Personal Learning Networks: Using the Power of Connections to Transform Education

The Internet connects us in unprecedented ways. New tools allow us to build global learning networks where we can pursue our intellectual and creative passions with people around the world. To prepare students to flourish in this new learning world, schools will need to transform themselves in important ways. Personal Learning Networks is a road map to guide that transformation.

In order to bring these learning networks into classrooms, teachers must first create learning networks of their own. The authors describe a bottom-up progression that will help educators understand the power of these networks and become networked individuals. Learn how to use learning networks in the classroom to improve student outcomes and make the case for learning network use across your entire school. Using step-by-step advice and real-world stories, this book aims to narrow the technological divide, put educators on the same footing as students, and provide a recipe for incorporating these tools into every classroom.

Benefits

* Notes the importance of teachers exploring Internet tools in their own lives before bringing them into the classroom

* Introduces tools such as Twitter, social bookmarking, RSS feeds, blogs, and Facebook

* Offers real-world stories of teachers who have created personal learning networks

* Shares a three-step plan to build a learning network throughout a school or district

* Discusses four common hurdles most schools face when implementing learning networks