Chapter 6 of The Connected Educator discussed building your connected learning community. The author began the chapter by giving a description of her first memories of building a personal learning network. She went on to describe how her first relationship was with a young science teacher who taught her "how to use IRC chat and how to share files and have private conversations (Nussbaum-Beach). The author then discussed how she added a university professor whom she had never met to her network. She continued by talking about a government employee who lived in Edmonton, Canada who was her first international relationship. She stated that "We experimented with tools and technology ideas, and we discussed politics. We sent artifacts to one another trying to learn about each other's culture" (Nussbaum-Beach). The author concluded her memories by saying "It all started through my conversations with someone who, at the time, seemed so different from me but who now, through the connections I have in the network, doesn't seem very different at all" (Nussbaum-Beach). I personally loved her concluding sentence because through conversations you might find that you have more in common with someone than you initially thought.
As the chapter progressed, the author went on to give helpful tips on how to start your personal learning network. She stated that who you follow depends on the purpose or focus of your network and that it is beneficial to filter your connections. I enjoy that she encourages her readers to include people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives as a way to deepen and expand their learning. In addition, I agree that we should do a web background check before we choose who to follow and that we shouldn't follow someone just because they follow chose to follow us. The author stated that it would be beneficial to use social bookmarking because "You connect to people who are linking to or bookmarking the same things you are. One of the great features of the network is that people you respect will do the vetting for you—just look at who they choose to follow" (Nussbaum-Beach).
In the paragraph headed Designing Your Connected Community, the line "to shift from a classroom framework of teaching to a community of co-learners, you must see yourself as a learner first and a teacher second" (Nussbaum-Beach) really spoke to me. It made me realize that since things are always changing and advancing, in a connected community you will always be a learner. I also liked Figure 6.1: Characteristics of a healthy community because it is designed to engage the members in active discussions. In addition, Table 6.1: Design Model for Evolution is a great resource because as the author states "it can be helpful in designing new communities" (Nussbaum-Beach).
The final section of this chapter that I would like to discuss is Evolving Your Community. As I previously mentioned, things are constantly changing and advancing. For this reason, we must be able to evolve out community. The author states ways in which we can evolve or community, the first being that we need to put the people before things such as test scores. She goes on to say "It is a human community. Relationships matter. Be patient and respectful, and treat people in your online networks who are struggling with change with the same kindness you would give to people in your everyday world" (Nussbaum-Beach). I love this excerpt because just because we communicate behind a computer does not make us any less human. Patience and respect could make all the difference to someone in your community who is struggling with change. The author also discusses how we should design our community with real learning in mind and also design for evolution and loose governance. She states that communities should begin with loose governance and a plan to evolve because it will allow for an easier launch and a more comfortable experience. She also goes on to say that the community should evolve based on the needs and strengths of the members. I agree with that statement because in any situation, you must play to your strengths and modify based on your needs. Finally, the author ends this section by stating that we must build trust within our community. In our connected community we build trust by using tools such as discussion forums.
Overall, I found this chapter to be very informational and useful about how to build, design, and evolve your online community. The most useful thing that I found was how to filter your connections by doing a web background check.
Hello Desiree,
ReplyDeleteAs I read through your blog post I must admit that some things caught my attention but what made me stop in my tracks was the fact stated that the author talks about how we must build trust within our community. Generation Now, is a generation that has not had the expertise of elderly grandparents. Many of todays society of young people have parents in their 30s and early 40s whom have been made grandparents at an early age, whereas when I grew up my grandparents were in their late 60s and 70s and they were the community. While growing up it was important to trust in your community, as our mantra was it takes a village! And certainly it did take the entire village the community of parents and grandparents, teachers, coaches, family and friends and service men and women to raise the village. Todays generation does not understand that, they often feel as though people are just meddling in their business, but their success and the success of the village of children is our business. Thank you for your insight!