Article #1: growing Your PLN

This article by David Warlick talked about PLN's and the different ones that are out there for future educators or almost anybody to be a part of and enjoy. PLN stands for Personal Learning Networks, these learning networks help you get the information you need. According to the article,  "Harnessing these new technologies ... is imperative for educators who want to stay connected to the changing world we are charged with introducing to our students." (Page 2) Technology is growing now more than ever and we as future educators must be able to catch up and stay up to date with the information we will present to our students. This article mentions of different networks out there that can help you stay connected, such as Skype, Twitter, Ning, Blogs, etc. It is also mentioned that one must keep a 'personal maintained synchronous connections' because it includes the individuals and locations who you will turn to when you have certain questions. The second one is 'Personally & socially maintained semi-synchronous connections', this is when the Internet comes into play with it's many networks.  The third is 'Dynamically maintained asynchronous connections', as mentioned in the article "this type more often connects us with content sources that we have identified as valuable" (Page 3)

I really enjoyed this article because it really explains how networks can really be of assistance to use when we are in time of need. For example, lets say that you need to do a project with mechanical machines but there is no one in your area that is really intellectual in this type of project. This is when meeting people out there through networks can come in handy, you'll be able to exchange ideas and even work on the project as well. I personally have never really heard about PNL's until I read the article and attended class. I myself actually use Twitter because i find it more simple and straight to the point, where as other sites, usually require more stuff from you like an email address and a phone number. There are still many out there though that I have yet to explore.

In today's world, students at elementary levels are already being introduced to technology, and there are even computers in almost every single house now. These kinds of technologies weren't around when I was a child, therefore they may eventually understand more about it than us. It is our job as future educators to stay up to date with what goes around us because it can be very helpful someday and since times are changing, so must we.

Warlick, D. (2009). Grow your personal learning network. Learning & Leading with Technology, 36(6), 12-16