I never thought about it before this class, but I guess I have always had a professional learning network. I read library journals (and now blogs) consistently and subscribe to library-related listservs where librarians ask and answer questions to help each other. I attend meetings of Southern California Instruction Librarians (SCIL) and workshops put on by a community college librarian group. Both groups are valuable for networking with colleagues and learning new/different techniques that will help me in my job.
For this class, I subscribed to lots of blogs that focused on educational technology, website design, and library technology. I ended up deleting several of the blogs: a few required a subscription to a publication (Ed Week, Chronicle of Higher Education), some were repetitious, and some covered esoteric topics that are beyond my current understanding of the subjects.
One of my favorites is Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. It has lots of tips for using technology for teaching. One recent post was about the best websites for creating infographics which followed a post a day earlier about why teachers should use infographics in education. The author has also discussed Google Forms and has written a number of posts on search strategies. EmergingEdTech is another interesting blog that also points out new technologies for teachers. One feature of this blog that I enjoy is the Education and Instructional Technology Tweet Wrap for each week that is a good way to keep up with current trends.
The affinity group that I joined, Instruction in Academic Libraries, is almost inactive. The Instruction Librarians listserv that I subscribe to sends out a digest several times a week (and sometimes day!) and lists new jobs available as well as upcoming conferences. Some of the recent topics discussed have been on assessing instruction, what type of instruction statistics different libraries collect, using tablets in library instruction, sharing examples of bad websites, and library instruction outreach to underserved academic departments. I learn so much from this listserv and have used many of the suggestions in my own library over the years.
One of my favorites is Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. It has lots of tips for using technology for teaching. One recent post was about the best websites for creating infographics which followed a post a day earlier about why teachers should use infographics in education. The author has also discussed Google Forms and has written a number of posts on search strategies. EmergingEdTech is another interesting blog that also points out new technologies for teachers. One feature of this blog that I enjoy is the Education and Instructional Technology Tweet Wrap for each week that is a good way to keep up with current trends.
The affinity group that I joined, Instruction in Academic Libraries, is almost inactive. The Instruction Librarians listserv that I subscribe to sends out a digest several times a week (and sometimes day!) and lists new jobs available as well as upcoming conferences. Some of the recent topics discussed have been on assessing instruction, what type of instruction statistics different libraries collect, using tablets in library instruction, sharing examples of bad websites, and library instruction outreach to underserved academic departments. I learn so much from this listserv and have used many of the suggestions in my own library over the years.
I think having a professional learning network is essential today to keep up with new technologies and to keep current in your own field. This would be particularly true for someone who wants a new position. I have taken advantage of my personal network to get answers to questions and I think if I were looking for a new job I would have more opportunities because of my participation in affinity groups.
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