Personal Learning Neighbourhood

A few days ago, Ben Wilkoff posted From Network to Neighbourhood, a reflection on the cul-de-sacs of his personal/professional learning network. This morning I was walking when I received a message from Jabiz Raisdana who teaches on the other side of the planet.  His note prompted me to take a minute to reflect on some of the more distant members of my PLN.



There are many, many other educators with whom I engage in public (and private) conversations on a regular basis.  My neighbourhood/network was founded in late 2007 via Twitter, but has expanded many times since that time through a range of tools, experiences and events.    If you're still trying to make sense of Twitter and the role it may play in your own PLN, Keri-Lee Beasley and Jabiz Raisdana have just published Twitter - A Cultural Guidebook.  The book is based on Seven Degrees of Connectedness, and is available as a free download.

Visualizing Connections

The relationships we build with other online learners will vary depending on the frequency of our connections and the nature of our sharing and collaboration.  In this diagram,  I've drawn on my personal experiences in specific learning environments, in an attempt to highlight the intellectual and emotional connections I've made with colleagues.   

Although we don't often think about our professional relationships as being 'intimate' or 'emotional', over time I've come to value my online relationships far beyond the intellectual connection that first drew me to this online world.  

Is it possible to highlight such rich and evolving relationships in a personal/professional learning network (PLN) diagram?

7 Degrees of MOOC

In one of the opening sessions for #ETMOOC, Alec Couros hinted at the ubiquity of network connections when he shared the link to The Oracle of Bacon.  That site, based on the Six Degrees of Separation, highlights the interconnectedness of the acting community.

I prefer to consider the range of connections within what many educators now refer to as the 'PLN' or personal learning network.  In recent months, I've done a fair bit of thinking about how educators in the online world experience at least Seven Degrees of Connectedness.

The 7 Degrees Infographic was collaboratively developed in an attempt to qualify the wide range of relationships we experience online.  My original blog post later led to this K-12 Online Conference presentation that goes into more detail about the tools and connections many are now familiar with.

Knowing that ETMOOC participants are engaging in many and varied experiences with co-learners, I'd be interested to know whether or not these stages resonate with participants.  For those new to blogging, tweeting and sharing online, it might be even more enlightening to revisit this infographic at the end of the course.


HOT OFF THE PRESSES: My colleagues on the eastern side of the planet have just released Twitter: A Cultural Guidebook which is based on the 7 Degrees of Connectedness.  What's more, it's a free download.

Wheels Within Wheels

"Wheels within wheels in a spiral array, 

A pattern so grand and complex, 
Time after time we lose sight of the way, 

Our causes can't see their effects."

from Natural Science, by Rush

References:

Moving Forward
by Alec Couros

#ETMOOC is Overwhelming. So, Let's Make Some Meaning
by Ben Wilkoff 

Like Spokes on a Wheel
by Rodd Lucier

Week One Graph through Social Media Research Foundation
via Marc Smith

Like Spokes on a Wheel

As the ETMOOC gets underway in earnest, many of the participants will be blogging about their learning, some for the very first time.  As participants draw connections between their ideas, these blog posts will rub up against one another, and like spokes centred on a common central idea, we'll all be able to move forward together.  This, in spite of the fact that reading habits, (and consequently writing habits) are changing.  These ideas led me to the two minute reflection below...

Related Posts:
We are Called to be Open Spokes in a Fidgital World by Ben Wilkoff
Imagining a Classroom without Blogs by Clarence Fisher


Photo credit: Spokes by kozzmen