tl;dr
- Read, watch, and learn
- Complete Blog Post #1 – by Fri, Sep 18
- Engage substantively with at least 4 peers – by Sun, Sep 20
I hope that you’ve been having a great first week. Thank you for submitting your Flight Path! I look forward to reading them.
This week, we will learn about Personal Learning Networks. We will start by reflecting on what personalized learning networks looks like in practice, and then consider how social media is shaping the way we connect, share knowledge, and build communities of learning.
What is personalized learning?
Personalized learning moves away from the “one size fits all” model of education. Instead of every learner following the same lessons at the same pace, teachers guide learners along individual pathways shaped by their strengths, needs, and interests. Each learner has a plan that helps them progress at their own speed while still meeting academic standards. In personalized learning, learners and teachers work together to set meaningful goals, giving learners a sense of ownership over their progress. Teachers ensure that projects and learning plans still align with academic standards and that students are developing the skills they need along the way.
A Personalized Learning Network (PLN) is a web of connections educators build to support their professional growth. Through PLNs, they can collaborate, share resources, and engage in conversations that spark new ideas and highlight emerging trends in education. PLNs encourage continuous learning and often challenge educators to grow beyond their comfort zones. PLNs can take many forms, such as online platforms, social media, conferences, webinars, or school-based professional learning communities.
How does social media influence education?
Social media has quickly moved from being seen as a distraction to becoming a powerful tool in education. It has reshaped how learners communicate with instructors and peers, created new opportunities for collaboration, and supported the development of digital skills.
Social media makes it easy for learners to ask questions, share resources, and discuss class topics in real time, fostering engagement and continuous learning. Social media also helps create online learning communities, where learners can form study groups, collaborate on projects, and access diverse, up-to-date resources beyond the textbook.
That said, the same platforms that enable collaboration can also be a source of distraction. The challenge is finding ways to maximize social media’s benefits for learning while minimizing its downsides.
Read, Watch, & Learn
A couple of quick notes: Save snippets from the content as you read, and keep track of where they came from. Do review the blog prompts before or as you read, but don’t read only to answer the prompt questions. You might miss something interesting that way.
- What are Personal Learning Networks? (2016, Gutierrez) [6 min read]
- The roles of social media in education: affective, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions (Bui et al., 2023) [9 min read]
- Understanding Personal Learning Networks: Their structure, content and the networking skills needed to optimally use them (Rajagopal et al., 2011) [18 mins]
- Networked Privacy (Boyd, 2012) [5 mins]
- Identity-Making and Social Media (Spracklen, 2015) [20 mins]
- Digital professional identity: Dear Internet! Who am I? (Jawed et al., 2019) [5 min read]
- What is Digital Identity? (Stoller, 2016) [3 min watch]
- The Value of Digital Identity for the Global Economy and Society (Davos, 2019) [36 min watch]
Community Contribution #1 – Digital Identity
Post by Fri, Sep 18
Write a blog post (approximately 300–500 words) that responds to one (or more) of the prompts below. Your post should draw connections to our course themes and bring in your own perspectives or experiences. Full assignment details, including a rubric can be found here. This week’s prompts:
- What is a digital identity?
- How do personal versus professional approaches to digital identity affect social media use?
- How do digital identities converge in networked publics – what are the impacts and/or benefits?
- What digital platforms are students currently using to develop their professional network?
- What could students consider in expanding their professional learning network?
Community Contribution – Being an Active Member
Engage substantively with at least 4 peers by Sun, Sep 20
Being part of a learning community doesn’t stop at sharing a blog post. It also involves engaging with one another’s ideas. You can learn a lot from each other by taking the time to listen, respond, and exchange perspectives.
Be sure to visit the Community Contribution page to learn more about providing feedback.
As always, you can reach me by email, Teams, or by booking a meeting.
Take care,
Adrian
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