I’m also going to explain PBL in terms of hte story that Sue Waters told last week, when she asked questions to Twitter – to explain that the sum knowledge of a PLN is greater than any single person (student or teacher).

So, I’m not focusing on them as ‘bloggers’ but want to push them into allowing community blogging (21Classes, Ning) happen as a normal classroom activity, and then encourage them to comment and ‘knit’ together the collective thoughts of the group.

A recent Year 12 Pilot (based on Konrads thinking) proved a massive success, and really added value to the group – overall they exceeded all requirements, and even now, as the deadline has passed, they are still using the group and talking about the topic.

So I’m taking a hybrid approach, using the network to support my arguement and then using the school experience to qualify. To do that I need to draw on Konrad and Sues story – externalise the issue.

I like to attack the flanks with Paladins in Age of Empires, before hitting them with wave after wave of archers.

Let us know how it went – its great to see this on the agenda now.

Dean

When all is said and done, it is Twitter that is the glue that holds the other pieces together (and maybe just microblogging in general now that I have become a Plurker (karma approaching 60 thank you very much). While I have my own Ning where I started my team, META Web 2.0, I probably would have used Classroom 2.0 as a launch point.

Frank

Once I was comfortable in those sites, I did join Twitter. It really is my number one location for connecting and learning. I did not feel comfortable with it at first. I didn’t feel comfortable just joining the conversation. Once I had made other contacts with people through blogs, webcasts, and Classroom 2.0 I joined.

There’s not one way to get started. The whole point, to me, is to make others aware of what is available.

I am a first year Bachelor of Education mature aged student in Queensland. In our first semester we completed a subject called ” Learning Networks” which touched on the idea of developing a PLN. I plan to set up my own blog soon and use del.icio.us to share resources with other students. I have your blog in my Google Reader. Keep blogging – I am really enjoying my on-line learning experience. I think a lot of pre-service teachers are hungry for this type of information but do not know how to access it.

Looking at most of us in the Web 2.0 environment at the moment, much of our learning in our PLN is learning about the tools, how to use, how others are using them in the classroom, refining our own uses, assisting newbies, keeping up with the “Jones”, plus a slightly increasing interest in pedagogy and implications for education and schools. These provide for many of us, lots of reasons for continuing to prod, probe and contribute to the networks.

I’m not so sure that the next wave of adoptees will have these same motivations, despite how much we think they should. Will they have the sense of cussedness or level of patience, (I know I vacilate between these two extremes), to make these tools work for them? I’m not so sure.

Maybe I would be advising to start initially more local whereby if the network is not happening as it should then there is always a face to face option. A class based blog usually works best for introducing to students so maybe a unit based blog or wiki may best a safer introduction.

A Ning maybe based around curriculum needs/development is a viable option though it would probably need at least one person with experience in monitoring, moderating and generally stirring the post every now and then. Having a space where you can store and access every dayfrom home and school the work tools has real appeal to some teachers.

Ultimately though the real challenge is to begin to establish PLN that utilise but have a primary focus other than on Web 2.0 tools. I think that it will only be then that the will tools will really prove themself.

A big omission on my part, and quite rightly mentioned by both Chris & Murcha, is the role played by mailing lists. My awareness of other educators and a myriad of resources was definitely kickstarted by ozteachers well before I became aware of blogs, twitter, & nings. Of course, many of those names associated with ozteachers are the very ones I follow via blogs & twitter . I have tried hard to get some of our teachers signed up with del.icio.us but only a few have taken up the challenge. Good luck with your presentation – I’m doing one for new bloggers but I’m prety nervous with it being my first one.