New Technologies in Professional Learning Networks

Technology enhances learning, collaborating, working, and communicating. This presentation describes a social learning platform, highlighting practical application of Professional Learning Networks technologies. A social learning network for district-wide special education teacher support is demonstrated. Asynchronous learning has potential for improving service learning through (a) developing a site to broaden partner participation and reaping collective knowledge benefits; (b) using forums to foster discussions, reflections, and feedback; (c) uploading files to improve storage, organization, and retrieval of project information; (d) emailing notifications to update team members; (e) distributing certificates and badges as incentives; and (f) surveying for project evaluation and improvement