Connecting with ISTE : PLNs

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Colin Anderson / Blend / Learning Pictures / Universal Images Group

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This week's (really last week's, I've fallen behind - ugh!) ISTE connection is PLNs -- Personal Learning Networks.  PLNs in their simplest form are the folks you bounce ideas off, they are the hallways in education.  This digital age has allowed us to connect with other educators all over the world, in different timezones, and in different ways. 

Tom Whitby in his article How Do I Get a PLN? states that a PLN is a mindset.  I absolutely agree with him.  My PLN is most helpful to me when I am most attentive to it.  (I guess that's true with most anything...)  This also brings me to another point he makes, that lifelong learning takes effort.  It's amazing what resources, information, and wisdom are out there just waiting for me, but I need to take that first step and search, find, and connect.

Connecting with ISTE

The technology coordinator at my school has created a digital learning environment for our LS teachers that will guide, (nudge, drag?) us into awareness and implementation of the ISTE standards in our classrooms.  It only makes sense that our first step is to take a look at ourselves and our practices. 

The first standard we are looking at is standard number 5:  Engage in professional growth and leadership.  We discovered our digital learning strengths and weaknesses by completing this short survey from the University of Exeter.  What Type of Digital Learner Are You?  The results are interesting, and look at several different domains within our digital learning profile.  A graphic representation of me is to the left.

As a librarian, I feel as though I have a jump on some of my colleagues.  My profession has been thrust into the digital age as my professional world is experiencing a paradigm shift.  It's not bad or good it's just different.  It does mean that I often feel as though I'm running to catch up with the latest technologies.  I guess it's time to lace up my shoes and start stretching.  This race is never won!