Title: In-Time, On-Going, & Self-directed Professional Development: Personal Learning Networks

We teach in a time of rapid change, when, for the first time in history, we can not clearly describe the future for which we are preparing our children. This is why “learning” has become a critical part of what it is to teach.

This engaging presentation will describe and demonstrate a number of emerging technologies that are increasingly being used by educators to form and cultivate their Personal Learning Networks — connecting themselves to people and resources that help them do their jobs.

Learn how to grow your own connections to information and experiences that can help you an expert in your field and an engaged member of your profession. Learn how educators are using blogs, engaging in social chatting, attending virtual professional development events, and harnessing the magic of RSS to train valuable information to find them — to be a 21st Century Education.

This is an important topic that may be refined into a new keynote address. It is also a very rich topic that can easily be extended into a a half- or full-day BYOL workshop.

Shorter Workshop Description:

We teach in a time of rapid change, when, for the first time in history, we can not clearly describe the future for which we are preparing our children. This is one reason why learning has become a critical part of what it is to teach.

In this workshop, participants will explore a variety of emerging tools and techniques that educators are using to form and cultivate their Personal Learning Networks — connecting themselves to people and resources that help them do their jobs.

Learn how to grow your own connections to information and experiences that help you strengthen your expertise and remain an engaged member of your profession. Topics will include blogging as a professional development endeavor, opportunities for professional jams, virtual staff development events, and harnessing the magic of RSS to literally train valuable content to find you — to be a 21st Century Educator.

Alternative Description for School Leaders and Media Specialists

We teach in a time of rapid change, when, for the first time in history, we can not clearly describe the future for which we are preparing our children. This is why “learning” has become a critical part of being an educator, and why education leaders need to encourage and provoke learning as a part of the professional culture of their schools.

This engaging presentation will assist leaders by first, mapping out the emerging technologies and techniques that educator-learners are beginning to utilize in order to form Personal Learning Networks (PLN) — cultivated connections with people and dynamic content that help them do their jobs.

Second, participants will explore steps and strategies for encouraging and supporting faculty in forming and maintaining their own PLNs, striving for the tipping point where they strengthen and grow under the momentum of ubiquitous learning.

Alternative Titles:

• Personal Learning Networks: An Educators Context for Web 2.0
• In-time, on-going, self-directed Professional Development: Cultivating your Personal Learning Network