More than a Lurker

Author Cathy Davidson defines learning as "a constant disruption of an old pattern, a breakthrough that substitutes something new for something old in a cyclical process."

Well, that is what happened to me this week. For over a year, I have been reading and listening to people talk about the importance of building your own personal learning network. So I signed up for Twitter, got a Google Reader account and started trying to find some people to follow and read a few blogs. It was hard to find time for this, and when I did, I didn't get that much out of it. So why should I keep trying? Then I started the PLP professional development program, and in one week I have become more than just a lurker. The light bulb finally went off! I learned how to find people to follow using the #tag which led me to #web20classroom and some great Twitter tips . I'm learning about some great links that I'm sharing with my faculty as well as retweeting. I now want to have a PLN that I can contribute to and learn from. The contributing part is new for me. I always felt I didn't really have anything to contribute, and feared saying something stupid. (I do that all the time anyway.)


But now, if I can help just one person or get one new idea, that is GREAT! My old thoughts about Twitter and RSS feeds were disrupted and replaced with a new broader way of learning and sharing with others.


A colleague said to me, there is nothing wrong with lurking. In fact, I needed to do just that to see how people used Twitter, blogs, and social networks. But it's exciting to learn even more and start to build my own PLN.