This week, our focus shifts to Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) and their impact on education. The concept of the “open movement” will be explored, highlighting the importance of accessible knowledge, collaborative learning, and empowering individuals as active participants in knowledge creation.

This brief introduction leads us to the reading of the week, titled “Designing for Open and Social Learning” by Alec Couros and Katia Hildebrandt from the book “Emergence and Innovation in Digital Learning”. The authors explain their experience of conducting an open-access, graduate-level educational technology course at the University of Regina. This fully online course aimed to overcome the limitations of traditional learning settings by encouraging students to build their personal learning networks. These networks fostered collaborative exploration and the development of authentic and sustainable knowledge networks.

The authors begin by examining the theoretical foundations that influenced the design and development of the course. They then provide an overview of the course experience, including the integration of emerging technologies, various learning activities, and assessment strategies.

Next, the authors summarize their findings regarding the role of personal learning networks (PLNs), offering techniques for developing and leveraging PLNs in distance education settings. They also discuss the significance of emerging technologies in facilitating networked interactions and knowledge sharing.

The chapter concludes with practical suggestions for developing open courses, highlighting the potential of PLNs and the benefits of embracing open educational practices.

We will learn more about the subject by reviewing this week’s readings.  Please consider the following questions while reading through this week’s material.

  • Community communications go beyond blogs and social media shares, how does a PLN help and hinder the development of thoughts and ideas in education discourse?
  • How do educators create discourse?
  • What is the role of social media in education?
  • What are some problems with social media communications in educational settings?

Reading for the Week Nine

Emergence and Innovation in Digital Learning

Chapter 9. Designing for Open and Social Learning

by Alec Couros and Katia Hildebrandt

Annotate course reading!

For this week, please add at least three annotations to the text. You might annotate something that you would like to discuss more thoroughly, have questions about, or something you strongly agree or disagree with. You can also reply to the annotations your peers make, engaging in discussion as needed.

Podcast for the Week Nine

What’s a PLN? And 3 Ways Teachers Can Get Connected

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Mattermost is the quickest way!