While your level of participation may change depending on the time you have available, your professional goals, and your experience and comfort in a space, it is important to examine how you participate in various spaces in order to determine how you might enrich your PLN experiences. For example, if you are a turtle most of the time, you could improve your PLN engagement by asking a question in an online space or sharing a resource during a Twitter Chat. Actively engaging with others in your PLN can help both you, and your PLN, grow.
Before you jump into the next activity, consider the following questions:
- How do you interact with others in online spaces that are part of your PLN?
- How do you interact with others in face-to-face spaces that are part of your PLN (e.g., teacher’s lounge, book study group, coffee meetup, professional learning community)?
- Which animal role can help you to engage more actively with your PLN? Why?
- How can you give back to, and help others, in your PLN? Which animal role can help you change the way you contribute to the people and spaces in your PLN?
Activity: “My PLN and I”
In this activity, you will examine and reflect on your level of participation in the online spaces you enjoy the most for professional learning. You will also identify ways to improve your level of participation. In the spirit of community building and enhancing your interactions with others, you will provide support and feedback to other participants in this course.
Activity Learning Objective: Describe and analyze your level of participation in online spaces in your PLN and determine how to enrich your PLN experiences.
Activity Instructions:
- Select one online space that is a part of your PLN (this could be a new space that you explored during week 3 or a space you engaged with before this course).
- Reflect upon your level of participation in this space.
- Using the headings in the spreadsheet below post your responses on 4399edn tute team.
- Provide feedback to two of your peers in your online tute group.
| Space | Frequency of visits | Level of Engagement | Description of engagement | Reason(s) for enacting this type of engagement | Engagement disadvantage(s) | Ideas for improving engagement on this space | Peer Feedback from the Class |
|
Google+ Community |
Twice a month | Turtle | I read posts and comments but do not respond or make my presence apparent. | I am new to the community and don’t feel comfortable sharing or replying to posts. | I am not engaging directly with others and do not reciprocate in terms of sharing expertise | I can select a few posts that I am knowledgeable about and reply to them. |
