July 11, 2009

Moving From the PLC to the PNLC: 6 Key Drivers of Change- Part 5

There are six “key drivers” that I see pushing Professional Learning Communities to evolve into Professional Networked Learning Collaboratives. They are Technology, Wisdom Stewardship, Cultural, Accountability, External Approach, and Continuous Change, Choice, and Disruption. These six “key drivers” are having a major impact on education and make the Professional Networked Learning Collaborative uniquely suited to handle the impact effectively.

Lets examine “key driver” number six.

6. Continuous Change, Choice, and Disruption: Increasing rate of development in the number of choices, options, disruptive ideas & technologies, and new paradigms,

Disruptive ideas: According to Peter Sheahan, author of Flip, “…innovations in product and process almost always have unintended consequences that challenge our ability to adapt, and reward those with flexibility to flip into new modes of acting and thinking.”

Think of Twitter, it has moved from a fun mini-blogging site, to instant messaging, to part of the Personal Learning Network of many people, to an international news broadcasting agency during the Iran crisis. I believe Twitter is the ultimate semi real-time idea sharing platform, but that is not what was originally intended for it. Cell phones have become personal computing devices capable of doing so much more than make phone calls. PNLC look for the opportunity to use ideas and technology in new and disruptive ways to better their collaboration.

This is the underlying principle of Disruptive Technology as described by Clayton Christensen in his book Disrupting Class. What you think is not useful or effective, suddenly becomes very effective and replaces the prior model, idea, strategy, curriculum, technology, etc. PNLC are aware of this possibility and practice a level of awareness that sees, what I call "Disruptive Ideas" on the horizon.

New Paradigms: As the authors of The Power of Impossible Thinking put it, "Sometimes we don't need to merely 'sharpen' the saw; we need to throw it out to pick up a power tool. If we are focused only on sharpening, then we might not see the opportunity to apply new technology that can radically change the way we approach the task."

Professional Networked Learning Collaboratives utilize the most powerful of all mindset of paradigms. I call it the “Utility Paradigm.” All mental models, all technologies, all paradigms have utility in certain situations. The ability for a PNLC to look at a problem through the lens of various mental models or paradigms will provide valuable perspective. PNLCs however are quick to adapt to new technologies and look for way they can be utilized to better collaborate to improve student learning.


Choice and Options: Teachers and administrators are faced with increasing choices in curriculum, teaching materials, educational software, and technology. Being able to sort through all these choices requires an enormous amount of time, energy, and use of resources. Teachers and administrators are being asked to be savvy enough to make informed and fiscally sound decisions in an environment where the amount of choices is growing daily.

The Professional Networked Learning Collaborative is able to draw upon a greater network of people who have the expertise, knowledge, data, and information to help in real-time with making effective and sound decisions that are in the best interests of the students. 

So today, and increasingly in the future, it is the Professional Networked Learning Collaborative that will be able to handle these drivers of change. The Professional Networked Learning Collaborative embraces and seeks to leverage the technological changes because in so doing, they are better able to utilize the resources of time and talent because they have accepted the cultural shift toward immediacy of real-time interaction, and therefore is better able to handle the increasing compliance issues facing education. With both and internal focus and external approach members are better able to handle, and in fact embrace, the continuous change, new disruptions, and increases in choices and options.

Jul 11, 2009 12:00:00 AM | 21st Century Education, Collaboration, Disruptive & Transformational Ideas, Personal Learning Network, Professional Learning Community, Professional Networked Learning Collaborative

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Moving From the PLC to the PNLC: 6 Key Drivers of Change- Part 4 Networked: The Professional Networked Collaborative understands the power of the network. Useful outsiders become part of the network that the PNLC taps into to increase student learning and achievement. The network of useful outsiders exists physically and virtually and changes over time. Flexible and Scalable: PNLC are flexible in who is part of the group, how long that person will be part of the group, the way in which the group will work, who is leading the group, etc. The PNLC is scalable in size, growing to include new useful outsiders or including new networks. But the PNLC is also flexible as to who, when, what, and how the group uses networks and outsiders.
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Welcome To The Revolution: The Professional Networked Learning Collaborative So today, and increasingly in the future, it is the Professional Networked Learning Collaborative that will allow schools to best handle these drivers of change. The Professional Networked Learning Collaborative embraces and seeks to leverage the technological changes because in so doing, they are better able to utilize the resources of time and talent because they have accepted the cultural shift toward immediacy of real-time interaction, and therefore is better able to handle the increasing compliance issues facing education. With both and internal focus and external approach members are better able to handle, and in fact embrace, the continuous change, new disruptions, and increases in choices and options.

Robert Jacobs

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