Wendy Drexler

I actually love the idea of students having their own PLN, Personal Learning Network. I think that this will take a huge burden off of teachers. Not that the teacher will do any less, but can you imagine that one day students will possibly be able to go online and search and collaborate with other students to come up with answers on their own. Also they will be able to elaborate on subjects that their teachers were unable to expand on due to time constraints. The idea of connectivism between students thrills me, something that is informative and not socially tied, like FaceBook. Please understand that I too am a FaceBook user, but only to the extent to keep up with friends and family, and games.

Obviously the sooner that students learn this form of information out there, it will give them an advantage that others do not have. I am unfortunately learning this later in life, but fortunately I am still learning this in its somewhat of an infancy stage. The PLN connects teachers with teachers, classes with classes, and information to individuals and others who are having a hard time finding it.

So is it necessary to have teachers? The answer is, Of course it is still necessary for teachers and instructors. Just because the students may have the information at their fingertips, it would be the job of the teacher to teach the student how to learn how to use the information provided. They must also teach the student how to use the PLN. The teacher must also maintain the network, and like she said creatively, working together people can solve problems. This technology, is in my opinion, some of the better ideas to come along.