Whew! At times that 140 character limit is, well, limiting. But that's the point. For the past couple of years I've been trying to connect with my local teacher librarians on Twitter to no avail. So I decided to be brave, act like I knew what I was talking about (well I must since I'm actually doing it, right), and present a session at the 2011 ISLMA conference. Thus my posting title, which happens to also be my session title. I've given quite a bit of thought to how to present all this information since so much of it is on-line or linked. It basically came down to either a wiki or resurrecting my long forgotten blog. Guess which won?
That said, notice the new page, Twitter, on which you will find the actual presentation itself. I hope you find it useful.
Showing posts with label Twitter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Twitter. Show all posts
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Expanding my virtual PLN
If you haven't a built in peer group with whom to learn with, perhaps a virtual PLN is the answer. This past weekend at the annual ISLMA conference in Springfield I engaged in several conversations regarding how I use Twitter and other tools to virtually connect with other librarians and tech folks. For me, Twitter has become the core of my PLN. Those amazing individuals that I follow generate more ideas than I can ever possibly implement. I am continually inspired to investiage new tools, explore new websites, and try incorporating new ideas into my lessons. Needless to say, I love my PLN.
One consistant comment I heard from distractors of virtual PLNs is that they curtail personal contact with colleagues. Virtual PLNs keep us from seeking out local contacts that could potentially provide the same benefits. Blogger Teach42 posed the question "Is joinging a PLN bad for morale?" He suggests that reading about peers and/or schools that are using cutting edge technology could dishearten those professionals that are not able to implement desired technology due to polices or infrastructure that blocks certain uses.
Personally, I think PLNs should force us to question our practices. They should move us towards challenging the negatives so that we might flip them into positives. Could they drive us into despair? Not if we keep our perspective. We all need to understand the limitations of our positions. The joy of harvesting our new knowledge is all the greater when we understand which seeds of learning we have at our disposal and whether or not there is enough fertilizer available. Lack of growth is not the fault of our PLN, it would be the fault of our own imaginations and patience.
Thoughts?
One consistant comment I heard from distractors of virtual PLNs is that they curtail personal contact with colleagues. Virtual PLNs keep us from seeking out local contacts that could potentially provide the same benefits. Blogger Teach42 posed the question "Is joinging a PLN bad for morale?" He suggests that reading about peers and/or schools that are using cutting edge technology could dishearten those professionals that are not able to implement desired technology due to polices or infrastructure that blocks certain uses.
Personally, I think PLNs should force us to question our practices. They should move us towards challenging the negatives so that we might flip them into positives. Could they drive us into despair? Not if we keep our perspective. We all need to understand the limitations of our positions. The joy of harvesting our new knowledge is all the greater when we understand which seeds of learning we have at our disposal and whether or not there is enough fertilizer available. Lack of growth is not the fault of our PLN, it would be the fault of our own imaginations and patience.
Thoughts?
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