Understanding personal learning networks: Their structure, content and the networking skills needed to optimally use them

Abstract

Networking is a key skill in professional careers, supporting the individual's growth and learning. However, little is known about how professionals intentionally manage the connections in their personal networks and which factors influence their decisions in connecting with others for the purpose of learning. In this article, we present a model of personal professional networking for creating a personal learning network, based on an investigation through a literature study, semi-structured interviews and a survey.

Full text

5/8/2014 Under standing persona l learning networks: Their struc ture, c ontent and the networking skills needed to optimally use them | Rajagopal | First Monday
http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3559/3131 1/13
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A BO U T T H E
A UT H OR S
KamakshiRajagopal
OpenUniversiteit
Netherlands
DesiréeJoostenten
Brinke
OpenUniversiteit
Netherlands
JanVanBruggen
HO ME AB OUT L OG IN REGIS TER S EAR CH CURRENT
AR CH IVES A NNOUNCEMENTS S UBMISS IONS
Home>Volume17,Number12Ja nuary2012>Rajagopal
Networkingisakeysk illinprofessiona lcare ers,supportingthe
individual’sgrowthandlearning.Howeve r,littleiskno wnabouthow
profe ssionalsintentionallymanage theconne ctionsintheirpersonal
networksandwhichfactorsinfluencetheirdecisionsinconnectingwith
othersforthepurposeoflear ning.Inthisarticle,wepresentamodelof
personalprofessionalnetwork ingforcreatingapersonallea rning
network,basedonaninv estigationthro ughalitera turestudy,semi–
structuredinterviewsandasurvey.
Contents
Introduction
Methodology
Thelearnerasorchestratorofherpersonallea rningnetwor k
Thepe rsonallearningnetworkmodel
Discussiona ndconclusion:Supportingpersonalne tworkinga ndfuture
rese arch


Introduction
Inmodernwor kinglife,professionalsneedtoperformflexiblyand
independentlyinever–changingenvironme nts(Castells,2000).Tobe
abletodothiseffe ctively ,theyde pendonvariouslifelonglearningskills,
amongothersa utonomousandself–directedlearning.Asthey arepartly
supportedintheirlearningby interactionwiththeirpeers,ane ssential
life–longlearningskilltheyneedtodevelo p,istheabilitytofindandto
connec twithrelevantothers,i.e .,profe ssionalnetworking(Johnson,
2008Nardi,etal.,2000).
Wedefinetheactivityofpr ofessionalnetworkingastheactofmaking
connec tionswithotherprofessionals,withorwithouttheintentionof
makinglong–termtieswiththem(Co mpton,2009TempestandStarkey,
2004).Inour understanding,theskillsatthecentreofne tworkinginv olve
anabilitytoidentifya ndunderstandotherpeople’sworkinrelationto
one’sown,andtoa ssessthevalueoftheconnectionwiththeseothersfor
potentialfuture work.There sultofnetworkingisa personalprofessional
network,i.e.,ane gocentric,personallya ndintentionallycreatednetwork
ofpeoplese tupbyanindividualspecificallyinthec ontextofher
profe ssionalactivities.Thisnetwork gathersaheter ogeneouscirc leof
people ,distributeda cross differentgroupsandplaces,andconnectedto
theindividua lwithconnectionsofvaryingdegreesofstrengths
(Granovetter,1983Nardi,etal.,2000).
Professiona lnetworkingoffer svariousbenefits.Fromtheindividual’s
perspective,itsupportsthedevelo pmentandgrowthofprofessionals’
care ers(C ross,etal.,2003Dulworth,2006Kr attenmaker,2002).Yo ur

5/8/2014 Under standing persona l learning networks: Their struc ture, c ontent and the networking skills needed to optimally use them | Rajagopal | First Monday
http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3559/3131 2/13
OpenUniversiteit
Netherlands
PeterBSl oep
OpenUniversiteit
Netherlands
networksalsoallowyo utofindappropriate,constantsupportwhenthe
needarises (Haythornthwaite,2002RuandOrtolano,2009VanRyzin,
etal.,2009).Fromtheorganisation’sperspe ctive,ne tworkinga nd
networksarevitalininnov ationandcrucialinlinkingtonewtrusted
partnerswhende alingwithchangingbusinesspriorities(Birk inshaw,et
al.,2007Pulle yandWakefield,2001Verve st,etal.,2009).Networking
supportsgroupformationfo rthepurposeofaware ness–r aisingand/or
socio–econom icprogress(s eeCompton,2009Fesko,1997Guptonand
Slick,1996Hays,e tal.,2003).Pro fessionalnetwork ingcanalsobe used
asameanstocontinuously supportprofessionals’life–longlearningin
practice (Johnson,2008).Oncecreated,perso nalprofessionalnetwork s
areplatformsinwhichconversationsanddialoguecanoccur,thus
allowingfo rindividual(non–for mal)lea rning(Era ut,2000).Thislearning
isespeciallyprevalentinpra ctice,wheretacitknowledgeisbuiltthrough
expe rience andreflectiona ndsharedthroughsocialinteractionwith
others(BolhuisandSimons,2001HearnandWhite,2009).Furthermore ,
theabilitytomakeconve rsationspossible betweenpeople whenneeded
isrecognisedasakeyenablerofknowledgecreationinorganisational
settings(Vo nKrogh,etal.,2000).
Bothstrongandweakconnectionscontributetotheindiv idual’sle arning:
strongtiesallowforactivecollabo rationonknowledgecre ation,whereas
weaktiesaresourcesfornewinformation,k nowledge andideas(Be ll,
2010GargiuloandBenassi,2000Jones,2008Jones,etal.,2008
Rybe rgandLarsen,2008Wenger,1998).Asthedichotomyofstrong
versusweaktiesisnotself–evident,morere finementisneede d(Lin,
2008).Forpersonalnetworks,GrabherandIbert(2008)pr opose da
three–layere dapproach,consistingofa communalitylay er(strongties),
asoc ialitylay er(weakties)andaconnectivitylayer (veryweakties).
Ithasa lsobeenrecognisedthattiesandne tworkscanbeintentionally
built,crea tedandmaintaineda sresourcesforle arningandworking
(Burt,1992).The structureofape rsonalnetworkcanchangeinway s
bestbenefitingthenee dsofprofessionallearnersthroughoutdifferent
stagesoftheircareers(Marga ryan,etal.,2009).Byincludingwe aklink s
intheirpersonalnetworks,learne rsca ncrea teanenvironmentfor
learning(KesterandSloep,2009).We believetheintentionalityofthe
profe ssionalisthestrongestatthesocialitylay er,ascontactsinthislayer
arethemostmo bilewithinsomeone’spersonalnetwork.Dependingon
theintentionsoftheprofe ssional,thesetieshavethepotentialtobecome
strongerconnectionsordevelopintoev enweakerties.Anindiv idualcan
therefo recreateandorche stratetiestoeffec tivelysupportlea rningnee ds
andpotentiallyusetechnology tosupportthisnetwork,effectivelymaking
itapersonallearningnetwork(PLN).
Thisar ticleaimstounderstandhowpro fessionalsdeterminethe
networkingactionstheyunder take.I notherwords,howdoesthesupport
offeredbydiffere nttiesinapr ofessional’spe rsona llearningnetwork
changeandev olvewiththeintentionalactionsoftheprofessional?We
presentamodeldescribingtheactofper sonalprofess ionalnetworking
forcreatingapersonallearningnetwork base dontheresultsofa
literaturestudyofacademicandinformalresourcesa ndtwoempirical
studies.A fterbrie flypresentingther esea rchme thod,wewilldiscussthe
factors thatinfluencethedecisionsprofessionallear nerstak ewhile
buildingandnavigatingapersonallearningnetwork.Thisthenresultsina
descriptionoftheP ersonalLearningNetworkmodelandrela ted
technologyneeds.Finally,we willdiscusssome directionsforfur ther
rese arch.

Methodology
Inordertode velopamodelofhowthedynamicsoftiesplayoutin
supportingindividualle arning,we collecteddatafr omdiffe rentsources.
Wefirs tlookedfore xistingresearchrepo rtsonprofessio nalnetworking,
withafocus onrelationshipbuildingandnetworkbuildingfroman
individual’spersonalperspective.Theinclusionofinforma lliterature
(suchasmagazinesandblogposts)enlightenedusonthevalueof
networkingasexperiencedbyindividualsandgaveussometipsand
tricksfromtheseprofessiona lsinpractice.Ourliteraturestudyidentified
aninitiallistoffactorsthatinfluencenetworkingdecisions.
Additionally,twosmall–scalequalitatives tudieswereconductedto
establishtheindividuals’strategiestocreate,ma intainandusetheir
personalnetworksforlearning.Afirstsmall–sca lestudyusedexplora tive
semi–structuredinterviewswith10interviewees,whohadaminimumof
fiveyearsexperienceintheso cialdevelopm entsectorworkingin
proje ctsonadailyorweek lybasis.They were questionedontheproject
itself,theirpersonallearningexperiencesregardingtheprojectandthe
roleoftheirpe rsonalnetworksintheseexperiences.Theinter views,
conductedinDutchandEnglish,wereaudio–rec orded,transcribedand
analysedinthefollowingway:first,thetextswere systematically
screenedformentionsofpeoplethen,thesepas sageswereclustered
intorolesofotherpeopleinthelea rningex perie ncesoftheinterviewee.
Fromthisfirstanalys is,itemergedthatinterviewee sdifferedgreatlyin
thewaytheydescribetheircontacts.Thisdifferencewasdeemed
relevantandtakenupintheresults.Dutchquotesfurtheroninthisarticle
have beentranslatedintoEnglish.Asecondsmall–sca lestudywas

5/8/2014 Under standing persona l learning networks: Their struc ture, c ontent and the networking skills needed to optimally use them | Rajagopal | First Monday
http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3559/3131 3/13
conductedconsistingofshortsurvey sattwonetworkingevents(the
EAPRILconference—2010,inLisbonandtheMediaandLea rning
Conference—2010,inBrus sels).S ixteenatrandomchosenparticipants
wereaske dtoconsidertheirpersonalnetwork ingactivitiesattheev ent,
focusingonthosecontactsthey expe ctedtore mainintouchwithafterthe
conferenceandtheirr eportedreasonsforthis.Thesereasonswere
codedwiththeinitialfactorsidentifiedintheliterature study.The listwas
comple tedwithadditionalfactorsthatemergedasbeingsignificantfrom
thesurv ey.

Thelearnerasorchestratorofherpersonallearningnetwo rk
Learningprofessionalscanac tivelyundertake measurestomake thebest
useofthelear ningopportunitiesintheirlayere dpers onallearning
networks.They needtoperformthreeimportant(primary)tasksthat
formthebasisforallo therfurther activitieswithinthenetwork:building
connec tions(addingnewpeopletothene tworkso thatthereare
reso urcesavaila blewhenalearningneedarise s)maintaining
connec tions(keepingintouchwithrelevantperso ns)anda ctivating
connec tionswithselectedpersonsforthepurposeoflearning(Nardi,et
al.,2000Nardi,etal.,2002).Inthissection,we willpresentthefactors
influencingthedecisionsofaprofessionalinthesetasks.Indoingthis,we
willalsouncoverthespe cificattitudeofaprofessiona lthatliesattheroot
ofthistype oflea rning.
Factorsinfluencingcho icesinbuilding,maintainingandactivatingpersonal
learningnetworks
Theliteraturese archforfactorsthatinfluencethestage sofbuilding,
maintaininga ndactiva tingconnectionsrev ealedtopicsre latedtothe
contextofnetwork ing.Acle arvalueforprofe ssionalseme rged:they
designandnavigatetheirnetworktobringthemthemostprofessional
andeducationalbenefitateachstage oftheircaree r(Dulworth,2006
Cross,etal.,2003S teinyandOinas–K ukkonen,2007).Theyundertake
specificactivitiesfornetworking,suchasjo ining(onlineandface–to–
face)professionala ssociations,participatinginconfe rence s,work shops,
semina rsornetworkingeventstomeetnewpeopleortoreconfirm
existingties(Bauman,2008DeLesk ey,2003ValenzaandJo hnson,
2008).Inaddition,increa singly,We b–base dtechnologiesplayarolein
connec tingwithnewpeople(onsocialnetworkingsitessuchasLinkedI n
andFace book)(Vermeiren,2011)orformaintainingrelationsafter
eve nts(Hamm,2007).Theliterature study,however,gave little
informa tiononthepracticalstrategiesthatencourageandestablish
successfulpro fessionalrela tionshipbuilding.Thiswasthenrese archedby
thesurv eyandthein–depthinterviews.
Thefollowingfactorseme rgedfromtheresultoftheliteraturestudy,
surve yandinterviews.Wehavegroupedthefactorsintothreemain
sections:(i)factors relatingtotheprofessionallearner’spersonal
interests(ii)factorsrelatingtothecontactandtheirrela tionshipwiththe
learnerand,(iii)externalcharacteristicsofthewor kenv ironme nt.
Thefirstgroupoffactorsrelatestotheprofessionallear ner’spersona l
profe ssionalinterests,largelydeterminedbycertainimmediate
profe ssionalneeds.
Communality.Whilecreatingnewconnections,pe oplelo okoutfor
commongroundwithanunknownperson.Thiscanbeintheformof
topicsofinterest,organisationorcommonconnections(ne twork)
(AdamicandA dar,2005Dougla s,1994).Thesurveyresults
indicatedthatprofessionalsa lsouse communalityontopic and
organisationtodecidewhomtomaintainconnectionswithina
personallea rningnetwork.Inactivatingac onnectionwithina
personallea rningnetwork,thekeyfactorthateme rgedfromthe
surve yisthesuitabilityofthatperson’s expe rience orexpertisefor
theparticulartopicorneedsought(cf.,e xperts,zoneo fprox imal
deve lopment,etc.).Thepe rsonalattachmentbetweentheindividual
andthepersonalsoplaysanundeniable role.Theloca tionwhere
newconnectionsarecreatedisalsoimportant:atrusted,known
environmentiso ftenchosentoex pandnetworks(Paulosand
Goodman,2004).
Thenextgroupoffactor soncontact’squalitiesrelatetofeaturesofthe
contactinque stion(thecontact’sorga nisation,networkorreputation),o r
indicatethepersonalattachme ntbetweenthelearne randthecontact
(benev olence,like–m indedness).They cana lsoindica tetheprofessional’s
asse ssmentofthepotentialvalueo fthetie(potentialforco llabora tionor
learning).
Organisationofthecontact.Theorganisationthecontactbelongsto
mayinfluencechoicesmaderegardingthenatureofatie(Morrison,
2002).
Networkofacontact.Thenetworkofacontactmayalsobea
decisivefactorinthema nagementofpro fessio nalties(Jacksonand
Rogers,2007).

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Reputation.Reputationpla ysaroleinnetworktieswithothersin
gener al,anda lsointhec reationofanewconnection(Davies,2003
PodolnyandB aron,1997).
Bene volence.A notherfa ctorthatplay sacrucialroleisbe nevolence
orthegeneral“goodcontact”betweenanindividualanda new
contact(Rusman,etal.,2010).Peopleconnectwithotherswhom
theylikeortrust,orwithwhomtheyfeelaparticularconnection.
Like–mindedne ss.Thesurve yedinterviewe esoftenmentionedthat
sharingacommonvisiononthedomainofworkcreatesatrusted
platformwheretheyfee lcomfortablefurtherpurs uingthe
conversation.Furtherdiscussionsco uldrev ealmoreco mmunality,
andtherebyne wscope forconnecting.Buildingnewco nnectionsina
personalnetworkconsistsofidentifyingrelevantsk illsand
compe tenceinothersandestablishingatrustedplatformthro ugh
conversationwherethepotentialoftheconnectioncanbe explo red.
Realpotentialforcollabo ration.Discuss ionscoulddealwiththe
detailso fcommoninterestandreveala clearpotentialfo r
collabo ration.
Realpotentialforlearning.Morethanthat,throughanextended
conversation,theintervieweesindicatedthey couldide ntifya
potentialforlearningthroughma intainingtheconnection.
Thefina lgroupo ffactorsrelatetoexternalcharacteris ticsofthewo rk
environmentinwhichthetiebetwee ntheprofessionallearnerandthe
contactissituated.
Trendsinworkenvironment.Theprofessionalinterestsofa learner
canbe largelydeterminedbycircum stancesandtrendsinthework
environmentoftheprofe ssional(Birkinshaw,etal.,2007).For
example,theincreasingpopularityofaparticulardomainmight
makeitmore relevanttoconnecttotiesworkinginthatdomain.
Althoughtheseninefa ctorse merge dfrom thestudies,itwasnotpossible
toidentifyconclusivelytowha textentea chfactorinfluence seachstage
ofnetwor king.However,theresultsshowthatbenev olence,like–
mindedne ssandrealpotentialforcollaborationandlearningplayan
importantroleinthebuildingphase .Furtherre searchisnecessaryto
refine thisaspectofthemo del.Figure1illustratesthethreestagesofthe
networkingproce ss,withthefactorsthatinfluenceeachofthesestage s.

Figure1:Thre estage softhenetworkingprocesswithfactorsinfluencingdecisions.

Networkingattitudeofa learner
Althoughfa ctorside ntifiedinpre viousstudiesre latedtoalearne r’s

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practica ldecisions,informalliteratureandthein–depthinterviews
revealedthatnetworkingitselfislinkedtoadeepermetacognitivele vel,
namely,theattitudeofthelearner(Ve rmeiren,2008).
Whenaskedtoreflectontheirlea rningex perie ncesa ndtheroleofothers
inthosele arningprocesses,intervieweesdispla yedcleardifferencesin
thewaytheyintera ctwithcontactsintheir personalnetworksandthe
waytheylear nfromtheseinteractions.The resultsarepr esentedhere
withquotesfromtheinterviews.
Thefirstobservationisthatsomeinterviewe eswereable todesc ribethe
contributionsoftheirco ntactstotheirle arninginamuchmorede tailed
andcontextualisedwaythandidothers:thelearningexperienceswere
identifiedwiththecontact’squalities.Notethefo llowingex amplefroma n
intervie weebe low,whoapprecia teshav ingaccesstoawidenetwor kof
contacts:
“[...]thatwehav ethepossibilitytoask
advicefrom certainpeople.Andone person
ismoresuitableforacertaintypeof
advice,anda notherpe rsonforanother
typeofadvice,butitdoeshelpalot.It
certainly helps.”
Also,theyportraysomeinsightintotheircontact’sstrengthsand
weaknessesaswe llasoftheirown:
“[...]becauseshe notonlyasked,butshe
alsohadavisionbehindthoseque stions.
Andhervisionandmy visioncorre spond,
theyfit.Andavisionthatcorresponds,that
isveryimportant.Ifyouwantaproject,
youa bsolutelyneedtobeable tofallback
onpeo plewhohavethesamevisionas
you.[...]Youneedtowanttoev olveinthe
same direction.Andthat’scle arlythecase
withher.”
“Ilike people whowanttogo againstthe
tide,withoutwantingtobeextremeinthat.
Butitshowsthattheyhaveaparticular
chara cterandacertaindare togofurther.I
thinkthatisimpo rtant.”
These narra tivespr esentedaclearpicture ofthecontactsinthelearner’s
personalnetwork—thestro ng,weak andv eryweakties—andtheir
contributionstolearning.However,thiscontex tualisingofothers’
expe rience sandtheirrele vance forownlearningpurposesisnotgeneral.
Forex ample,seethequotebelowfromanotherinterviewe e:
“Youhav easchoolfortherich,abea utiful
building,Ic anshowyouphotoslater,a nd
thenat500mdistance,youhaveaschool
forthepoorandIasked:‘a reyounotjust
reinforcingthisdiffe rence ?’Buttheysaid,
‘ontheonehand,y es,weare,butonthe
otherhand,thisistheonlywaythechildren
ofthepoorpeoplehaveac cessto
education.’[...]whattheya lsodois
morningassembly,whichisveryimportant,
theydothattogether.S oyousee,o nthe
oneha ndyoucansaythattheyare
reinforcingthedifference,butontheo ther
itdoesgivethemtheoppor tunitytogoto
school.”
Thisinterv iewee alsointeractswithother stounder standthesituation,but
thesecontactsremainhidde ninthenarrative,purelyappearingas
sourcesofinformationorgeneralopinion.
These condobserv ationisthatthee ffectsofnetworkingarenotlimitedto
face–to–faceinteractionswiththecontacts:evenwhenothersa renot
present,theirwords,messagesandperspectivescaninfluencethe
reflectionsofthelearne r.Thisresultsfro mtwoconditions:(i)the
reflectivebe haviourofthele arner and,(ii)thee xtenttowhichthe
learnervie wsthecontactsasv isibleentities(orlearningre sources)in
herpe rsonalnetwork.Reflectivebehaviour withregar dtoone’sown
practice isrecognisedintheliterature(BolhuisandSimons,2001S chön,
1990).Inour opinion,de tailedco ntextualisingofacontactisanindic ation
thatthecontactisvisibleinthelearner’spersona lnetwork.Forexample,
thefollowinglearningexperiencebyone oftheintervieweesdescribes
theresultsofherreflectiontogetherwithothers.However,despite
reque stsforfurtherclarification,shedidnotdevelopafurtherdetailingo f
variousperspective sontheissuesintheintervie w:
“[...]thattripinXwasrea llyane ye–
opene rforme,whenyouse ewhatthose
people have todolocallyunde rwhat
circumstances.BecauseinXwealso visited
aslumandleprosycolony.Thatreally
stickstoyou.Youhavetobeverytough

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nottobea ffectedbythat.Sowhenwe
came back,wethought‘thisca nnotbethe
case thatwehav esuchagoodlifehere
wehav etodosomething’.”
Althoughthisinter vieweeusedreflectiontodevelopherunderstanding,
shedidnotidentifythecontributionsofvariouscontac tstoherle arning
norprovidefurtherco ntextforthosecontributions.Interv iewee switha
seeminglyfurtherevolvednetworkingskilluse theinform ationaland
knowledgebuildingbenefitsoftheirpersonallearningnetworka lmoston
adaily basis,affectingallaspe ctsoftheirprofessionallife.Eachcontactis
seenasapotentialpersontolea rnfromortocollaboratewith.Inthis
sense ,network ingcanbeviewedasanattitudetolearningandwo rking,
i.e.,thepositiontakentowardsle arninga ndtherolethattheirnetworks
andnetworkingplaysinthatlearning.
These twoobse rvationsallowustoconcludethatnetworkingfor
networkedlearningisnotonlyaskilltobedeveloped,butalsoana ttitude
towardslearningtobecultiva ted.Theinterviewsconfirmedthat
networkingrevolvesaroundacomplexabilityof(i)recognizingand
identifyingtheother’squalitiesand,of(ii)making(va luable)
associationsofthesequa litieswiththelearner’sownqualitiesthatcould
takeplacewhe ninteractingwithacontactor eve ninthecontact’s
absence.Learnershavediffere ntlevels ofproficiency inthisskill,butcan
alsodifferintheactualapplicationoftheskill,due totheattitudewith
whichtheyapproa chlearning.Proficientnetworkersusede dicatede vents
andenvironmentswhere networkinghastheprimefocus(suchas
profe ssionalconferences,seminarsand,morerecently,onlinesocial
networkingsites)totriggertheirmindintomak ingvaluableassociations.
Theinterviewss upportedfindingsthatthisattitudeemergeswithpeople
whoa)e xper iencethevalueoftheirne tworka tfirsthand(Hamm,2007)
and/orpeoplewhob)re flectontheirworkandlea rninginabroade r
perspectivethantheirday –to–daypractice(Margaryan,eta l.,2009).This
isexemplifiedbythequotefrom oneinter vieweebelow:
“[...]yes,nooneisfree ofthelux uryto
asksomeo neforadvice.Ithinkitis
importantforeveryonetobeabletoa sk
advice.Andthatitisalsoaprivilegetobe
abletoaska dvice.Thereisnothingwrong
withit.Onthecontra ry,Ithinkitisan
adva ntagera therthanahandicaptobe
abletoaska dvice...”

Thepersonallearningnetworkmodel
Thenine factorsthatinfluencepersonalprofessiona lnetwork ing
(identifieda bove ),aswellasthene tworkinga ttitudethatgoverns
networkingactivities(describedabove)c anbeschematicallyre presented
inapersonalprofessionalne tworkingmodel(illustra tedinFigure2).


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Figure2:Personalprofessionalnetworkingmodel.

Thisthree –laye redmodelre latestheattitudeofaprofessionallea rner
towardsnetworkingtotheactualne tworkingskillsshe display sinday–to–
daypractice.Attitudesandskillsaredifferenttypesofqualities :an
attitudeissom ethingofthemind,ape rspec tivewithwhichaperso n
viewstheworlda skillisaprac tical,dev elopableabilitytodosomething.
Becauseofthisdifference,itisnotpossible todirec tlylinkthetwolayers.
Todoso,requirestwoimportantinterm ediarystepsinourvie w.Thefirst
oneisthetranslationofthisattitudeinthemindtoadeliberateintention
(attitude–to–intentionlayer).Whenprofessionalshavedeve lopeda n
attitudeofapproachingtheirpro fessionallifea ndlearninginanetworked
way,theybuild,ma intainandactivatetheircontactsintentiona lly.
These condstepistotranslatethatintentionintoactions(activitylayer).
Theprofessional’sintentionmanifestsitselfthroughtheactivityof
networking,wheretheprofe ssionalengage sinpra cticese nablingand
supportingnetworking.Theseincludeactivatingstrongties(e.g.,
brainstormingwithcolle agues),activatingwe akties(e.g.,re achinga
knowncontact),buildingormaintainingweakandveryweakties(e.g.,
joiningne tworkinge ventsoranonline socia lnetworkingsite).The
activityo fnetwork ingdepe ndsonthecomplexskillofbeingabletomake
associationsbe tweenthecontact’squalities andone ’sown(skilllayer).
Thiscomplexskillisinturninfluencedbythedifferentfa ctorside ntified
earlierinthisar ticleatthedifferentpha sesofnetworking.Assuch,the
attitudetricklesdownasitweretoaffecttheprofes sional’sactionsand
therequiredsk ills.
Apersonallearningnetwork(P LN)isanetworksetupbyanindividual
specificallyinthecontextofherpr ofessionalactivitiesthroughonline
platformstosupportherprofessio nalnon–formallearningneeds.
There fore,aprofessiona lwhointentionally builds,maintainsandactivates
herstrong,weakandv eryweaktieswithcontactswithinhe rpersonal
networkforthepurposeofimprovingherlearning—andusestechno logy
tosuppor tthisactivity—iscreatingapers onallearningnetwork.The
learneratthecentreorchestratesthewhole environment,browsing,
selectingandchoosingthemostrelevantinformationresource s(Cono le,
etal.,2008S chaffertandHilzensauer,2008Wilson,etal.,2006).To
supportorchestration,learnersne edtohaveahighleve lofcontrolon
toolstheyuseandthewaytheyuse them.

Discussionandconclusion:Supportingpersonalnetworkingand
futureresearch
TechnologiesincludedinPLNsofferbasictoadvanc edfunctiona lities
(suchassearch,accesstocontent,user–madec ontentclassification,
personalkno wledgecreationandpresentationandcommunicationwith
peer sandothers),whichle arnerscanemploy ,change andadapttosuit
theirlea rningnee ds(Attwell,etal.,2009).Thesetoolsa llowlearnersto
structureandmana gethecomplex environmentofpeopleandcontent
aroundthemselv esaccordingtotheirownpersona lprefe rence s.
Curre ntly,technologicalsolutionsexistsupportingdifferentaspectsofthe
networkingmodel.Inthesk illlaye r,existingtechnologiesforsocial
networkmanagementonsocialne tworkingplatformsfocuson:
enhancingcommunicationwithpeopleinthene twork(e–mail
communicationfunctiona lityonnetworkingplatformpriv acy
managementtode terminespecificcontacts)
rema ining“intouch”withknownpeopleinthenetwork:infor mal
informa tionpulltoremainconnectedwithothersinthenetwork
positioninga nindividualinthenetworkand,
findinghidde npeople andexpertiseinthenetwor k:basicuser
sear chfunctionality(name,profilecharac teristics)advance d
functionality,e.g.,rec ommendationofpeers(Guy,e tal.,2009Sie,

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etal.,2011),ide ntificationofrelevantpeople tohelpwitha
particularlearningproble m(Fetter,e tal.,2010VanR osmalen,
2008).
Althoughthesefunctionalitiesfulfillthege neralstagesofnetwork ing,
technologydoesnotyetsupportthede eperunderstandingofnetworking
practice .Forex ample,thedistinctionbetweenstrong,weakandve ry
weaktieswithrespecttocontentoftherelationshipisno talwaysvisible
inonlines ocialne tworkingsites.Thetechnologythereforeoffersminimal
supportindevelopingtiesina meaningfulway.Alsoatthelevelof
networkingactivity,technology providescommonpla tformswhe repe ople
canco nnect(generalsocialnetworkingsitessuchasLinkedI n,Facebo ok,
HyvesandTwitterdomain–specificsocialne tworkingsites,suchas
UNESCO–UNEVOCeForumandtheZunianetworkev ent–specificsocial
networkingsitessuchaspla tformsforonlineconferences,workshopsand
webinars).Face–to–fa ceeventsarealsoincreasinglysupportedbyWeb–
basedtechnologies,toenablepe opletomakemorevaluableweak ties
onalongerterm(see fore xample,the“FollowtheSun—Learning
FuturesFestiva lOnline2011”initiative(FollowtheSun,2011)).
Apersonallearningnetworkmodel,includingthetechnologicalsupport
forthedifferentaspectsofnetwork ing,isillustratedinFigure3.

Figure3:Personalle arningne tworkmodel.

Althoughtechnologicalsolutionsfa cilitatemanyaspe ctsofne tworking,it
isuncleariftechnologys upportsor,indeed,affectsthenetwork ing
attitudeofprofessio nalsand/ortherelatedintentiontobuild,maintain
andac tivatethestrongandwe aktiesintheirpersonalnetworkforthe
purposeoflearning.This bringsustothenextstepstotake.
Furtherre searchstepsincludestudiesinvestigatingthenetwork ing
practice ofprofessio nalstoga inabetterunderstandingofthene tworking
attitudeafurtherdevelopme ntoftechnologytosupportprofessiona ls
betterinide ntifyingre levantothersandindevelopingrelationsonlineas
andwhennecessary.Finally,aninvestigationisalsonecessaryintothe
effectsofnetworkingtechno logyonthenetwork ingattitudeof
profe ssionals.

Abouttheauthors
KamakshiRajagopalreceivedaMaster’sdegre einGermanicLanguage s
(computationallinguistics)andanAdvance dMaster’sinArtificial
Intelligenc e(Spe ech&LanguageTechnology)fromK.U.Leuv en(BE).She
workedasacorpus–linguistattheUCL,Louvain–la–Neuve(BE)onthe
Learne rsCo rpusforDutchasaFor eignLangua ge.In2005,shejoined
K.U.Leuvenasa rese arche r/projectmana gerworkingonEuropean–
fundedprojectsandpilotingne wapplica tionsofICTandmultimediain

5/8/2014 Under standing persona l learning networks: Their struc ture, c ontent and the networking skills needed to optimally use them | Rajagopal | First Monday
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mainstreameducation.Since2009,sheiswork ingasa researche ratthe
CentreforLea rningSciencesandTechnologies(CELSTEC)attheOpen
Universiteit(NL).InherP h.D.studies,sheinvestigateshowprofessionals
createandmanagetheirpersonallearningnetworksasresourcesfor
theirlearningandhowtechnologycaneffectivelysupportprofessionalsin
thistypeoflearning.
Directcommentstokamakshi[dot]rajagopal[at]ou[dot]nl
DesiréeJoosten–tenBrinkeisassociateprofessorincontemporary
testinganda ssessmentatFontys,UniversityofAppliedSciencesfor
teachertrainers,andresearcherandassessmentexpe rtatCentre for
LearningSciencesandTechnologies(CELSTEC)attheOpenUniv ersityof
theNetherlands.Herresearchfocusisonassessmentofpriorlearning,
e–assessment,professionaldevelopmentofteachersinassessment,and
qualityoftestingandassessmentprocedures.Sheisinvolv edinseveral
proje ctsinwhichfe edbackon(self–)assessmenttasksinane–learning
environmenttoimproveperso naldev elopmentisemphasized.The
contextofherworkincludesprimary,seconda ryandhigher(vocational)
educationinabroaddomainofsubjects(f.e ,computerscience,cultural
science,Spanish...).Sheisamemberoftheeditorialcommissionofa
Dutchjournalontestinganda ssessment.
E–mail:de siree[dot]joosten–tenbrinke[at]ou[do t]nl
Dr.JanVanBruggenisanassociateprofessoratCELSTECwherehe
leadsoneoftheclustersofthelearningnetworksprogramandalectorat
FontysUnive rsityforAppliedScience.Hisresearchinterestsareinthe
areasofne tworkedlearning,computer–supportedcollaborativelearning
anddevelopmentofteachingexpertise.
E–mail:ja n[dot]vanbruggen[at]ou[dot]nl
Dr.PeterB.Sloepisfullprofe ssorinTechnologyEnhancedLearningat
theCentre forLearningSciencesandTe chnologies(CELSTEC)atthe
OpenUniv ersityoftheNetherlandsandprogrammedirectorofitsR&D
programmeonNetworkedLearning.Hisresearchencompasse ssuch
topicsasnetworkedlearning,learningdesign,learningobjectsandopen
educationalresources,aswellasknowledgesharingandcreative
collabo rationincommunitiesandnetworks.Hehasco–authoredmore
than100pee r–rev iewedpublicationsinscholarlyjournalsandconference
proce edings.Hehasauthoredoreditedthre ebooksandsuperv ises10
Ph.D.candidates,participatesintheeditorialboardofseveraljournals,
amongwhichALT–J,severalIEEEjournals,ComputersinHuman
Behavior.Sloepisafrequentspeake ratnationa landinternational
conferences.HeservesontheeditorialboardofResearchinLea rning
Technology,freque ntlyrev iewspapersandbookproposalsforvarious
journalsandconferencesintheTELfield,andhasreviewedproposalsfor
theCana dian,U.S.andDutchnationalresearchage ncies.Heisthe
foundingchairoftheTechnicalCommitteeLearningTechnologyofthe
DutchStandardsOrganisation(NEN).See,foracompleteCV,
http://pbsloep.nl/.
E–mail:pe ter[dot]sloep[at]ou[dot]nl

Acknowledgements
Partsofthearticlepresentrese archconductedundertheLanguage
TechnologiesforLifelongLearning(LTfLL)proje ct(2008–2011),which
wasco–fundedby theEuropeanUnionundertheInformationand
CommunicationTechnologies(ICT)themeofthe7thFramewo rk
ProgrammeforR&D(LTfLL—2008—212578).Wewouldalsolik eto
thankthe10participantswhotookpa rtinthein–depthinterviewsforthis
study.Wearealsogratefultothepa rticipantsandorganizersofthe
EAPRILconference(2010)andtheMediaandLe arningConfere nce
(2010),whocontributedtothesurvey.

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5/8/2014 Under standing persona l learning networks: Their struc ture, c ontent and the networking skills needed to optimally use them | Rajagopal | First Monday
http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3559/3131 13/13
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Edito rialhistory
Rece ived27August2011accepted23December2011.
Copyright©2012,FirstMonday.
Copyright©2012,KamakshiRajagopal,DesiréeJoosten–tenBrinke,Jan
VanB ruggen,andPeterB.Sloep.Allrightsreserved.
Understandingpersonallearningnetworks:The irstructure ,contentand
thenetwork ingskillsneede dtooptimallyusethem
byKamakshiRaja gopal,DesiréeJoosten–tenB rinke,JanVanBrugge n,
andPe terB.Sloep.
FirstMonday,Volume17,Number12Janua ry2012
http://firstmonday .org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3559/3131
doi:10.5210/fm.v17i1.3559
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