Thing 18

Personal Learning Network

I have some mixed feelings about the idea of meeting up with other professionals in a format like Ning. I love the idea of a gathering place for ideas and for input from all over--even outside one's school district. We never have enough time to meet as we should to share and create in a professional way. Even when meetings are scheduled, they tend to devolve into conversations that cover immediate issues--putting out fires--and professional development and sharing ideas get pushed back for another time.

I can see a site like Ning being a vehicle for literacy coaches to communicate ideas across the district and get classroom teachers to participate in the conversations. It makes the information sharing more two-way. Professional development tends to be top down, but all teachers know about how many great ideas are thriving in classrooms.

So now the other side. Participating on line takes time, too. We can manage when and where a lot more, but it takes a lot of time in front of a screen. Face-to-face conversation, I think, is very important. Do you ever send an email question to a teacher in the room next door when you could walk 10 steps and ask it in person? The web is a great tool, but relationships will always be where real learning begins.