My Thoughts on PLN

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It is my understanding that a PLN, Personal Learning Network, consists of the people and organizations to whom I am somehow connected and through whom I add to my personal and/or professional knowledge.  As a member of someone else’s PLN, I contribute to that person’s learning processes, offering insight/perspective, new knowledge, and support in his/her efforts to acquire and absorb knowledge and experience in matters that he/she deems important to personal and/or professional endeavors. 

We are fortunate in this generation and at this time to have a vast array of persons and organizations available to us to aid us in our learning.  Learning is not, as it was in the past, confined to information that can be obtained from a book or from a person who is close in proximity.  We still learn from books, of course, and some of our best “teachers” or sources of information and formation are the persons nearest and dearest to us...friends, family, co-workers, professional, personal, and spiritual advisors.  Yet, with the advent of the Internet and social media and the advances in technological communication, the world of education is unencumbered by the confines of physical proximity.  Using various Web 2.0 tools allows a person to communicate with and obtain a wealth of knowledge from persons from all walks of life, from remote geographic locations thousands of miles away, and from diverse backgrounds—all the while sharing in common with those unlikely peers a common objective—to improve and build upon one’s knowledge base so to become the best person he/she can become.  Thus, our personal learning networks can consist of whomever and whatever we choose, and this network is fluid and can change to meet one’s needs as a person evolves over the course of a lifetime. 

I have only recently discovered that I do already possess a personal learning network.  For me, it has largely replaced the stagnant, programmed creature we have historically referred to as “Mass Media.”  Since my early college years and up until as recently as five years ago, I consumed large amounts of media—television, radio, and to some extent, a variety of news organization-based “web” content—on a regular basis.  In doing so, I largely depended upon others to filter information and pass it along to me.  Turns out I was “learning” many things that were useless for the purpose of becoming a better wife, mother, daughter, friend, and overall person.  So I decided that “I” wanted to be the filter.  I would determine what to consume, what was worthy of my time and consideration. 

My personal learning network began to develop, I think, with that archaic pre-cursor to social media; that is, email.  Via email, I was able to connect in a new way with people with whom I was newly acquainted; I reconnected with old friends; and I connected with close friends and family in a new way.  I developed a network of people with whom I exchanged ideas and information.  With the advent of Facebook, the opportunity for ease in communication with a vast array of people increased exponentially.  Next came the takeover:  Organizations and businesses of all sorts began to make their presence known on Facebook, ushering in a revolution in the advertising industry by capturing the attention of large numbers of people who were interested enough in their opinions or products to “like” and “follow” their pages.  At this point, adding more like-minded people to my informal “network” became as easy as clicking a computer mouse.  No longer did I have to know someone personally to “connect” with him or her.  Now, I was connecting with organizations and people who had common interests, common goals, and a common desire for becoming better selves and better entities.  And if I so happen to have established a connection to someone who turned out to advocate something that did not adhere to my personal goals for improvement, I could quickly and easily terminate the relationship. 

So basically, Facebook has been a large part of what I now realize is my Personal Learning Network.  In addition to the connections made there are the personal relationships that I still have with family, friends, colleagues, and the like, all of whom continue to help me to become a better, more informed, and more generous person. My Personal Learning Network consists now of many persons and organizations who have helped me in my goal to learn more about my Catholic faith and to be a better Catholic and follower of Jesus Christ.  As religious education coordinator for middle schoolers at my church parish, I need to be in touch with those who are essentially “experts” in various areas of faith formation.  Thus, I “follow” using Facebook, YouTube, text and email updates people like Patrick Madrid, MattFradd, Jason and Crystalina Evert, Father Frank Pavone, Father Larry Richards, Chris Stefanik, and Christopher West.  I also regularly receive updates of various organizations and groups, including Dynamic Catholic Institute, FOCUSequip, IUseNFP, LifeTeen, TOB Institute, Women of Grace, and LifeSiteNews.  These persons and groups I have chosen to attend to because they help me to become a better Catholic, a better teacher, and a better person.  They serve as my own customized “filter” of information that I purposefully choose to consume.  Though I had not ever thought of this whole process as “learning,” it has certainly had a tremendous impact on my outlook on life and in my daily choices. 

Now that I know that I have a formal Personal Learning Network, I can plan to expand it and refine it both to my personal and professional goals.  As one who hopes to return to the teaching profession full time in the near future, I realize how crucial it is for me to “update” my brain in the areas of pedagogy, classroom management, and content area material, namely English language arts and social studies.  This semester, I plan to seek out additional sources of learning using web 2.0 tools like Diigo, Twitter, and Classroom 2.0. Using these resources, I would also like to explore further the possibility of working collaboratively with other teachers on screencasts, hypermedia, and setting up online instructional units.  It has been common for years to hear the quote, “Technology is our future.”  I disagree.  Technology is our today.  We are inextricably immersed in it, and so we must learn to learn with it and to teach with it.  The methods of yesteryear can supplement but can no longer be the cornerstone of instruction.  As a teacher and learner, I must immerse myself in the methods and means of learning in this present technological age.  In the style of Yoda, I hereby proclaim,  “An abundance of learning, I need to acquire!”

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The Growing Use of Social Media....and the Growing Pains as well

My initial response to this video by social-media guru Erik Qualman is discomfort. 

Anybody want to guess my age?

Though I do see and realize the benefits of social media, I feel that we are becoming addicted to social media, spending more time online in a virtual self-absorbed existence and less time face to face in relationships with real people. 

Example of good:  A person uses Facebook to appeal to others on behalf of a co-worker, whose mother’s house burned down.  This girl—a college student, needed help because she was taking in her three young siblings while her mother was going through the process of applying for Red Cross assistance.  Because of this appeal using social media, this girl received donations of clothing and money...from near and far...to help her during this difficult time.  Social media=good.

Example of bad:  One in five divorces are blamed on Facebook.   Surely we have enough assault on marriage, and now people are using social media to arrange for cheating on their spouses?  Nice. 

Another bothersome fact:  69% of parents are “friends” with their children on social media.  I’m not sure that I want my children using social media.  It can be very dangerous to a teenager--you know, those precious creatures whose brains are not yet fully developed.  On the other hand, if and when my kids do use social media, I will stalk them “till the cows come home.” 

The icing on the cake of what I don’t like is this:  It is a sad state of affairs when Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry—those “models” of humility and selflessness that I want for my kids to emulate (that was a joke)-- have more followers on Twitter than the populations of six countries combined.  This is mind-boggling and maddening all at once.  Of course, in all fairness I can’t blame this solely upon the existence and prevalence of social media.  The problem goes much deeper...as in the dangers of parents not parenting their children properly so that they won’t have access to examples of how to have a selfish and destructive existence.  As a mother, it bothers me when kids look to celebrities as their role models.  If we can use social media in a limited and productive manner, like pointing kids to life instead of destruction, I’m all for it.  But social media promotes madness as well.  Momma is uncomfortable.

Then arises that nagging suspicion:  that those whose principles are not aligned with what is “popular” might become “blacklisted” or unwelcome on social media platforms because their beliefs are viewed as “intolerant.”  In actuality, would it not be those who attempt to quiet others who would in actuality be themselves the vessels of intolerant behavior?  Consider that Facebook has already been known to favor some views over others.  In January 2012, the social media site apologized for censoring a post by a woman who gave girls instructions on how to self-induce an abortion.  The post was quickly reinstated to her page.  Less than two months later, Facebook ordered the removal of a graphic entitled “Abortionist” posted by a pro-life group, a graphic intending to educate the public about what an abortionist actually does during the course of his day-to-day work.  Apparently, tolerance is relative. 

The growing pains have begun. 

My point here is that I sense that perhaps not all are treated equally as users of social media, and I’m concerned that social media has made it easier for us to treat one another less than respectfully.  In this “virtual” world of social media, much like in the reality of a society whose god merely appears to be “fairness,” some opinions are deemed more “correct” or “worthy” than others.   I sense that the advent of social media has served to “normalize” a disrespect for persons who do not agree with one’s own worldview.  It is much more difficult, yet much more noble, to speak to someone face-to-face, than it is to “tweet” or “message” a person using social media.  It seems as if the more “connected” we are via social media, the less “connected” we are as social beings.  Doesn’t science tell us that we need real relationships with real people in order to thrive?  How can we “drive” social media so that it doesn’t become a vehicle for destruction and oppression but instead contributes to our relationships and fosters civility and productivity and dignity?

Don’t get me wrong—I’m not a “boycotter” of social media.  I use it daily.  I just have serious concerns. 

Ok.  I got that all out.  Now will someone please comfort me by explaining that the world will not come crashing down because of social media?  Momma needs some reassurance.

Reference:  

Qualman, E.  (2012, November 7).  Social Media 2013|New Music.  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXD-Uqx6_Wk