and you can create separate accounts to not mix your social interactions or celebrity following with your educational ones.

What are the benefits of a personal learning network?
A PLN is a great way to collaborate not only with those locally but also with those with similar interests but in a different part of the world. It is the fastest and easiest way to have communication with so many people and will increase your access to blogs and materials.