Step 1: What Is A PLN?
Welcome to our professional learning series on building a PLN.
This self-paced free course guides you step-by-step through the process of setting up your own PLN.
We have an optional PDF workbook that will help to keep you on track and focused as you work through the 7 steps of this course. Scroll down and click on the ‘download’ button under the document to save it to your computer.
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Open in new tab The aim of this first step is to:
- Unpack the definition of a PLN and “connected educator”
- Help you understand why educators create their own PLNs and how they use them
What Is A PLN?
Back in 1998 when the internet was in its infancy, Daniel R. Tobin wrote an article about the term “Personal Learning Network” which was abbreviated to PLN. This term was used to describe a network of people and resources that support ongoing learning.
Whether or not Tobin actually coined the term PLN is up for debate. As Clint Lalonde has pointed out, others, such as Dori Digenti, also wrote about the term in the late 90s.
Digeni said,
The PLN consists of relationships between individuals where the goal is enhancement of mutual learning. The currency of the PLN is learning in the form of feedback, insights, documentation, new contacts, or new business opportunities. It is based on reciprocity and a level of trust that each party is actively seeking value-added information for the other.
The term has evolved and is now sometimes referred to as a Professional Learning Network — taking into account that fact that most “connected educators” use their PLN for professional growth and interaction.
As Tom Whitby has pointed out, there can even be a hybrid of the personal or professional learning network — the Personalized Learning Network.
…the shift in nuance maintains that participants are both personal and professional learners. A PLN is a tool that uses social media and technology to collect, communicate, collaborate and create with connected colleagues anywhere at any time. Participating educators, worldwide, make requests and share resources.
Are PLNs Exclusive To Education?
PLNs don’t just exist in the education world. They are important in all aspects of the business world, various vocations, and hobbies.
We contacted Daniel R. Tobin to ask him about how he came up with the term Personal Learning Network. We wanted to find out if he coined the term in relation to a particular industry or field.
Daniel told us,
It came from my own experience.
As I was thinking about how I had learned to do the various jobs I had over the course of my career, I realized that I had built an extensive network of people who had helped me learn. These included managers and colleagues and people I had met while doing research for my books, speaking at conferences, attending workshops, etc.
As I started writing about corporate training and development, I realized that what I had learned from my PLN was greater and more important than what I had learned from my formal education.
Interestingly, many teachers who are active online have remarked that they’ve learned a great deal more from their PLN than from any professional development session they’ve attended.
Are PLNs Something New?
All teachers know successful teaching and learning does not occur in a vacuum. Teachers have always relied on others for guidance, ideas, inspiration, support, and new perspectives. Naturally, some teachers are more active in their interactions than others.
Traditionally, all this interaction might take place in one school community. Teachers might have rarely connected with educators from other locations — apart from an occasional conference or professional development opportunity.
Technology changed all this.
Like in many other industries, educators now have access to people from all corners of the globe 24/7. This may largely be through social media but other platforms as well, such as blogs, online communities, and news sites.
So many barriers have been removed — geography, culture, language, timezones, travel, costs, logistics.
Embracing new networks and building a PLN doesn’t mean throwing out your old connections. Of course, it will always be valuable to talk to the teachers next door and down the hall. But imagine the possibilities of building on that network in diverse ways!
Video: What is A PLN?
Want to learn more about what is a PLN? This is Marc-André Lalande’s take on the matter in less than two minutes.
Being A Connected Educator
A connected educator is someone who collaborates online and uses a range of tools to build their own PLN.
Watch the following five minute video to learn more about being a connected educator. It shows interviews with educators who explain the importance of being “connected” in order to be effective teachers and leaders.
Why Create A PLN?
There are many reasons why all teachers should develop a PLN.
Here are eight benefits of having a PLN:
- You are in charge of your own professional development. PD is no longer something that you have to “sit and get”.
- You can explore your own interests, needs, and passions (or your students’). You might have a student who is struggling with reading, or you might have heard of makerspaces and decide you want to learn more about that, maybe you have a student who wants to research global warming, or perhaps you want to find a better system for running a sports day at your school. You can turn to your PLN for advice and support with all these sorts of things.
- 24/7 learning offers the flexibility to learn and connect at a time that suits you. You don’t have to wait for a PD or conference. And 24/7 learning certainly doesn’t mean you have to be constantly online either — you decide how much time you want to invest and when.
- You can learn and connect in a way that you enjoy. This might be via videos, podcasts, text, social media, Skype, blogging … the list goes on.
- There can be light and shade to your PLN. You can engage in a general chat about education (or anything) to debrief, laugh, or unwind. Or, you can engage in deep discussion, debate, and reflection that can really challenge and transform your thinking and teaching. The choice is yours and there will probably be a time and place for both.
- You can stay current on research and best practice, regardless of whether this information is being discussed in your own school, district (or even country!).
- A PLN allows for broad brainstorming or fine tuning. You might know very little about a certain topic and ask your PLN for any/all entry points into exploring the concept. At the other end of the spectrum, you may have already done a lot of work on a topic and use your PLN to fine tune your ideas and resources.
- Globally connected students need globally connected teachers. Having your own PLN is a key way to also help your students connect with others and start developing their own networks. We know this is important to enrich student learning and help students thrive in the changing labor market.
Feel free to use the following graphic on your blog or share it with your colleagues.
Four Big Ideas Around The Connected Educator
Silvia Tolisana (aka Langwitches) has written about four big ideas that surface when thinking about connected educators.
I think about the isolation of a teacher within their classroom walls and how connectedness to a global network of experts and peers could expose and add multiple perspectives to their world view and professional practice.
I am amazed every time by the transformative nature of teaching and learning, when harnessing the power of a network to crowdsource authentic data, resources, connections and collaborators.
Last, but not least, the idea of being able to model for our students what connected learning in an interconnected world means is a moral imperative for educators who are charged to prepare our kids for their future.
You can unpack these concepts further by reading Silvia’s post.
Building Your Own PLN
The great thing about a PLN is that it’s personal!
You make all the choices:
- What tools you use!
- Who you connect with!
- How you want to learn!
- When you want to learn!
The idea of this series is to guide you through the process of building your own PLN and give you a taste of the opportunities that are out there.
Remember, we each have our own preference of what online tools work best for us.
Throughout the seven part series, we’ve included popular tools for building a PLN to help get you started.
Conclusion
A PLN is a network of people and resources that support ongoing learning.
We believe all teachers could benefit from having a PLN.
You might be in a fantastic school but in some ways, schools can become echo chambers for the same beliefs and viewpoints. It can be easy to go with the status quo and fail to really question things or bring in new ideas. A simple conversation with someone from a very different community can be so eye opening.
Your Task
PLNs are all about sharing, collaborating, and learning from each other. So here’s your chance to ask a question, comment, and get involved!
We’d like you to add your voice and ideas to our ongoing conversation about PLNs by undertaking one or more of these challenges:
- PLN Definition: Watch the video What Is A PLN? Leave a comment on this post to explain what a PLN means to you. You might like to share your thoughts on “lurking”. What are the pros and cons of this approach? Or, you might like to explain what you think PLN stands for — personal, professional, personalized … or something else?
- PLN Benefits: Choose one or more of the eight benefits of having a PLN that’s listed above to explore in a comment. Tell us why this is a benefit that resonates with you.
- Connected Educators: Watch the Connected Educators video. Leave a comment on this post to explain why it’s important to be a connected educator and how a PLN can help you. You might like to give an example of one person in the education community that you’d like to follow and learn from or with. This could be a thought leader, or just someone you find interesting.
- Go Deeper: Write a blog post to explain what you have learned about PLNs. Perhaps your post could be a way to educate or persuade others on the benefits of PLNs. Or you might like to summarize some of the information from this study on PLNs for teachers. Leave a comment with a link to the post so we can have a look at how you went.
Also feel free to leave a comment to ask any questions or share your tips.
How to leave a comment: Scroll down to find the comment box. Write your comment, then enter your name and email address (email addresses are not published). Enter the anti-spam word. Press submit and we will moderate your comment ASAP.
The following information on PLNs was adapted from an original Teacher Challenge post by Australian teacher, Michael Graffin. You can check out Michael’s original post — What The heck Is A PLN.
This resource was updated by Kathleen Morris in 2018.
1,448 comments on “Step 1: What Is A PLN?”
As time goes by, I find myself returning to Edublogs in order to expand my PLN and learn new things. What I have discovered over time though, is I am too pressed for time in my day to engage in synchronous connections. That means my PLN resides in an asynchronous world… and that is okay. I am not out of step, just moving in a more personal ebb and flow. My PLN is not restricted to #chats on Twitter at a certain hour. I contribute when I find something worth sharing a conversation about. That may mean I am missing the actual chat but I am not missing the meat of the conversation. It is truly delightful to come across a comment by someone in my PLN as I explore the web. Even now, I get goose bumps when I see Sue Waters name in a comment stream I am interacting with because I have felt a special PLN connection to her tutelage since the start of my online journey.
PLN’s are a fantastic way to share ideas with other like-minded individuals in your field. I use my blog, my twitter account, a newsletter, and I have joined several google communities with other LMS cohorts. I’ve attended regional meetings, and constantly partake in workshops, webinars and seminars that help me meet others and share ideas.
Please check out my blog here…
PLN is my network for learning. It allows me to go beyond my building and community for support and knowledge. I heard the word “isolation” a lot in the voice thread. PLN breaks down the walls of isolation. There is so much to learn and so little time. Organizing my professional growth via a PLN is a must or I will drown and feel isolated as well.
A PLN is a network that will help not only new teachers developed learning strategies, but every other educator wanting to expand, build and learn from their network. I believe it is a great opportunity for everyone to stay connected with other educators (not just locally, but globally) because we are always learning whether we realize It or not, it an in going process. It is also very important to have a PLN because with today’s students advancing with all these new technology, devices and experiences with the cyber world you want to be up to date on what in and hot right now..just like fashion. You also want to show the younger generation who are just getting into their PLN (via Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, FB etc..) how to be a safe even on the web.
This is my first challenge with Edublogs, and am looking forward to getting connected with other educators locally & Globally.
Thanks Edublogs for expanding and challenging us with a PLN!
Servus!
Maria
Just what I needed – a challenge! I have been connecting with educators for a number of years and love the idea of a PLN. A part of the PLN that I don’t hear talked about too much (or I missed) is the flexibility of who is in your PLN. The people you are connected to changes dynamically as what you need to know and process changes. Sometimes the change is gradual as it’s difficult to make connections and then let them go. Other times, a project comes to an end and people go off into different directions. I have heard or seen the term “like-minded” several times in conversations and articles about PLN and while I know that working with people who are like minded can be empowering I always want to be aware of those ideas and people who challenge my notion of the world and make me think more critically.
A PLN means all the people or groups that I follow or go to for information on social media sites. Even though I don’t personally know every single person on those sites I can still use their knowledge for my benefit.
PLNs are a great resource for both teachers and teacher candidates. The idea of being able to seek advice, make connections, and collaborate with fellow educators worldwide will offer tremendous growth and professional development. After reading comments and watching the videos, this is a great place to learn about creating a PLN.
PLN’s are a great way of communicating with fellow educators all across the world. You can access the information at any time, from anywhere. Being a connected educator is very appreciated for classrooms across the globe. PLN’s allow you to connect with other educators who have already had valuable educational experiences. Social networking allow educators to keep in contact with fellow educators, students, and parents.
PLN’s seem like a great way to connect educators from across the country and even around the world and allow them to corroborate as to how to better serve and educate students in their individual classrooms.
I have not established a PLN with technology tools beyond email yet. However, I have seen the benefits of collaborating with other educators within a building and district. We truly do learn from each other daily, and other educators can be one of the best resources we have.
This is all new to me, and I find it exciting to work with others in my group to collaborate and learn more about developing a PLN and how to effectively be a part of it.
This looks like a very good resource for teachers to use in order to communicate and collaborate with other teachers. I look forward to being able to share ideas with other teachers from around the world.
This seems like a great idea. I think it is great thing for teachers to use when they are running into problems. The one thing I would have a question about is with privacy, is everything very public? I still think even if it is public it is for educational purposes and that is something that should be shared with other educators.
PLN’s seem like an awesome idea to connect educators from various parts of the country and world to corroborate on better educating students.
I am new to PLN’s and I want to learn more about them. I suppose I will get my start here.
I am new to the idea of PLN. I feel like I am behind the times when it comes to technology, but I am also excited to have a new avenue for further professional development.
This is the first time that I have heard of PLN and I can’t wait to try it out. This is a great way for me as student teacher to expand my knowledge base.
This is a great way to network and collaborate with other teachers. I look forward to gaining more networks!
Collaborate and share ideas with other teachers.
I love how PLN’s can aid in communication with teacher professionals/and others all over the world. Also, being aware of the positives and negatives of PLN’s can help with educational purposes for the classroom.
Personal Learning Networks is a brand new concept to me. It will be helpful to learn from others.
Learning abou PLN’s is extremely important when it comes to networking ideas, lesson, concerns etc. I love the idea of using social media for an educational purpose that I can network with other educators and gain experience and advice.
As I move into an administrative role, I have been thinking more and more about the power of collaboration. Your ideas are making me realize I need to be thinking about virtual collaboration at least as much as face-to-face work if I expect my teachers to help my students be comfortable and active in the settings they may face 20 years from now. Thanks. This was the kick in the pants I needed to move forward!
PLN’s are very helpful to a new teacher. New ideas and collaborating with other educators and scientist is a great idea. I’m building my PLN slowly. I have little time to spare and trying to find good sites is time consuming. But I believe staring is the first step in building a good PLN network.
I agree that time is of the essence as a first year teaching and finding time to follow and keep up with blogs and social media is a concern of mine. I plan to start small, possibly by following a Twitter account or two, and make a goal to slowly build my PLN from there.
As a first year teacher, the concept of PLN’s can be monumental in your professional growth. This challenge will definitely help me broaden my network and give me the resources to develop as a professional.
PLNs are a great way to share and gain information to constantly improve your teaching practice! Always helpful to observe others teaching styles when you have a free period.
Great way to share and gain ideas to always be improving teacher practice.
I think the idea of a PLN is very important. At my school, we have PLC committee’s, where we have an opportunity to meet with those in our department and analyze data, create commonalities in our teaching, and share/discuss ideas with each other. Very resourceful.
Was anyone overwhelmed when they began building their PLN? I don’t use a lot of social media and so am behind the times!
There are a lot of different social media sites out there that can be extremely useful. Just take your time and explore, you’ll find what you like best and works best for you and go from there.
I am just now starting to learn about what a pln is. I teach in a co-teaching environment in a school that this seems perfect for. Thanks for the info!
I love the concept of PLN. However, I don’t feel that I have enough time to explore all available resources with so many useful sites on the web with the teaching load I have.
I teach 7th grade science. I am just learning about what a PLN is all about. I look forward to connecting with other educators to share ideas and improve my teaching.
I’m really excited to start building my PLN. I love to hear other peoples’ ideas and suggestions on my own ideas!
Thanks for the great resource. I started building my PLN a couple years ago, but am keen to expand it even further. I am looking forward to this personal challenge. Cheers.
Hola yo soy maestra de alfabetizacion nacional y ademas doy clases de capacitacion docente en cuanto a lo que son las TIC.s y los programas nuevos que se utilizan en las neetbooks si alguien quiere unirse a la experiencia que posea ,le agradecere…
I teach high school math and look forward to sharing information, teaching strategies, and success stories in the classroom.
Looking forward to collaborating with other teachers from around the world.
Hi Trish
One of the most powerful ways you can build your own PLN is to join Twitter and start connecting with Educators — if you aren’t already using Twitter. You will find our post on setting up Twitter here – http://theedublogger.com/2012/02/13/the-updated-twitteraholics-guide-to-tweets-hashtags-and-all-things-twitter/ .
Thanks
Sue Waters
Edublogs Support Manager
I am going to try this out! Currently I am taking a Masters course and one of our assignments is to create our own PLN. So, I will give it a shot. Any tips greatly appreciated!
[…] http://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/2011/06/15/pln-challenge-1-what-the-heck-is-a-pln/ This entry was posted in Uncategorized by aroser. Bookmark the permalink. […]
[…] http://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/2011/06/15/pln-challenge-1-what-the-heck-is-a-pln/ […]
[…] you develop your PLN you will be able to use it as a source of information. I’m in the process of making a […]
[…] a PLN is about making connections and building personal relationships with others around the world (Edublogs, 2011) This blog argues that everyone has a PLN already (people around you, etc) and as much as I […]
I just found this site, and although I have started a PLN, I need to organize it better. I hope this challenge will help with that. I would also like to share this with other teachers at my school, after I check it out a bit.
Thank you for this exciting opportunity to join a PLN! I believe in the “power” of a learning community, after all, it is a combination of teacher mentoring, edublogs help and support, that started me on the edublogging path. I am constantly learning as I work through the informative edublog help and support posts. I believe that, through edublogs.org, I have enriched the lives of my educational community and circle in a meaningful manner. A highlight is actually seeing the excitement in “students” as they begin their own edublogging experiences, developing their thinking and literacy skills. I look forward to becoming a more educated and skillful blogger!
Hi Lynne, thanks for the feedback. Great to hear what we do makes a difference and it is helping your students!
Hello my name is Erika I teach English in Mexico, I’m taking the challenge and I would like someone could advise me more on how to create my PLN ..
I’m happy to be part of this
[…] interested in connecting, sharing, and learning with other teachers around the world (via their Personal Learning Networks); and has interesting applications in the (secondary) classroom as […]
This is just the beginning for me but I’m really excited learning all the technology and integrating it into the classroom!
Can’t wait to make my PLN!
Building a PLN is a journey – a journey which will take you to places you’ve never dreamed of. I know, because I’ve been there …
Best wishes & good luck as you set out to develop your very own PLN – it’s worth the effort.
Michael
[…] PLN Challenge #1: What the heck is a PLN? : Teacher Challenge Source: teacherchallenge.edublogs.org […]
Hi, I have been lurking in the PLN Challenge, reading the posts and comments, and finally I decided to join in the fun. I did a post about my PLN as I spoke to new bloggers, so I will post that one here to get me started rather than write a redundant post about my awesome PLN.
“Welcome to New Bloggers”
Thanks for another great challenge!
Denise Krebs