Image via WikipediaOn Twitter Howard Rheingold shared 8 insights on how to build a personal learning network. What is a personal learning network?
In my view, a group of people whom you follow, connect with and learn from.
Social networks, lifestreaming and activity streams are the new tools of learning.
That's because in today's time and in the future - what people know is not going to be as important, as compared to how they do what they do.
Think of it as "learning by watching" except that instead of watching you are "listening" to them as their activities are shared either in first person or by tools.
So do you need a personal learning network?
Well there are two kinds of people. One who put their careers in the hands of their organizations where they work. When the going's good they focus on the work, and the organization - like a paternalistic system - takes care of them. However, business cycles change, competitors come up, contexts change. And then the career plan along with jobs can go out of the window.
This is where having a personal learning network - of people across industries and geographies - is most useful. Hybrid skills are the way new careers would develop in the future. And in my opinion, building and nurturing a personal learning network is the best way to future-proof your career.
