personal learning network Tag Archive

My Connectivist Personal Learning Network | Learning The Connectivist Way – Part III

In this final part of the series, I share how I built my Personal Learning Network (PLN) and the technologies I use to make learning continuous, connected, and meaningful. From Feedly to Twitter, discover how connectivism shapes my lifelong learning practice.

Visual representation of a Personal Learning Network connecting people, ideas, and digital tools.

Author’s Note:
“Learning the Connectivist Way” is a three-part series describing my journey toward self-directed learning and connectivism.

Personal Learning Network

A Personal Learning Network (PLN) is a group of people you connect with to increase your knowledge in a particular subject (Lynch, 2017). PLNs fit naturally within a connectivist paradigm—creating and connecting with people or “nodes” to enhance learning.

Connecting with people is essentially about learning from their ideas, thoughts, questions, reflections, and even references. A PLN can be personal or professional, formal or informal, local or global, and can exist both online and offline.

I began exploring PLNs in 2007, around the same time I started blogging about healthcare. That experience made me realize: this might be the key to increasing my learning.

Three Ingredients of Connectivist Learning

According to Downes (2010), connectivist learning involves three essential ingredients: relevance, interaction, and usability. These same elements determine the strength of any personal learning network.

In medicine and orthopedics, staying current is critical. Print materials such as textbooks are often five to ten years behind. Meanwhile, medical advancements spread online almost instantly. To stay up-to-date, I realized I needed to remain connected to the network—to access information quickly and filter what was relevant to my practice.

Technologies for Personal Learning Networks

1. Aggregating Relevant Information

I use Feedly (formerly Google Reader) to acquire, organize, and filter important updates in the medical field. Most websites now include RSS feeds, allowing you to subscribe and stay informed about their latest content.

Through Feedly, I curate information by category—such as medicine or orthopedics. Many paid journals now include abstracts in their feeds, making it easier to keep up with current research.

I also blog my reflections on a self-hosted WordPress site. Reflective writing is considered a higher form of learning. I share my posts in discussion forums, on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter for critical review and feedback. I’ve also helped build a network of blogging physicians, creating a sort of informal peer-review community across various topics.

For professional interaction, I primarily use Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

2. Building Interactivity

Twitter is my favorite platform for building networks with global medical thought leaders in real time. It also became the launchpad for #HealthXPh—a collaborative effort of healthcare social media practitioners in the Philippines to discuss how emerging technologies and social media impact healthcare (Aguilar, 2015).

Twitter has since spawned hubs of interactivity—through Twitter chats, journal clubs, and live conference tweets. These activities enable me to interact, learn, and engage with mentors and colleagues anywhere, anytime.

#HealthXPh also became the foundation for our Healthcare Social Media Summit, which brings practitioners together for in-person, synchronous discussions. We’ve maintained a strong presence on Facebook since, using it to connect with local colleagues—an especially valuable tool given its popularity in the Philippines.

3. Simplifying and Improving Usefulness of Content

These tools are easy to learn and flexible enough to fit various learning styles. My RSS aggregator curates only relevant feeds, while Twitter hashtags filter topics of interest. Discussion threads are straightforward to follow and respond to.

Blogging has also sharpened my writing and reflection. Synthesizing and summarizing curated information pushes me to clarify and simplify complex ideas. I use my own words to better understand concepts in medicine, orthopedics, and other related fields.

Although connectivism forms the foundation of my learning, I still attend face-to-face conferences and workshops. However, I make it a habit to link my online and offline learning—connecting with attendees via Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook to continue discussions beyond the session.

Organizing information and nurturing my learning network has expanded my access to both open educational resources and paid journals. A simple tweet to an author, for instance, often results in special permission to use an article otherwise locked behind a paywall.

Most importantly, these tools allow me to stay connected to knowledge—anytime, anywhere.

From Information to Knowledge

So, what do I do with all the information gathered from this ever-growing Personal Learning Network? How do I turn it into usable knowledge?

This is where Bloom’s Taxonomy for Learning comes in—a framework I’ll discuss in a future post.

In Summary

This post concludes my three-part series on Learning the Connectivist Way. Throughout the series, I shared how my learning journey evolved and why connectivism became a guiding paradigm.

Connectivist learning revolves around building and interacting within networks—through aggregation, co-creation, storage, and retrieval of information. I’ve embraced connectivism not as a rigid theory, but as a learning paradigm that fits my professional and social context.

Advancements in Internet and communication technologies have transformed how I learn. I’ve also shown how simple, accessible tools can amplify the key features of connectivist learning.

Ultimately, this journey is about maximizing learning within a connected ecology—where people, technology, and information continuously intersect.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.
What is your Personal Learning Network?
What tools do you use to make your PLN more interactive, relevant, and useful?

References

  • Aguilar, R. (n.d.). What is #HealthXPh? HealthXPh.net. Retrieved from http://healthxph.net/about/what-is-healthxph
  • Anderson, T. (2008). Towards a theory of online learning. In T. Anderson (Ed.), Theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed., pp. 45–74). Alberta, Canada: Athabasca University.
  • Downes, S. (2007). What connectivism is. Retrieved from http://halfanhour.blogspot.com
  • Downes, S. (2010). Connectivist Learning and Teaching. Retrieved from SlideShare
  • Kop, R., & Hill, A. (2008). Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past? International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 9(3), 1–13.
  • Lynch, M. (2017). What is a Personal Learning Network? The Tech Edvocate. Retrieved from https://www.thetechedvocate.org/personal-learning-network/
  • Morrison, G., Ross, S., Kemp, J., & Kalman, H. (2011). Designing effective instruction. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
  • Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism – A learning theory for the digital age. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(1), 3–10.
  • Siemens, G. (2006b). Knowing Knowledge. LuLu.com.
  • Wade, M. C. (2010). A Personal Philosophy. Retrieved from http://cybergogue.blogspot.com/2010/12/personal-philosophy.html

By • November 6, 2018

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Taking Control of My Own Learning | Learning The Connectivist Way – Part I

I’ve been taught and have taught the traditional way—behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist. But the information explosion of the 21st century changed everything. This first part of my three-part series describes how my personal learning context led me to take charge of my own learning journey.

Author’s Note:
“Learning the Connectivist Way” is a three-part series describing my journey toward self-directed learning and connectivism.

First, My Story

I grew up in Tacurong City, part of Sultan Kudarat in southeastern Mindanao. Private educational institutions offered the best available education in the area—but tuition and school fees were expensive. Many students studied elsewhere, believing that learning quality was better in urban educational hubs.

My family could afford neither private school fees nor the cost of living in cities. Because of this personal and social context, I learned to take control of my own education.

Why I’m Learning the Connectivist Way

Changing Learning Context

I was taught the behaviorist way since childhood. Formal schooling wasn’t much different—teaching was focused on acquiring desirable behaviors or specific skills.

Later, due to social and technological changes at the turn of the 21st century, cognitivism and constructivism shaped my higher education experience. Naturally, I sought learning—and probably taught—within those frameworks.

But this outlook changed with the information explosion of the 21st century. There’s simply too much information to learn. Knowledge expanded rapidly and spread globally, thanks to the Internet and digital communication technologies. Traditional pedagogies couldn’t keep up.

In medicine and orthopedics, for instance, some of what I learned when I entered medical school had already become obsolete by the time I completed residency training. Clearly, my approach to learning and teaching had to change if I wanted to remain relevant in the knowledge economy.

Studying Multiple Disciplines at the Same Time

I took a radio electronics technician course with NMYC (the forerunner of TESDA) while simultaneously completing my secondary education. Later, I juggled extra computer classes, scholarships, and part-time work while pursuing my college degree.

While in medical school, I also earned teaching units, and even after becoming a physician, I continued to take courses in organic agriculture and accounting.

At the heart of this seemingly scattered journey across different disciplines is a core belief: learning is lifelong and interconnected. The ability to traverse and integrate knowledge from various fields provides an edge over narrow, domain-specific expertise—especially in a rapidly changing knowledge economy.

Interconnected disciplines representing lifelong, cross-domain learning

Interconnected disciplines representing lifelong, cross-domain learning

Why Synchronous, Face-to-Face Instruction Isn’t Always Sustainable for Me

The behaviorist and cognitivist modes of learning are deeply ingrained in medical education. Essential medical knowledge and skills are taught and assessed in structured, standardized ways. There’s little room for deviation—particularly in fields like surgery, where standardization ensures safety and consistency.

The goal is to develop a “skilled surgeon” shaped by the accumulated wisdom of mentors from previous generations.

However, the information explosion and advances in Internet and communication technologies have changed everything. New discoveries have rendered parts of our traditional medical knowledge obsolete. Technological innovations now enhance surgical precision, multiply our “working hands,” and free us from many routine tasks.

By the time I completed orthopedic training, I realized there was still so much more to learn. Returning to my hometown to practice orthopedics only strengthened that realization.

To keep pace with rapid developments in my field, I affiliated with the nearest teaching hospital—a three-hour drive from my practice. Whenever possible, I attended conferences, conventions, and workshops to update my knowledge and skills.

While returning to formal training was always an option, it was both costly and time-consuming. Even short, face-to-face courses required me to leave my practice and income behind.

I eventually realized that formal, face-to-face learning alone wasn’t sustainable. It couldn’t keep up with the rapid evolution of medical knowledge.

Thus, I began to direct my own learning, combining formal and informal methods—both online and offline—from multiple sources.

A visual metaphor for the lifelong journey of continuous, connected learning

A visual metaphor for the lifelong journey of continuous, connected learning

Next: Part II

In the next installment, I’ll explain what Connectivism is, its key features, and why I gravitate toward this framework for lifelong learning.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Have you ever examined your own learning context?
How does your personal learning environment relate to today’s overwhelming flow of information?

By • November 4, 2018

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