Things are starting to get personal.
In the last few weeks, I've been reading up on Professional (or Personal) Learning Networks, or PLNs. Essentially, a PLN is your digital network of professional colleagues with whom you can share information. PLNs can be made of blogs, social media like Facebook and Twitter, chat rooms, or other digital communities.
But, here's the best part…your PLN is personal. Your PLN can be whatever you want it to be. Love Twitter, but hate blogs? Start your PLN on Twitter. Love Instagram, but can't stand Twitter's restrictions? Go with Instagram. Prefer to send Snaps instead of e-mail? You can even start your PLN on Snapchat! You get to pick who you want to learn from, and equally importantly, those with whom you'll share your knowledge.
I understand that at first it sounds daunting.
Go! Read! Build your PLN!
(Ok, Dr. Robin didn't exactly say it like that.)
But, really, it's not daunting at all. Read some blogs. Get some ideas. Hop on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest or Snapchat or Instagram or… you get the idea. Start with what's comfortable, make some connections, and it'll grow from there.
Then, the fun really begins. Once you've started, you can choose what information you take and apply to your career as an HRD professional. The amount of (free) information is endless. I'm confident that by building my PLN, I'll be able to improve the quality of training and instruction that I provide. I'll leverage the experience of others in my field, and be able to learn from their triumphs, successes, and pitfalls, which will make me a better HRD professional.
Now go build your PLN, but don't forget…it's all about you!
But, here's the best part…your PLN is personal. Your PLN can be whatever you want it to be. Love Twitter, but hate blogs? Start your PLN on Twitter. Love Instagram, but can't stand Twitter's restrictions? Go with Instagram. Prefer to send Snaps instead of e-mail? You can even start your PLN on Snapchat! You get to pick who you want to learn from, and equally importantly, those with whom you'll share your knowledge.
I understand that at first it sounds daunting.
Go! Read! Build your PLN!
(Ok, Dr. Robin didn't exactly say it like that.) But, really, it's not daunting at all. Read some blogs. Get some ideas. Hop on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest or Snapchat or Instagram or… you get the idea. Start with what's comfortable, make some connections, and it'll grow from there.
Then, the fun really begins. Once you've started, you can choose what information you take and apply to your career as an HRD professional. The amount of (free) information is endless. I'm confident that by building my PLN, I'll be able to improve the quality of training and instruction that I provide. I'll leverage the experience of others in my field, and be able to learn from their triumphs, successes, and pitfalls, which will make me a better HRD professional.
Now go build your PLN, but don't forget…it's all about you!
Kayla, you make it sound so easy. I love how you have punched up your blog, too! I want to do a little tweaking on mine. It is on my to-do list for this week. I will have to refer back to Dr. Robin's tutorial, for sure.
ReplyDeleteI really love Pinterest and before I knew what a PLN truly was, I would have to say I began using Pinterest as my PLN. I have boards for Girl Scouting, Grandma Camp, and Inspiration. Now, I plan on adding leadership, adult learning, and technology to my boards.
With the addition of Feedly this week, I have seen how easy it is to add categories to my Feedly account. By doing this, I have increased my PLN in a easy-to-manage way. The headlines let me know if I want to read anything more in-depth, and, Viola!, one click and there it is!
Would you mind sharing some of your favorite resources for your PLN?