Why do I need a PLN?
I’m not sure I get it. I understand the concept, I think. Everyone learns different things at different times from different places. It seems to me that calling this phenomenon a network is nothing more than consciously noting that it takes place. We can give it physical form by drawing lines on a graph but I don’t see the point. Why do these networks matter?
In his blog post barcamping on plymouth rock Scott Schwister discusses PLNs as a disruptive innovation but I don’t understand the importance he places on this phenomenon. It seems to me that innovations such as this are so new and so fast moving that they’re hard to pin down. How do we even know that PLNs are a good thing?
Would students benefit from PLNs? Are they like IEPs? Who decides what the PLN should look like? If it’s the student’s decision, at what point in their education are they capable of making such decisions? What is the teacher’s role in PLNs? One thing is clear, as long as there are high stakes, standards based tests, teachers and students will have little flexibility in determining individualized learning plans.
I wonder if this is a bad thing. Are there things that we learn in school that we don’t use? Certainly. Does that mean it was a bad thing to learn it? I would argue that every single thing we learn contributes to our personal health and well-being. I would further argue that it also contributes to the community around us. The very depth of our civilization is affected by the depth of our knowledge. Would students choose to ignore certain historical periods because they’re boring? Would students opt not to study Shakespeare because the language is too arcane to understand? Will cultural distinctions fade if students choose to embrace a world culture and abandon the one in which they were born? Can we assume that as students learn they will naturally seek out a rich diversity of knowledge and experience?
The more we learn, the richer our lives, and the deeper our understanding of the concept of life and what it means to be human. Where did I learn that and how do I put it in my PLN?
January 21st, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Great questions! I do think there’s a very real and meaningful distinction between a network (meaning the ad hoc collection of people. resources, etc. from which we’ve traditionally drawn our knowledge, constructed meaning, etc.) and a PLN. I think the PLN concept, which is still lacking solid definition as people like Alec Couros try to find its edges and understand its behaviors, IS distinct in a couple of ways: 1) its online context and ongoing identity as a new media beast, and 2) its voluntary, intentionally-constructed, opt-in nature.
Oops. My ride home is at the curb, so I have go! More later…
[Reply]
January 21st, 2009 at 10:03 pm
If I understand what you’re saying, PLN is different from an IEP in that it is promulgated by the student and not the teacher. Why does its online nature matter? Why can’t our learning network include people that we meet or teachers, or even, other students?
[Reply]
February 13th, 2009 at 3:08 am
Great distinction! Perhaps we need to be more definite in our choice of terminology. Certainly a PLN can comprise of a multitude of sources including F2F interactions and those that are purely digitally mediated. I do think it is worth considering if we define the PLN as being promulgated by the student than not all of that student’s teachers would necessarily be included in their PLN. We would have little evidence of this since it by nature is personal. That said, I think Scott’s theory still holds water because should a student choose to cognitively exclude assigned teachers from their PLN and instead rely more heavily on “teachers” of their own choosing, the conventional notion of how teaching and learning work is disrupted. In the end the teacher who is cognitively excluded is, for that student, less relevant and arguably less effective. If taken to it’s extreme, this will ultimately make that teacher unnecessary or even obsolete for that student.
[Reply]