Tag Archives: PLN

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Do you work in a learning organization?

photo-1459623837994-06d03aa27b9bA recent article in American Libraries Magazine caught my eye, and reflects what I believe about continuing education for ALL library staff. With change happening so fast, all library staff need to feel confident in their skill set,  and engaged in staying current in order to be relevant to library users.

The conclusion to the full article by Meredith Farkas nails it….”Professional development doesn’t have to cost a fortune, but it does require time. And library administrators must consciously choose to make this investment. It benefits individuals and connects them more to the profession, and all that learning comes back to enrich the organization. A learning organization is always improving, and that can’t happen without an intentional investment in professional development.”

CMLE provides low or no-cost events and also offers scholarships to attend events other than what CMLE offers. Need a substitute so you can attend an event? No problem….this is an allowable scholarship expense. Take a look to see how easy it is to apply for a scholarship now in order to keep sharpening your skill set!

Patricia-

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/a7HJsX8HiuM (Josh Felise), licensed under CC0 1.0
Check this out:, General, School Media Specialist

Results of Blue Skunk PLN Survey

TwitterWords. mrsdkrebs
Image by Mrsdlrebs. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons licensing.

In a recent post, you may have noticed that Doug Johnson’s Blue Skunk blog was named in the top 50 list of school library blogs. Doug used that platform to his advantage to encourage followers to take his survey on Professional Learning Network (PLN) Tools. Within a week or so, Doug had 513 responses; a good and fast response! Some interesting facts follow, but please read Doug’s full blog post to read more about other highlights or possible  limitations of the survey.

  • PLN means different things to different people.
  • Professionals are connected and those connections, while maybe changing in some ways, are getting stronger overall.
  • Three most used PLN tools were: social bookmarking sites, webinars, and blogs
  • Three least used PLN tools were: Google+, LinkedIn, and Nings
  • Three tools getting most increased use: blogs, webinars, and social bookmarking

What about you, what is your favorite PLN tool?

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Collaborative Learning Resources

Image by Sean MacEntee. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons' licensing.
Image by Sean MacEntee. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

Edudemic posted an article identifying ways to build stronger collaboration among peers. The author,  discusses the benefits to sharing resources and ideas for the purposes of uncovering practical and innovative solutions.  These solutions start with a simple conversation. Noting that it takes more than visually seeing colleagues, suggesting resources to help connect with peers routinely and in meaningful ways. If nothing else, it is a way to measure your work in relation to other libraries. Click here to read Casey-Rowes’ article, 10Web Resources For Becoming A Better Collaborator (September 2013.)

TIP: One of the ideas mentioned in this article is to develop a Personal Learning Network (PLN.) These networks are comprised of a collection of people (contacts) to engage and exchange information with (often online.) Here are some additional PLN resources, archived by Edudemic, for you to consider:

  • A WordPress Widget Perfect for Building Your PLN (link)
  • 3 Ways to Kick Start Your PLN (link)
  • What My PLN Means to Me (link)
  • How to Manage Your PLN Using Twitter (link)
  • 3 Ways to Turn Your PLN Into an Active Network (link)