What is an online portfolio and do you have one? Have you thought about your PLN - Personal Learning Network?
On Monday 16 March I listened at home to a lecture streamed into the classroom from Melbourne Australia. Our lecturer was Joyce Seitzinger and she discussed with the class Personal Learning Networks. This was very interesting as many of us use the internet daily we don't think of the impact of using it.
With the use of technology we have the facility which allows for individualised and ubiquitous learning but is everything we read correct? Do you think of cross referencing online, as you would in a library, to see if the information is correct? I deal with information bloat by making sure that I have few technologies in-which to use at that time. When I study my phone is turned onto silent, the television is not on and that I am working in an environment that is conducive to my learning (without distractions such as FB or messenger). Coming into EIT on days like this (holiday time) or on a Saturday to work is the lab is great as there are no distractions for me. Minimising is essential for dealing with information bloat.
For me, personally I use a couple of websites to find information. I look at Google first then go to Ask.com to cross reference. YouTube is another great website to use if you wish to find out how to do something. I have even been know to ask friends on Facebook, or within a page on Facebook certain questions. Some of the answers have been interesting so I tend not to use the site for Education and Technical questions (filter bubble). I find that my Personal Learning Network is quite productive. I have to make sure that Skype is off though as with one child in Brazil and the other somewhere in the world serving in our wonderful armed services I tend to end up chatting when I should be working. Failing to find correct information online is easy, so long as you know where to look. As students there are forums that are helpful within our subjects and although I have found them very helpful I find not a lot of students tend to use them.
Am I using my PLN to it's full advantage no. I need to update my information online (Linkedin for example) and to follow up emails. I need to use my PLN more effectively to enable advancement within the area in which I wish to go.
I sat and thought about my PLN and this is what it looks like, it is not complete as there are things that I have yet to include (other web pages I use) but these are the main ones.
I have found this topic interesting as I can see that my PLN is a mixture of both personal and study based. Reflecting on my PLN I find that I need to balance it in respect of what I am doing. At the moment, if I managed my PLN more effectively I may be able to stay at home on Saturday mornings instead of coming into college - still it is peaceful...
Coming into college, using the tools available on my PLN, I feel that it gives another dimension to my learning skills. It updates my knowledge in an efficient manner - if it didn't I would still be on the first assessed activity trying to find what and how to do something. The tools above have helped me to progress.
I hope you find this interesting. Please leave a comment with your thoughts.
Cheers.
No comments:
Post a Comment