Copernicus, centre of the universe and Personal Learning Plans

Happy birthday day to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Nicolaus...............eh.......Copernicus.....Happy birthday to you, not looking a day past his 540 years..

I have to be honest. I didn't even know it was his birthday until Google made me aware of it first thing this morning. Google has a habit of doing that, you know what I mean? When it suddenly tells you about something of historical note or worth celebrating. Today was no different as it highlighted the birthday of Nicolaus Copernicus who is most famous for his piece of research Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium........Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres. The heliocentric revolution put the Sun and not the Earth at the centre of the universe and brought condemnation from high above although rumour has it all was probably forgotton by him when he was handed the first printed copy of his theory on the day he died.

Coincidently I have been thinking a lot recently about personal learning plans and networks, which in turn sparked a little more for me today following Googles doodle.  When Copernicus first started his work the common theory was that the universe revolved around the earth but his model put the power source at the centre and let the earth move around it. Now if we take that theory and look at any organisation or institution today  The model shared in a lot of ways is still waiting for its own revolution, yes I agree that some are better at others at heading in the right direction but I recently read some reviews for a University's first attempt at MOOC and to say it was just doing it for the sake of....well doing it is an understatement. It was a poor attempt and still very much put the content at the centre rather than the learner.

The learner is your energy source and we should build everything around them and in turn let them build networks and share their knowledge. We still build and create stuff and the chalk and talkers still need to share but we don't push the content. Let them pull it towards themselves. Ownership is the only way our content will be embedded and work the most effectively. So what is it what does it give them?

An article by Dr Mark Wagner director of Google teacher academy shared some tips on personal learning networks and this guided my view.

Connection - with the learner is critical but that starts with them choosing how to connect and on what platform, our task is providing options. Contribution -  i.e user driven and written content helps to support the network and lets collaboration, innovation and creativity flourish. Conversation -yes, real conversation, open discussions, forums, Google hangouts and anything else that sparks debate and opinion and support among learners. Support - Learning isn't fun when in isolation but with one trainer, coach or consultant there is never enough support to go round. Build a network, widen the support available. Socialable - That's right, my old made up word Socialable. Technology is in the hands of the learner 24/7 and access to the social is a constant in many peoples lives, use it. Blog, Tweet, Link, Flip, Hangout, Yamm or whatever you like but do it and let people connect.

If done right, personal learning networks, personal learning plans will thrive on a rich vein of content and help people to grow but a couple of things worth considering.

Be Patient, it's a cliche to say that Rome wasn't built in a day but neither will this. You have to start small and build confidence that it is the right thing to do. Information today is served up at the blink of an eye or swipe of a controversially patented finger but when it comes to learning and opportunity people still expect a lot to land on their plate so build your revolution with a long term culture change in mind. Authenticity is key too, don't make it out to be something it's not, don't promote it as a revolution straight off as it will be up to your learners to create that.

Now go build.

That Learning Dude @learningXDude