Personal Learning Enviroments

 I'm a character of many hobbies. I find myself always chasing some curiosity or another. Social Media in some way fashion or form has become a big part of that system. Sometimes it's the ignitor, the clip that piques my curiosity. But I enjoy it best when it is a fundamental part of the learning experience. Why?

My favorite way to learn is in an apprenticeship type, communal learning method. This way I do something, I can inquire with someone right there. Well, via social media, we have this ability, or very close. You have forums, or sub groups of people all gathered around a common interest. Now their intrigue with this could vary, as could their experience, but they are all there. And because the internet is global, this net is cast wide, and you have minds the world over that can relay information. There are challenges, as social media is a bit wild, you can also be drug through the digital dirt because everyone decides to jump on your stupid mistake, and it can hurt. Also, it can be cognitive overload, some things vary by region, how to do this here might be different than how to do it over there. So it places a huge burden on the learner to navigate the excess, to toss the negative, and absorb the positive and beneficial. 

The skill is mastering ones on individualize technique in doing so, and that will most likely be a composite a various methods and informational sources both online, social, and in person. We have that ability, just as we do not have to take what Eddie says at the water-cooler to heart, we can run it by Becky in Accounting, and maybe Joey in Closing, and before we know it we realize Eddie was just butt-hurt about that thing Becca said over lunch last Tuesday.

The technique for one will not fit that of another, and could just as easily vary by subject as it could on an individual basis.