PLN

toc =Building a Professional / Personal Learning Network=

Where do you go to learn?
[|10 Tips for Growing your Personal Learning Network]

**Is this your community?**


 * or is this your community? **



(Diagrams by Alec Couros in PhD Dissertation - Examining the Open Movement: Possibilities and Implications for Education",(172) 2006).

Tools to Build your Network
[|Technorati Blog Directory]

[|Education feeds from Alltop] [|Twitter] [|Plurk] Education Nings [|EdTechTalk]
 * [|Getting started with Twitter]
 * [|Classroom 2.0]
 * [|Ning in Education]
 * [|Global Education Collaborative]

**What can you get from your network?**
Web 2.0 tools provide opportunities for educators to create Online Social Networks that provide professional growth at their own pace and interest level outside the walls of the institution

**Your network can...**

 * offer best practice solutions for classroom and online teaching practices
 * provide peer support and encouragement
 * give opportunities for collaboration
 * provide communication and training for both novices and advanced users of Internet tools.
 * provide mentoring Opportunities
 * be a place for resource-sharing

Why Social Networks for Professional Growth

 * Teaching is a high burnout profession
 * Schools and educational institutions cannot keep up with the training of new software or online tools
 * Efficient use of time and cost
 * Ultimately, learning gains for students