The Power of a Strong Personal Learning Network

The Importance of Social Learning and Creating a Personal Learning Network

Personal learning networks are learning spaces consisting of a group of people who you develop, share, and gather information and knowledge for specialized goals and needs. The networks are usually interactive and connected through collaboration, sharing, and discussions. Networks are available and accessible to anyone, allowing educators to connect with individuals on a global scale. Personal learning networks are critical in today’s workforce and provide an informal approach to support your learning. It provides a way to remain current and connect with others in similar fields and be able to express ideas, thoughts, and opinions. It is also a place to connect to sources, pose questions and reflect on recommendations and suggestions. Because PLNs vary in format, they can often be divided into several focal points including formal networks, informal networks, and social networks.

My PLNs and Why They Matter

As a business professional in the corporate industry, my learning audience normally consists of adult learners of varying backgrounds. With the focus on introducing and maintaining technology in my organization, my discipline has a need to access and utilize internet-based learning networks that will enhance the scope of my existing knowledge. It is important to not only belong to these networks but also contribute to them. Having and using strong PLNs provides the opportunity to build your training in targeted areas and increase continuing education and professional development (Way, 2012). I currently belong to several personal learning networks. A chart detailing the networks and providing a description and use cases of some of these networks can be found below in the Appendix.

Expansion of current Personal Learning Network

The constant growth of a PLN is essential. PLNs are an important part of continued learning and development for educators. In most cases, educators are lifelong learners, and in order to remain consistent and current on effective ways to present content to learners, it is important to share and receive ideas, skills, and best practices from others in the field. This development often includes new and repurposed materials, resources, and tools used to provide successful learning experiences. Many tools used recently are digital and technological in nature. The network provides an essential way to connect with others with a common goal of better understanding and maintaining groups for learning educators with the fundamental goal of improving learners' experiences (Carpenter et al., 2022). Because of this ultimate goal, personal learning network spaces should always change and be realigned based on individual and shared needs.

Benefits of Connecting with New Personal Learning Networks

Increasing the depth of knowledge and resources provided in my current network is a valuable skill set that will be used to help me grow as a professional and as an individual. Most importantly, it is a way to keep my mind engaged and help to get new exposure to other ideas and thoughts, and increase my knowledge-based perspectives. With the issues surrounding the constant and rapid changes in technology and the demand to provide accurate knowledge creation, it is progressively more challenging to remain aware without help from others who specialize in the same field (Manning, 2015). With these challenges, the growth of one’s personal learning network becomes crucial and comes into play. I expect that growing my network will allow for continued learning from like-minded peoples’ ideas, questions, and reflections. With the need to expand my personal learning network, I have selected several networks which has their own significance and will play a unique role in my growth and development.

Below is a list of networking groups I have been exposed to in this course that I find will be a great resource to help me continue to grow and develop as a strong educator and designer and plan to join to expand my knowledge.

NetworkURL

The Association for Talent Development (ATD), which was previously known as the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), is an organization that serves individuals who develop talent in a workplace environment. This network provides practical tools and templates to improve my approach to my career and will also provide best practices from leading training experts and top companies. I anticipate that my participation in this network will be weekly by accessing their resources and watching webinars and conference recordings. The Association of Career & Technical Education (ACTE) is the largest nationwide education association in the U.S. committed to the advancement of education. This network provides leadership by delivering programs to stage learners for professional success. I anticipate that my participation in this network will be weekly interactions on the online network and electronic publications, and by reading their member magazine monthly or as it is published. The Global Learning and Development Community (GLDC) is a community that provides an environment for members to meet other peers in the industry. The network is focused on building connections and relationships that are used to assist others in the industry. I anticipate that my participation in this network will be to weekly access their personal RSS feed, watch the posted YouTube videos by members, and follow their posts on LinkedIn.

Benefits of belonging to a Personal Learning Network. Belonging to a personal learning network allows you to interact and work together with educators and designers in the same industry, who share the same interests and allow you to stay up to date on the trends in your field. Having access to a personal learning network provides ways to have continuous access to resources and actionable sources that are often not otherwise exposed to. These networks are beneficial because they provide informative, supporting, and helpful online groups of peers to help navigate the endless challenges and changes in learning environments (Manning, 2015). Personal learning networks help you stay current and help to acquire new knowledge and skills.

Conclusion

Having and participating in a strong personal learning network is important, but it is also equally as important to be sure you are connecting to the right network to receive the right content. With the right personal learning network, you will be able to access and gather the information that will help to remain current with changes and development in the industry. Learning new techniques and accessing resources in a more efficient manner is encouraged by social learning which suggests new behaviors. Maintaining and updating your personal learning network keeps you in charge and in control of your lifelong learning experience.

References

Way, J. (2012). Developing a personal learning network for fast and free professional learning. Access (10300155), 26(1), 16–19.

Carpenter, J. P., Krutka, D. G., & Trust, T. (2022). Continuity and change in educators' professional learning networks. Journal of Educational Change, 23(1), 85–113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-020-09411-1

Manning, C. A. (2015). The construction of personal learning networks to support non-formal workplace learning of training professionals. International Journal of Advanced Corporate Learning, 8(2), 4–12. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijac.v8i2.4367

Current Formal Personal Learning NetworksName o

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