Blog #2: Chapter 6

Summary

    Chapter 6 in the book, The Connected Educator by Nussbaum-Beach and Ritter-Hall, is about "Building Your Connected Learning Community." 

    The chapter starts off by discussing how to start your personal learning network. Growing a personal learning network "takes time, and perseverance." (Hall and Nussbaum-Beach, p. 93). You will always learn as you go. This is just a way to fit in goals and experiences to continue to grow your learning. through this, you should be able to filter through connections. To start your network, it is suggested in the book that you borrow from bloggers. This means to start "considering well-respected bloggers with whom you are familiar." (Hall and Nussbaum-Beach, p.93). This will help new people be included in your network with different perspectives and diverse backgrounds. Many other tips are included when starting your personal network, like using Twitter lists to match interests, doing web background checks, and using social bookmarking to build a network around content. 

    The chapter then starts to discuss how to grow and take care of your network. To do this, you must "engage in conversations in safe, ethical ways." (Hall and Nussbaum-Beach, p. 94). The book then gives some examples of how to do this with limited and unlimited contacts. It is useful to learn that this can be done with either approach sampled. 

    The chapter goes into the fact that a personal learning network requires positive connections, links, and ideas." (Hall and Nussbaum-Beach, p.96) It is important to note that other networks like Twitter can expose you to provocative ideas that would most likely not be found in your local professional learning community. Choosing networks needs to be done carefully so that they can aim to help you diversify your learning and grow. "Networks are just the place to connect, share resources, meet others, and get inspired." (Hall and Nussbaum-Beach, p. 97). Networks are supposed to be very centered around you, allow you to be involved and in control, and allow deep collaboration between others.

    To design your connected community, the chapter goes into how personal learning communities are part of the contextual environment. It is important to allow yourself to be a learner first and a teacher second in a community of educators. On page 98, the chapter shows a diagram of the ways to have a healthy community. It also goes over some of the guiding questions to answer when designing your community.

    Chapter 6 then goes into the concept of easy facilitation. In this part of the chapter, it is explained that core members create content together, and they begin to build a common understanding of what niche the community fills and how it will function." (Hall and Nussbaum-Beach, p. 99). Over time, a shared history will start to form. Community members should also start to recruit new members into the network as soon as they start to understand what it is like to be a part of the community. It is important to note that, "in healthy communities, participants discover how to leverage members' collective intelligence." (Hall and Nussbaum-Beach, p.100). In this way, ideas just keep building upon each other.

    After, the chapter begins to discuss the roles and responsibilities of members in an online community. Members should self-select their roles based on their participation. Some of the roles can be, "linking, lurking, learning, and leading." (Hall and Nussbaum-Beach, p.102). The chapter goes on to talk about how these roles can create an effective and successful online community. On page 103, there is even a diagram showcasing ways that roles can be divided among members.

    Next, the chapter goes over many ways to evolve your community. Some of the tips provided are to, "put people before things, design with real learning in mind, design for evolution and loose governance, select a passionate community leader, co-create the content, bring in other voices, and build trust." (Hall and Nussbaum-Beach, p. 104-106). By the end of the chapter, it is essential to think about which areas will be the most challenging when building a community. It is also essential to think about the roles and responsibilities used or whether or not the community will be open or closed. On the last page of the chapter, the book provides you with some ways to start getting connected now.

How can I and my future career relate to the chapter?   

 

    It is really important for teachers to have a personal learning network and online community. For me personally, my personal learning network can consist of groups of colleagues, educators, professionals, social media outlets, and online resources. In this online network, there are many branches of different sources that are available to me. I decided to create a map of what my personal learning network would look like when I start my future career. I really recommend doing this so that you can get a good understanding of what visually surrounds you. 

    

    As you can see from my chart, online resources don't have to be the only thing that can help you in your personal learning community or network. Some options that I have listed that can help me that aren't online are college resources, people in the profession, and even my own future students. My future students will be able to supply me with feedback and my performance as an educator. But, having those relationships with college professors is so important because most of them will be able to help you with any questions or issues you may have in your future career. Also, make sure you take the materials seriously that they require you to get for their classes. I still have most of my books from my college experience and they are there as a resource to help me. So at this point in your college career, you should think to yourself, have I gained any sources or made relationships from my college experience so far? try to answer that questions before you graduate. 

    The most important resources in my personal learning network are social media, people in the profession, and online resources. The amount of online resources I can use in my career is amazing. I have access to so many websites, blogs, and informational sites that I can use or even my students can use in the future. Resources like Youtube, Class Dojo, Google, Seesaw, Crashcourse, and more can be considered my online resources. Also, these online resources can be shared amongst my coworkers. That brings me to the people in the profession section. My coworkers will also be an amazing branch of my personal learning network. Coworkers, especially younger elementary graders, collaborate and work together to create a curriculum that works. We would be able to just keep bouncing ideas off of each other and helping each other which is a really amazing community resource. 

    Lastly, in my social media branch, there are many apps and communities online like Facebook and Pinterest that can help teachers obtain resources and ideas from even more teachers that aren't just in their district. There are educator groups and communities that are willing to help each other out and share information that has helped or benefited them in the field. Having a personal learning network as an educator is an amazing community to be a part of. I will definitely be sure to get myself involved and try to also help other fellow teachers with my experience and resources.

References

Nussbaum-Beach, S., & Hall, L. R. (2012). The Connected Educator: Learning and Leading in a Digital Age. Solution Tree Press.