Personal Learning Network (PLN)

First of all, what is a PLN? 

A Personal Learning Network is an informal learning network that consists of the people a learner interacts with and derives knowledge from in a personal learning environment. In a PLN, a person makes a connection with another person with the specific intent that some type of learning will occur because of that connection. (retrieved from Wikipedia)

According to Nik Peachey you have to follow four steps:

For teachers and students, it is important to build a PLN to be in contact with new information and also with people who know about the topic you are interested with. For example, you can turn Twitter into a PLN if you follow experts in English teaching. So every time they post something in their blogs or pages, they will share the link on Twitter for sure, so you will be able to read the last updates on English teaching of that expert. 

Another example of a PLN could be Meaki. It's a webpage similar to Pineterest, but there you can find videos, articles and visuals. You have different folders to organize your information. So, you will different kinds of items (Access step), then you will select the content that is interesting for you (Evaluating step), and then you will share it with your contacts. 

In my case the Personal Learning Networks that I use are the following. First I use Facebook. There I follow some pages like the British Council (where I get its latest updates) and I'm also part of the group called "English Teachers in Argentina" where different teachers share their experiences and help each other. 

I also use Pinterest. There, I search for creative ideas to do with my students and when I find something that I like I pin it. The good thing is that most of the teachers that I work with at the Institute, follow me on Pinterest, so when I pin something, they are able to see it, and maybe it's also helpful to them; and when they pin something I also can see it. So me and my co-workers are always sharing interesting material that can be used in our classes, in Pinterest.

So what about you? Do you use any of the Networks I've mentioned? Do you use a different one? Feel free to share your experiences!