Why personal learning networks?

    Personal learning networks are the future of education. Education has looked the same for the last one hundred years or more. (Richardson, Mancabelli 2011)  The teacher is at the front of the room, the students carry several thick textbooks full of information and are asked series of direct questions to gauge learning. Access to information is no longer limited to purchased workbooks or practice problems developed by the classroom teacher. The educational world that we are entering into is a place of creation and collaboration. (Richardson, Mancabelli 2011) The internet is full of amazing resources and ideas but, before we jump in with both feet, educators must first determine where to find quality materials and positive ideas that will strengthen students education.
        One way to accomplish this goal is to enter into a personal learning network. These networks can be through sites like the NSTA, EdWeb, or even popular social networks such as Twitter and Facebook   (Richardson, Mancabelli 2011). Personal learning networks will allow us to connect with teachers around the globe who are teaching similar subjects. Collaboration outside your usual group of local educators opens up a great opportunity for both educators and students. There have been many times that I have struggled to create quality laboratory experiences for my students. I would spend hours sifting through the results of a google search. After a lot of frustration, I chose one that looked promising, but in reality turned out to be sub par. Had I been part of a personal learning network, I could have asked teachers who have experience with similar topics and received advice and feedback on what they do in their classroom. One of the members in my network may have been able to advise against that lab and offer a much better solution. It may have saved me several hours sifting through forty different ideas and saved my students and I the frustration of inaccurate results. I could also help my fellow teachers by sharing my experiences with them and materials that have proven useful in my classroom. There have been a few times in my career that I have created something for my classroom that I was proud of, and would have enjoyed seeing others benefit from it as well.
         It is my believe that the use of personal learning networks can dramatically change the dynamic of the class from being teacher centered to student centered. Using Web 2.0 tools students can create and share their knowledge with one another and get instant feedback on their work. This feedback is not limited to just the subjective opinion of that classroom teacher, but can also be seen by their peers in the classroom, or even by professionals outside of the classroom. One example would be to have students use social media to conduct a survey and ask family and friends to participate. The students can then use the survey to determine a topic on which to create a presentation of their choosing, possibly a blog or info graphic and she how that information effects their audience by opening a discussion over the information. The workforce that are students will enter into will require such skills as we as a society begin to act more globally then locally.

Here is a list of websites that I found helpful as I researched Personal learning networks
Mind/Shift
Teacher Challenges
Educators Technology and Mobile Learning 


References: 
         Richardson, W.,& Mancabelli,R. (2011). Personal learning networks: Using the power of connections to transform education. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press